§342D-6  Permits; procedures for. 
(a)  An application for any permit required under this chapter shall be in a
form prescribed by the director.



(b)  The department may require that
applications for permits shall be accompanied by plans, specifications, and any
other information that it deems necessary in order to determine whether the
proposed installation, alteration, or use will be in accord with applicable
rules and standards.



(c)  The director shall issue a permit for any
term, not exceeding five years, if the director determines that it will be in
the public interest; provided that the permit may be subject to any reasonable
conditions that the director may prescribe.  The director may include
conditions in permits or may issue separate permits for management practices
for domestic sewage, sewage sludge, and recycled water, whether or not the
practices cause water pollution.  The director, on application, shall renew a
permit from time to time for a term not exceeding five years if the director
determines that it will be in the public interest.  The director shall not
grant or deny an application for the issuance or renewal of a permit without
affording the applicant and any person who commented on the proposed permit
during the public comment period an opportunity for a hearing in accordance
with chapter 91.  A request for a hearing and any judicial review of the
hearing shall not stay the effect of the issuance or renewal of a permit unless
specifically ordered by the director or a court.



(d)  The director, on the director’s own motion
or the application of any person, may modify, suspend, revoke, or revoke and
reissue any water pollution permit if, after affording the permittee an
opportunity for a hearing in accordance with chapter 91, the director
determines that:



(1)  There is a violation of any condition of the
permit;



(2)  The permit was obtained by misrepresentation, or
there was failure to disclose fully all relevant facts;



(3)  There is a change in any condition that requires
either a temporary or permanent reduction or elimination of the permitted
discharge; or



(4)  It is in the public interest.



The public interest excludes any reason less
stringent than the causes for permit modification, revocation, and termination,
or revocation and reissuance identified in 40 Code of Federal Regulations
section 122.62 or 122.64.



(e)  The director, on the director’s own motion
or the application of any person, may modify, suspend, revoke, or revoke and
reissue any sludge permit after affording the permittee an opportunity for a
hearing in accordance with chapter 91, and consistent with 40 Code of Federal
Regulations section 501.15(c)(2) and (3) and (d)(2).



(f)  The director shall ensure that the public
receives notice of each application for a permit to control water pollution. 
The director may hold a public hearing before ruling on an application for a
permit to control water pollution if the director determines the public hearing
to be in the public interest.  In determining whether a public hearing would be
in the public interest, the director shall be guided by 40 Code of Federal
Regulations section 124.12(a).



(g)  In determining the public interest
regarding permit issuance or renewal, the director shall consider the
environmental impact of the proposed action, any adverse environmental effects
which cannot be avoided should the action be implemented, the alternatives to
the proposed action, the relationship between local short-term uses of the
environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity, any
irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources which would be involved
in the proposed action should it be implemented, and any other factors which
the director, by rule, may prescribe; provided that any determination of public
interest shall promote the optimum balance between economic development and
environmental quality.



(h)  No applicant for a modification or renewal
of a permit shall be held in violation of this chapter during the pendency of
the applicant’s application so long as the applicant acts consistently with the
permit previously granted, the application and all plans, specifications, and
other information submitted as part thereof. [L 1989, c 212, pt of §2; am L
1995, c 180, §7; am L 1997, c 267, §1; am L 1999, c 193, §4]