1. A. Tentative Determinations and Draft Permits.

   1. (1) Once an application is complete, the Secretary shall prepare a tentative determination that includes the following information:

      1. (a) A proposal to issue or to not issue the permit;
      2. (b) Any proposed permit limitations and conditions;
      3. (c) A brief explanation of the Department's tentative determination;
      4. (d) Any proposed schedule of compliance; and
      5. (e) If the tentative determination is to issue a permit, a draft permit.

   2. (2) Notice of Intent to Deny.

      1. (a) If the Secretary tentatively decides to deny the permit application, the Secretary shall issue a notice of intent to deny, which is a type of draft permit.
      2. (b) A notice of intent to deny is subject to the same procedures as any draft permit prepared under this section.
      3. (c) If the Secretary's final decision is that the tentative decision to deny the permit application was incorrect, the Secretary shall withdraw the notice of intent to deny and proceed to prepare a draft permit under §A(3) of this regulation.
   3. (3) If the Secretary decides to prepare a draft permit, the Secretary shall prepare a draft permit that contains the information described in Regulations .04, .05, .07, .08, .15, and .16 of this chapter.

   4. (4) Draft Permits—General.

      1. (a) All draft permits shall be:

         1. (i) Accompanied by a statement of basis or fact sheet, as required by §§B and C of this regulation;
         2. (ii) Based on the administrative record, as required by §D of this regulation;
         3. (iii) Publicly noticed, as required by Regulation .20-2 of this chapter; and
         4. (iv) Made available for public comment, as required by Regulation .20-4A of this chapter.

      2. (b) The Secretary shall:

         1. (i) Give notice of opportunity for the public hearing, as required by Regulation .20-5A of this chapter;
         2. (ii) Issue a final decision, as required by Regulation .20-6 of this chapter; and
         3. (iii) Respond to comments, as required by Regulation .20-4D of this chapter.
      3. (c) The final decision is subject to judicial review under Regulation .20-5B of this chapter.

   5. (5) The Department shall publish a notice of the tentative determination that allows at least:

      1. (a) 30 days before the Department holds a public hearing under Regulation .20-5A of this chapter; and

      2. (b) 45 days before the Department:

         1. (i) Issues a final determination under §E of this regulation; or
         2. (ii) Makes a final decision to issue or deny a permit, if a final determination is not required under §E(1) of this regulation.

2. B. Statement of Basis. The Secretary shall:

   1. (1) Prepare a statement of basis for every draft permit for which a fact sheet under §C of this regulation is not prepared;
   2. (2) Briefly describe in the statement of basis the derivation of the conditions of the draft permit and the reasons for them, or, in the case of notices of intent to deny or terminate, reasons supporting the tentative decision; and
   3. (3) Send the statement of basis to the applicant and, on request, to any other person.

3. C. Fact Sheet. The Secretary shall:

   1. (1) Prepare a fact sheet for every:

      1. (a) Draft permit for a major hazardous waste management facility; and
      2. (b) Permit that the Secretary finds is the subject of widespread public interest or raises major issues;
   2. (2) Briefly set forth in the fact sheet the principal facts and the significant factual, legal, methodological, and policy questions considered in preparing the draft permit;
   3. (3) Send this fact sheet to the applicant and, on request, to any other person; and

   4. (4) Include in the fact sheet, when applicable:

      1. (a) A brief description of the type of facility or activity which is the subject of the draft permit;
      2. (b) The type and quantity of wastes, fluids, or pollutants which are proposed to be or are being treated, stored, disposed of, injected, emitted, or discharged;
      3. (c) A brief summary of the basis for the draft permit conditions, including references to applicable statutory or regulatory provisions and appropriate supporting references to the administrative record required by §D of this regulation;
      4. (d) Reasons why any requested variances or alternatives to required standards do or do not appear justified;

      5. (e) A description of the procedures for reaching a final decision on the draft permit, including:

         1. (i) The beginning and ending dates of the comment period under Regulation .20-2 of this chapter, and the address where comments will be received;
         2. (ii) Procedures for requesting a hearing and the nature of that hearing; and
         3. (iii) Any other procedures by which the public may participate in the final decision; and
      6. (f) The name and telephone number of a person to contact for additional information.

4. D. Administrative Record for Draft Permits.

   1. (1) The provisions of a draft permit prepared by the Department under §A of this regulation shall be based on the administrative record defined in this regulation.

   2. (2) For preparing a draft permit under §A of this regulation, the record shall consist of:

      1. (a) The application, if required, and any supporting data furnished by the applicant;
      2. (b) The draft permit or notice of intent to deny the application or to terminate the permit;
      3. (c) The statement of basis under §B of this regulation or the fact sheet under §C of this regulation;
      4. (d) All documents cited in the statement of basis or fact sheet; and
      5. (e) Other documents contained in the supporting file on the draft permit.
   3. (3) Material readily available at the Department or published material that is generally available, and that is included in the administrative record under §D(2) of this regulation, need not be physically included with the rest of the record as long as it is specifically referred to in the statement of basis or the fact sheet.
   4. (4) The Department shall assure that, except for materials that have been designated confidential business information, the administrative record for a draft permit is available to the public for inspection and copying.

   5. (5) Public Availability of Information—Tentative Determination.

      1. (a) Except as provided in §D(5)(b) of this regulation, the Department shall, not later than the date of publication of a notice of tentative determination under Regulation .20-2A of this chapter, make available for inspection and copying:

         1. (i) The permit application on which the tentative determination is based;
         2. (ii) Documents that were submitted with the permit application;
         3. (iii) All documents that the Department relied on in making the tentative determination; and
         4. (iv) The privilege log developed under §D(5)(c) of this regulation.
      2. (b) The requirements of §D(5)(a) of this regulation do not apply to materials that have been designated confidential business information, documents for which disclosure is precluded by law, or documents that are subject to privilege.

      3. (c) The Department shall compile a privilege log that:

         1. (i) Identifies all documents not made available for inspection and copying under §D(5)(b) of this regulation; and
         2. (ii) States the reasons for withholding each document identified in the log.

5. E. Final Determination.

   1. (1) The Department shall prepare a final determination if:

      1. (a) Written comments adverse to the tentative determination were received by the Department during the comment period established for the tentative determination;
      2. (b) Comments adverse to the tentative determination were received in writing at, or within 5 days after, the public hearing held under Regulation .20-5A of this chapter;
      3. (c) Comments adverse to the tentative determination were received orally at the public hearing held under Regulation .20-5A of this chapter; or
      4. (d) The final determination is substantively different from the tentative determination.

   2. (2) Notice of Final Determination.

      1. (a) If the Department is required to prepare a final determination under §E(1) of this regulation, the Department shall publish a notice of the final determination in accordance with the requirements of Regulation .20-2 of this chapter.

      2. (b) If the final determination differs substantively from the tentative determination, the Department shall, before publishing notice of the final determination under §E(2)(a) of this regulation:

         1. (i) Publish notice of intent to issue a final determination that includes a proposed final determination and provides the opportunity for written public comment for a period of at least 30 days on the portion of the proposed final determination that differs substantively from the tentative determination;
         2. (ii) Consider all public comments submitted on the proposed final determination during the public comment period; and
         3. (iii) Prepare written responses to public comments submitted on the proposed final determination during the public comment period, and provide a copy of the written responses to persons who submitted the comments.

   3. (3) Final Decision.

      1. (a) The final determination made by the Department under §E(1) of this regulation or, if applicable, under the process established in §E(2) of this regulation, constitutes the Department’s final decision.
      2. (b) If the Department is not required to prepare a final determination under §E(1) of this regulation, the tentative determination becomes a final decision by the Department when the permit is issued or denied.

Authority: Environment Article, Title 7, Subtitle 2, Annotated Code of Maryland

Effective date:

Regulations .01—.05 adopted as an emergency provision effective November 18, 1980 (7:25 Md. R. S-1); adopted permanently effective April 3, 1981 (8:7 Md. R. 642)

Regulation .01 amended effective January 18, 1982 (9:1 Md. R. 20)

Regulation .02A—F repealed, and new .02A—O adopted effective January 31, 1983 (10:2 Md. R. 110)

Regulations .02A, B, F, J, L, M, N, .03A, B, C, L, M amended and .01C, P, and .05 adopted effective February 13, 1984 (11:3 Md. R. 202)

Regulations .02A, C, J, .03I amended and .01D, E, and .02Q adopted effective July 30, 1984 (11:15 Md. R. 1330)

Regulation .03A—E repealed, and new .03A—M adopted effective January 31, 1983 (10:2 Md. R. 110)

Regulation .05 repealed effective January 31, 1983 (10:2 Md. R. 110)

Chapter recodified from COMAR 10.51.07 to COMAR 26.13.07

Regulation .01 amended effective April 18, 1988 (15:8 Md. R. 1009)

Regulation .01A amended effective May 24, 1993 (20:10 Md. R. 853)

Regulation .01F amended and G adopted effective December 23, 1991 (18:25 Md. R. 2759)

Regulation .02A—D, J—L, and P amended effective April 18, 1988 (15:8 Md. R. 1009)

Regulation .02D and E amended effective April 1, 1991 (18:6 Md. R. 690); May 24, 1993 (20:10 Md. R. 853)

Regulation .02F amended effective May 24, 1993 (20:10 Md. R. 853); April 11, 1994 (21:7 Md. R. 533)

Regulation .02I adopted effective April 11, 1994 (21:7 Md. R. 533)

Regulation .02R adopted effective April 18, 1988 (15:8 Md. R. 1009)

Regulation .03B, C, F, G, and L amended effective April 18, 1988 (15:8 Md. R. 1009)

Regulation .04C adopted effective April 18, 1988 (15:8 Md. R. 1009)

Regulation .05B amended effective April 18, 1988 (15:8 Md. R. 1009)

Regulation .11B amended effective December 23, 1991 (18:25 Md. R. 2759); April 11, 1994 (21:7 Md. R. 533)

Regulation .13 amended and recodified as Regulations .13 and .13-1—.13-3 adopted effective December 23, 1991 (18:25 Md. R. 2759)

Regulation .13-1C adopted effective April 11, 1994 (21:7 Md. R. 533)

Regulation .13-2A amended effective April 11, 1994 (21:7 Md. R. 533)

Regulation .15E amended effective May 5, 1997 (24:9 Md. R. 659)

Regulation .21A, B amended effective March 15, 1993 (20:5 Md. R. 515)

Regulation .22B amended effective December 23, 1991 (18:25 Md. R. 2759)

Chapter revised effective September 10, 1997 (24:5 Md. R. 413)

Chapter revised effective October 16, 2000 (27:20 Md. R. 1843)

Regulation .11D amended effective November 1, 2002 (29:15 Md. R. 1647)

Regulation .13-2A amended effective November 1, 2002 (29:15 Md. R. 1647)

Regulation .23C amended effective November 1, 2002 (29:15 Md. R. 1647)

Chapter revised effective May 1, 2008 (35:8 Md. R. 809)

Regulation .01F repealed effective October 1, 2025 (52:17 Md. R. 876)

Regulation .02D amended effective October 1, 2025 (52:17 Md. R. 876)

Regulation .02-4B amended effective January 13, 2022 (49:1 Md. R. 14)

Regulation .02-5B amended effective January 13, 2022 (49:1 Md. R. 14)

Regulation .02-6C amended effective October 1, 2025 (52:17 Md. R. 876)

Regulation .02-8B amended effective January 13, 2022 (49:1 Md. R. 14)

Regulation .13-2A amended effective January 13, 2022 (49:1 Md. R. 14)

Regulation .17B amended effective October 1, 2025 (52:17 Md. R. 876)

Regulation .20B amended effective October 1, 2025 (52:17 Md. R. 876)

Regulation .20-1 amended effective October 1, 2025 (52:17 Md. R. 876)

Regulation .20-2 amended effective October 1, 2025 (52:17 Md. R. 876)

Regulation .20-3C amended effective October 1, 2025 (52:17 Md. R. 876)

Regulation .20-4 amended effective October 1, 2025 (52:17 Md. R. 876)

Regulation .20-5 amended effective October 1, 2025 (52:17 Md. R. 876)

Regulation .20-6 amended effective October 1, 2025 (52:17 Md. R. 876)