Section 70-0109. Time periods for department action on permit applications

1.  (a)  On  or  before  fifteen calendar days after the receipt of an
  application for a permit which has been filed in a manner and in a  form
  prescribed  by  the department, the department shall mail written notice
  to the applicant of its determination whether or not the application  is
  complete.
    (b)  If the department fails to mail written notice to an applicant of
  its determination whether or not an application is complete within  such
  fifteen calendar day period, the application shall be deemed complete.
    (c)  If the department determines the application is not complete, the
  notice shall include a concise statement of the respects  in  which  the
  application is incomplete.
    (d)  The  resubmission  of  the  application or the submission of such
  additional information shall commence a new fifteen calendar day  period
  for  department  review  of  the  additional information for purposes of
  determining completeness.
    (e) If the department determines  the  application  is  complete,  the
  notice shall so state.
    2.  (a)  Immediately upon determining that an application is complete,
  the department shall cause a notice of application to  be  published  in
  the  next  available  environmental  notice  bulletin which shall be not
  later than ten calendar days after the date of  such  determination  and
  not less than once during the fifteen calendar day period following such
  determination  in  a newspaper having general circulation in the area in
  which the project is proposed to be located, and shall provide notice to
  the chief executive officer of each municipality in which  the  proposed
  project  is  located,  and  may  direct  the  applicant  to provide such
  reasonable notice and opportunity for  comment  to  the  public  as  the
  department  deems  appropriate. Newspaper publications shall be provided
  by the applicant.
    (b) The time period for public comment on a permit  application  shall
  be stated in the notice of application.
    3. (a) Within the time periods specified in subparagraphs (i) and (ii)
  of  this subdivision and subject to the provisions of subdivisions four,
  five and six of this section, the department shall make a decision on an
  application for a permit by mailing the applicant  a  permit,  a  permit
  with  conditions  or  a  statement  that the permit applied for has been
  denied.
    (i) In the case of an application for a permit  for  which  no  public
  hearing has been held, such decision shall be mailed on or before ninety
  calendar days after the department mails written notice to the applicant
  that  the  application  is complete or on or before ninety calendar days
  after the application is deemed complete pursuant to the  provisions  of
  this article.
    (ii)  In  the  case  of an application for a permit for which a public
  hearing has been held, the department shall mail  its  decision  to  the
  applicant  and to all parties to the hearing on or before sixty calendar
  days after receipt by the department of a complete record, as that  term
  is  defined  in paragraphs (a) through (e) of subdivision one of section
  three hundred two of the state administrative procedure act.
    (b) If the department fails to mail a decision on an application for a
  permit within the time periods specified, the applicant may cause notice
  of such failure to be made to the department by means of certified  mail
  return receipt requested addressed to the commissioner.  If, within five
  working  days  after the receipt of such notice, the department fails to
  mail a decision, the application shall be deemed approved and  a  permit
  deemed granted subject to any standard terms or conditions applicable to
  such  a  permit.  However, no permit shall be deemed approved where such

  permit  is  issued  in  lieu  of  a  federal  permit  pursuant   to   an
  authorization granted to the state pursuant to either Public Law 94-580,
  the "Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976", or Title V
  of  Public Law 101-549, the "Clean Air Act", and where the issuance of a
  permit in such a manner is contrary to such authorization.
    4. The time periods for a department decision on an application for  a
  permit  as  specified  in  subdivision  three  of  this section shall be
  suspended pending receipt by the department of any  final  environmental
  impact statement and any explicit findings related to a proposed project
  as  may  be  required  pursuant  to article eight (environmental quality
  review) of this chapter when the department is not the  lead  agency  as
  that  term  is  used  in rules and regulations adopted by the department
  pursuant to section 8-0113 of said article.
    5. The department shall make no decision and no permit shall be deemed
  granted until the applicant has paid all applicable fees and costs.
    6. Any time period  specified  in  this  article  may  be  waived  and
  extended  for  good  cause  by written request by the applicant with the
  consent of the department, or by the written request of the commissioner
  or his designee with the consent of the applicant.