00 HOUSE BILL NO. 309 01 "An Act relating to the adoption and use of a unified application, review, decision, and 02 appeal process for certain project permits; and providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04  * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 05 to read: 06 LEGISLATIVE PURPOSE. It is the purpose of this Act to provide an efficient 07 permitting system for projects in Alaska that encourages responsible resource development 08 and public participation in the permit review process. 09  * Sec. 2. AS 44.19 is amended by adding new sections to read: 10 Article 5A. Unified Permit Application and Process.  11 Sec. 44.19.851. Unified permit application center. The Resource Permitting 12 Center is established in the Office of the Governor. 13 Sec. 44.19.852. Unified permit application. (a) The center shall, in 14 consultation with the resource agencies, develop a unified permit application form. 01 The center may develop different versions of the form applicable to specific activities. 02 All versions of the form must be approved by the commissioner of each resource 03 agency before use. The form must require the applicant to provide the following 04 information and any other information necessary to meet the statutory and regulatory 05 permit requirements of a resource agency: 06 (1) the applicant's name; 07 (2) the applicant's contact information, including the applicant's 08 (A) address; 09 (B) telephone number; 10 (C) electronic mail address, if any; 11 (D) facsimile number, if any; 12 (3) a description of the project, including 13 (A) a complete and detailed description of the proposed project, 14 with sufficient specificity for the reviewing agencies to determine the purpose 15 of the proposed project; 16 (B) maps, diagrams, technical data, and other relevant material 17 that precisely describe the site location, topographical information, township, 18 range, section, meridian, and other site-specific information of the project; 19 (4) the proposed start and end dates for the project; and 20 (5) for a project that requires a federal or resource agency permit that 21 is subject to the Alaska coastal management program, a consistency certification that 22 states, "The proposed project complies with the applicable enforceable policies of the 23 Alaska coastal management program and will be conducted in a manner consistent 24 with the program." 25 (b) Following adoption of a unified permit application form by the center and 26 the resource agencies, a unified permit application shall be the only application 27 required for any state permitting action, including a consistency review under the 28 Alaska coastal management program. 29 (c) Through a collaborative process, the center and the resource agencies may, 30 from time to time, revise the unified permit application form as necessary to conform 31 to changes in applicable statutes and regulations. 01 Sec. 44.19.853. Project questionnaire. The center shall develop a project 02 questionnaire to solicit information regarding the project description and site 03 information from a prospective applicant. 04 Sec. 44.19.854. Preapplication assistance. (a) The center shall, on request, 05 assist a prospective applicant in identifying the permits needed for a project. 06 (b) At the time a prospective applicant requests assistance under this section, 07 the prospective applicant shall, at a minimum, provide a brief description of the 08 proposed project. To the extent feasible, the applicant shall provide the center with 09 (1) a completed project questionnaire on a form approved by the center 10 in consultation with the resource agencies; 11 (2) a map identifying the location of the project and adjacent facilities; 12 and 13 (3) a description of any structures or natural features that are at or 14 adjacent to the project site. 15 (c) The applicant may request that the center provide information, including 16 (1) information about the project questionnaire and review process; 17 (2) preliminary identification of local governments and coastal 18 resource districts that may have an interest in the project; 19 (3) preliminary identification of each permit that is likely to be needed 20 for the project; 21 (4) to the extent feasible, an estimate of the time for the project review; 22 and 23 (5) to the extent feasible, preliminary identification of information that 24 may be required to determine compliance with the requirements for each resource 25 agency permit and potential mitigation requirements. 26 Sec. 44.19.855. Notice to local government and coastal resource district. 27 (a) The center shall inform a local government and coastal resource district of a 28 proposed project 29 (1) within the boundaries of the local government or coastal resource 30 district; or 31 (2) that may have an effect within the local government or district 01 boundaries. 02 (b) The center shall invite representatives of a potentially affected local 03 government and coastal resource district to attend any preapplication meeting 04 scheduled. 05 Sec. 44.19.856. Submission of permit application; initial review. (a) An 06 applicant for permits from two or more resource agencies shall complete a unified 07 permit application on a form provided by the center and submit the application to the 08 center. 09 (b) Within seven days after receipt of a unified permit application, the center 10 shall determine whether the application is complete. 11 (c) An application is complete if the application 12 (1) contains the information described in AS 44.19.852; and 13 (2) is sufficient to begin a review under the statutory and regulatory 14 requirements for each resource agency from which a permit is required. 15 (d) If the center determines that the application is incomplete, the center shall 16 notify the applicant and identify the information necessary to complete the application. 17 Once the center has determined that an application is complete, it shall immediately 18 submit a copy of the application to each member of the regional project review team 19 for the region or regions in which the project will be located. 20 Sec. 44.19.857. Unified permit application review. (a) Within 14 days 21 after receipt of a complete unified permit application, a project review team member 22 shall request from the center any additional information the team member's agency 23 needs to conduct the agency's review of the application. The center shall submit a 24 consolidated request for additional information to the applicant. The center shall 25 supply any additional information provided by the applicant to each project review 26 team member reviewing the application. 27 (b) Within seven days after receiving the additional information provided by 28 the applicant from the center, the regional project review team member requesting the 29 information shall notify the center whether the information is adequate. If the 30 information is not adequate, the project review team member shall 31 (1) explain how the information submitted is inadequate; and 01 (2) identify 02 (A) the information that is needed to satisfy the original 03 request; and 04 (B) any information needed to analyze issues raised by the 05 response to the original request for additional information. 06 Sec. 44.19.858. Regional project review teams. (a) The center, in 07 consultation with the resource agencies, shall establish regional project review teams 08 to review proposed projects within each of the following geographic regions: 09 (1) Northwest Alaska, including the North Slope Borough and the 10 Northwest Arctic Borough; 11 (2) Bering Strait, including the Bering Strait regional educational 12 attendance area; 13 (3) Southwest Alaska, including the area within the Lower Yukon, 14 Lower Kuskokwim, and Southwest regional educational attendance areas and the Lake 15 and Peninsula and Bristol Bay Boroughs; 16 (4) Kodiak-Aleutians, including the Kodiak Island and Aleutian East 17 Boroughs and the Aleutian, Adak, and Pribilof regional educational attendance areas; 18 (5) Upper Cook Inlet, including the Municipality of Anchorage and the 19 Matanuska-Susitna Borough; 20 (6) Lower Cook Inlet, including the Kenai Peninsula Borough; 21 (7) Prince William Sound, including the area east of the Kenai 22 Peninsula Borough to 141 West longitude; 23 (8) northern Southeast Alaska, including the area southeast of 141 24 West longitude and north of 57 North latitude, including the City and Borough of 25 Sitka; 26 (9) southern Southeast Alaska, including that portion of Southeast 27 Alaska not contained within the area described in (8) of this subsection; and 28 (10) Interior Alaska, including the Fairbanks North Star Borough. 29 (b) Each regional project review team must include at least one member 30 appointed by the commissioner of each resource agency. 31 (c) Each team member shall review the completed unified permit application 01 under the statutes and regulations of that team member's agency. No agency shall 02 have veto authority over another agency's review findings. 03 (d) For a project subject to the requirements of the Alaska coastal management 04 program, each regional project review team member shall review a unified permit 05 application for consistency with applicable statewide standards and coastal resource 06 district enforceable policies. When considering coastal district enforceable policies, 07 the review team shall defer to the coastal district in interpretation and application of 08 the enforceable policy. 09 (e) A project review team shall 10 (1) work cooperatively to reach preliminary and final unified permit 11 decisions; 12 (2) meet established deadlines; 13 (3) represent the best interest of the state in the review of a proposed 14 project; 15 (4) consult with the applicant, affected local governments, coastal 16 resource districts, federal agencies, and the public to ensure an effective review 17 process that addresses state and local concerns; and 18 (5) make use of the best available scientific information and applicable 19 local knowledge in the decision-making process. 20 Sec. 44.19.859. Scope of review. The scope of the review by the project 21 review team shall, at a minimum, include each project activity that requires a resource 22 agency permit and each activity that requires a federal permit subject to the Alaska 23 coastal management program. 24 Sec. 44.19.860. Phased project reviews. (a) With the consent of the 25 applicant, the review team may limit a project review to a discrete phase of the project 26 when 27 (1) at the time the project review is initiated, there is insufficient 28 information to evaluate and make a unified permit decision for the entirety of the 29 proposed project; 30 (2) the proposed project is capable of proceeding in discrete phases, 31 and information is being developed and was not available to the applicant at the time 01 the previous phase was subject to review; and 02 (3) each subsequent phase of the proposed project is subject to the 03 discretion to implement alternative decisions, including permit denial, based on 04 developing information. 05 (b) When a project review is limited to a review of a discrete phase under (a) 06 of this section, the review team shall describe in the preliminary and final unified 07 permit decision the reasons for its decision to conduct the review in phases. 08 (c) Each phase of a proposed project will require an individual review subject 09 to the requirements of AS 44.19.851 - 44.19.869. 10 Sec. 44.19.861. Timeline for review. (a) A project review team shall issue a 11 preliminary unified permit decision within 30 days after the team's receipt of a 12 complete application, or within 30 days after the team's receipt of any additional 13 information required to complete an application, unless the commissioner of a 14 resource agency finds that additional time is necessary for that agency to fulfill 15 statutory requirements and responsibilities. 16 (b) At the time a preliminary decision under (a) of this section is issued, a 17 project review team shall establish the period for receiving public comment based on 18 the complexity, size, and effect of the project; a minimum of 20 days for receipt of 19 public comment shall be provided for all projects. 20 (c) A project review team shall issue a final unified permit decision within 10 21 days after the close of the period for public comment unless the commissioner of a 22 resource agency finds that additional time is necessary for that agency to fulfill 23 statutory requirements and responsibilities. 24 Sec. 44.19.862. Form of preliminary unified permit decision. (a) The 25 preliminary unified permit decision must 26 (1) be in writing; 27 (2) contain a 28 (A) description of the proposed project; 29 (B) list of required resource agency permits; 30 (C) description of the scope of the project subject to review; 31 (3) provide sufficient information to serve as a basis for public 01 comment; 02 (4) identify any conditions necessary to ensure the project complies 03 with resource agency statutes and regulations that relate to the permit and is consistent 04 with applicable coastal program statewide standards and coastal resource district 05 enforceable policies; and 06 (5) for a project subject to the Alaska coastal management program, 07 contain a concurrence with or objection to a consistency certification or federal 08 consistency determination. 09 (b) The center, in consultation with the resource agency commissioners or 10 designees, shall resolve any conflicting conditions proposed by project review team 11 members that deal with the same subject matter before issuing a preliminary permit 12 decision. The center may extend the decision deadline as needed to resolve any 13 disputed issues. 14 Sec. 44.19.863. Public notice. The project review team shall provide public 15 notice of a preliminary unified permit decision issued under AS 44.19.860 and 16 44.19.861. The notice must 17 (1) contain sufficient information, expressed in commonly understood 18 terms, to inform the public of the nature of the proposed project that is the subject of 19 the preliminary decision; 20 (2) explain how the public may comment on the preliminary decision; 21 (3) specify the deadline for receipt of comments; 22 (4) be issued and publicized by one or more of the following methods: 23 (A) publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the 24 affected region; or 25 (B) posting 26 (i) on an Internet website dedicated to preliminary 27 decision public notices; and 28 (ii) in at least two public places within each affected 29 community within the affected region; and 30 (5) be provided by mail, or by electronic format if the recipient has 31 agreed to receive notices in electronic format, to each person who has requested public 01 notice from the center or the review team relating to 02 (A) the proposed project; or 03 (B) any proposed project affecting a specific region. 04 Sec. 44.19.864. Public hearings. The project review team may hold a public 05 meeting or hearing if considered appropriate by a resource agency or review team. 06 The public meeting or hearing may be held jointly with local and federal permitting 07 entities. The meeting or hearing may be structured in any manner that facilitates 08 meaningful public comment. 09 Sec. 44.19.865. Final unified permit decision. (a) The final unified permit 10 decision must 11 (1) be in writing; 12 (2) contain a 13 (A) description of the proposed project; 14 (B) list of required resource agency permits; 15 (C) description of the scope of the project subject to review; 16 (D) statement that the project meets resource agency statutory 17 and regulatory requirements; 18 (E) statement of how public, local government, and coastal 19 resource district comments have been addressed; 20 (F) statement identifying the availability of an administrative 21 appeal to the center; 22 (3) identify any conditions necessary to ensure the project complies 23 with resource agency statutes and regulations applicable to the permit and is consistent 24 with applicable coastal program statewide standards and coastal district enforceable 25 policies; 26 (4) for a project subject to the Alaska coastal management program, 27 contain a concurrence or objection to a consistency certification or federal consistency 28 determination; and 29 (5) for a federally permitted project subject to the Alaska coastal 30 management program, contain a statement identifying the availability of an appeal 31 under federal regulations. 01 (b) A condition in a final unified permit decision is enforceable by the agency 02 or agencies that required the condition under the agency's statutory or regulatory 03 authority, including authority under the coastal management program. 04 Sec. 44.19.866. Administrative appeals. (a) The applicant or an eligible 05 person may appeal a final unified permit decision to the center within 30 days after 06 issuance of the decision. A person other than the applicant is eligible if the person 07 participated in the public comment process by 08 (1) submitting a timely written comment on the preliminary unified 09 permit decision to the project review team; or 10 (2) presenting oral testimony at a public hearing or meeting at which 11 the permit was under review. 12 (b) An appeal under this section must specify 13 (1) the final unified permit decision that is the source of the person's 14 grievance; 15 (2) the basis of the challenge; and 16 (3) the name and mailing address of the person making the appeal. 17 (c) The center shall provide notice of the appeal to each resource agency 18 involved in the review of the permit. Each agency shall evaluate each point of appeal 19 and determine whether the point on appeal raises a relevant issue of fact or law 20 material to the final unified permit decision. Within five days after making its 21 determinations, the agency shall notify the center of its determination for each point 22 on appeal. If the agency determines that the appeal identifies a reasonable issue of 23 fact or law, the center shall accept the appeal for consideration. 24 (d) If an agency determines that the appeal does not raise a reasonable issue of 25 fact or law, the center shall notify the person making the appeal that the final unified 26 permit is the final administrative order and decision for purposes of appeal to the 27 superior court. 28 (e) The center shall prepare the record on appeal with the assistance of each 29 resource agency participating in the review of the permit. The record on appeal 30 consists of 31 (1) the unified permit application; 01 (2) public comments; 02 (3) relevant material supplied to the resource agencies by the applicant; 03 (4) other information used by the resource agencies as a basis for the 04 unified permit decision; and 05 (5) the preliminary and final unified permit decision. 06 (f) An appeal of a final unified permit decision shall be heard and decided by 07 the commissioner or commissioner's designee of each resource agency for which a 08 point of appeal addresses a statutory or regulatory requirement within the resource 09 agency's authority or an enforceable policy within the resource agency's expertise. 10 When an appeal addresses a coastal resource district enforceable policy, each 11 commissioner or designee shall consult with the coastal resource district and defer to 12 the coastal resource district's interpretation and application of the enforceable policy. 13 (g) The center shall consolidate all decisions of each participating resource 14 agency into one final decision. The center shall distribute a copy of the final decision 15 on appeal to each party to the appeal. 16 (h) Notwithstanding AS 44.62.330, procedures for an appeal under 17 AS 44.19.851 - 44.19.869 need not conform to AS 44.62.330 - 44.62.630 18 (Administrative Procedure Act). Each agency participating in an appeal shall structure 19 the proceedings in a manner that provides for a fair and efficient decision-making 20 process. Submission of new information is allowed as part of the record on appeal if 21 relevant to the unified permit decision. 22 (i) Only an eligible person who filed an administrative appeal under (a) of this 23 section may appeal a final unified permit decision issued under AS 44.19.865 to the 24 superior court. An appeal to the superior court must be filed within the time allowed 25 under applicable court rules. 26 Sec. 44.19.867. Minimal effect activities. When a unified permit decision is 27 appealed, a minimal effect activity that is permitted under the unified permit decision 28 may proceed at the applicant's risk if the activity is not a subject of the appeal. For 29 purposes of this section, "minimal effect activity" means an activity that is temporary 30 and expected to have insignificant direct or indirect effects on state resources. 31 Sec. 44.19.869. Definitions. For purposes of AS 44.19.851 - 44.19.869, 01 (1) "best available scientific information" means objective and 02 repeatable analyses based on adequate empirical data collected with appropriate 03 quality assurance and quality control procedures in place; 04 (2) "center" means Resource Permitting Center established in 05 AS 44.19.851; 06 (3) "enforceable policy" has the meaning given in 16 U.S.C. 1453; 07 (4) "local knowledge" means a body of knowledge or information 08 about the regional environment or the human use of that environment, including 09 information passed down through generations, if that information is 10 (A) derived from experience and observations; and 11 (B) generally accepted by the local community; 12 (5) "permit" means each of the following permits or authorizations 13 required to be obtained from a resource agency before constructing or operating a 14 project in the state, or any other license, permit or authorization that may be 15 designated by the commissioner of a resource agency: 16 (A) permit to apply pesticides; 17 (B) air quality control construction permit; 18 (C) air quality control operating permit; 19 (D) solid waste disposal permit; 20 (E) waste water disposal permit; 21 (F) certificate of reasonable assurance section 401; 22 (G) oil discharge contingency plan; 23 (H) fish habitat permit; 24 (I) permit to operate a clam dredge; 25 (J) aquatic farm operations permit; 26 (K) fish and game special area permit; 27 (L) hatchery permit; 28 (M) fish resource permit for mariculture site suitability; 29 (N) lease of cleared or drained agricultural land; 30 (O) aquatic farm site permit and lease; 31 (P) coal prospecting permit; 01 (Q) lease of tidelands; 02 (R) material sales; 03 (S) offshore mining prospecting permit; 04 (T) oil and natural gas pipeline right-of-way leasing; 05 (U) potassium compound prospecting permit and lease; 06 (V) right-of-way or easement permit; 07 (W) sodium compound prospecting permit and lease; 08 (X) sulfur prospecting permit and lease; 09 (Y) upland mining lease; 10 (Z) water use permit; 11 (AA) land use permit; 12 (BB) temporary water use permit; 13 (CC) tideland use permit; 14 (DD) geothermal prospecting permit; 15 (EE) geothermal well drilling approval; 16 (FF) geophysical exploration permit; 17 (GG) authorization to construct a structure in state parks; 18 (HH) permit for access across state parks; 19 (II) state parks special use permit; 20 (JJ) archaeological permit; 21 (KK) hazardous waste permit; 22 (6) "project" means any new activity or expansion of or addition to an 23 existing activity, for which permits are required before construction or operation; 24 (7) "resource agency" means 25 (A) the Department of Environmental Conservation; 26 (B) the Department of Fish and Game; or 27 (C) the Department of Natural Resources. 28  * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 29 read: 30 REGULATIONS. The Resource Permitting Center, in consultation with the resource 31 agencies, may adopt regulations to implement AS 44.19.851 - 44.19.869, added by sec. 2 of 01 this Act. 02  * Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 03 read: 04 ADOPTION OF INITIAL UNIFIED PERMIT APPLICATION FORM. Under 05 AS 44.19.852, added by sec. 2 of this Act, the Department of Environmental Conservation, 06 the Department of Fish and Game, and the Department of Natural Resources shall adopt the 07 initial unified permit application form within six months after the effective date of this 08 section. 09  * Sec. 5. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 10 read: 11 TRANSITION. On the effective date of this section, the resource agencies listed in 12 AS 44.19.869, added by sec. 2 of this Act, shall review the statutory authorities pertaining to 13 project permitting for the purpose of determining whether there are any conflicts that prohibit 14 compliance with this Act. The resource agencies shall, within six months after the effective 15 date of this section, prepare and submit to the chair of the Senate Resources Committee and 16 the chair of the House Resources Committee recommendations for legislation that modifies or 17 repeals conflicting laws. 18  * Sec. 6. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 19 read: 20 TRANSITION. A permit application filed before the effective date of AS 44.19.854, 21 44.19.855, 44.19.856, 44.19.857, 44.19.859, 44.19.860, 44.19.861, 44.19.862, 44.19.863, 22 44.19.864, 44.19.865, 44.19.866, and 44.19.867, enacted in sec. 2 of this Act, must meet the 23 requirements for the permit in effect before those sections take effect. 24  * Sec. 7. AS 44.19.854, 44.19.855, 44.19.856, 44.19.857, 44.19.859, 44.19.860, 44.19.861, 25 44.19.862, 44.19.863, 44.19.864, 44.19.865, 44.19.866, and 44.19.867, enacted in sec. 2 of 26 this Act, take effect on the date that the governor notifies the revisor of statutes that the 27 resource agencies have developed the unified permit application described in AS 44.19.852, 28 as enacted in sec. 2 of this Act. 29  * Sec. 8. Except as provided in sec. 7 of this Act, this Act takes effect immediately under 30 AS 01.10.070(c).