(a) Within one hundred eighty days of receipt of an application for a permit, the commissioner shall determine if there is any additional information that he deems necessary to carry out the purposes of sections 22a-365 to 22a-378, inclusive. The applicant shall provide such information to the commissioner upon request.
(b) If the applicant does not furnish the requested information, the commissioner shall publish notice of his tentative determination on the application in accordance with section 22a-6h and shall hold or waive a public hearing in accordance with the provisions of subsection (f) of this section.
(c) If the commissioner finds that an application is complete, he shall notify the applicant by electronic means or certified mail, return receipt requested. The commissioner shall also notify the applicant of the time, date and location of any public hearing to be held on the application.
(d) Upon notifying the applicant in accordance with subsection (c) of this section that the application is complete, the commissioner shall immediately provide, by electronic means, notice of the application and a concise description of the proposed diversion to the Governor, the Attorney General, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the president pro tempore of the Senate, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, the Commissioners of Public Health and Economic and Community Development, the chairperson of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, the chief executive officer and chairmen of the conservation commission and wetlands agency of the municipality or municipalities in which the proposed diversion will take place or have effect, and any person who has requested notice of such activities.
(e) As used in this section, “municipality” means a city, town or borough of the state.
(f) The commissioner shall hold a public hearing before approving or denying an application, except that, when the commissioner determines that the proposed diversion (1) is necessary, (2) will not significantly affect long-range water resource management or the environment, and (3) will not impair proper management and use of the water resources of the state, he may waive the requirement for a hearing after publishing notice of his tentative decision regarding the application and of his intent to waive the requirement for a hearing in a newspaper having general circulation in the area where the proposed diversion will take place or have effect; provided the commissioner shall hold a hearing upon receipt, within thirty days after such notice is published or mailed, of a petition signed by at least twenty-five persons. If a hearing is to be held, the commissioner, at the applicant's expense, shall (A) cause notice of the time, date and location of the commencement of the hearing, a concise description of the proposed diversion, and the commissioner's tentative determination regarding the application to be published not less than thirty days prior to the commencement of the hearing in a newspaper having a general circulation in the area where the proposed diversion will take place or have effect, and (B) provide the same notice to the officials listed in subsection (d) of this section not less than thirty days prior to the commencement of the hearing.
(P.A. 82-402, S. 7, 16; P.A. 84-29, S. 1, 2; 84-546, S. 75, 173; P.A. 85-243, S. 1; P.A. 92-162, S. 10, 25; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; 93-428, S. 6, 39; P.A. 95-94, S. 1; 95-250, S. 1; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; P.A. 04-151, S. 4; P.A. 10-32, S. 163; P.A. 11-80, S. 70; P.A. 13-209, S. 7.)
History: P.A. 84-29 added Subsec. (g) authorizing the commissioner to waive the public hearing requirement for intrabasin transfers; P.A. 84-546 made technical change in Subsec. (e); P.A. 85-243 amended Subsec. (g) to apply public hearing waiver to cases which do not involve water transfers between regional rather than subregional drainage basins; P.A. 92-162 amended Subsec. (c) to revise some language for clarity and to delete requirement that hearings on applications under this section be held within 120 days of notification by the commissioner of a complete application, amended Subsec. (d) to modify the notice requirements for certain officials and to add conservation commissions, wetlands agencies and interested persons as recipients of notice under this section, deleted former Subsecs. (e) and (g), relettering Subsec. (f) accordingly and added new Subsec. (f) re notice and hearing requirements for approval of permits under this section; P.A. 93-381 replaced commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-428 amended Subsec. (f) to specify that notice include commissioner's tentative decision in cases where he intends to waive hearing, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-94 amended Subsec. (a) to change from 30 to 120 the number of days the commissioner has to determine if additional information is needed and to give the applicant the option of asking the application to be deemed complete as is rather than submit more information and amended Subsec. (b) to require the commissioner to publish notice and hold or waive a public hearing, eliminating the requirement that he return the application; P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Economic Development with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 04-151 amended Subsec. (a) to change determination deadline from 120 days to 180 days and to remove provision re requesting that application be deemed complete and amended Subsec. (f) to change publication and notice requirements from 20 days to 30 days prior to commencement of hearing and to remove provision re publication twice at intervals of not less than 2 days, effective May 21, 2004; P.A. 10-32 made a technical change in Subsec. (d), effective May 10, 2010; P.A. 11-80 amended Subsec. (d) by changing “Public Utilities Control Authority” to “Public Utilities Regulatory Authority”, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 13-209 amended Subsecs. (c) and (d) by authorizing commissioner to provide notification by electronic means.
Cited. 28 CA 674. Because commissioner did not give plaintiff an opportunity to remedy application's deficiencies or to request that application be deemed complete as submitted and have those deficiencies examined in the forum of a public hearing, notice of rejection was a final decision in a contested case and meets requirements for appeal pursuant to Sec. 4-183, despite absence of a public hearing. 71 CA 395.
Structure Connecticut General Statutes
Title 22a - Environmental Protection
Chapter 446i - Water Resources. Invasive Plants
Section 22a-337. (Formerly Sec. 25-3). - Commissioner's powers.
Section 22a-339a. - Grants to improve water quality of lakes used for public recreation.
Section 22a-339b. - Criteria for grants. Public benefit.
Section 22a-339c. - Grant conditions.
Section 22a-339d. - Regulations.
Section 22a-339e. - Municipal assessment for costs of lake management implementation measures.
Section 22a-339f. - Pilot program for lake preservation.
Section 22a-339g. - Control of nonnative invasive plant species.
Section 22a-339h. - Lake Beseck. Water level draw downs.
Section 22a-339j. - Water level draw downs at Bashan Lake.
Section 22a-340. (Formerly Sec. 25-3d). - Channels for access to and from deep water to uplands.
Section 22a-341. (Formerly Sec. 25-4). - Approval of agreements or compacts.
Section 22a-342a. - Civil penalty.
Section 22a-343. (Formerly Sec. 25-4b). - Determination of lines.
Section 22a-346. (Formerly Sec. 25-4e.) - Encroachment as nuisance.
Section 22a-347. (Formerly Sec. 25-4f). - Regulations and procedures.
Section 22a-348. (Formerly Sec. 25-4g). - Municipal powers.
Section 22a-349a. - General permits for minor activities. Regulations.
Section 22a-349c. - Quarries. Geological source report. Operations plan.
Section 22a-350. (Formerly Sec. 25-5). - Study of conditions relating to flood control.
Section 22a-352a. - Conflict between the state water plan and the general statutes.
Section 22a-354. (Formerly Sec. 25-5d). - Appropriation of bond proceeds.
Section 22a-354a. - “Existing well fields” and “potential well fields”, defined.
Section 22a-354aa. - Strategic groundwater monitoring program in aquifer protection areas.
Section 22a-354b. - Standards for modeling and mapping of locations of aquifers.
Section 22a-354bb. - Inventory of agricultural land uses overlying mapped well fields.
Section 22a-354c. - Mapping of well fields by water companies.
Section 22a-354d. - Completion of mapping of well fields.
Section 22a-354e. - Inventory of land uses overlying aquifers.
Section 22a-354f. - Guidelines for inventory.
Section 22a-354h. - Definitions.
Section 22a-354i. - Regulations.
Section 22a-354k. - Groundwater education program.
Section 22a-354l. - Model municipal aquifer protection ordinance.
Section 22a-354m. - Farm resources management plans. Regulations.
Section 22a-354s. - Penalty. Court orders.
Section 22a-354t. - Revocation of municipal authority to regulate aquifer protection areas.
Section 22a-354w. - Guidelines for acquisition of lands surrounding public water supply well fields.
Section 22a-354y. - Preparation of municipal assistance program by water companies.
Section 22a-355. (Formerly Sec. 25-5e). - Land sales by water companies. Commissioner's duties.
Section 22a-356. (Formerly Sec. 25-5f). - Cost estimates re groundwater recharge and discharge.
Section 22a-357. (Formerly Sec. 25-6). - Special reports.
Section 22a-358. (Formerly Sec. 25-7a). - Sale of water by public water systems.
Section 22a-360. (Formerly Sec. 25-7c). - Establishment of boundaries.
Section 22a-361a. - Civil penalty.
Section 22a-362. (Formerly Sec. 25-7e). - Violations as public nuisance.
Section 22a-363. (Formerly Sec. 25-7f). - Penalty for violation.
Section 22a-363a. - Definitions.
Section 22a-363c. - Application fee.
Section 22a-363d. - Emergency authorization. Expiration.
Section 22a-363e. - Failure to comply with order. Littoral owner as responsible party.
Section 22a-363f. - Cease and desist orders. Hearing. Decision.
Section 22a-363g. - Filing of permit, certificate or authorization on municipal land records.
Section 22a-364. (Formerly Sec. 25-8). - Stream gauging stations.
Section 22a-365. - Short title: Connecticut Water Diversion Policy Act.
Section 22a-366. - Legislative findings.
Section 22a-367. - Definitions.
Section 22a-368. - Registration of existing diversions. Permits. Transfer.
Section 22a-368a. - Reporting of current operating data.
Section 22a-369. - Application for permit. Information required.
Section 22a-370. - Notice to town re application.
Section 22a-375. - Investigation, suspension or revocation of permits. Inventory of diversions.
Section 22a-376. - Injunctions. Forfeiture. Penalties.
Section 22a-377. - Exemptions. Regulations.
Section 22a-378. - Water supply emergency. Violation of water supply emergency order.
Section 22a-378a. - General permits for minor activities. Regulations.
Section 22a-379. - Diversion permit. Fee.
Section 22a-380. - Water resources policy.
Section 22a-381. - Invasive Plants Council: Membership; meetings.
Section 22a-381a. - Duties and recommendations of the Invasive Plants Council.