Texas Administrative Code
Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Chapter 39 - PUBLIC NOTICE
Subchapter H - APPLICABILITY AND GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 39.405 - General Notice Provisions

Universal Citation: 30 TX Admin Code § 39.405

Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025

(a) Failure to publish notice. If the Office of the Chief Clerk (chief clerk) prepares a newspaper notice that is required by Subchapters G - J, L, and M of this chapter (relating to Public Notice for Applications for Consolidated Permits; Applicability and General Provisions; Public Notice of Solid Waste Applications; Public Notice of Water Quality Applications and Water Quality Management Plans; Public Notice of Injection Well and Other Specific Applications; and Public Notice for Radioactive Material Licenses) and the applicant does not cause the notice to be published within 45 days of mailing of the notice from the chief clerk, or for Notice of Receipt of Application and Intent to Obtain Permit, within 30 days after the executive director declares the application administratively complete, or fails to submit the copies of notices or affidavit required in subsection (e) of this section, the executive director may cause one of the following actions to occur.

(1) The chief clerk may cause the notice to be published and the applicant shall reimburse the agency for the cost of publication.

(2) The executive director may suspend further processing or return the application. If the application is resubmitted within six months of the date of the return of the application, it will be exempt from any application fee requirements.

(b) Electronic mailing lists. The chief clerk may require the applicant to provide necessary mailing lists in electronic form.

(c) Mail or hand delivery. When Subchapters G - L of this chapter require notice by mail, notice by hand delivery may be substituted. Mailing is complete upon deposit of the document, enclosed in a prepaid, properly addressed wrapper, in a post office or official depository of the United States Postal Service. If hand delivery is by courier-receipted delivery, the delivery is complete upon the courier taking possession.

(d) Combined notice. Notice may be combined to satisfy more than one applicable section of this chapter.

(e) Notice and affidavit. When Subchapters G - J and L of this chapter require an applicant to publish notice, the applicant must file a copy of the published notice and a publisher's affidavit with the chief clerk certifying facts that constitute compliance with the requirement. The deadline to file a copy of the published notice which shows the date of publication and the name of the newspaper is ten business days after the last date of publication. The deadline to file the affidavit is 30 calendar days after the last date of publication for each notice. Filing an affidavit certifying facts that constitute compliance with notice requirements creates a rebuttable presumption of compliance with the requirement to publish notice. When the chief clerk publishes notice under subsection (a) of this section, the chief clerk shall file a copy of the published notice and a publisher's affidavit.

(f) Published notice. When this chapter requires notice to be published under this subsection:

(1) the applicant shall publish notice in the newspaper of largest circulation in the county in which the facility is located or proposed to be located or, if the facility is located or proposed to be located in a municipality, the applicant shall publish notice in any newspaper of general circulation in the municipality;

(2) for applications for solid waste permits and injection well permits, the applicant shall publish notice in the newspaper of largest general circulation that is published in the county in which the facility is located or proposed to be located. If a newspaper is not published in the county, the notice must be published in any newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the facility is located or proposed to be located. The requirements of this subsection may be satisfied by one publication if the newspaper is both published in the county and is the newspaper of largest general circulation in the county; and

(3) air quality permit applications required by Subchapters H and K of this chapter (relating to Applicability and General Provisions and Public Notice of Air Quality Permit Applications, respectively) to publish notice shall comply with the requirements of § 39.603 of this title (relating to Newspaper Notice).

(g) Copy of application. The applicant shall make a copy of the application available for review and copying at a public place in the county in which the facility is located or proposed to be located. If the application is submitted with confidential information marked as confidential by the applicant, the applicant shall indicate in the public file that there is additional information in a confidential file. The copy of the application must comply with the following.

(1) A copy of the administratively complete application must be available for review and copying beginning on the first day of newspaper publication of Notice of Receipt of Application and Intent to Obtain Permit and remain available for the publications' designated comment period.

(2) A copy of the complete application (including any subsequent revisions to the application) and executive director's preliminary decision must be available for review and copying beginning on the first day of newspaper publication required by this section and remain available until the commission has taken action on the application or the commission refers issues to State Office of Administrative Hearings; and

(3) where applicable, for air quality permit applications, the applicant shall also make available the executive director's draft permit, preliminary determination summary and air quality analysis for review and copying beginning on the first day of newspaper publication required by § 39.419 of this title (relating to Notice of Application and Preliminary Decision) and remain available until the commission has taken action on the application or the commission refers issues to State Office of Administrative Hearings.

(h) Failure to publish notice of air quality permit applications. If the chief clerk prepares a newspaper notice that is required by Subchapters H and K of this chapter for air quality permit applications and the applicant does not cause the notice to be published within 45 days of mailing of the notice from the chief clerk, or, for Notice of Receipt of Application and Intent to Obtain Permit, within 30 days after the executive director declares the application administratively complete, or fails to submit the copies of notices or affidavit required in subsection (i) of this section, the executive director may cause one of the following actions to occur.

(1) The chief clerk may cause the notice to be published and the applicant shall reimburse the agency for the cost of publication.

(2) The executive director may suspend further processing or return the application. If the application is resubmitted within six months of the date of the return of the application, it will be exempt from any application fee requirements.

(i) Notice and affidavit for air quality permit applications. When Subchapters H and K of this chapter require an applicant for an air quality permit action to publish notice, the applicant must file a copy of the published notice and a publisher's affidavit with the chief clerk certifying facts that constitute compliance with the requirement. The deadline to file a copy of the published notice which shows the date of publication and the name of the newspaper is ten business days after the last date of publication. The deadline to file the affidavit is 30 calendar days after the last date of publication for each notice. Filing an affidavit certifying facts that constitute compliance with notice requirements creates a rebuttable presumption of compliance with the requirement to publish notice. When the chief clerk publishes notice under subsection (h) of this section, the chief clerk shall file a copy of the published notice and a publisher's affidavit.

(j) For applications filed on or after September 1, 2015, and subject to providing notice as prescribed by Texas Water Code, § 5.115, the commission shall make available on the commission's website notice of administratively complete applications for a permit or license authorized under the Texas Water Code and the Texas Health and Safety Code.

(k) Summary of application. For permit applications that are declared by the executive director to be administratively complete on or after May 1, 2022, the applicant will provide a plain-language summary of the application, no more than two pages long, that will describe the following:

(1) the function of the proposed plant or facility;

(2) the expected output of the proposed plant or facility;

(3) the expected pollutants that may be emitted or discharged by the proposed plant or facility; and

(4) how the applicant will control those pollutants, so that the proposed plant will not have an adverse impact on human health or the environment.

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