KRS 224.16-050: Issuance of federal permits by cabinet -- Timelines for determination --

Activities not requiring permit -- Wetlands delineation -- Application fee.

(1) The cabinet may issue federal permits pursuant to 33 U.S.C. sec. 1342(b) of the

federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. sec. 1251 et seq., subject to the

conditions imposed in 33 U.S.C. secs. 1342(b) and 1342(d). The cabinet may issue

federal permits pursuant to 33 U.S.C. sec. 1344(e) and (g) of the federal Water

Pollution Control Ac t, 33 U.S.C. sec. 1251 et seq., subject to the conditions

imposed in 33 U.S.C. sec. 1344(h), (i), and (j). Any exemptions granted in the

issuance of NPDES permits shall be pursuant to 33 U.S.C. secs. 1311, 1312, and

1326(a). The cabinet shall report to the standing committees of jurisdiction over

environmental protection, and appropriations and revenue, no later than January 1,

2006, on the costs, personnel requirements, and any statutory or regulatory changes

needed to support state assumption of the permi tting program under 33 U.S.C. sec.

1344(e) and (g), and the anticipated benefits in permit streamlining and

environmental quality from state administration of the program.

(2) (a) The cabinet shall make certification determinations pursuant to 33 U.S.C. se c.

1341 as to whether applicants for a federal permit for the construction or

operation of facilities which may result in a discharge into the waters of the

Commonwealth will comply with the applicable provisions of the federal

Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. sec. 1251 et seq.

(b) Within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of an application for certification

under paragraph (a) of this subsection, the cabinet shall notify the applicant in

writing that the application is complete or that the cabinet requires additional

information to process the application. If the cabinet determines that

additional information is necessary to process the application, the notice

provided pursuant to this paragraph shall clearly set forth the necessary

additional infor mation, which the applicant shall provide within thirty (30)

calendar days of receiving the notice of incompleteness.

(c) Unless a longer period of time is requested by the applicant, the cabinet shall

make a final determination on whether to issue the cer tification or deny the

application within sixty (60) calendar days of notifying the applicant that the

application is complete pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subsection.

(d) If the cabinet does not make a final determination within sixty (60) calendar

days of a notification of completeness in accordance with paragraph (c) of this

subsection, the cabinet shall be considered to have waived certification

requirements by the Commonwealth, unless the applicant has voluntarily

agreed in writing to a longer rev iew period not to exceed one (1) year from

the cabinet's receipt of the initial application.

(3) The certification provided under subsection (2) of this section shall be limited in

scope to water quality impacts from the discharge only and shall not includ e other

limitations or constitute a review of the proposed activity as a whole.

(4) The cabinet shall not impose under any permit issued pursuant to this section any

effluent limitation, monitoring requirement, or other condition which is more

stringent th an the effluent limitation, monitoring requirement, or other condition

which would have been applicable under federal regulation if the permit were

issued by the federal government. The cabinet shall not postpone or delay the

review of, or condition, delay, or refuse the issuance of, any permit under 33 U.S.C.

sec. 1342(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act on the applicant's need for

or receipt of any other federal, state, or local permit, certification, license,

authorization, or other approval.

(5) Nonprofit organizations which have been qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the

Internal Revenue Code and which operate their own treatment facilities and which

are designated for capacities less than ten thousand (10,000) gallons per day shall

be char ged a fee no greater than fifty dollars ($50) by the cabinet to process a

construction permit, nor a fee greater than twenty dollars ($20) per year for an

operating permit for one (1) facility. These fees shall in no case be higher than the

fees charged by the cabinet to process permit applications for comparable privately

owned facilities. This subsection shall not apply to any school or waterworks

owned by a water district, water association, or municipality and established

pursuant to KRS Chapter 74 or 106.

(6) The following activities do not require a permit issued under 33 U.S.C. sec. 1344.

The discharge of dredged or fill material:

(a) From normal farming, silviculture, and ranching activities such as plowing,

seeding, cultivating, minor draining, harvesting for the production of food,

fiber, and forest products, or upland soil and water conservation practices;

(b) For the purpose of mai ntenance, including emergency reconstruction of

recently damaged parts of currently serviceable structures such as dikes,

dams, levees, groins, riprap, breakwaters, causeways, bridge abutments or

approaches, and transportation structures;

(c) For the purpo se of construction or maintenance of farm or stock ponds,

irrigation ditches, or the maintenance of drainage ditches;

(d) For the purpose of construction of temporary sedimentation basins on a

construction site which does not include placement of fill mate rial into the

navigable waters; or

(e) For the purpose of construction or maintenance of farm roads, forest roads, or

temporary roads for moving mining equipment, where the roads are

constructed and maintained, in accordance with best management practices, to

ensure that flow and circulation patterns and chemical and biological

characteristics of the navigable waters are not impaired, that the reach of the

navigable waters is not reduced, and that any adverse effect on the aquatic

environment will be minimized.

(7) Prior to assuming delegated authority from the United States Environmental

Protection Agency to administer 33 U.S.C. sec. 1344(e) and (g), the cabinet shall

enter into a memorandum of agreement with the United States Department of

Agriculture (USDA) regarding wetlands delineation on agricultural lands or lands

owned or operated by a USDA program participant. The cabinet shall give the same

deference to wetlands delineations made by USDA as would have been given by a

federal agency administering 33 U.S.C. sec. 1344(e) and (g).

(8) The cabinet may establish by regulation a fee for processing permit applications

under 33 U.S.C. sec. 1344.