Okla. Stat. tit. 2, § 2-2A-28

comments - Tier III applications - Proposed permit - Notice and

hearing - Final denial or permit.

A. For draft permits or draft denials for Tier II applications

on which no comment or public meeting request was received in a

timely manner and on which no public meeting was held, the final

permit shall be issued or denied.

B. For draft permits or draft denials for Tier II applications

on which comment or a public meeting request was received in a

timely manner or on which a public meeting was held, the Oklahoma

Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, after considering the

comments, shall prepare a response to comments and issue the draft

permit as is or as amended or make final denial.

C. The response to comments shall be prepared within ninety

(90) working days after the close of the public comment period

unless extended by the Director upon a determination that additional

time is required due to circumstances outside the control of the

Department. Circumstances may include, but shall not be limited to,

an act of God, a substantial and unexpected increase in the number

of applications filed, additional review duties imposed on the

Department from an outside source, or outside review by a federal

agency.

D. 1. For a draft permit for a Tier III application, after the

public comment period and the public meeting, if any, the Department

shall prepare a response to any comments received in a timely manner

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 2. Agriculture Page 88

and either issue a final denial in accordance with paragraph 5 of

this subsection or prepare a proposed permit.

2. When a proposed permit is prepared, the applicant shall

publish notice, as legal notice in one newspaper of general

circulation local to the proposed new site or existing facility, of

the tentative decision of the Department to issue the permit. The

notice shall identify the locations where the proposed permit and

the response of the Department to comments may be reviewed,

including a public location in the county where the proposed new

site or existing facility is located and shall offer a twenty-

working-day opportunity to request an administrative hearing to

participate in as a party.

3. The Department shall ensure that any additional notice

requirements as otherwise provided by law are followed.

4. The opportunity to request a hearing shall be available to

the applicant and any person or qualified interest group that

alleges that the operation may have a direct, substantial, and

immediate effect upon the health, environmental, pecuniary, or

property interest or upon the legal interest of that person or

qualified interest group.

5. If no written administrative hearing request is received by

the Department by the end of twenty (20) working days after the

publication date of the notice, the final permit shall be issued.

6. If the final decision of the Department is to deny the

permit, it shall give notice to the applicant and issue a final

denial in accordance with subsection G of this section.

E. 1. When an administrative hearing is requested in a timely

manner on a proposed permit in accordance with subsection C of this

section, all timely requests shall be combined in a single hearing.

The hearing shall be a quasi-judicial proceeding and shall be

conducted by an administrative law judge in accordance with the

Administrative Procedures Act, the Oklahoma Agricultural Code, and

rules promulgated by the State Board of Agriculture.

2. The applicant shall be a party to the hearing.

3. The Department shall hold a scheduling conference within

sixty (60) calendar days after the end of the hearing request

period.

4. The Department shall move promptly to an evidentiary

proceeding in which parties shall have the right to present evidence

before the Department on whether the proposed permit and the

technical data, models and analyses, and information in the
y to the hearing.

3. The Department shall hold a scheduling conference within

sixty (60) calendar days after the end of the hearing request

period.

4. The Department shall move promptly to an evidentiary

proceeding in which parties shall have the right to present evidence

before the Department on whether the proposed permit and the

technical data, models and analyses, and information in the

application upon which the proposed permit is based are in

substantial compliance with applicable provisions of the Oklahoma

Agricultural Code and rules promulgated thereunder and whether the

proposed permit should be issued as is, amended and issued, or

denied.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 2. Agriculture Page 89

5. Failure of any party to participate in the administrative

proceeding with good faith and diligence may result in a default

judgment with regard to that party; provided, however, that no final

permit shall be issued solely on the basis of any such judgment.

F. If the Department decides to reverse its initial draft

decision, it shall withdraw the draft denial or draft permit and

prepare a draft permit or draft denial, as appropriate. Notice of

the withdrawal of the original draft and preparation of the revised

draft shall be given as provided in Section 15 of this act. The

Department then shall reopen the comment period and provide

additional opportunity for a formal public meeting on the revised

draft as described in Section 18 of this act.

G. Upon final issuance or denial of a permit for a Tier III

application, the Department shall provide public notice of the final

permit decision and the availability of the response to comments, if

any.

H. Any appeal of a Tier III final permit decision or any final

order connected to it shall be made in accordance with the

provisions of the Oklahoma Agricultural Code and the Administrative

Procedures Act. Any appeal shall be limited to the participants of

the administrative proceedings.

I. Any applicant, within ten (10) days after final denial of

the application for a new original permit on which no final order

was issued, may petition the Department for reconsideration on the

grounds stated in the Administrative Procedures Act as if the denial

was an order. Disposition of the petition shall be by order of the

Director according to the Administrative Procedures Act.