comments - Tier III applications - Proposed permit - Notice and hearing - Final denial or permit. A. For draft permits or draft denials for Tier II applications on which no comment or public meeting request was received in a timely manner and on which no public meeting was held, the final permit shall be issued or denied. B. For draft permits or draft denials for Tier II applications on which comment or a public meeting request was received in a timely manner or on which a public meeting was held, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, after considering the comments, shall prepare a response to comments and issue the draft permit as is or as amended or make final denial. C. The response to comments shall be prepared within ninety (90) working days after the close of the public comment period unless extended by the Director upon a determination that additional time is required due to circumstances outside the control of the Department. Circumstances may include, but shall not be limited to, an act of God, a substantial and unexpected increase in the number of applications filed, additional review duties imposed on the Department from an outside source, or outside review by a federal agency. D. 1. For a draft permit for a Tier III application, after the public comment period and the public meeting, if any, the Department shall prepare a response to any comments received in a timely manner and either issue a final denial in accordance with paragraph 5 of this subsection or prepare a proposed permit. 2. When a proposed permit is prepared, the applicant shall publish notice, as legal notice in one newspaper of general circulation local to the proposed new site or existing facility, of the tentative decision of the Department to issue the permit. The notice shall identify the locations where the proposed permit and the response of the Department to comments may be reviewed, including a public location in the county where the proposed new site or existing facility is located and shall offer a twenty- working-day opportunity to request an administrative hearing to participate in as a party. 3. The Department shall ensure that any additional notice requirements as otherwise provided by law are followed. 4. The opportunity to request a hearing shall be available to the applicant and any person or qualified interest group that alleges that the operation may have a direct, substantial, and immediate effect upon the health, environmental, pecuniary, or property interest or upon the legal interest of that person or qualified interest group. 5. If no written administrative hearing request is received by the Department by the end of twenty (20) working days after the publication date of the notice, the final permit shall be issued. 6. If the final decision of the Department is to deny the permit, it shall give notice to the applicant and issue a final denial in accordance with subsection G of this section. E. 1. When an administrative hearing is requested in a timely manner on a proposed permit in accordance with subsection C of this section, all timely requests shall be combined in a single hearing. The hearing shall be a quasi-judicial proceeding and shall be conducted by an administrative law judge in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act, the Oklahoma Agricultural Code, and rules promulgated by the State Board of Agriculture. 2. The applicant shall be a party to the hearing. 3. The Department shall hold a scheduling conference within sixty (60) calendar days after the end of the hearing request period. 4. The Department shall move promptly to an evidentiary proceeding in which parties shall have the right to present evidence before the Department on whether the proposed permit and the technical data, models and analyses, and information in the application upon which the proposed permit is based are in substantial compliance with applicable provisions of the Oklahoma Agricultural Code and rules promulgated thereunder and whether the proposed permit should be issued as is, amended and issued, or denied. 5. Failure of any party to participate in the administrative proceeding with good faith and diligence may result in a default judgment with regard to that party; provided, however, that no final permit shall be issued solely on the basis of any such judgment. F. If the Department decides to reverse its initial draft decision, it shall withdraw the draft denial or draft permit and prepare a draft permit or draft denial, as appropriate. Notice of the withdrawal of the original draft and preparation of the revised draft shall be given as provided in Section 15 of this act. The Department then shall reopen the comment period and provide additional opportunity for a formal public meeting on the revised draft as described in Section 18 of this act. G. Upon final issuance or denial of a permit for a Tier III application, the Department shall provide public notice of the final permit decision and the availability of the response to comments, if any. H. Any appeal of a Tier III final permit decision or any final order connected to it shall be made in accordance with the provisions of the Oklahoma Agricultural Code and the Administrative Procedures Act. Any appeal shall be limited to the participants of the administrative proceedings. I. Any applicant, within ten (10) days after final denial of the application for a new original permit on which no final order was issued, may petition the Department for reconsideration on the grounds stated in the Administrative Procedures Act as if the denial was an order. Disposition of the petition shall be by order of the Director according to the Administrative Procedures Act.
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