Regulation .20-5 Administrative Procedures—Hearings and Judicial Review.
Regulation .20-5 Administrative Procedures—Hearings and Judicial Review.LinkCopy Citation
A.
Public Hearings.
(1)
The Secretary:
(a)
Shall hold a public hearing whenever the Secretary:
(i)
Receives written notice of opposition to a draft permit and a request for a hearing within 45 days of public notice, or
(ii)
Receives a written request for a hearing within 45 days of public notice;
(b)
May hold a public hearing at the Secretary's discretion, whenever, for instance, a hearing might clarify one or more issues involved in the permit decision;
(c)
Shall give public notice of the hearing as specified in Regulation .20-2 of this chapter; and
(d)
May cancel a scheduled public hearing if all persons who made timely written requests to hold the hearing withdraw the requests before the hearing is scheduled to begin.
(2)
Whenever a public hearing will be held, the Secretary shall designate a hearing officer who shall be responsible for its scheduling and orderly conduct.
(3)
Hearing Limitations and Extension of Comment Period.
(a)
Any person may submit oral or written statements and data concerning the tentative determination or the draft permit at the public hearing.
(b)
The Secretary or the hearing officer may:
(i)
Set reasonable limits on the time allowed for oral statements; and
(ii)
Require the submission of statements in writing.
(c)
The Secretary shall consider the public comment period under Regulation .20-2 of this chapter to be automatically extended to 5 days after the close of any public hearing under this section if the comment period was originally scheduled to end sooner than this.
(d)
The hearing officer may extend the comment period under Regulation .20-2 of this chapter by announcing the extension of the comment period at the hearing.
(4)
The Secretary shall make a tape recording or written transcript of the hearing available to the public.
(5)
Whenever possible, the Secretary shall schedule a hearing under this section at a location convenient to the nearest population center to the proposed facility.
B.
Judicial Review.
(1)
A person may file a petition for judicial review of a final permit decision on the issuance, denial, renewal, modification, or revocation and reissuance of a CHS facility permit under Environment Article, §7-232, Annotated Code of Maryland, if the person:
(a)
Meets threshold requirements for standing under federal law; and
(b)
Either:
(i)
Is the applicant; or
(ii)
Participated in the public participation process through the submission of written or oral comments, unless an opportunity for public participation was not provided.
(2)
The record on review and the objections considered during judicial review shall be limited in accordance with the provisions of Environment Article, Title 1, Subtitle 6, Annotated Code of Maryland.
(3)
Venue.
(a)
Unless otherwise provided by statute, a person who is filing a petition for judicial review of a final permit decision under §B(1) of this regulation shall file the petition with the circuit court for the county where the application for the permit states that the proposed activity will occur.
(b)
The decision of the circuit court may be appealed to the Appellate Court of Maryland.
(4)
A person submitting a petition for judicial review of a final permit decision shall file the petition within 30 days after publication of notice of a final determination in accordance with Regulation .20-2A(7) of this chapter.