North Dakota Administrative Code › Title 69 - Public Service Commission › Article 69-05.2 - Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Operations › Chapter 69-05.2-04 - Areas Unsuitable for Mining › Section 69-05.2-04-04 - Areas unsuitable for mining - Initial processing - Recordkeeping - Notification requirements for designating lands unsuitable

Current through Supplement No. 393, July, 2024
1. Within thirty days of receipt of a
				petition, the commission will notify the petitioner by certified mail whether
				the petition is complete under section
				69-05.2-04-03.
2. The commission will determine whether any
				identified coal or commercial leonardite resources exist in the area covered by
				the petition, without requiring any showing from the petitioner. If the
				commission finds no identified coal or commercial leonardite resources in that
				area, it will return the petition with a statement of findings.
3. The commission may reject frivolous
				petitions and those not stating a prima facie case. Once the requirements of
				section 69-05.2-04-03 are met, no party
				shall bear any burden of proof, but each accepted petition will be considered
				and acted upon under the procedures of this chapter.
4. When considering a petition for an area
				which was previously and unsuccessfully proposed for designation, the
				commission will determine if the new petition presents new allegations of
				facts. If not, the commission will return it, with a statement of findings and
				a reference to the record of the previous designation proceedings.
5. If the commission determines that the
				petition is incomplete or frivolous, the commission will return it with a
				written statement of the reasons and, in the case of an incomplete petition,
				the information needed to make the petition complete. A petitioner to whom an
				incomplete petition has been returned shall have thirty days from the date the
				petitioner receives the commission's written statement to resubmit the
				petition. The permit application review period provided by subsection 3 of
				section 69-05.2-05-01 will be suspended
				until the petition is resubmitted or the additional thirty-day period has
				expired, whichever occurs first.
6.
				The commission will notify the petitioner of any permit application received
				which proposes to include any area covered by the petition.
7. Any petition received after the close of
				the public comment period specified in subsection 1 of North Dakota Century
				Code section
				38-14.1-18 on a permit application
				relating to the same permit area will not prevent the commission from issuing a
				decision on that application. The commission may return any petition received
				thereafter with a statement why the commission cannot consider the
				petition.
8. The commission will
				promptly notify the public of receipt of a petition by an advertisement in the
				local newspaper and the newspaper of broadest circulation in the region of the
				petitioned area. The commission will circulate copies of the petition to, and
				request submissions of relevant information from, other interested governmental
				agencies, the petitioner, intervenors, persons with an ownership interest of
				record, and other persons known to the commission to have an interest in the
				property.
9. Within three weeks
				after the determination that a petition is complete, the commission will notify
				the general public of its receipt and request relevant information through a
				newspaper advertisement placed once a week for two consecutive weeks in the
				official newspaper of each county containing the petitioned area and in other
				daily newspapers of general circulation in the locality covered by the
				petition.
10. Until three days
				before the commission holds a hearing under section
				69-05.2-04-05, any person may
				intervene by filing allegations of facts, supporting evidence, a short
				statement identifying the petition to which the allegations pertain, and the
				intervenor's name, address, and telephone number.
11. Beginning immediately after a complete
				petition is filed, the commission will compile and maintain a record consisting
				of all documents relating to the petition filed with or prepared by the
				commission. The commission will make the record available in its offices for
				public inspection free of charge, and copying, at a reasonable cost, during
				normal business hours. The commission will also file a copy of the complete
				petition and copies of all other documents relating to the petition with the
				relevant county auditors.
General Authority:
NDCC
					 38-14.1-03
Law Implemented:
NDCC
					 38-14.1-04,
					 38-14.1-06,
					 38-14.1-09,
					 38-14.1-18