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Public Act 097-0934
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| HB4697 Enrolled | LRB097 19396 CEL 64649 b |
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AN ACT concerning regulation.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Surface Coal Mining Land Conservation and |
Reclamation Act is amended by changing Section 2.11 as follows:
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(225 ILCS 720/2.11) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7902.11)
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Sec. 2.11. Procedures for Approval.
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(a) If a hearing has been held under Section 2.04, the |
Department shall
within 60 days after the last such hearing |
make its decision on the application
and shall promptly furnish |
the applicant, local government officials in the
area of the |
affected land, and persons who are parties to the |
administrative
proceedings, with the written findings of the |
Department and stating the
specific reasons for its decision.
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(b) If no hearing has been held under Section 2.04, the |
Department shall
make its decision on the application within |
120 days after receipt by the
Department of a complete |
application and shall promptly notify the applicant,
local |
government officials in the area of the affected land, and |
persons
who have submitted written comments on the application |
of the Department's
decision with the written findings of the |
Department and stating the
specific reasons for its decision.
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(c) Within 30 days after the applicant is notified of the |
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final decision
of the Department on the permit application, the |
applicant or any person
with an interest that is or may be |
adversely affected may request a hearing on
the reasons for the |
final determination. The Department shall hold a hearing
within |
30 days after this request and notify all interested parties at |
the time
that the applicant is notified. The notice shall be |
published in a newspaper of
general circulation published in |
each county in which any part of the area of
the affected land |
is located. The notice shall appear no more than 14 days nor
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less than 7 days prior to the date of the hearing. The notice |
shall be no less
than one eighth page in size, and the smallest |
type used shall be twelve point
and shall be enclosed in a |
black border no less than 1/4 inch wide. The notice
shall not |
be placed in that portion of the newspaper where legal notices |
and
classified advertisements appear. The hearing shall be of |
record
and adjudicatory in nature. No person who presided at a |
hearing under Section
2.04 shall either preside at the hearing |
or participate in the decision on
the hearing. Once a hearing |
has started, the hearing officer may issue interim orders |
allowing the Department or the applicant to correct or alter |
the permit or application. Within 30 days after the hearing, |
the Department shall issue,
and furnish the applicant, local |
government officials in the area of the
affected land, and all |
persons who participated in the hearing, its written
decision |
granting or denying the permit in whole or in part and stating
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the reasons for its decision. No party to a formal adjudicatory |
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hearing under
this subsection may seek judicial review of the |
Department's final decision on
the permit application until |
after the issuance of the hearing officer's
written decision |
granting or denying the permit.
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(d) If the application is approved under either subsection |
(a) or (b)
of this Section, the permit shall be issued.
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(e) If a hearing is requested under subsection (c) of this |
Section, the
Department may, under such conditions as it may |
prescribe, grant such temporary
relief as it deems appropriate |
pending final determination of the proceedings
if all parties |
to the proceedings have been notified and given an opportunity
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to be heard on a request for temporary relief, the person |
requesting such
relief shows that there is a substantial |
likelihood that he will prevail
on the merits of the final |
determination of the proceeding, and such relief
will not |
adversely affect the public health or safety or cause |
significant
imminent environmental harm to land, air, or water |
resources.
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(f) If final action on an application does not occur within |
the times
prescribed in subsections (a) or (b) of this Section, |
whichever applies,
the applicant may deem the application |
denied, and such denial shall constitute
final action. The |
applicant may waive these time limits.
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(g) For the purpose of hearings under this Section, the |
Department may
administer oaths, subpoena witnesses or written |
or printed materials, compel
attendance of the witnesses or |
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production of the materials, and take evidence
including but |
not limited to site inspections of the land to be affected
and |
other mining operations carried on by the applicant in the |
general vicinity
of the proposed operation. A verbatim record |
of each hearing under this
Section shall be made, and a |
transcript shall be made available on the
motion of any party |
or by order of the Department.
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(Source: P.A. 88-63; 88-185; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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