Kentucky Administrative Regulations › Title 405 - ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT CABINET - DEPARTMENT FOR NATURAL RESOURCES › Chapter 7 - General Provisions › Section 405 KAR 7:110 - Petitions for rulemaking

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 1, July 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
				KRS
				350.255
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS Chapter 350 in
				pertinent part directs the cabinet to include, as part of its permanent
				regulatory program for surface coal mining and reclamation operations, certain
				procedural regulations relating to due process hearings and rulemaking. This
				administrative regulation specifies how any person may petition the secretary
				of the cabinet to initiate rulemaking procedures. The administrative regulation
				sets forth petition requirements, time limits, and other aspects of the
				rulemaking petition process.
Section 1.
			 Petitions for Rulemaking.
(1) Any person may
			 petition the secretary to initiate a proceeding for the issuance, amendment, or
			 repeal of any administrative regulation promulgated pursuant to KRS Chapter
			 350. The cabinet will not accept a petition relating to an administrative
			 regulation that is in the process of being promulgated or amended under the
			 normal promulgation procedures of KRS Chapter 13 since the petitioner is
			 provided an opportunity to be heard under those procedures. Similarly, the
			 cabinet will not accept a petition on an emergency administrative regulation
			 where the cabinet is intending to or has initiated the regular promulgation
			 process under KRS Chapter 13.
(2)
			 The person petitioning for a rulemaking shall make his or her petition in
			 writing and shall set forth the facts, technical justification and law which
			 support the petition. The facts and the technical justification must be
			 sufficient for the cabinet to make a decision as to the merits of the petition
			 within the time required below. Insufficient facts and technical justification
			 shall be grounds for denial of the petition. The petition shall set forth the
			 basis in law for the proposed rulemaking and shall justify the proposal as
			 being neither more nor less stringent than allowed by SMCRA and KRS Chapter
			 350.
(3) Upon submission of a
			 petition, the petitioner shall publish notice of submission of the petition in
			 newspapers designated by the cabinet according to KRS Chapter 424. The notice
			 shall briefly identify the subject of the petition, state that copies are on
			 file for public review at the Frankfort office of the cabinet, and state that
			 any person may within fifteen (15) days of publication of the notice request a
			 public hearing on the petition by written request to the cabinet. The notice
			 shall also state that anyone requesting a hearing will be informed by letter
			 from the cabinet of the time and place of the hearing.
(4) A petition will not be deemed complete
			 until the petitioner submits to the cabinet a copy of the published notice and
			 proof of publication of the notice in the form of an affidavit from the
			 publishers.
(5) The cabinet will
			 hold any requested public hearing within thirty (30) days of the filing of the
			 complete petition. The hearing shall be legislative in nature.
(6) The secretary shall render a final order
			 granting or denying the petition within thirty (30) days after the hearing or
			 within sixty (60) days of the filing of the complete petition if no hearing was
			 requested. The final order shall grant or deny the petition on the grounds that
			 there is or is not a reasonable basis for the petitioned rule change or that
			 such change is required or prohibited by law. The order shall be in writing and
			 shall explicitly set forth the reasons for the decision.
(7) If a petition is granted proposing the
			 issuance, amendment or repeal of administrative regulations which were the
			 subject of the petition, the secretary shall initiate the rulemaking proceeding
			 pursuant to KRS Chapter 13 within thirty (30) days of the final order granting
			 the petition.
(8) Any participant
			 in the petition proceedings may seek review of an order of the secretary
			 denying all or any portion of the action requested in a petition in the
			 Franklin County Circuit Court.