General Assembly Raised Bill No. 835
January Session, 2011 LCO No. 2530
*02530_______ENV*
Referred to Committee on Environment
Introduced by:
(ENV)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 835
January Session, 2011
LCO No. 2530
*02530_______ENV*
Referred to Committee on Environment
Introduced by:
(ENV)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE STRUCTURES AND DREDGING PERMIT PROCESS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 22a-361 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2011):
(b) The commissioner, at least thirty days before approving or denying an application for a permit, shall provide or require the applicant to provide notice, by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by electronic means to the applicant, to the Commissioner of Transportation, the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Agriculture and to the chief executive officer, the chairmen of the planning, zoning, harbor management and shellfish commissions of each town in which such structure, fill, obstruction, encroachment or dredging is to be located or work to be performed, and to the owner of each franchised oyster ground and the lessee of each leased oyster ground within which such work is to be performed and shall publish such notice once in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the area affected. [,] Such notice [of] shall contain (1) the name of the applicant; (2) the location and nature of the proposed activities; (3) the tentative decision regarding the application; and (4) any additional information the commissioner deems necessary. There shall be a comment period following the public notice during which interested persons may submit written comments. The commissioner may hold a public hearing prior to approving or denying an application if, in the commissioner's discretion, the public interest will best be served by holding such hearing. The commissioner shall hold a public hearing if the commissioner receives a written request for such a hearing from the applicant, or a petition requesting such hearing that is signed by twenty-five or more persons and an application will: (A) Significantly impact any shellfish area, as determined by the director of the Bureau of Aquaculture at the Department of Agriculture, (B) have interstate ramifications, or (C) involve any project that requires a certificate issued pursuant to section 16-50k or approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Following such notice and comment period and public hearing, if applicable, the commissioner may, in whole or in part, approve, modify and approve or deny the application. The commissioner shall provide to the applicant and the persons set forth above, by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by electronic means, notice of the commissioner's decision. If the commissioner requires the applicant to provide the notice specified in this subsection, the applicant shall certify to the commissioner, no later than twenty days after providing such notice, that such notice has been provided in accordance with this subsection. Any applicant aggrieved by a final decision of the commissioner after a hearing on such matter may appeal to the Superior Court in accordance with the provisions of section 4-183.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2011 22a-361(b)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2011
22a-361(b)
Statement of Purpose:
To allow structures and dredging applicants to request a hearing on their application and to provide them with the right to appeal to the Superior Court following any such hearing.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]