New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 6 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION › Chapter VI - General Regulations › Part 624 - Permit Hearing Procedures › Section 624.2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
Whenever used, in this Part, unless otherwise expressly
				  stated, the following terms will have the meanings indicated below. The
				  definitions of this section are not intended to change any statutory or common
				  law meaning of these terms, but are merely plain language explanations of legal
				  terms.
(a) Adjudicatory hearing means
				a hearing, held pursuant to ECL section 70- 0119 or SAPA article 3, where
				parties may present evidence on issues of fact, and argument on issues of law
				and fact prior to the commissioner's rendering of a decision on the merits, but
				does not include legislative hearings.
(b) 'Administrative law judge' or 'ALJ' means
				the commissioner's representative who conducts the hearing.
(c) Amicus status means a person who is not
				otherwise eligible for party status but who is allowed to introduce written
				argument upon one or more specific issues.
(d) Applicant means the person who has
				applied for one or more permits from the department or the modification or
				renewal of such permit(s). In the case of a water supply rate dispute, the
				petitioning party shall be the applicant.
(e) Argument means opinions or viewpoints, as
				distinguished from evidence.
(f)
				Commissioner means the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental
				Conservation or the commissioner's designee.
(g) 'CPLR' means the Civil Practice Law and
				Rules.
(h) DEIS means the draft
				environmental impact statement prepared in response to the requirements of
				article 8 of the ECL.
(i) Delegated
				permit (as further defined under Part 621 of this Title) means a permit issued
				by the department which substitutes for a comparable permit required by Federal
				law and is recognized by the Federal agency responsible for administering the
				Federal program.
(j) Department
				means the Department of Environmental Conservation of the State of New
				York.
(k) 'Department staff' means
				those department personnel participating in the hearing, but does not include
				the commissioner, any personnel of the Office of Hearings and Mediation
				Services, the ALJ or any person advising or consulting with the commissioner or
				ALJ.
(l) 'Discovery' means
				disclosure of facts, documents, or other things that are known by or in the
				possession of a person and that are material and necessary to the person
				requesting the disclosure as a part of the requester's case.
(m) Draft permit means a document prepared by
				department staff which contains terms and conditions staff find are adequate to
				meet all legal requirements associated with such a permit, but is subject to
				modification as a result of public comments or an adjudicatory
				hearing.
(n) 'ECL' means the
				Environmental Conservation Law.
(o)
				ENB (Environmental Notice Bulletin) means the publication of the department
				published pursuant to section 3-0306 of the ECL, and accessible on the
				department's Internet web site at http://www.dec.state.ny.us.
(p) 'Evidence' means sworn or affirmed
				testimony of witnesses, and physical objects, documents, records or photographs
				that tend to prove or disprove the existence of an alleged fact.
(q) FEIS means the final environmental impact
				statement prepared pursuant to the requirements of article 8 of the
				ECL.
(r) Hearsay means a statement,
				other than one made by a witness testifying at the hearing, offered into
				evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted.
(s) 'Interrogatories' means written questions
				regarding the proceeding that are served by a party on an adversarial party.
				Answers to interrogatories shall be in writing and made under oath.
(t) Legislative hearing means the portion of
				the hearing process during which unsworn statements are received from the
				public and the parties.
(u) Motion
				means a request for a ruling or an order.
(v) 'Office of Hearings and Mediation
				Services' means the office within the department principally responsible for
				conducting adjudicatory hearings and providing mediation services.
(w) 'Party' means any person granted full
				party status or amicus status in the adjudicatory portion of the hearing
				according to the procedures and standards set forth in section
				624.5  of
				this Part but does not include the ALJ, the Office of Hearings and Mediation
				Services, or the commissioner.
(x)
				'Permit' means any permit, certificate, license, registration or other form of
				department approval, other than an enforcement order, issued in connection with
				any regulatory program administered by the department.
(y) 'Person' means any individual, public or
				private corporation, limited liability company, bi-state authority, political
				subdivision, government agency, department or bureau of the State,
				municipality, industry, partnership, association, firm, trust, estate or any
				legal entity whatsoever.
(z)
				Potential party means any person who has filed a petition pursuant to section
				624.5  of
				this Part whose petition has not received either final denial or
				acceptance.
(aa) Project means the
				physical activity or undertaking for which one or more permits are required
				from the department.
(bb)
				Protective order means an order denying, limiting, conditioning or regulating
				the use of material requested through discovery.
(cc) Relevant means tending to support or
				refute the existence of any fact that is of consequence or material to the
				commissioner's decision on a permit.
(dd) 'Report' means the ALJ's summary of the
				hearing record, including the ALJ's findings of fact, conclusions of law and
				recommendations for the commissioner's consideration.
(ee) 'SAPA' means the State Administrative
				Procedure Act.
(ff) 'SEQRA' means
				the State Environmental Quality Review Act, article 8 of the ECL.
(gg) 'Service' means the delivery of a
				document to a person by authorized means and, where applicable, the filing of a
				document with the ALJ, the Office of Hearings and Mediation Services or the
				commissioner.
(hh) Statement of
				intent to deny means a document prepared by staff which identifies the reasons
				why the permit(s) for the project may not be issued as proposed or
				conditionally.
(ii) Stipulation
				means an agreement between two or more parties to a hearing, and entered into
				the hearing record, concerning one or more issues of fact or law which are the
				subject of the hearing.
(jj)
				Subpoena means a legal document that requires a person to appear at a hearing
				and testify and/or bring documents or physical objects.
(kk) 'UPA' means the Uniform Procedures Act,
				article 70 of the ECL. Section
				624.3  to
				subdivision
				624.3(a) 
				remain unchanged. Subdivisions
				624.3(a)
				 and
				624.3(b) 
				are amended to read as follows:
(a) 'When
				notice is required.' Unless otherwise provided by statute or regulation, the
				Office of Hearings and Mediation Services must publish notice of the hearing in
				the ENB, and provide notice to the applicant and to persons who have made
				written request to participate. The applicant must provide for and bear the
				cost of publication of the notice in a newspaper having general circulation in
				the area within which the proposed project is located. The notices in the ENB
				and the newspaper must be published at least once and not less than 21 calendar
				days prior to the hearing date. In the case of applications involving State
				Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permits, revisions to the State
				implementation plan, federally delegated air permits, and Hazardous Waste
				Management Facility (HWMF) permits, and Remedial Action Plans (RAPs), the
				notice must be published at least 30 days prior to the hearing date. In
				addition, public notice by means of radio is required for hearings on all HWMF
				permits or RAP applications. These requirements are minimums and the ALJ shall
				direct the applicant to provide additional notice or to provide the notice
				further in advance of the hearing where the ALJ finds it necessary to do so in
				order to adequately inform the potentially affected public about the hearing.
				Where the ALJ finds that a large segment of the potentially affected public has
				a principal language other than English, he or she shall direct the publication
				of the notice in a foreign language newspaper(s) serving such people. Nothing
				herein shall authorize the ALJ to delay the commencement of the hearing beyond
				the deadlines established in UPA without the applicant's consent.
(b) 'Required contents of notice.' The notice
				must be in the form specified by the Office of Hearings and Mediation Services
				and must contain the following information: