FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 312
91ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR CASKEY.
Read 1st time January 17, 2001, and 1,000 copies ordered printed.
TERRY L. SPIELER, Secretary.
1293S.01I
AN ACT
To repeal section 644.051, RSMo 2000, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to the appeal of water pollution control permits.
Section A. Section 644.051, RSMo 2000, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 644.051, to read as follows:
644.051. 1. It is unlawful for any person:
(1) To cause pollution of any waters of the state or to place or cause or permit to be placed any water contaminant in a location where it is reasonably certain to cause pollution of any waters of the state;
(2) To discharge any water contaminants into any waters of the state which reduce the quality of such waters below the water quality standards established by the commission;
(3) To violate any pretreatment and toxic material control regulations, or to discharge any water contaminants into any waters of the state which exceed effluent regulations or permit provisions as established by the commission or required by any federal water pollution control act;
(4) To discharge any radiological, chemical, or biological warfare agent or high-level radioactive waste into the waters of the state.
2. It shall be unlawful for any person to build, erect, alter, replace, operate, use or maintain any water contaminant or point source in this state that is subject to standards, rules or regulations promulgated pursuant to the provisions of sections 644.006 to 644.141 unless such person holds a permit from the commission, subject to such exceptions as the commission may prescribe by rule or regulation. However, no permit shall be required of any person for any emission into publicly owned treatment facilities or into publicly owned sewer systems tributary to publicly owned treatment works.
3. Every proposed water contaminant or point source which, when constructed or installed or established, will be subject to any federal water pollution control act or sections 644.006 to 644.141 or regulations promulgated pursuant to the provisions of such act shall make application to the director for a permit at least thirty days prior to the initiation of construction or installation or establishment. Every water contaminant or point source in existence when regulations or sections 644.006 to 644.141 become effective shall make application to the director for a permit within sixty days after the regulations or sections 644.006 to 644.141 become effective, whichever shall be earlier. The director shall promptly investigate each application, which investigation shall include such hearings and notice, and consideration of such comments and recommendations as required by sections 644.006 to 644.141 and any federal water pollution control act. If the director determines that the source meets or will meet the requirements of sections 644.006 to 644.141 and the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, the director shall issue a permit with such conditions as he or she deems necessary to ensure that the source will meet the requirements of sections 644.006 to 644.141 and any federal water pollution control act as it applies to sources in this state. If the director determines that the source does not meet or will not meet the requirements of either act and the regulations pursuant thereto, the director shall deny the permit pursuant to the applicable act and issue any notices required by sections 644.006 to 644.141 and any federal water pollution control act.
4. Before issuing a permit to build or enlarge a water contaminant or point source or reissuing any permit, the director shall issue such notices, conduct such hearings, and consider such factors, comments and recommendations as required by sections 644.006 to 644.141 or any federal water pollution control act. The director shall determine if any state or any provisions of any federal water pollution control act the state is required to enforce, any state or federal effluent limitations or regulations, water quality-related effluent limitations, national standards of performance, toxic and pretreatment standards, or water quality standards which apply to the source, or any such standards in the vicinity of the source, are being exceeded, and shall determine the impact on such water quality standards from the source. The director, in order to effectuate the purposes of sections 644.006 to 644.141, shall deny a permit if the source will violate any such acts, regulations, limitations or standards or will appreciably affect the water quality standards or the water quality standards are being substantially exceeded, unless the permit is issued with such conditions as to make the source comply with such requirements within an acceptable time schedule.
5. The director shall grant or deny the permit within sixty days after all requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act concerning issuance of permits have been satisfied unless the application does not require any permit pursuant to any federal water pollution control act. The director or the commission may require the applicant to provide and maintain such facilities or to conduct such tests and monitor effluents as necessary to determine the nature, extent, quantity or degree of water contaminant discharged or released from the source, establish and maintain records and make reports regarding such determination.
6. The director shall promptly notify the applicant in writing of his or her action and if the permit is denied state the reasons therefor. The applicant or any other interested and affected person or entity may appeal to the commission from the denial of a permit or from any condition in any permit by filing notice of appeal with the commission within thirty days of the notice of denial or issuance of the permit. The commission shall set the matter for hearing not less than thirty days after the notice of appeal is filed. In no event shall a permit constitute permission to violate the law or any standard, rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto.
7. In any hearing held pursuant to this section the burden of proof is on the applicant for a permit. Any decision of the commission made pursuant to a hearing held pursuant to this section is subject to judicial review as provided in section 644.071.
8. In any event, no permit issued pursuant to this section shall be issued if properly objected to by the federal government or any agency authorized to object pursuant to any federal water pollution control act unless the application does not require any permit pursuant to any federal water pollution control act.
9. No manufacturing or processing plant or operating location shall be required to pay more than one operating fee. Operating permits shall be issued for a period not to exceed five years after date of issuance, except that general permits shall be issued for a five-year period, and also except that neither a construction nor an annual permit shall be required for a single residence's waste treatment facilities. Applications for renewal of an operating permit shall be filed at least one hundred eighty days prior to the expiration of the existing permit.
10. Every permit issued to municipal or any publicly owned treatment works or facility shall require the permittee to provide the clean water commission with adequate notice of any substantial new introductions of water contaminants or pollutants into such works or facility from any source for which such notice is required by sections 644.006 to 644.141 or any federal water pollution control act. Such permit shall also require the permittee to notify the clean water commission of any substantial change in volume or character of water contaminants or pollutants being introduced into its treatment works or facility by a source which was introducing water contaminants or pollutants into its works at the time of issuance of the permit. Notice must describe the quality and quantity of effluent being introduced or to be introduced into such works or facility by a source which was introducing water contaminants or pollutants into its works at the time of issuance of the permit. Notice must describe the quality and quantity of effluent being introduced or to be introduced into such works or facility and the anticipated impact of such introduction on the quality or quantity of effluent to be released from such works or facility into waters of the state.
11. The director or the commission may require the filing or posting of a bond as a condition for the issuance of permits for construction of temporary or future water treatment facilities in an amount determined by the commission to be sufficient to ensure compliance with all provisions of sections 644.006 to 644.141, and any rules or regulations of the commission and any condition as to such construction in the permit. The bond shall be signed by the applicant as principal, and by a corporate surety licensed to do business in the state of Missouri and approved by the commission. The bond shall remain in effect until the terms and conditions of the permit are met and the provisions of sections 644.006 to 644.141 and rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto are complied with.
12. (1) The department shall issue or deny applications for construction and site-specific operating permits received after January 1, 2001, within one hundred eighty days of the department's receipt of an application. For general construction and operating permit applications received after January 1, 2001, that do not require a public participation process, the department shall issue or deny the requested permits within sixty days of the department's receipt of an application.
(2) If the department fails to issue or deny with good cause a construction or operating permit application within the time frames established in subdivision (1) of this subsection, the department shall refund the full amount of the initial application fee within forty-five days of failure to meet the established time frame. If the department fails to refund the application fee within forty-five days, the refund amount shall accrue interest at a rate established pursuant to section 32.065, RSMo.
(3) Permit fee disputes may be appealed to the commission within thirty days of the date established in subdivision (2) of this subsection. If the applicant prevails in a permit fee dispute appealed to the commission, the commission may order the director to refund the applicant's permit fee plus interest and reasonable attorney's fees as provided in sections 536.085 and 536.087, RSMo. A refund of the initial application or annual fee does not waive the applicant's responsibility to pay any annual fees due each year following issuance of a permit.
(4) No later than December 31, 2001, the commission shall promulgate regulations defining shorter review time periods than the time frames established in subdivision (1) of this subsection, when appropriate, for different classes of construction and operating permits. In no case shall commission regulations adopt permit review times that exceed the time frames established in subdivision (1) of this subsection. The department's failure to comply with the commission's permit review time periods shall result in a refund of said permit fees as set forth in subdivision (2) of this subsection. On a semiannual basis, the department shall submit to the commission a report which describes the different classes of permits and reports on the number of days it took the department to issue each permit from the date of receipt of the application and show averages for each different class of permits.
(5) During the department's technical review of the application, the department may request the applicant submit supplemental or additional information necessary for adequate permit review. The department's technical review letter shall contain a sufficient description of the type of additional information needed to comply with the application requirements.
(6) Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted to mean that inaction on a permit application shall be grounds to violate any provisions of sections 644.006 to 644.141 or any rules promulgated pursuant to sections 644.006 to 644.141.
13. The department shall respond to all requests for individual certification under Section 401 of the Federal Clean Water Act within the lesser of sixty days or the allowed response period established pursuant to applicable federal regulations without request for an extension period unless such extension is determined by the commission to be necessary to evaluate significant impacts on water quality standards and the commission establishes a timetable for completion of such evaluation in a period of no more than one hundred eighty days.
14. All permit fees generated pursuant to this chapter shall not be used for the development or expansion of total maximum daily loads studies on either the Missouri or Mississippi rivers.
15. This section shall be construed to allow a third party appeal by a person or entity interested in and affected by the issuance or denial of any permit required pursuant to this chapter.