Okla. Stat. tit. 27A, § 27A-2-14-304

procedures.

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

on which no comment or public meeting request was timely received

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 timely received or

on which a public meeting was held, the Department, after

considering the comments, shall prepare a response to comments and

issue the draft permit as is or as amended or make final denial.

The response to comments shall be prepared within ninety (90)

days after the close of the public comment period unless extended by

the Executive Director upon a determination that additional time is

required due to circumstances outside the control of the Department.

Such 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.

C. 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 comments and either issue a final denial

in accordance with paragraph 2 of this subsection or prepare a

proposed permit.

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

publish notice, as legal notice in one newspaper local to the

proposed new site or existing facility, of the Department's

tentative decision to issue the permit. Such notice shall identify

the places where the proposed permit and the Department's response

to comments may be reviewed, including a location in the county

where the proposed new site or existing facility is located and

shall offer a twenty-day opportunity to request an administrative

hearing to participate in as a party. The opportunity to request a

hearing shall be available to the applicant and any person or

qualified interest group who claims to hold a demonstrable

environmental interest and who alleges that the construction or

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 27A. Environment and Natural Resources Page 314

operation of the proposed facility or activity would directly and

adversely affect such interest.

If no written administrative hearing request is received by the

Department by the end of twenty (20) days after the publication date

of the notice, the final permit shall be issued.

2. If the Department's final decision is to deny the permit, it

shall give notice to the applicant and issue a final denial in

accordance with subsection F of this section.

D. When an administrative hearing is timely requested 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 Article 2 of the

Administrative Procedures Act, the Code and rules promulgated by the

Environmental Quality Board.

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

2. The Department shall schedule a prehearing conference within

sixty (60) days after the end of the hearing request period.

3. The Department shall move expeditiously 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 Code and

rules promulgated thereunder and whether the proposed permit should

be issued as is, amended and issued, or denied.

4. 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
it is based are in

substantial compliance with applicable provisions of the Code and

rules promulgated thereunder and whether the proposed permit should

be issued as is, amended and issued, or denied.

4. 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.

E. 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 2-14-302 of this title.

The Department shall then re-open the comment period and provide

additional opportunity for a formal public meeting on the revised

draft as described in Section 2-14-303 of this title.

F. 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.

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

order connected therewith shall be made in accordance with the

provisions of the Code and the Administrative Procedures Act.

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

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

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 27A. Environment and Natural Resources Page 315

was issued, may petition the Department for reconsideration on the

grounds stated in subsection A of Section 317 of Title 75 of the

Oklahoma Statutes as if the denial was an order. Disposition of the

petition shall be by order of the Executive Director according to

subsections B and D of Section 317 of Title 75 of the Oklahoma

Statutes.