2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 75. Environmental Protection › Chapter 8. Coal-Fired Generating Unit Remediation › Part 1. Coal-Fired Generating Unit Remediation Act › 75-8-106. Approval of plan -- time limits -- contents and expiration

75-8-106. Approval of plan -- time limits -- contents and expiration.
(1) (a) The department shall review for completeness a remediation plan and provide a written completeness notice to an owner within 60 days of receipt of the remediation plan and within 30 days of receipt of responses to notices of deficiencies. The initial completeness notice must include all deficiencies identified in the information submitted.
(b) Review of the plan is not subject to Title 75, chapter 1, parts 1 through 3.
(c) During the review period provided in subsection (5), an owner may respond in writing to the comments received by the department during the public comment period.
(2) The department shall provide formal written notification of approval or modification within 120 days of determining a proposed remediation plan is complete, unless the owner and the department agree to an extension of the review to a date certain. Any modification by the department is limited to a modification necessary to conform the plan to applicable legal obligations.
(3) The department may access the site where the unit is located, the unit itself, and affected property, at reasonable times and after reasonable notice to the owner, during review of the plan to confirm information provided by the owner and is consistent with the proposed plan.
(4) The department shall approve a remediation plan if the department concludes that the plan meets the requirements of this part.
(5) Within 10 days of the date the department determines that a proposed remediation plan is complete, the department shall publish a notice and brief summary of the proposed remediation plan in a daily newspaper of general circulation in the area affected and make the plan available to the public. The department also shall post the notice on its website. The notice must provide 45 days for submission of written comments to the department regarding the plan. The notice must also advise the public of the time and place of a public meeting at or near the coal-fired generating unit site regarding the proposed remediation plan. The meeting must be held within 45 days of the date that written notice of the department's completeness determination is provided to the owner or operator. To the extent there is any conflict between the public notice provisions of this section and those contained in any applicable legal obligation, the provisions of the applicable legal obligation supersede the requirements of this subsection.
(6) If a remediation plan is modified by the department, the department shall promptly provide the public with notice through its website and the owner with notice through a written statement of the reasons for modification. A modification may be appealed in accordance with 75-8-108.
(7) To the extent costs are not recovered or recoverable under other applicable legal obligations, the department may recover its actual costs, including administrative costs, for its review of a plan and for its monitoring, inspection, and enforcement activities related to the approved plan. Recovered costs must be deposited in the environmental quality protection fund established in 75-10-704.
History: En. Sec. 6, Ch. 320, L. 2017.