Public notice

1. Public notice of every national pollutant discharge elimination system draft permit shall be circulated in a manner designed to inform interested and potentially interested persons of the proposed discharge and of the proposed determination to issue or deny a national pollutant discharge elimination system permit for the proposed discharge. Procedures for the circulation of public notice shall include at least the following: a. Notice of a major facility permit or general permit shall be published in a daily or weekly newspaper within the area affected by the facility or activity. b. Notice of all other permits shall be circulated within the geographical areas of the proposed discharge; such circulation may include any or all of the following: (1) Posting in the post office and public places of the municipality nearest the premises of the applicant in which the effluent source is located. (2) Posting near the entrance to the applicant's premises and in nearby places. (3) Publishing in local newspapers and periodicals, or, if appropriate, in a daily newspaper of general circulation. (4) Any other method, including press releases, which will reasonably provide actual notice of the proposed action to the persons potentially affected. c. Notice shall be mailed to the following persons: (1) Any user identified in the permit application of a privately owned treatment works. (2) Persons who are on the mailing list. (3) Local governmental units which have jurisdiction over the area where the facility is proposed to be located and each state agency which has authority with respect to the facility's construction or operation. d. Notice, a copy of the permit application, the statement of basis or fact sheet if required by section 33.1-16-01-08, and the draft permit prepared pursuant to section 33.1-16-01-06 shall be mailed to the following persons: (1) The applicant, except for those national pollutant discharge elimination system general permits for which there is no applicant. (2) Any other agency which is known to have issued or to be required to issue an environmental control permit for the same facility or activity. (3) Federal and state agencies with jurisdiction over fish, shellfish, and wildlife resources, the advisory council on historic preservation, and the state historic preservation officers, including any affected states or Indian tribes. (4) Any state agency responsible for plan development under sections 208(b)(2), 208(b)(4), and 303(e) of the Clean Water Act, the United States army corps of engineers, the United States fish and wildlife service, and the national marine fisheries service. e. The department shall add the name of any person or group upon request to the mailing list. The department shall also post on its webiste annually an invitation to be added to the mailing list. 2. The department shall provide a period of not less than thirty days following the date of the public notice during which time interested persons may submit their written views on the tentative determinations with respect to the national pollutant discharge elimination system application. All written comments submitted during the thirty-day comment period shall be retained by the department and considered in the formulation of its final determinations with respect to the national pollutant discharge elimination system application. The period for comment may be extended at the discretion of the department. 3. The contents of public notice of applications for a national pollutant discharge elimination system permit shall include at least the following: a. Name, address, and telephone number of the agency issuing the public notice. b. Name and address of each applicant and facility, except for public notices of general permits. c. Brief description of each applicant's activities or operations which result in the discharge described in the national pollutant discharge elimination system application or draft general permit, e.g., municipal waste treatment plant, steel manufacturing, or drainage for mining activities. d. Name of waterway to which each discharge is made and a short description of the location of each discharge on the waterway indicating whether such discharge is a new or an existing discharge. For general permits, the public notice shall include a description of the permit area. e. A statement of the tentative determination to issue or deny a national pollutant discharge elimination system permit for the discharge described in the national pollutant discharge elimination system application. f. A brief description of the procedures for the formulation of final determinations, including the thirty-day comment period required by subsection 2, the right to request a public hearing, and any other means by which interested persons may influence or comment upon those determinations. g. Address and telephone number of the department, where interested persons may obtain further information or request a copy of the draft permit prepared pursuant to section 33.1-16-01-06, request a copy of the fact sheet prepared pursuant to section 33.1-16-01-08, and inspect and copy national pollutant discharge elimination system forms and related documents. h. The date, time, and location of any public hearing or meeting which has been scheduled.