Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
The department shall provide public notice of all preliminary
determinations to develop a general permit, all determinations not to develop a
general permit after publishing such a preliminary determination, all draft
general permit determinations, and the issuance of a final general permit. All
public notices shall be circulated in a manner designed to inform interested
and potentially affected persons of the proposed general permit.
(1) The department shall provide public
notice of all preliminary determinations to develop a general permit as
follows:
(a) The public notice shall be
circulated within the geographical area of the proposed general permit. Such
notice may include any or all of the following:
(i) Publishing, as a paid advertisement or
legal notice, the department's preliminary determination in one or more major
local newspapers throughout the area of proposed coverage;
(ii) Issuance of news releases, focus sheets,
or newsletters;
(iii) Publication
in the State Register;
(b) The department shall request comments on
whether a general permit is appropriate for the proposed category of
dischargers or whether individual permits are necessary;
(c) The public notice shall provide an
opportunity for any interested or potentially affected party to submit
information on dischargers proposed to be covered under a general permit
including:
(i) Any documented information on
the characteristics of the discharge including effluent quantity, quality, and
any receiving water impacts. Information may be from an individual facility or
be representative of the category as a whole; and
(ii) Any other relevant
information;
(d) The
department shall add the name of any person upon request to a general permit
specific mailing list to receive information and notices related to the
development of the general permit.
(2) In the event that the department
determines not to develop a general permit after publishing a preliminary
determination pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the department shall
provide public notice to that effect.
(3) The department shall provide public
notice of every draft general permit as follows:
(a) The notice shall be circulated throughout
the geographical area covered by the general permit. Such circulation may
include any or all of the following:
(i)
Posting for a period of thirty days in post offices, public libraries, and
public places within the geographical area covered by the general
permit;
(ii) Publishing the notice
as a paid advertisement, display advertisement, or legal notice, in one or more
major local newspapers of general circulation serving the area covered by the
general permit;
(iii) Issuance of
news releases, focus sheets, or newsletters.
(b) Notice shall be mailed to any person upon
request, including all persons on the general permit specific mailing list
established pursuant to subsection (1)(d) of this section and all persons on
the mailing lists established pursuant to WAC
173-220-050(1)(d).
(c) At least thirty days before the public
hearing on the general permit the department shall have the following published
in the
State Register:
(i)
The public notice contents contained in (f) of this subsection;
(ii) A reference to the relevant sections of
chapter
90.48 RCW as the statutory
authority for issuing the general permit;
(iii) The date on which the agency intends to
issue the general permit;
(iv) A
short explanation of the permit, its purpose, and anticipated effects;
and
(v) A summary of the economic
impact analysis required in WAC
173-226-120.
(d) The department shall provide a period of
not less than thirty days following the last publication of the public notice,
during which time interested persons may submit their written views on a draft
general permit determination. All written comments submitted during the comment
period shall be retained by the department and considered in the formulation of
its final determination with respect to the draft general permit. The period
for comment may be extended at the discretion of the department.
(e) The department shall make available
during the public comment period:
(i) The
draft general permit;
(ii) The fact
sheet on the draft general permit required pursuant to WAC
173-226-110;
(iii) The economic impact analysis required
pursuant to WAC
173-226-120;
(iv) A copy of the proposed application for
coverage; and
(v) The notice
required pursuant to WAC
173-226-130(3)(c).
(f) The contents of the draft
general permit public notice shall, at a minimum, summarize the following:
(i) The name, address, and phone number of
the agency issuing the public notice;
(ii) The type of facilities and activities
which are the subject of the general permit;
(iii) The geographical area for which the
general permit is valid;
(iv) The
criteria for which coverage under a general permit will be approved;
(v) A listing or some other means of
generally identifying the facilities proposed to be covered under the general
permit;
(vi) The tentative
determination to issue a general permit;
(vii) The procedures for the formulation of
final determinations, including the thirty-day comment period required by (d)
of this subsection and any other means by which interested persons may comment
upon those determinations;
(viii)
The date, time, and place when public hearings will be held on the draft
general permit;
(ix) The address
and phone number of state premises at which interested persons may obtain
further information; and
(x) The
date and time after which comments will not be considered by the department in
formulating the final determination on the draft general permit.
(4) The department
shall provide public notice of the issuance of a final general permit as
follows:
(a) The notice of general permit
issuance shall be circulated in a manner similar to that used to circulate the
notice on the draft general permit in subsection (3)(a) of this section and
shall be published in the State Register; and
(b) The notice of general permit issuance
shall be provided to all persons on the general permit specific mailing list
established pursuant to subsection (1)(d) of this section and all persons on
the mailing lists established pursuant to WAC
173-220-050(1)(d).
(c) The public notice of the issuance of a
general permit shall contain:
(i) The name,
address, and phone number of the agency issuing the public notice;
(ii) The type of facilities and activities
which are the subject of the general permit;
(iii) The geographical area for which the
general permit is valid;
(iv) The
criteria for which coverage under a general permit will be approved;
(v) A listing or some other means of
generally identifying the facilities proposed to be covered under the general
permit;
(vi) A summary of the
application process by which eligible dischargers may obtain coverage under the
general permit;
(vii) An
explanation of any changes to the final general permit, other than editing
changes, and the principal reasons for adopting the changes;
(viii) A notice that the terms and conditions
of the general permit may be appealed only by filing an appeal with the
pollution control hearings board and by serving it upon the department within
thirty days, and the process for doing so as contained in
RCW
43.21B.310; and
(ix) The date after which the general permit
shall be effective. The effective date of a general permit shall be no sooner
than thirty days after the publication in the State Register
of the public notice required pursuant to (a) of this subsection.
(5) For new operations,
or for operations previously under permit for which an increase in volume or
change in the character of the effluent is requested over that which was
previously authorized, only:
(a) The applicant
for coverage under a general permit shall cause notice to be circulated within
the geographical area of the proposed discharge. Such circulation shall
include:
(i) Publishing twice a notice in a
newspaper of general circulation within the county in which the discharge is
proposed to be made; and
(ii) Any
other method the department may direct.
(b) The notice published pursuant to (a) of
this subsection shall contain:
(i) The name,
address, and location of the facility requesting coverage under the general
permit;
(ii) The applicant's
activities or operations that result in a discharge (e.g., storm water, fish
farming, gravel washing);
(iii) The
name of the general permit under which coverage is being requested;
and
(iv) The statement: "Any person
desiring to present their views to the department of ecology regarding this
application may do so in writing within thirty days of the last date of
publication of this notice. Comments shall submitted to the department of
ecology. Any person interested in the department's action on this application
may notify the department of their interest within thirty days of the last date
of publication of this notice."
Statutory Authority:
Chapter
90.48 RCW. 93-10-099
(Order 92-55), § 173-226-130, filed 5/5/93, effective
5/19/93.