§342L-6 Variances; procedures for. (a) Every application for a variance shall be made on forms furnished by the department and shall be accompanied by a complete and detailed description of present conditions, how present conditions do not fully conform to standards, and such other information as the department may by rule prescribe.
(b) Each application for a variance shall be reviewed in light of the descriptions, statements, plans, histories, and other supporting information submitted with the application, such additional information as may be submitted upon the request of the department, and the effect or probable effect upon the standards established pursuant to this chapter.
(c) Whenever an application is approved, the department shall issue a variance authorizing the installation or operation of an underground storage tank or tank system in a manner deviating from full compliance with applicable standards. No variance shall be granted by the department unless the application and the supporting information clearly show that:
(1) The installation or operation of an underground storage tank or tank system occurring or proposed to occur by the granting of the variance does not present a greater danger to human health or the environment than the installation or operation of what would have been allowed by the federal rules established under Subtitle I of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as added by the federal Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984, 42 U.S.C. §§6991-6991i;
(2) The installation or operation of an underground storage tank or tank system occurring or proposed to occur does not imminently and substantially endanger human health or the environment or the public’s safety; and
(3) Compliance with the rules or standards from which variance is sought would produce serious financial hardship to the owner and operator.
(d) Any variance or renewal thereof shall be granted within the requirements of this section and for time periods and conditions consistent with the reasons thereof, and within the following limitations:
(1) If the variance is granted on the ground that there is no practicable means known or available for the adequate storage of the regulated substance involved, it shall be only until the necessary means for storage becomes practicable and subject to the taking of any substitute or alternate measures that the department may prescribe. No renewal of a variance granted under this subsection shall be allowed without a thorough review of known and available means of storing the regulated substance involved.
(2) The director may issue a variance for a period not exceeding five years.
(3) Every variance granted under this section shall include conditions requiring the owner and operator to monitor for releases and report the results to the department.
(e) Any variance granted pursuant to this section may be renewed from time to time on previous terms and conditions, subject to modifications, and for periods not exceeding five years at a time; provided that the applicant for renewal has met all of the conditions specified in the immediately preceding variance; and provided further that the renewal, and the variance issued in pursuance thereof, shall provide for deviation from full compliance with applicable standards not greater than that attained pursuant to the terms of the immediately preceding variance at its expiration. No renewal shall be granted except on application therefor. Any such application shall be made at least one hundred eighty days prior to the expiration of the variance. The director shall act on an application for renewal within one hundred eighty days of the receipt of such application.
(f) The director may afford a hearing in accordance with chapter 91 in relation to an application for the issuance, renewal, or modification of a variance.
(g) No variance granted pursuant to this chapter shall be construed to prevent or limit the application of any emergency provisions and procedures provided by law, including revocation of the variance.
(h) Any application for a variance, submitted pursuant to this chapter, shall be subject to the public participation requirements listed below.
(1) Public notices of every completed application for a variance shall be given in a manner designed to inform interested and potentially interested persons of the proposed activity. Procedures for giving public notice shall include at least the following:
(A) Notice shall be given within the geographical areas of the proposed activity;
(B) Notice shall be mailed to any person or group upon request; and
(C) The director shall add the name of any person or group upon request to a mailing list to receive copies of notices for all variance applications within the State or within a certain geographical area;
(2) The director shall provide a period of not less than thirty days following the date of the public notice during which time interested persons or groups may submit their written comments with respect to the variance application and the tentative determinations of the department, if any. The period for comment may be extended at the discretion of the director;
(3) The contents of public notice of applications for variances shall include at least the following:
(A) Name, address, and telephone number of the agency issuing the public notice;
(B) Name and address of each applicant and other involved parties including the landowner, facility owner, underground storage tank or tank system owner, facility operator, and underground storage tank or tank system operator;
(C) Brief description of all applicant activities or operations that result in the activity described in the variance application (e.g., rock crushing plant, municipal waste treatment plant, raw sugar factory, or pineapple cannery);
(D) A short description of the location of each underground storage tank or tank system;
(E) A brief description of the procedures for the formulation of final determinations, including the thirty-day comment period required by paragraph (2) and any other means by which interested persons may influence or comment upon those determinations; and
(F) Address and telephone number of the state agency or other location at which interested persons may obtain further information and inspect a copy of the variance applications and supporting and related documents; and
(4) The director may hold a public hearing if, after reviewing the comments submitted under paragraph (2), the director determines that a public hearing is warranted. Any hearing brought pursuant to this subsection shall be held in the geographical area of the proposed activity, or other appropriate area, at the discretion of the director. [L 1989, c 212, pt of §6; am L 1992, c 259, §§7, 8; am L 1998, c 2, §92]
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