Section 45-6B-30 - Hearing on application--Time extension--Notice--Time for decision.
45-6B-30. Hearing on application--Time extension--Notice--Time for decision. Upon receipt of an application for a mining operation permit and all fees due from the applicant, the Board of Minerals and Environment shall set a date for the hearing on such application not more than ninety days after the date of filing. However, the board, on request of the applicant, may extend this time limit as reasonably necessary to allow the preparation of a socioeconomic impact study required under § 45-6B-33.1 or for any other reason, except that any time extension exceeding forty-five days shall require the applicant to republish the notice prescribed by § 45-6B-16. If the department determines additional time is needed to review the technical contents of a large scale mining operation permit application, the department and the applicant may negotiate a time extension, not to exceed forty-five days. If the department and applicant are unable to reach agreement on an extension, the board shall determine if an extension should be granted. Prior to the holding of any such hearing, the board shall provide notice to any person previously filing a protest or petition for a hearing or statement in support of the application pursuant to § 45-6B-28, and shall publish notice of the time, date, and location of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality of the proposed mining operation once a week for two consecutive weeks immediately prior to the hearing. The hearing shall be conducted pursuant to chapter 1-26. A final decision on the application shall be made within one hundred twenty days of the receipt of the application unless a time extension occurs, in which case the decision shall be made within thirty days following the hearing. In the event of serious unforeseen circumstances or significant snow cover on the affected land that prevents a necessary on-site inspection, the board may reasonably extend the maximum time sixty days.
Source: SL 1982, ch 305, § 30; SL 1987, ch 320, § 3; SL 1988, ch 360, § 3.