Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 11 - Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality › Part 1 - Administrative Regulations › Chapter 6 - Rules of Practice and Procedure for Formal Evidentiary Hearings before the Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board › Rule 11-1-6.5 - Hearings

Current through June 25, 2024
A. Hearing request. Any interested party
				aggrieved by the Permit Board's issuance, denial, modification, transfer,
				revocation, or other permit action may request a formal evidentiary hearing in
				writing within 30 days after the date the Permit Board takes action upon permit
				issuance, denial, modification, transfer, revocation or other permit action as
				reflected on the Permit Board's minutes pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. §
									49-17-29(4)(b)(Rev.
				2012); 51-3-15, (Rev. 2003); 53-7-41 (Rev. 2003); and 53-9-77 (Rev. 2003).
				Though the Permit Board's action is reflected in the Permit Board's minutes,
				which are written after the meeting, the manner for calculating the time in
				which to appeal is shown in Rule 6.5 B. and C.
B. The time period in which an aggrieved
				party may file a request for a formal hearing before the Permit Board,
				concerning a permit action taken by the Permit Board, will be calculated from
				the date of the Permit Board meeting at which the Permit Board made the
				decision.
C. Delegated Permits -
				Time Period. The time period in which an aggrieved party may file a request for
				a formal hearing before the Permit Board concerning a Delegated Permit action
				(as defined by 11 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 1, R. 4.1.C) or a Delegated Surface
				Mining Permit action (as defined by 11 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 1, R. 4.1.D) taken
				by the Executive Director or his or her delegate shall be calculated from the
				date of the Permit Board meeting at which the decision of the Executive
				Director or his or her delegate is accepted by the Permit Board.
See
11 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 1, R. 4.3.
D. An interested party is any person claiming
				an interest relating to the property or project which is the subject of the
				permit action, and who is so situated that the person may be affected by the
				disposition of that action. Miss. Code Ann. §
									49-17-29(4)(b)(Rev.
				2012); 51-3-15 (Rev. 2003); 53-7-41 (Rev. 2003); and 53-9-77 (Rev.
				2003).
E. Form of hearing request.
				Petitions or requests for hearing must be in writing and may be in the form of
				a letter, an email, or a facsimile transmission directed to the Executive
				Director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality with a copy to
				the MDEQ legal staff. The petition should be brief and concise and must include
				the following: a statement of the matter upon which action of the Board is
				desired; a statement of the petitioner's interest in the matter; a statement of
				how the petitioner is so situated that he or she will be affected by the
				action; and a statement of the relief sought.
F. Time and place of hearing. The Permit
				Board, through MDEQ, will schedule the time and place of such hearing and
				notify all parties, including the permittee, through a scheduling letter sent
				via certified mail.
G. The Permit
				Board may, at its sole discretion, require all parties to submit written direct
				and rebuttal testimony, all documentary evidence and exhibits the parties plan
				to submit into evidence at the hearing, witness lists specifying the witnesses
				the parties plan to question at the hearing, and written motions and motion
				responses in advance of the hearing pursuant to deadlines specified in a
				scheduling letter. Any party may, upon good cause shown, make a written request
				to file documents after the rebuttal testimony deadline has passed. Such
				request may be submitted via email to the Hearing Officer with copies to legal
				counsel for all represented parties and directly to unrepresented parties. The
				Hearing Officer has the discretion to allow or reject the request. In the event
				a matter needs to be heard in an expedited manner, the Permit Board may also,
				in its sole discretion, hold an expedited evidentiary hearing. If the Permit
				Board decides to hold an expedited hearing, the Board may do so without
				requiring the parties to pre-file testimony, documents, and other information
				prior to the hearing. MDEQ staff will notify the parties in writing if the
				Permit Board decides to hold an expedited hearing and whether the Board will
				require pre-filing of testimony, documents, and other information.
H. Continuance of hearing.
1. Any party to the hearing, including a
				party who timely filed a motion to intervene, may request a continuance for
				good cause shown in writing at least seven days before the evidentiary hearing.
				The motion must be mailed, emailed, or delivered to the Executive Director of
				the Permit Board and a copy mailed, emailed, or delivered to each party and
				intervenor to the hearing. A movant for continuance of the evidentiary hearing
				must mail, email, or deliver a copy of the motion for continuance to the
				permittee or permit applicant even if the permittee or applicant is not a party
				to the evidentiary hearing. All motions for continuance of an evidentiary
				hearing must state the reason for the continuance. The Hearing Officer or the
				Permit Board may consider a request for a continuance which is made less than
				seven days before the evidentiary hearing if the requestor demonstrates
				extraordinary circumstances necessitating a continuance.
2. The permittee or permit applicant, MDEQ,
				and all interested parties who have requested a hearing or have intervened in
				the matter may agree to a continuance of the hearing and may waive the notice
				requirements. If the parties do not agree to a continuance, the matter will be
				referred to the Permit Board or its Executive Director for a ruling on a motion
				to continue.
3. The Permit Board,
				its Executive Director, or the Hearing Officer on behalf of the Permit Board
				may grant, deny, or reschedule a hearing on a motion for continuance. The
				Permit Board, its Executive Director, or the Hearing Officer on behalf of the
				Permit Board, may grant motions for continuance.