Section 705.303  Public Participation in the RCRA Standardized Permit Process

a)         Requirements for Public Notices

1)         The Agency must provide public notice of its draft permit decision and must provide an opportunity for the public to submit comments and request a hearing on that decision.  The Agency must provide the public notice to the following persons:

A)        The applicant;

B)        Any other agency that the Agency knows has issued or is required to issue a RCRA permit for the same facility or activity (including USEPA when the draft permit is prepared by the State);

C)        Federal and State agencies with jurisdiction over fish, shellfish, and wildlife resources and over coastal zone management plans, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, including any affected states;

D)        Everyone on the facility mailing list developed according to the requirements in Section 705.163(a)(4); and

E)        Any units of local government having jurisdiction over the area where the facility is proposed to be located and to each State agency having any authority under State law with respect to the construction or operation of the facility.

2)         The Agency must issue the public notice according to the following methods:

A)        Publication in a daily or weekly major local newspaper of general circulation and broadcast over local radio stations;

B)        In a manner constituting legal notice to the public under State law; and

C)        Any other method reasonably calculated to give actual notice of the draft permit decision to the persons potentially affected by it, including press releases or any other forum or medium to elicit public participation.

3)         The Agency must include the following information in the public notice:

A)        The name and telephone number of the contact person at the facility.

B)        The name and telephone number of the Agency's contact office, and a mailing address to which people may direct comments, information, opinions, or inquiries.

C)        An address to which people may write to be put on the facility mailing list.

D)        The location where people may view and make copies of the draft RCRA standardized permit and the Notice of Intent and supporting documents.

E)        A brief description of the facility and proposed operations, including the address or a map (for example, a sketched or copied street map) of the facility location on the front page of the notice.

F)         The date that the facility owner or operator submitted the Notice of Intent and supporting documents.

4)         At the same time that the Agency issues the public notice pursuant to this Section, it must place the draft RCRA standardized permit (including both the uniform portion and the supplemental portion, if any), the Notice of Intent and supporting documents, and the statement of basis or fact sheet in a location accessible to the public in the vicinity of the facility or at the local Agency office.

BOARD NOTE:  Subsection (a) is derived from 40 CFR 124.207 (2017).

b)         Opportunities for Public Comment and Hearing on a Draft Permit Decision

1)         The public notice that the Agency issues pursuant to Section 705.303(a) must allow at least 45 days for interested persons to submit written comments on its draft permit decision.  This time is referred to as the public comment period.  The Agency must automatically extend the public comment period to the close of any public hearing pursuant to this subsection (b).  The hearing officer may also extend the comment period by so stating at the hearing.

2)         During the public comment period, any interested person may submit written comments on the draft permit and may request a public hearing.  Any request for a public hearing must be submitted to the Agency in writing.  The request for a public hearing must state the nature of the issues that the requestor proposes to raise during the hearing.

3)         The Agency must hold a public hearing whenever it receives a written notice of opposition to a RCRA standardized permit and a request for a public hearing within the public comment period pursuant to subsection (b)(1).  The Agency may also hold a public hearing at its discretion, whenever, for instance, such a hearing might clarify one or more issues involved in the permit decision.

4)         Whenever possible, the Agency must schedule a hearing pursuant to this subsection (b) at a location convenient to the nearest population center to the facility.  The Agency must give public notice of the hearing at least 30 days before the date set for the hearing.  (The Agency may give the public notice of the hearing at the same time it provides public notice of the draft permit, and the Agency may combine the two notices.)

5)         The Agency must give public notice of the hearing according to the methods in Section 705.303(a)(1) and (a)(2).  The hearing must be conducted according to the procedures in Section 705.182(b), (c), and (d).

6)         In their written comments and during the public hearing, if held, interested persons may provide comments on the draft permit decision.  These comments may include, but are not limited to, the facility's eligibility for the RCRA standardized permit, the tentative supplemental conditions proposed by the Agency, and the need for additional supplemental conditions.

BOARD NOTE:  Subsection (b) is derived from 40 CFR 124.208 (2017).

c)         Requirements for Responding to Comments

1)         At the time the Agency issues a final RCRA standardized permit, it must also respond to comments received during the public comment period on the draft permit.  The Agency's response must do each of the following:

A)        It must specify which additional conditions (i.e., those in the supplemental portion), if any, the Agency changed in the final permit, and the reasons for each change.

B)        It must briefly describe and respond to all significant comments on the facility's ability to meet the general requirements (i.e., those terms and conditions in the uniform portion) and all significant comments on any additional conditions necessary to adequately protect human health and the environment that are raised during the public comment period or during the hearing.

C)        It must make the comments and responses accessible to the public.

2)         The Agency may request additional information from the facility owner or operator or inspect the facility if it needs additional information to adequately respond to significant comments or to make decisions about conditions that it may need to add to the supplemental portion of the RCRA standardized permit.

3)         The Agency must include in the administrative record for its final permit decision any documents cited in the response to comments.  If new points are raised or new material supplied during the public comment period, the Agency may document its response to those matters by adding new materials to the administrative record.

BOARD NOTE:  Subsection (c) is derived from 40 CFR 124.209 (2017).

d)         Appeal of a Final RCRA Standardized Permit by an Interested Party in the Permit Process.  An interested party may petition the Board for administrative review of the Agency's final permit decision, including the Agency's decision that the facility is eligible for the RCRA standardized permit, according to the procedures of Section 705.212.  However, the terms and conditions of the uniform portion of the RCRA standardized permit are not subject to administrative review pursuant to this subsection (d).

BOARD NOTE:  Subsection (d) is derived from 40 CFR 124.210 (2017).

(Source:  Amended at 42 Ill. Reg. 21179, effective November 19, 2018)