PRINTER'S NO. 1348
No. 1231 Session of 1993
INTRODUCED BY BARLEY, REBER, RYAN, FARGO, ALLEN, ARGALL,
ARMSTRONG, BAKER, BROWN, BUNT, CESSAR, CHADWICK, CIVERA,
CLARK, CLYMER, L. I. COHEN, CORNELL, DURHAM, EGOLF, FARMER,
FLEAGLE, FLICK, GEIST, GERLACH, GLADECK, GODSHALL, HERSHEY,
HUTCHINSON, JADLOWIEC, KING, LAUB, LAWLESS, LEE, LEH,
MARSICO, MILLER, NAILOR, O'BRIEN, PERZEL, PETTIT, PHILLIPS,
PICCOLA, PITTS, PLATTS, ROHRER, SAURMAN, SCHULER, SEMMEL,
SERAFINI, S. H. SMITH, D. W. SNYDER, STERN, STRITTMATTER,
J. TAYLOR, TOMLINSON, TRUE, WAUGH, M. N. WRIGHT AND ZUG,
APRIL 19, 1993
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSERVATION, APRIL 19, 1993
AN ACT
1 Providing for a review process for filings with the Department
2 of Environmental Resources.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Short title.
6 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Department of
7 Environmental Resources Application Review Act.
8 Section 2. Definitions.
9 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
10 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
11 context clearly indicates otherwise:
12 "Department." The Department of Environmental Resources of
13 the Commonwealth.
14 "Review agent." An individual, corporation, firm,
1 association or partnership designated by the Department of
2 Environmental Resources under the provisions of this act.
3 "Secretary." The Secretary of Environmental Resources of the
4 Commonwealth.
5 Section 3. Application review.
6 Any person filing an application with the department under
7 any statute or regulation, administrative rule or order,
8 administered by the department for a permit, a permit
9 modification, a permit amendment or an application for
10 repermitting or any license required by the department shall
11 have the right to have that application reviewed by an approved
12 review agent as to completeness of the application.
13 Section 4. Application procedure.
14 At the time of submission of an application qualifying under
15 section 3, the applicant shall request in writing that the
16 department assign the review of the application for completeness
17 to an approved review agent. The department shall refer the
18 application and all documents and materials associated with that
19 application to an approved review agent.
20 Section 5. Agent procedure.
21 The review agent shall then review the application for
22 completeness in accordance and in conformance with the rules and
23 regulations of the department relating to application
24 completeness review under the applicable statute. The review
25 agent shall complete the review and submit a review report to
26 the applicant and to the department within the time allotted by
27 the statute or regulation under which the permit is submitted.
28 Section 6. Agent report.
29 The report of the review agent shall contain a statement of
30 its findings regarding the completeness of the application. The
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1 report shall indicate whether the application is complete or not
2 complete. If the agent reports the application is not complete,
3 the agent shall indicate specific deficiencies in the
4 application and make specific recommendations to the applicant
5 of actions necessary for the applicant to take to complete the
6 application.
7 Section 7. Application completion.
8 Upon receipt by the review agent of the information requested
9 and the determination that the application is complete, the
10 review agent shall report to the department that the application
11 is complete.
12 Section 8. Agent selection.
13 (a) Establishment of list.--The department shall establish
14 an approved list of review agents qualified to review
15 applications under the provisions of section 3 for each of the
16 areas of administration for which the department is responsible
17 under the laws and regulations of the department and for which a
18 permit is required.
19 (b) Qualification for review agent.--The secretary shall,
20 within 120 days from effective date of this act, establish
21 criteria necessary for a review agent to qualify for placement
22 on the list. The secretary shall, utilizing established
23 Commonwealth procedures for requests-for-proposals, publish in
24 two consecutive issues of the Pennsylvania Bulletin, the notice
25 of establishment of the list, the criteria necessary to qualify
26 and the closing date to receive proposals, which date shall not
27 be more than 60 days after the last publication.
28 (c) Publication of list.--Within 120 days after the closing
29 date, the secretary shall announce the list and publish same in
30 the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
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1 Section 9. Effective date.
2 This act shall take effect immediately.
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