36.22.620    NOTIFICATION OF APPLICATION FOR PERMIT TO DRILL

(1) For the purposes of this rule, "occupied structure" means any building suitable for human occupancy or for carrying on business, including a residence, school, office, or hospital, but not including outbuildings such as, but not limited to sheds, barns, or garages.

(2) An applicant for a permit to drill a new well under ARM 36.22.601 must provide reasonable notice of the intent to file an application to all owners of record of an occupied structure within 1,320 feet of the proposed well.

(a) The notice must advise each owner that the application is eligible for administrative approval unless a demand for an opportunity to be heard is filed with the board within 14 days of an owner having received the notice.

(b) The applicant must file proof of the notice required by this rule with its application to the board.

(c) The owner may waive, in writing, their opportunity to request a hearing any time within the 14-day period. If waived, the application will be immediately eligible for administrative approval.

(3) The staff of the board shall refer an application for permit to drill to the board for notice and public hearing at the next regularly scheduled hearing if an owner of an occupied structure, as to any application for permit to drill for which the owner received notice, files a demand for an opportunity to be heard concerning the application in the form set forth in (5).

(4) In those instances where such requests for a permit to drill have been the subject of notice and public hearing, the board shall, after such hearing, either:

(a) enter its order granting such permit under such conditions as the board shall find proper and necessary; or

(b) enter its order denying the application for the permit.

(5) A demand for opportunity to be heard concerning an application for permit to drill for which notice is required must:

(a) be in writing; and

(b) set forth the name, address, and telephone number of each party making the demand, and demonstrate standing to demand an opportunity to be heard by providing a notarized, written statement declaring ownership of the occupied structure within 1,320 feet from the proposed well, which statement must include the owner's signature, the date of signature, and the declaration "I declare under penalty of perjury and under the laws of the state of Montana that the foregoing is true and correct"; and

(c) set forth the specific reasons why the party requests a hearing regarding the issuance of the proposed drilling permit; and

(d) be received by the board no later than 14 days after the date the notice is received by the owner. Service of such demand may be made on the board personally, by mail, by e-mail, or by FAX transmission; and

(e) be simultaneously served upon the applicant for the permit by written copy mailed or FAX transmitted to the address or number set forth in the published notice. A certificate of such service must accompany the demand as filed with the board.

History: 82-11-111, MCA; IMP, 82-11-122, 82-11-127, 82-11-134, 82-11-141, MCA; NEW, 2017 MAR p. 97, Eff. 1/7/17.