North Dakota Code 61-04-05.1 – Comments – Hearing
1. Comments regarding a proposed appropriation must be in writing and filed by the date specified by the department of water resources under subsection 5 of section 61-04-05. The comments must state the name and mailing address of the person filing the comments. Comment letters submitted electronically must state the name and mailing address of the person filing the comments, and must be signed by the submitter to be considered valid and part of the official record.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 61-04-05.1
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
- written: include "typewriting" and "typewritten" and "printing" and "printed" except in the case of signatures and when the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See North Dakota Code 1-01-37
2. A person filing written comments also may request a public hearing for the department to obtain additional information to evaluate the application or to receive public input by the date specified by the department of water resources under subsection 5 of section 61-04-05. If a request for a public hearing is made and the department determines a public hearing is necessary, the department shall designate a time and place for the public hearing and serve a notice of hearing upon the applicant and any person who filed written comments. Service must be made in the manner allowed for service under the North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure at least twenty days before the hearing.
3. If two or more municipal or public use permitholders request the public hearing to be held locally, the department of water resources shall hold the hearing in the county seat of the county in which the proposed water appropriation site is located.
4. The department of water resources shall consider all written comments received and testimony presented at a public hearing, if held, and shall make a recommended decision in writing. The recommended decision must be mailed to the applicant and any party of record and may constitute:
a. Approval of all or a portion of the application, with the remainder held in abeyance or denied; b. Denial of the application; or c. Deferral of the application.
5. Within thirty days of service of the recommended decision, the applicant and any party of record who would be aggrieved by the decision may file additional written comments with the department of water resources or request an adjudicative proceeding on the application, or both. A request for an adjudicative proceeding must be made in writing and must state with particularity how the person would be aggrieved by the decision and the issues and facts to be presented at the proceeding. If a request for an adjudicative proceeding is not made, the department shall consider the additional comments, if any are submitted, and issue a final decision. If a request for an adjudicative proceeding is made and the department determines an adjudicative proceeding is necessary, the department shall designate a time and place for the adjudicative proceeding and serve the notice of adjudicative proceeding upon the applicant and any person who filed written comments. Service must be made in the manner allowed for service under the North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure at least twenty days before the hearing.