(225 ILCS 720/2.04) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7902.04)
Sec. 2.04.
Notice and Public Review of Applications.
(a) At the time
of submission of a permit application, the applicant shall (1) place a public
notice of the application in a local newspaper of general circulation in
the locality of the proposed mining operations to appear at least once a
week for four consecutive weeks, and (2) file the application for public
inspection at the county seat of each county containing land to be affected
under the permit. Information which pertains to coal seams, test borings,
core samplings, or soil samples required to be part of a permit application
shall be made available to any person with an interest which is or may be
adversely affected. Information which pertains only to the analysis of
the chemical and physical
properties of the coal (excepting information regarding mineral or elemental
content which is potentially toxic in the environment) need not be made
available for public
inspection. On the written request of the applicant, such information shall
be kept confidential by the Department and not made a matter of public record.
(b) The contents and other requirements for the public notices and filings
required by this Section shall be prescribed by the Department by rule.
(c) When an application is received, the Department shall notify various
local governmental bodies, planning agencies, sewage and water treatment
authorities, and water companies in the locality in which the proposed mining
will take place, of the operator's intention to mine a particularly described
tract of land and state the permit application's number and where a copy
of the application may be inspected. Written comments on the permit application
may be submitted to the Department in the manner and within the time prescribed
by the Department by rule. Immediately on receipt of such comments, the
Department shall transmit a copy of them to the applicant, and shall file
them for public inspection at the same locations at which the application
is available for public inspection.
(d) Any person having an interest which is or may be adversely affected
or any person who is an officer of any government agency, or the county
board of a county to be affected under a proposed permit, may file written
objections to a permit application and may request an informal conference
with the Department. If no informal conference is requested, or if the
issues in question are not resolved by the informal conference, such interested
person, officer, or county
board may request a public hearing within 80 days after the first newspaper
notice required by subsection (a) of this Section. If a hearing is requested,
the Department shall hold at least one hearing in the locality affected
by the permit, and shall hold a hearing in each county to be affected under
the proposed permit in which a county
board has requested a hearing. The Department may provide funds to county
boards to assist them under this Section, provided funds are specifically
appropriated for such purpose.
(e) By rule the Department shall establish hearing dates which provide
reasonable time in which to have reviewed the proposed plans, and procedural
rules for the calling and conducting of the public hearing. Such procedural
rules shall include provisions for reasonable notice to all parties, including
the applicant, and reasonable opportunity for all parties to respond by
oral or written testimony, or both, to statements and objections made at
the public hearing. County boards and the public shall present their recommendations
at these hearings.
(f) A complete record of the hearings and all testimony shall be made
by the Department and recorded stenographically or electronically. Such
record shall be maintained and shall be accessible to the public until final
release of the applicant's performance bond.
(g) If all parties requesting a hearing withdraw their requests, the hearing
need not be held.
(Source: P.A. 81-1015.)
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