Section 271.141. Public notice by applicant

(a) An applicant for a new permit, major permit modification, permit renewal or permit reissuance and a person or municipality submitting a closure plan shall publish once a week for 3 consecutive weeks a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the facility or proposed facility is located. The notice shall meet the following requirements:

(1) Include a brief description of the location and proposed operation or closure of the facility, and indicate where copies of the application or closure plan will be filed. If groundwater degradation exists at closure or occurs after closure, the notice shall include a list of contaminants, abatement measures taken prior to closure, if applicable, proposed remediation measures and proposed remediation standards to be met. If the permittee proposes to utilize the alternative groundwater protection standard, the notice shall include a 30-day public and municipal comment period during which the municipality can request to be involved in the development of the remediation and reuse plans for the site.

(2) State that the host municipality and county may submit comments to the Department within 60 days of receipt of the application or closure plan, recommending conditions upon, revisions to and approval or disapproval of the permit or closure plan, with the specific reasons described in the comments.

(3) State that the Department will accept comments from the public on the permit application or closure plan and state the procedure for submission of comments.

(4) If the applicant proposes a design alternative under § 271.231 (relating to equivalency review procedure), it shall so state, and briefly describe the alternative design.

(5) If the application is for a new municipal waste landfill, construction/demolition waste landfill, transfer facility or resource recovery facility, or for a major modification of a municipal waste landfill permit, it shall be in the form of a display advertisement.

(b) An applicant for a new permit, permit reissuance, permit renewal or major permit modification, and a person or municipality submitting a closure plan, shall also notify by certified mail owners and occupants of land contiguous to the site or the proposed permit area of the nature and extent of the proposed facility or closure plan. If the applicant proposes a design alternative under § 271.231, the notice shall so state and briefly describe the alternative design. The applicant shall submit proof of the notice in the form of a United States Postal Service postmarked signature card or other dated acknowledgment form of private letter carrier services.

(c) The Department may require the person or municipality to provide additional public notice if the Department determines that the proposed facility or closure plan is of significant interest to the public or may cause significant environmental impact.

(d) An applicant for a new permit, permit reissuance, permit renewal or major permit modification, and a person or municipality submitting a closure plan shall, immediately before the application or plan is filed with the Department, give written notice to each municipality in which the site or proposed permit area is located. If groundwater degradation exists at closure or occurs after closure, the notice shall include a list of contaminants, abatement measures taken prior to closure, if applicable, proposed remediation measures and proposed remediation standards to be met. If the permittee proposes to utilize the alternative groundwater protection standard, the notice shall include a 30-day public and municipal comment period during which the municipality can request to be involved in the development of the remediation and reuse plans for the site. If the applicant proposes a design alternative under § 271.231, the notice shall so state and briefly describe the alternative design. The applicant shall file with the Department a copy of the notice as part of the application or plan. The Department will not issue a permit for 60 days from the date of the notice unless each municipality to which the notice is sent submits a written statement to the Department expressly waiving the 60-day period.

(e) Proof of compliance with the applicable requirements of this section shall be submitted within 30 days of filing its permit application or closure plan with the Department.

The provisions of this § 271.141 adopted April 8, 1988, effective April 9, 1988, 18 Pa.B. 1681; amended December 22, 2000, effective December 23, 2000, 30 Pa.B. 6685. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (226000) and (234795).

Notation

Notes of Decisions

Notice

Notice must be given to all counties and municipalities having jurisdiction over the site defined as the entire permit area. Fontaine v. Department of Environmental Protection, 1996 EHB 1333.

Personal Notice Required

Because the county and township were not given the notice of the Department of Environmental Protection’s action to which it was entitled, they were not barred from raising the claim that the permit was issued without the notice required by SWMA and Act 101 upon the filing of the permit application. While official notice was given of the action by publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, that was insufficient notice where the interested person was entitled to personal notice. Therefore, because the applicant and the Department should have given notice to the county and township, the Department abused its discretion in issuing the permit without assurance that such a notice had been given. Fontaine v. Department of Environmental Protection, 1996 EHB 1333.

Subsection (d)

Site is defined by this regulation so as to include the entire permit area of the facility. Fontaine v. Department of Environmental Protection, 1996 EHB 1333.

Subsection (d) of this regulation requires that notice be given to each municipality in which the site is located; site being defined as equivalent to the permit area if the operator has a permit to conduct the activities. Fontaine v. Department of Environmental Protection, 1996 EHB 1333.

Cross References

This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 271.144 (relating to public notice and public hearings for permit modifications); 25 Pa. Code § 271.221 (relating to permit reissuance); 25 Pa. Code § 271.341 (relating to release of bonds); 25 Pa. Code § 271.502 (relating to relationship to other requirements); 25 Pa. Code § 273.202 (relating to areas where municipal waste landfills are prohibited); 25 Pa. Code § 277.202 (relating to areas where construction/demolition waste landfills are prohibited); 25 Pa. Code § 279.202 (relating to areas where transfer facilities are prohibited); 25 Pa. Code § 281.202 (relating to areas where general composting facilities are prohibited); and 25 Pa. Code § 283.202 (relating to areas where resource recovery facilities and other processing facilities are prohibited).