Current through September 18, 2024
Authority: IC 13-14-8; IC 13-14-9; IC 13-15-1-2; IC
13-15-2-1; IC 13-18-3
Affected: IC 13-11-2; IC 13-18-3-15; IC 13-18-4
Sec. 12.
(a) Notice
of every proposed determination on a permit issuance or denial and of a public
hearing concerning such a proposed determination shall be circulated in a
manner designed to inform interested persons. Notice of a proposed permit
determination shall allow at least thirty (30) days for public comment, as
specified in section 9 of this rule, and notice of a public hearing shall be
given at least thirty (30) days before the hearing.
(b) Public notices required by subsection (a)
shall be given by the commissioner as follows:
(1) By transmitting a copy to the applicant,
to EPA, to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to federal and state agencies with
jurisdiction over fish, shellfish, and wildlife resources (including the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and the Indiana department of natural resources), to
other appropriate governmental authorities including any affected state, to any
person on request, and to all persons on a mailing list for receipt of such
notices.
(2) By publication of a
notice in a daily or weekly newspaper in general circulation throughout the
area affected by the discharge or, at the commissioner's discretion, by any
other method reasonably calculated to give actual notice of the proposed permit
action to persons potentially affected by it, including the use of press
releases or by posting a copy of the information required under subsection (c)
at the principal office of the municipality or political subdivision affected
by the facility or discharge.
Any person otherwise entitled to receive notice under
subdivision (1) may waive the right to receive notice for any classes and
categories of permits.
(c) All public notices issued under this
section shall contain the following information:
(1) Name and address of this
department.
(2) Except in the case
of general permits, name and address of the applicant and the discharger (if
different from the applicant) and a general description of the location of each
existing or proposed discharge point, including the receiving water.
(3) A brief description of the applicant's
activities or operations that result in the discharge described in the
application, and a statement whether the application pertains to a new or
existing discharge.
(4) A brief
description of the tentative permit determination, e.g., to issue, deny,
modify, revoke and reissue, terminate the permit, or grant or deny a request
for variance from applicable water quality standards, in accordance with
section 4.1 of this rule.
(5) If
the applicant has properly applied under Section 316(a) of the Clean Water Act
(
33 U.S.C.
1326(a)) for a thermal
variance, a statement to that effect. The notice shall state that all data
submitted by the applicant are available as part of the administrative record
for public inspection during office hours. The notice shall also include the
following:
(A) A brief description, including
a quantitative statement, of the thermal effluent limitations proposed under
Section 301 or 306 of the Clean Water Act (
33 U.S.C.
1311 or
33
U.S.C. 1316).
(B) A statement that
alternative less stringent effluent limitations may be imposed on the thermal
component of the discharge under Section 316(a) of the Clean Water Act (
33 U.S.C.
1326(a)) and a brief
description, including a quantitative statement, of the alternative effluent
limitations, if any, included in the application.
(C) If the applicant has filed an early
screening application for a Clean Water Act Section 316(a) (
33 U.S.C.
1326(a)) variance under
327 IAC
5-7-3, a statement that the applicant has submitted
such a plan.
(6) A brief
description of the comment procedures provided under section 9 of this rule and
a statement of the right and procedures to request a public hearing.
(7) Name of a contact person, and an address
and telephone number where interested persons may obtain further information,
including copies of the draft permit and the statement of basis or fact
sheet.
(d) Notice of the
formulation of a draft general permit and the issuance of a final general
permit under 327 IAC 15 shall:
(1) meet the
requirements of subsection (c) and shall also include:
(A) a brief description of the types of
activities or operations to be covered by the general permit;
(B) a map or description of the general
permit boundary; and
(C) the basis
for choosing the general permit boundary;
(2) be published on the IDEM website and in
one (1) or more daily or weekly newspapers in general circulation within the
general permit boundaries; and
(3)
comply with the public notice requirements in
40 CFR
123.25(a)(28).
In addition to the publication required by subdivisions (2)
and (3), the commissioner shall use all other reasonable means to notify
affected dischargers of the draft and final general permit, including the
transmitting of a copy of such notice to those permittees which are
affected.
(e) In
addition to the information required under subsection (c), public notice of a
public hearing held under section 9 of this rule shall contain the following
information:
(1) Reference to the date and
identification number of the public notice of the draft permit.
(2) Date, time, and place of the
hearing.
(3) A brief description of
the nature and purpose of the hearing including the applicable rules and
procedures.
(f) The
commissioner, at the commissioner's discretion, may include in any notice of a
tentative permit determination under subsection (c) a notice of hearing in
accordance with subsection (e), whether or not any request for such hearing
shall have been submitted to him or her.
(g) The mailing list referred to in
subsection (b)(1) and consists of those persons who request to be on the list
to receive copies of all public notices. Such a request shall be made in
writing to the department and shall be renewed annually in the month of
January. Failure to renew the request will be cause for the commissioner to
remove a name from the appropriate mailing list. Availability of the mailing
list will be publicized periodically through press releases and notices in the
Indiana Register, IDEM website, or other appropriate publications. The
commissioner may establish regional mailing lists in addition to or in place of
a statewide list.
