§342J-54  Permits; procedures for.  (a) 
An application for any permit required under this part shall be in a form
prescribed by the director.



(b)  The department may require that
applications for the permits shall be accompanied by plans, specifications, and
the other information that it deems necessary in order for it 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 reasonable
conditions that the director may prescribe.  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 is in the public interest.  The director shall
not deny an application for the issuance or renewal of a permit without
affording the applicant an opportunity for a hearing in accordance with chapter
91.



The director may require a public notice or
hearing, or both, for permit issuances, reissuances, denial, revocation,
suspension, or substantial modifications to a permit requested by a permittee,
or modifications to a permit initiated by the director if the director
determines that notice or hearing, or both, are in the public interest.



The director, on the director’s own motion or
the application of any person, may modify, suspend, or revoke any 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
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
emission; or



(4)  The modification, suspension, or revocation is in
the public interest.



In determining the public interest, the
director shall consider the environmental impact of the proposed action, any
adverse environmental effects of the proposed action, any adverse environmental
effects which cannot be avoided if the action is 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, and
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 may by rule prescribe; provided that any determination of
public interest shall promote the optimum balance between economic development
and environmental quality.



(d)  The failure of the director to act on an
application for the issuance of a permit or an application by a permit holder
for the modification or renewal thereof within one hundred eighty days of the
receipt of the application, shall be deemed a grant of the application;
provided that the applicant acts consistently with the application and all
plans, specifications, and other information submitted as a part thereof.



(e)  No applicant for a modification or renewal
of a permit shall be held in violation of this part during the pendency of the
applicant’s application; provided that the applicant acts consistently with the
permit previously granted, the application and all plans, specifications, and
other information submitted as a part thereof. [L 1996, c 82, pt of §1; am L
2000, c 3, §2]