§ 30:2022 — Permit applications and variance requests; notification

Louisiana § 30:2022

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 30: Mortgages and Privileges

Text

§2022. Permit applications and variance requests; notification
A.(1) Any person seeking a permit, license, registration, variance, or LPDES
variance shall file a written application for such with the secretary. Excluding applications
relative to medical and dental devices, the secretary shall promptly send a notice of the
subject matter of each application to the governing authority of the parish affected by the
application and any public interest group or individual within the affected parish who has
requested notice in writing and provided a mailing address. The notice of a permit, license,
or registration application shall be provided within thirty days after receipt of the application.
The parish governing authority shall promptly notify each municipality within said parish
affected by the application.
(2) The secretary shall promptly consider such application and take such action
thereon as he deems appropriate in accordance with law. However, the failure by the
secretary or the parish governing authority to give the notice required by this Section shall
not affect the validity of the action taken on the application.
(3) For the purposes of this Subsection, "any public interest group within the affected
parish" shall mean any association having not less than twenty-five members who reside in
the parish in which the relevant facility is or will be located.
B. No later than April 20, 1991, the secretary shall promulgate rules and regulations
establishing procedures for the processing and review of permit applications for new
facilities and applications for substantial permit modifications, including but not limited to
administrative completeness reviews, checklists of required information, and maximum
processing times, and which shall specify:
(1) Procedures for administrative completeness review to determine whether an
application contains the information required to substantively review the application. The
administrative completeness review procedure shall not extend beyond sixty days from the
date the application is submitted, except where additional time is required to correct
information or deficiencies in the application.
(2) The final decision shall not extend beyond three hundred days from the date the
application is submitted, except where additional time is required for the applicant to revise
or supplement technical information or deficiencies in the application, or for adjudicatory or
judicial proceedings under R.S. 30:2024, or for required review by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency, or for consideration of comments received at a public
hearing in the case of an extraordinary public response, however in no case shall the
extension for consideration of comments exceed forty-five days.
(3) Applications undergoing technical review shall not be subject to rule changes that
occur during the technical review unless such changes are made in accordance with R.S.
49:962 or are required by federal law or regulation to be incorporated prior to permit
issuance. However, such a rule change made prior to the issuance of the permit may
constitute grounds for a modification of the final permit.
(4) The deadlines established by this Section may be extended upon mutual
agreement of the secretary and the applicant.
C.(1)(a) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the secretary shall, after
notification by the department to the applicant that the application is complete, grant or deny
all applications for permits, licenses, registrations, variances, or compliance schedules
relating to oil and gas wells and pipelines within sixty days. The notification of
completeness shall be issued within fourteen days, exclusive of holidays, by the department.
If the application is not complete, the department shall notify the applicant in writing of the
deficiencies which cause the application not to be complete.
(b) If the secretary does not grant the application, the secretary shall provide written
reasons for his decision to deny, and copies of the decision shall be provided to all parties.
(c) The secretary may delegate the power to grant or deny permits, licenses,
registrations, variances, or compliance schedules to the appropriate assistant secretary. The
authority to execute minor permit actions and to issue registrations, certifications, notices of
deficiency, and notification of inclusion under a general permit may be delegated by the
secretary or the appropriate assistant secretary to an authorized representative,
notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 30:2050.26.
(2) If the secretary does not grant or deny the application within the time period
provided for in this Subsection, the applicant may file a rule as provided for in R.S. 49:978;
however, the provisions of this Paragraph shall not apply to permit applications submitted
under the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (LPDES) program.
D.(1) For purposes of this Subsection, the following terms shall have the meanings
hereinafter ascribed to them, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Database" means the department's Tools for Environmental Management and
Protection Organizations (TEMPO) database system and any similar database system used
by the department to generate permits.
(b) "Substantial permit modification" means a substantial permit modification as
defined in LAC 33:I.1503.
(2) If requested by the permit applicant, the department shall provide the permit
applicant a written summary of specific changes to the existing permit whenever the
department prepares a draft database permit for the renewal, extension, or substantial permit
modification of an existing hazardous waste permit, solid waste permit, LPDES permit, or
air quality permit.
(3) If requested by the permit applicant, the department shall provide the permit
applicant a reasonable opportunity to review a draft hazardous waste permit, solid waste
permit, LPDES permit, and air quality permit before such draft permit is publicly noticed.
Where the draft permit includes one or more revisions to an existing permit, the draft permit
shall clearly identify each change made by the department to the existing permit.
(4) For minor permit modifications or revisions that do not require preparation of a
draft permit and public notice, if requested by the permit applicant, the department shall
provide the permit applicant a reasonable opportunity to review the proposed language of the
permit modification or revision prior to issuance of the final permit modification or revision.
If the department proposes minor permit modifications or revisions not requested by the
permit applicant, the department shall provide the permit applicant a reasonable opportunity
to review the proposed language of the permit modification or revision prior to issuance of
the final permit modification or revision or shall reopen the permit in accordance with
applicable law.
(5) The secretary shall adopt rules, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure
Act, R.S. 49:950 et seq., to implement the requirements of this Subsection.

Legislative History

Acts 1990, No. 686, §1; Acts 1990, No. 996, §1; Acts 1991, No. 828, §1; Acts 1993, No. 269, §1; Acts 1995, No. 601, §1; Acts 1995, No. 1007, §1; Acts 1999, No. 303, §1, eff. June 14, 1999; Acts 2006, No. 117, §1, eff. June 2, 2006; Acts 2010, No. 986, §1, eff. July 6, 2010; Acts 2021, No. 211, §6.