(a) Any person may
file a petition to remove an existing designation. The petition shall contain
the following:
(i) The name, address, phone
number, and email address for the petitioner;
(ii) The location by legal description,
including section, township, and range, of the area the petitioner is proposing
to be removed;
(iii) The names, if
any, by which an area is locally known;
(iv) The distance from the area to the
nearest city or town;
(v) The
county in which the area is located;
(vi) An original U.S. Geological Survey
topographic map showing the area reflecting the surface land ownership pattern
(private, state, federal) in the area;
(vii) A list of the names and addresses of
the surface and mineral owners whose lands are included within the area
proposed for removal with a description of the ownership interest of each
surface and mineral owner including a legal description of the lands in which
each person has an interest;
(viii)
A concise statement of the reasons for the removal including an explanation of
the substantial change in circumstances that has occurred since
designation;
(ix) A description of
the current and historical land use in the area;
(x) A list of any special designations or
descriptions of the area made by other governmental agencies, including, but
not limited to, designations by the Department of Interior, Bureau of Land
Management, or Office of Surface Mining, designations by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, and designations by the Wyoming Department of Game and
Fish;
(xi) The names and addresses
of all expert witnesses whose work or whose testimony may be offered by the
petitioner to support the petition;
(xii) The names and addresses of the surface
owners of lands contiguous to the area proposed for removal; and
(xiii) A list of any scientific documents to
be offered by the petitioner to support the petition that discuss the area to
be removed.
(b)
Petitioner shall submit eight (8) copies of the petition to the Chair of the
Environmental Quality Council at the Council's office in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The
petition shall be considered to be filed in the Council's office as of the date
it is received in that office.
(c)
The Council shall consider the petition at a regularly scheduled Council
meeting and shall notify the petitioner and surface and mineral owners whose
lands or minerals are within the area of the time, date, and location of the
meeting. The Council's consideration shall be limited to whether the petition
should be accepted or dismissed.
(d) The Council may dismiss a petition if,
after review, the Council determines that the petition does not provide the
information required by these rules or that the petition does not provide
sufficient information to support the conclusion that the area may be removed
if the Council were to proceed.
(e)
If the Council votes to dismiss the petition, the Council shall issue a brief
statement of the reasons for dismissal.
