Comment periods of 15 to 45 days are provided to give the public an opportunity to raise issues, which may cause the draft permit decision to be changed. Significant public interest may cause the department to schedule a public hearing to receive additional technical input before a final decision is made to issue, modify or deny the permit in question. The hearing is not a forum of public debate and the permit decision does not hinge upon the amount of public support or opposition to the project. An environmental permit is not a mechanism for settling zoning differences or industrial plant siting disputes. The permit decision is technical in nature and should not be misunderstood.
Public input is most effective when it addresses the technical merit of the pending permit decision.
Following a comment period or a public hearing, a thorough evaluation of the comments is prepared by the technical staff and made available to the members of the public who comment or have expressed an interest in the project. A final permit decision is made by the department following this evaluation of comments. All rights reserved.