Section 8-4-208 - State water pollution control agency - Administration of permit program generally(a)(1) The Division of Environmental Quality is authorized, subject to the approval of the Governor, to administer on behalf of the state its own permit program for discharges into navigable waters within its jurisdiction in lieu of that of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The division is also authorized to submit to the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency for approval a full and complete description of the program which the division proposes to establish and administer under state law, as provided by § 402(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, 33 U.S.C. § 1342(b). To that end, the division and the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission are vested with all necessary authority and power to meet the requirements of § 402(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, 33 U.S.C. § 1342(b), and the guidelines promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to § 304(h)(2) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, 33 U.S.C. § 1314(h), to engage in an approved continuing planning process under § 303(e) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, 33 U.S.C. § 1313(e), and to perform any and all acts necessary to carry out the purposes and requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 relating to this state's participation in the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System established under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, subject to all restrictions contained in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 and guidelines.(2)(A) Subject to the approval of the Governor, the division may administer on behalf of the state its own permit program for the dredge and fill permitting program established in Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., and regulations promulgated under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.(B) Any rule, standard, or other requirement adopted for purposes of obtaining authorization for the permitting program under subdivision (a)(2)(A) of this section may not become effective or otherwise enforceable until the United States Environmental Protection Agency has approved the state's application for the state permit program for the dredge and fill permitting program established in Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.(C) The legislative authority under subdivision (a)(2)(A) of this section is intended to be sufficient to enable the division to assume and implement the federal Section 404 dredge and fill permitting program in conjunction with the other permitting programs established in this chapter.(b) The division shall further have the authority to accept a delegation of authority from the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 and to exercise and enforce the authority delegated.(c) Any public hearing that may be held by the Director of the Division of Environmental Quality preliminary to acting on a permit application as required by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 and guidelines, unless otherwise designated in the notice of hearing, shall be for informational purposes only and shall not be deemed a hearing before the commission within the meaning of § 8-4-205. No appeal may be taken therefrom.Amended by Act 2021, No. 285,§ 2, eff. 7/28/2021.Amended by Act 2019, No. 910,§ 2496, eff. 7/1/2019.Acts 1949, No. 472, [Part 1], § 3; 1973, No. 262, § 5; 1975, No. 743, § 5; A.S.A. 1947, § 82-1904; Acts 1993, No. 163, § 17; 1993, No. 165, § 17; 1999, No. 1164, § 25.