30.208 Applications for individual permits and contracts; department determinations.
30.208
30.208 Applications for individual permits and contracts; department determinations.30.208(1)
(1) Application required. A person who seeks to obtain or modify an individual permit under this subchapter or to enter into a contract under s. 30.20 shall submit an application to the department. The application may contain a request for a public hearing on the application.30.208(2)
(2) Procedure for completing applications. In issuing individual permits or entering contracts under this subchapter, the department shall initially determine whether a complete application for the permit or contract has been submitted and, no later than 30 days after the application is submitted, notify the applicant in writing about the initial determination of completeness. If the department determines that the application is incomplete, the notice shall state the reason for the determination and the specific items of information necessary to make the application complete. An applicant may supplement and resubmit an application that the department has determined to be incomplete. There is no limit on the number of times that an applicant may resubmit an application that the department has determined to be incomplete under this section. The department may not demand items of information that are not specified in the notice as a condition for determining whether the application is complete unless both the department and the applicant agree or unless the applicant makes material additions or alterations to the activity or project for which the application has been submitted. The rules promulgated under s. 299.05 apply only to applications for individual permits or contracts under this subchapter that the department has determined to be complete.30.208(3)
(3) Notice of complete application; request for public hearing; decision.30.208(3)(a)
(a) Upon determination by the department that an application submitted under sub. (1) is complete, the department shall provide notice of complete application to interested and potentially interested members of the public, as determined by the department. The department shall provide the notice within 15 days after the determination that the application is complete. If the applicant has requested a public hearing as part of the submitted application, a notice of public hearing shall be part of the notice of complete application.30.208(3)(b)
(b) If the notice of complete application does not contain a notice of public hearing, any person may request a public hearing in writing or the department may decide to hold a public hearing without a request being submitted if the department determines that there is a significant public interest in holding a hearing.30.208(3)(c)
(c) A request for a public hearing under par. (b) must be submitted to the department or the department's decision to hold a public hearing must occur within 30 days after the department completes providing the notice of complete application. The department shall provide notice of public hearing within 15 days after the request for public hearing is submitted or the department makes its determination.30.208(3)(d)
(d) The department shall hold a public hearing within 30 days after the notice of hearing has been provided under par. (a) or (c).30.208(3)(e)
(e) Within 30 days after the public hearing is held or, if no public hearing is held, within 30 days of the 30-day comment period under sub. (4) (a), the department shall render a decision, issuing, denying, or modifying the permit or approving the contract that is the subject of the application submitted under sub. (1).30.208(3m)
(3m) Notice to downstream communities. When the department receives an application for an individual permit under s. 30.12 for a structure through which water transferred from the Great Lakes basin would be returned to the source watershed through a stream tributary to one of the Great Lakes, the department shall provide notice of the application to the governing body of each city, village, and town through which the stream flows or that is adjacent to the stream downstream from the point at which the water would enter the stream.30.208(4)
(4) Public comment.30.208(4)(a)
(a) The department shall provide a period for public comment after the department has provided a notice of complete application under sub. (3) (a), during which time any person may submit written comments with respect to the application for the permit or contract. The department shall retain all of the written comments submitted during this period and shall consider all of the comments in the formulation of the final decision on the application. The period for public comment shall end on the 30th day following the date on which the department completes providing the notice of complete application, except as provided in par. (b).30.208(4)(b)
(b) If a public hearing is held, the period for public comment shall end on the 10th day following the date on which the public hearing is completed.30.208(4)(d)
(d) The department shall promulgate rules to establish procedures for the conduct of public hearings held under this subsection. Notwithstanding s. 227.42, a public hearing held under this subsection shall be an informational hearing and may not be treated as, nor converted to, a contested case under s. 227.01 (3).30.208(5)
(5) Notice requirements.30.208(5)(a)
(a) The department shall, by rule, establish procedures for providing notices of complete applications and notices of public hearings to be provided under sub. (3), and notices of administrative hearings to be provided under s. 30.209 (1m). The procedures shall require all of the following:30.208(5)(a)1.
1. That the notice be published as a class 1 notice under ch. 985.30.208(5)(a)2.
2. That the notice be mailed to any person or group upon request.30.208(5)(b)
(b) The department shall, by rule, prescribe the form and content of notices of complete applications and notices of public hearings to be provided under sub. (3), and notices of administrative hearings to be provided under s. 30.209 (1m). Each notice shall include all of the following information:30.208(5)(b)1.
1. The name and address of each applicant or permit holder.30.208(5)(b)2.
2. A brief description of each applicant's activity or project that requires the permit.30.208(5)(b)3.
3. The name of the waterway in or for which the activity or project is planned.30.208(5)(b)4.
4. For a notice of complete application and a notice of public hearing under sub. (3), a statement of the tentative determination to issue, modify, or deny a permit for the activity or project described in the application.30.208(5)(b)5.
5. For a notice of complete application and a notice of public hearing under sub. (3), a brief description of the procedures for the formulation of final determinations, including a description of the comment period required under sub. (4).30.208(5)(c)
(c) The department may delegate the department's requirement to provide notice under sub. (3) or s. 30.209 (1m) by doing any of the following:30.208(5)(c)1.
1. Requiring that the applicant for the permit or contract provide by publication, mailing, or other distribution one or more of the notices.30.208(5)(c)2.
2. That the applicant for the permit or contract pay for the publication, mailing, or any other distribution costs of providing one or more of the notices.30.208 - ANNOT.
History: 2003 a. 118 ss. 6, 149; 2007 a. 227.