§ 92a.82. Public notice of permit applications and draft permits.
(a) Public notice of every complete application for an NPDES permit will be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The contents of public notice of applications for NPDES permits will include at least the following:
(1) The name and address, including county and municipality, of each applicant.
(2) The permit number and type of permit applied for.
(3) The stream name of the waterway to which each discharge is proposed.
(4) The address of the State or interstate agency premises at which interested persons may obtain further information, request a copy of the NPDES forms and related documents.
(b) A public notice of every new draft individual permit, or major amendment to an individual permit, will be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. This public notice will also be posted by the applicant near the entrance to the premises of the applicant, and at the facility or location where the discharge exists, if the facility or location is remote from the premises of the applicant. The contents of public notice for draft NPDES permits will include at least the following in addition to those specified in subsection (a):
(1) A brief description of each applicant’s activities or operations that result in the discharge described in the application.
(2) The name and existing use protection classification of the receiving surface water under § 93.3 (relating to protected water uses) to which each discharge is made and a short description of the location of each discharge on the waterway indicating whether the discharge is a new or an existing discharge.
(3) A statement of the tentative determination to issue or deny an NPDES permit for the discharge described in the application. If there is a tentative determination to issue a permit, the determination will include proposed effluent limitations for those effluents proposed to be limited, a proposed schedule of compliance including interim dates and requirements for meeting the proposed effluent limitations and a brief description of any proposed special conditions that will have a significant impact upon the discharge described in the application.
(4) The rate or frequency of the proposed discharge; if the discharge is continuous, the average daily flow in GPD or MGD.
(5) A brief description of the procedures for making final determinations, including the 30-day comment period required by subsection (d) and any other means by which interested persons may influence or comment upon those determinations.
(c) The provisions of 40 CFR 124.57(a) (relating to public notice) shall be followed when there is a Section 316(a) request for a thermal discharge.
(d) There will be a 30-day period following publication of notice under subsection (b) during which written comments may be submitted by interested persons before the Department makes its final determinations. Written comments submitted during the 30-day comment period will be retained by the Department and considered in making the final determinations. The period for comment may be extended at the discretion of the Department for one additional 15-day period. The Department will provide an opportunity for the applicant, any affected State, any affected interstate agency, the Administrator or any interested agency, person or group of persons to request or petition for a public hearing with respect to the application. The request or petition for public hearing filed within the 30-day period allowed for filing of written comments must indicate the interest of the party filing the request and the reasons why a hearing is warranted. A hearing will be held if there is a significant public interest, including the filing of requests or petitions for the hearing. Instances of doubt should be resolved in favor of holding the hearing. Any hearing brought under this subsection will be held in the geographical area of the proposed discharge or other appropriate area and may, as appropriate, consider related groups of permit applications.
(e) The Department will prepare and send to any person, upon request, following public notice of draft permit, a fact sheet with respect to the draft permit described in the public notice. The contents of the fact sheet will include at least the information contained in § 92a.53 (relating to documentation of permit conditions).
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 92a.85 (relating to notice to other government agencies); 25 Pa. Code § 92a.86 (relating to notice of issuance or final action on a permit); 25 Pa. Code § 92a.87 (relating to notice of reissuance of permits); 25 Pa. Code § 93.4c (relating to implementation of antidegradation requirements); 25 Pa. Code § 93.8d (relating to development of site-specific water quality criteria); and 25 Pa. Code § 96.8 (relating to use of offsets and tradable credits from pollution reduction activities in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed).
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