30 Tex. Admin. Code § 55.156 - Public Comment Processing
(a) The
chief clerk shall deliver or mail to the executive director, the Office of
Public Interest Counsel, the director of the Alternative Dispute Resolution
Office, and the applicant copies of all documents filed with the chief clerk in
response to public notice of an application.
(b) If comments are received, the following
procedures apply to the executive director.
(1) Before an application is approved, the
executive director shall prepare a response to all timely, relevant and
material, or significant public comment, whether or not withdrawn, and specify
if a comment has been withdrawn. Before any air quality permit application for
a Prevention of Significant Deterioration or Nonattainment permit subject to
Chapter 116, Subchapter B of this title (relating to New Source Review Permits)
or for applications for the establishment or renewal of, or an increase in, a
plant-wide applicability limit permit under Chapter 116 of this title (relating
to Control of Air Pollution by Permits for New Construction or Modification),
filed on or after the effective date of this section, is approved, the
executive director shall prepare a response to all comments received. The
response shall specify the provisions of the draft permit that have been
changed in response to public comment and the reasons for the
changes.
(2) The executive director
may call and conduct public meetings, under §
55.154 of this title (relating to
Public Meetings), in response to public comment.
(3) The executive director shall file the
response to comments with the chief clerk within the shortest practical time
after the comment period ends, not to exceed 60 days.
(c) After the executive director files the
response to comments, the chief clerk shall mail (or otherwise transmit)
instructions for electronically accessing the executive director's decision,
the executive director's response to public comments, and instructions for
requesting that the commission reconsider the executive director's decision or
hold a contested case hearing or information about how to request a hard copy
of these documents. The chief clerk shall provide the information required by
this section to the applicant, any person who submitted comments during the
public comment period, any person who requested to be on the mailing list for
the permit action, any person who timely filed a request for a contested case
hearing in response to the Notice of Receipt of Application and Intent to
Obtain a Permit for an air application, the Office of Public Interest Counsel,
and the director of the External Relations Division. Instructions for
requesting reconsideration of the executive director's decision or requesting a
contested case hearing are not required to be included in this transmittal for
the applications listed in:
(1)
§
39.420(e) of
this title (relating to Transmittal of the Executive Director's Response to
Comments and Decision); and
(2)
§
39.420(f) and (g)
of this title.
(d) The
instructions sent under §
39.420(a) of
this title regarding how to request a contested case hearing shall include at
least the following statements, however, this subsection does not apply to
post-closure order applications:
(1) a
contested case hearing request must include the requestor's location relative
to the proposed facility or activity;
(2) a contested case hearing request should
include a description of how and why the requestor will be adversely affected
by the proposed facility or activity in a manner not common to the general
public, including a description of the requestor's uses of property which may
be impacted by the proposed facility or activity;
(3) only relevant and material disputed
issues of fact raised during the comment period can be considered if a
contested case hearing request is granted for an application filed before
September 1, 2015;
(4) only
relevant and material disputed issues of fact and mixed questions of fact and
law raised during the comment period by a hearing requestor who is an affected
person and whose request is granted can be considered if a contested case
hearing request is granted for an application filed on or after September 1,
2015; and
(5) a contested case
hearing request may not be based on issues raised solely in a comment withdrawn
by the commenter in writing by filing a withdrawal letter with the chief clerk
prior to the filing of the Executive Director's Response to Comment.
(e) The instructions sent under
§
39.420(c) of
this title regarding how to request a contested case hearing shall include at
least the following statements:
(1) a
contested case hearing request must include the requestor's location relative
to the proposed facility or activity;
(2) a contested case hearing request should
include a description of how and why the requestor will be adversely affected
by the proposed facility or activity in a manner not common to the general
public, including a description of the requestor's uses of property which may
be impacted by the proposed facility or activity;
(3) only relevant and material disputed
issues of fact raised during the comment period can be considered if a
contested case hearing request is granted for an application filed before
September 1, 2015;
(4) only
relevant and material disputed issues of fact and mixed questions of fact and
law raised during the comment period by a hearing requestor who is an affected
person and whose request is granted can be considered if a contested case
hearing request is granted for an application filed on or after September 1,
2015; and
(5) a contested case
hearing request may not be based on issues raised solely in a comment withdrawn
by the commenter in writing by filing a withdrawal letter with the chief clerk
prior to the filing of the Executive Director's Response to Comment.
(f) For applications referred to
State Office of Administrative Hearings under §
55.210 of this title (relating to
Direct Referrals):
(1) for air quality permit
applications subsections (c) and (d) of this section do not apply;
and
(2) for all other permit
applications, subsections (b)(2), (c), and (d) of this section do not
apply.
(g) Regardless of
the requirements in §
39.420 of this title, the
commission shall make available by electronic means on the commission's website
the executive director's decision and the executive director's response to
public comments.
Notes
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