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68th Legislature 2023 HB 561.1
1 HOUSE BILL NO. 561
2 INTRODUCED BY M. MALONE
3
4 A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT REVISING TIMELINES AND REQUIREMENTS TO REVIEW
5 WATER DISCHARGE PERMITS; PROVIDING PUBLIC COMMENT; PROVIDING RULEMAKING
6 AUTHORITY; AMENDING SECTION 75-5-403, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE
7 AND AN APPLICABILITY DATE.”
8
9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
10
11 Section 1. Section 75-5-403, MCA, is amended to read:
12 "75-5-403. Denial or modification of permit -- time for review of permit application. (1) (a) The
13 department shall review for completeness all applications for new permits within 60 days of the receipt of the
14 initial application and within 30 days of receipt of responses to notices of deficiencies. The initial completeness
15 notice must note all major deficiency issues, based on the information submitted. The department and the
16 applicant may extend these timeframes, by mutual agreement, by not more than 75 days. An application is
17 considered complete unless the applicant is notified of a deficiency within the appropriate review period.
18 (b) The department shall adopt rules to implement a 15-day public comment period and a process
19 to extend the public comment period.
20 (2) If the department denies an application for a permit or modifies a permit, the department shall
21 give written notice of its action to the applicant or holder and the applicant or holder may request a hearing
22 before the board, in the manner stated in 75-5-611, for the purpose of petitioning the board to reverse or modify
23 the action of the department. The hearing must be held within 30 days after receipt of written request. After the
24 hearing, the board shall affirm, modify, or reverse the action of the department. If the holder does not request a
25 hearing before the board, modification of a permit is effective 30 days after receipt of notice by the holder
26 unless the department specifies a later date. If the holder does request a hearing before the board, an order
27 modifying the permit is not effective until 20 days after receipt of notice of the action of the board. The
28 department shall notify the applicant in writing of the approval, modification, or denial of the application.
-1- Authorized Print Version – HB 561
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68th Legislature 2023 HB 561.1
1 (3) (a) A person directly and adversely affected by the department's decision may request a
2 hearing before the board. The request must be filed within 15 days of the decision date. Within 30 days of the
3 decision date, the person shall submit an affidavit stating the grounds for the request.
4 (b) The contested case provisions of the Montana Administrative Procedure Act apply to hearings
5 under this section.
6 (4) The department's decision is final 15 days after the notice is provided. A request filed pursuant
7 to subsection (3) does not stay the final decision, but the board may order a stay provided that:
8 (a) the person requesting the stay is entitled to the relief demanded pursuant to subsection (3);
9 and
10 (b) action allowed by the permit would produce great or irreparable injury to the person requesting
11 the stay.
12 (5) If a stay is granted, the board may require a written undertaking in accordance with 27-19-
13 306(2) from the party requesting the stay for payment of costs and damages incurred by the permit applicant
14 and its employees if the board finds the permit was issued properly."
15
16 NEW SECTION. Section 2. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.
17
18 NEW SECTION. Section 3. Applicability. [This act] applies to applications received on or after [the
19 effective date of this act].
20 - END -
-2- Authorized Print Version – HB 561


Statutes affected:
HB0561_1.pdf: 75-5-403
HB0561_2.pdf: 75-5-403
HB0561_3.pdf: 75-5-403
Amended: 75-5-403
Introduced: 75-5-403