Storage facility permit hearing

1. The commission shall hold a public hearing before issuing a storage facility permit. At least forty-five days prior to the hearing, the applicant shall give notice of the hearing to the following: a. Each operator of mineral extraction activities within the facility area and within one-half mile [.80 kilometer] of its outside boundary; b. Each mineral lessee of record within the facility area and within one-half mile [.80 kilometer] of its outside boundary; c. Each owner of record of the surface within the facility area and one-half mile [.80 kilometer] of its outside boundary; d. Each owner of record of minerals within the facility area and within one-half mile [.80 kilometer] of its outside boundary; e. Each owner and each lessee of record of the pore space within the storage reservoir and within one-half mile [.80 kilometer] of the reservoir's boundary; and f. Any other persons as required by the commission. 2. The notice given by the applicant must contain: a. A legal description of the land within the facility area. b. The date, time, and place that the commission will hold a hearing on the permit application. c. A statement that a copy of the permit application and draft permit may be obtained from the commission. d. A statement that all comments regarding the storage facility permit application must be in writing and submitted to the commission prior to the hearing or presented at the hearing. e. A statement that amalgamation of the storage reservoirs pore space is required to operate the storage facility, that the commission may require that the pore space owned by nonconsenting owners be included in the storage facility and subject to geologic storage, and the amalgamation of pore space will be considered at the hearing. 3. The commission shall give at least a thirty-day public notice and comment period for a draft storage facility permit, except in an emergency, including notice of the time and place of hearing thereon by one publication of such notice in a newspaper of general circulation in Bismarck, North Dakota, and in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the land affected or some part thereof is situated, unless in some particular proceeding a longer period of time or a different method of publication is required by law, in which event such period of time and method of publication shall prevail. The notice shall issue in the name of the commission and shall conform to the other requirements provided by law. The public notice must state that an application has been filed with the commission for permission to store carbon dioxide and describe the location of the proposed facility area and the date, time, and place of the hearing before the commission at which time the merits of the application and draft permit will be considered. 4. The public notice given by the commission must contain the following: a. Name and address of the commission; b. Name and address of the applicant; c. A brief description of the nature and purpose of the hearing, including the applicable rules and procedures; d. A brief description of the activity described in the storage facility permit application or the draft storage facility permit; e. Name, address, and telephone number of a person from whom interested persons may obtain further information, including copies of the draft storage facility permit, fact sheet, and the storage facility permit application; f. A brief description of the comment procedures and other procedures by which the public may participate in the final permit decision; g. The date of any previous public notices relating to the storage facility; and h. Any additional information that the commission requires. 5. Public notice shall be given by the following methods: a. By mailing or e-mailing a copy of the notice, the fact sheet, the storage facility permit application, and draft permit to the following: (1) The applicant; (2) The department of environmental quality; (3) The state geological survey; (4) The state water commission; (5) The United States environmental protection agency; and (6) Federal and state agencies with jurisdiction over fish and wildlife resources, the advisory council on historic preservation, and state historical preservation officers, including any affected Indian tribes and the bureau of Indian affairs. b. By mailing or e-mailing of copy of the public notice to the following: (1) To any unit of local government having jurisdiction over the area where the storage facility is proposed to be located and to each state agency having any authority under state law with respect to the construction or operation of such facility. (2) Any other person or group either upon request or on a departmental mailing list to receive geologic storage of carbon dioxide public notices: (a) Including those who request in writing to be on the list; (b) Persons on "area lists" from past permit proceedings in that area; and (c) Notifying the public of the opportunity to be put on the mailing list through periodic publication in the public press and in such publications as state-funded newsletters, environmental bulletins, or state law journals. The commission may update the mailing list from time to time by requesting written indication of continued interest from those listed. The commission may delete from the list the name of any person who fails to respond to such a request. 6. During the public comment period any interested person may submit written comments on the draft storage facility permit or the storage facility permit application. All comments shall be considered in making the final decision and shall be answered when a final storage facility permit is issued. The response to comments must include: a. Provisions, if any, of the draft permit that have been changed in the final permit decision, and the reasons for the change; and b. A brief description and response to all significant comments on the draft permit or the permit application. 7. The response to all applicable comments shall be available to the public.