07 LC
25 4904S (SCS)
Senate
Bill 187
By:
Senators Pearson of the 51st, Rogers of the 21st, Whitehead, Sr. of the 24th,
Goggans of the 7th, Wiles of the 37th and others
AS
PASSED SENATE
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Code Section 12-2-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources,
the Environmental Advisory Council, duties of the council and its members and
the director, procedure for aggrieved persons, and inspections, so as to change
certain provisions relating to review and approval or denial of applications for
certain permits or variances; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Code
Section 12-2-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
Environmental Protection Division, Environmental Advisory Council, duties of the
council and its members and the director, procedure for aggrieved persons, and
inspections, is revised in paragraph (1) of subsection (c) as
follows:
"(c)(1)(A)
The director shall issue all orders and shall grant, deny, revoke, or amend all
permits or variances provided for in the laws to be enforced by the division.
The director shall also issue any certification which is required by any law of
this state or the United States to be issued by the director, the Department of
Natural Resources, or the State of Georgia relating to pollution control
facilities or matters. The director shall notify all permit or variance
applicants within
30
ten
days of receipt of the application as to the completeness of the application
and, if the director finds the same to be incomplete, what specific additional
materials the applicant need submit to make the application complete.
The director
shall notify applicants within ten days of receipt of a completed application as
to the name and address of the person assigned to perform the review and the
date, time, and location of the application
review. The director shall grant or deny
any permit or variance within 90 days after receipt of all required application
materials by the division, provided that the director may for any application
order not more than one extension of time of not more than 60 days within which
to grant or deny the permit or variance.
(B)(i)
The director may identify professionals qualified to review certain permit
applications in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the board of
the Department of Natural Resources.
(ii)
A permit applicant may retain a qualified professional to review an application
prior to submittal to the division. If the qualified professional certifies an
application as complete, the division shall act expeditiously on the
application.
(iii)
A qualified professional certifying an application shall be independent of any
professional preparing the application.
(iv)
The applicant shall directly pay the fees of the qualified
professional.
(v)
The director may remove the qualified status of a professional if the
professional provides a certification for an inaccurate
application.
(C)
When any application for a permit or variance is pending before the director and
the director has not either granted or denied the permit or variance within the
time specified for the director to do so, the director shall immediately refund
any and all fees which were required to be submitted by the applicant as a
condition of the permit application, except for fees required to be levied
pursuant to federal law. Such fee refund shall not otherwise affect the
application process, and the application shall be granted, denied, or otherwise
handled as it otherwise would have been, except that the fee requirement shall
be waived."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.