Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 9, September 27, 2024
A. Conciliation of
Agency Objections
1. Within thirty (30) days
of notification of a permit application, or any extension thereof, an agency
objecting to or intending to object to a projected activity shall notify the
Department and the applicant of the specific objection(s) of the agency, the
reasons for the objection and the supporting grounds for the objection. When
the permit application raises complex issues or more than one agency objects,
the Department shall coordinate the conciliation process. If only one agency
objects, the Department shall inform the applicant that he is responsible for
meeting with the agency and considering how the objection might be reconciled.
The applicant and the objecting agency are primarily responsible for the
conciliation process, but the Department may support and assist their efforts
to conciliate and resolve their differences.
2. In the reconciliation process, the agency
and the applicant shall consider how the objections might be reconciled by: (a)
avoiding the adverse impact by not taking a certain action or parts thereof;
(b) minimizing the adverse impact by limiting the degree or magnitude of the
action or its implementation; (c) rectifying the objection by repairing,
rehabilitating or restoring the affected area; and (d) reducing or eliminating
the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life
of the permitted activity. The applicant shall provide any additional
information reasonably necessary to resolve the objections.
B. Notice of failure of
Conciliation; Joint Statement of Objections. The Department will not take
action on a permit application upon which an objection has been made until it
has received notice that the objection has been resolved, or that in the
opinion of either the applicant or agency that all efforts to resolve the
objection have failed and that further negotiation will be of no benefit.
Within fifteen days after notice that reconciliation efforts have failed, the
applicant and each agency with an unreconcilable objection shall submit to the
Department a short and plain statement of the matter in dispute, the position
of the agency, the position of the applicant, supported by such facts and
information as are relevant. The parties should identify and clarify those
issues that prevented reconciliation. If possible the parties should prepare a
joint statement so as to expedite the permitting process.
C. Objections that the Proposed Activity
Violates The Coastal Zone Management Plan or Water Classifications and
Standards System
1. In those applications
involving activity within the Coastal Zone where the Office of Ocean and
Coastal Resource Management has determined, after efforts to conciliate the
objection have failed, that the projected activity contravenes the Coastal
Management Plan, a Notice of Proposed Decision proposing to deny the project
will be issued. This Notice of Proposed Decision will allow fifteen (15) days
for appeal of the decision.
2. In
those applications where the Department has determined that the projected
activity violates Water Classifications and Standards or endangers the public
health, and all efforts to resolve the objection have failed, a Notice of
Proposed Decision proposing to deny the project will be issued. This Notice of
Proposed Decision will allow fifteen (15) days for appeal of the
decision.
