1. (a) The commission shall publish notice of a draft general permit in a daily or weekly newspaper of general circulation in the area affected by the activity that is the subject of the proposed general permit and in the Texas Register. If the draft general permit will have statewide applicability, then the requirement for newspaper notice shall be accomplished by publishing notice in the daily newspaper of largest general circulation within each of the following metropolitan areas: Dallas; Houston; San Antonio; Austin; Tyler; Corpus Christi; the Lower Rio Grande Valley; Amarillo; Lubbock; the Permian Basin; and El Paso.

2. (b) For TPDES general permits, mailed notice of the draft general permit will also be provided to the following:

   1. (1) the county judge of the county or counties in which the dischargers under the general permit could be located;
   2. (2) if applicable, state and federal agencies for which notice is required in 40 CFR, §124.10(c);
   3. (3) persons on a relevant mailing list kept under §39.7 of this title (relating to Mailing Lists); and
   4. (4) any other person the executive director or chief clerk may elect to include.
3. (c) The contents of a public notice of a draft general permit shall be in accordance with §39.11 of this title (relating to Text of Public Notice) except where clearly not applicable. Each notice must include an invitation for written comments by the public regarding the draft general permit. The public notice will specify a comment period of at least 30 days and the public notice will be published not later than the 30th day before the commission considers the approval of a general permit. Additionally, the public notice of a draft TPDES general permit must include either a map or description of the permit area.

4. (d) Public Meetings.

   1. (1) The executive director or commission may hold a public meeting to provide an additional opportunity for public comment and shall hold such a public meeting when either the executive director or commission determines, on the basis of requests, a significant degree of public interest in a draft general permit.
   2. (2) The commission shall give notice of a public meeting under this subsection by publication in the Texas Register not later than the 30th day before the date of the meeting.

   3. (3) Mailed notice of the public meeting will also be provided to the following:

      1. (A) the county judge of the county or counties in which the dischargers under the general permit could be located;
      2. (B) if applicable, state and federal agencies for which notice is required in 40 CFR, §124.10(c);
      3. (C) persons on a relevant mailing list kept under §39.7 of this title (relating to Mailing Lists);
      4. (D) any other person the executive director or chief clerk may elect to include; and
      5. (E) persons who filed public comment or request for a public meeting on or before the deadline for filing public comment or request for a public meeting.
   4. (4) The contents of a public notice of a public meeting shall be in accordance with §39.11 of this title (relating to Text of Public Notice) except where clearly not applicable. Each notice must include an invitation for written or oral comments by the public regarding the draft general permit.
   5. (5) The public comment period shall automatically be extended to the close of any public meeting.

5. (e) If the commission receives public comment during the comment period relating to issuance of a general permit, the commission may issue the general permit only after responding in writing to these comments. The response shall address written comments received during the comment period and oral or written comments received during any public meeting held by the commission.

   1. (1) The commission shall issue its written response to comments on the general permit at the same time the commission issues or denies the general permit.
   2. (2) A copy of any issued general permit and response to comments will be made available to the public for inspection at the commission's Wastewater Permits Section in its Austin office and also in the appropriate regional offices.
   3. (3) A notice of the commission's action on the proposed general permit and a copy of its response to comments will be mailed to each person who made a comment.
   4. (4) A notice of the commission's action on the proposed general permit and the text of its response to comments will be published in the Texas Register.
6. (f) Except as specified in subsection (g) of this section, the requirements of subsections (a)-(e) of this section apply to processing of a new general permit, and to amendment, renewal, revocation, or cancellation of a general permit.
7. (g) A general permit may be proposed for minor amendment, as described in §305.62(c)(2) of this title (relating to Amendment), without newspaper publication.

Source Note:The provisions of this §205.3 adopted to be effective June 21, 1998, 23 TexReg 6227.