Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 19, September 20, 2024
A. General. These
regulations set out procedures for interested persons to petition the Board for
the promulgation, amendment, or repeal of regulations over which the Board has
authority.
B. Definitions.
(1) "Petition" means a petition to
promulgate, amend, or repeal a regulation.
(2) "Regulation" means rule as defined in the
Administrative Procedure Act, Article 41,§ 244(b), Annotated Code of
Maryland.
C. Who May
File. Any person may file a petition requesting the promulgation, amendment, or
repeal of any regulation over which the Board has rule-making
authority.
D. Form. The petition
may be in the form of a letter or any other written form desired by the
petitioner. It shall include a detailed description of the new, amended, or
existing regulation which the petitioner seeks to have the Board promulgate,
amend, or repeal and a statement of reasons and other information in support of
the petition. It shall also include the name, address, and telephone number of
the petitioner.
E. The petition
should be addressed to the Secretary, Hazardous Waste Facilities Siting Board,
60 West Street, Annapolis, Maryland 21401. Petitions will be considered
submitted upon receipt in the office of the Secretary.
F. Disposition. Within 60 days after receipt
of the petition, the Board will either deny the petition, stating the reasons
for denial, or initiate rulemaking proceedings.
G. Reasons for Denial of a Petition. The
Board may deny a petition to promulgate, amend, or repeal a regulation, for any
reason permitted by law, including, but not limited to:
(1) That the Board does not have the
authority to grant the petition;
(2) That the Board does not have adequate
information or resources to evaluate the petition;
(3) That the Board does not have adequate
resources to implement the requested regulation if it is adopted;
(4) That the Board previously adopted a
regulation dealing with the same subject matter as that of the petition and
rejected the position taken by the petitioner at that time, or the petitioner
unreasonably failed to make his position known at that time; or
(5) That, in the legal discretion of the
Board, the requested regulation change is contrary to or inconsistent with
Board policy.
H.
Rulemaking Proceedings.
(1) Rulemaking
proceedings may include any type of action which the Board is authorized or
required by law to take when promulgating, amending, or repealing regulations,
including:
(a) Conducting studies (either
before or after proposal of the regulation in the Maryland Register) to gather
information in support of the regulation;
(b) Advance notice of proposed rulemaking if
the Board determines that additional information or public comment is necessary
or desirable before a proposed regulation can be formulated;
(c) Referral (either before or after proposal
of the regulation in the Maryland Register) to advisory councils or other
official or quasi-official agencies or groups responsible for reviewing the
regulation;
(d) Proposal of the
regulation in the Maryland Register;
(e) Reproposal of the regulation proposed in
the Maryland Register if the Board determines that, before final adoption, the
proposed regulation must be altered so that it is substantially different from
its original text;
(f) Modification
of the regulation change requested by the petitioner, either in form or
substance, and either before or after proposal in the Maryland Register, to
better reflect the Board's responsibilities, than reflected by the petitioner's
request.
(2) Despite the
initiation of rulemaking proceedings, the Board may decide not to finally
promulgate, amend, or repeal the requested regulation.
I. Notice to the Petitioner and Other
Persons. The Board shall send written notices to the petitioner and any other
person requesting notification in accordance with this section, as follows:
(1) If the petition is denied, notice of the
denial (including the reasons for the denial) shall be sent within 60 days of
receipt of the petition.
(2) When
the requested (or modified) regulation appears in the Maryland Register, notice
of this event will be sent at the time of the appearance in the Maryland
Register.
(3) When the Board
finally disposes of the requested regulation (final promulgation, amendment,
repeal, or a decision to discontinue the rulemaking), notice will be sent at
this time. If the final disposition is a decision to discontinue the
rulemaking, the notice will include a statement of the reasons for the
discontinuance.
