Where I'm not following you is when you conclude that it is a minor project that is being treated as major. How are you arriving at that determination?
Are you combining these statements?
(e) The department normally does not require public hearings in connection with applications for minor projects, as identified in sections 621.3 and 621.4 of this Part. If a public hearing is required for a minor project, the application shall be treated as a major project for purposes of this Part. [emphasis added]
And (taken from the public comment link you provided, which I reposted below)...
The procedures for the Department's processing of permits applications are found in 6 NYCRR Part 621. These procedures require that draft permits be made available for comment by interested parties before being issued. . . . Notices regarding draft permits that are eligible for review and comment are published in the Environmental Notice Bulletin.
If so, I note that public hearing and public comment are two separate matters. Also, observe that the public notice and comment provisions are limited in the case of minor projects (first read subsection (f)...and notice, for example, the inapplicability of (b)(6)). I added emphasis in bold to provisions pertaining to minor projects.
§621.7 Public notice and comment.
(a) Immediately upon determining that an application is complete and is for a major project:
(1) The department must provide notice to the chief executive officer of the municipality in which the proposed project is to be located, and to any person who has previously expressed in writing an interest in receiving such notification.
(2) The department must also publish a notice of complete application in the Environmental Notice Bulletin, no more than 10 calendar days after the date of notice to the applicant.
(b) The notice must contain the following information:
(1) The applicant's name.
(2) A brief description of the proposed project and its location.
(3) A list of all department permits for the project for which application has been made, and identification numbers for those applications.
(4) The name and telephone number of the department representative and, where applicable, of any lead agency representative to contact for further information.
(5) The status of environmental reviews conducted under SEQR, including identification of lead agency, positive or negative determination of significance, and whether the action is Type I, unlisted, or Type II as defined in Part 617 or 618 of this Title.
(6) The deadline for submission of written comments on the application, including any request for a public hearing. The minimum time frames for review and comment are as follows:
(i) applications supported by a SEQR negative declaration, not less than 15 days after the date of publication unless otherwise specified in this paragraph;
(ii) applications supported by a SEQR draft environmental impact statement, not less than 30 days after the date of publication;
(iii) Mined Land Reclamation applications, not less than 30 days after the date of publication;
(iv) Delegated State Pollution Discharge Elimination System permits, delegated air pollution control permits, and other federally enforceable air permits, not less than 30 days after the date of publication; or
(v) HWMF permits or RAPs, not less than 45 days after the date of publication.
(vi) Where notices are required to be published in multiple publications, and the publication dates fail to coincide such that the deadline dates for submission of written comments to the department are not similar, the final deadline for comments shall be the latest of the published deadline dates.
(7) For delegated permits, the tentative determination and the availability of either the draft permit or notice of intent to deny:
(i) If the tentative determination is to issue the permit, then the department must prepare and issue a draft permit containing the following information:
(a) for SPDES, information required to be in permits as provided in Part 750 of this Title;
(b) for HWMF, information required under section 373-1.4(d) or for RAPs set forth in section 373-1.11(d)(2) of this Title; and
(c) for air pollution control, information required under New Source Non Attainment Review or Prevention of Significant Deterioration Review pursuant to Parts 231 and Part 201 of this Title for projects subject to Title V facility permit requirements.
(ii) If the determination is to deny the permit, then the department must issue a notice of intent to deny.
(iii) If, after issuing a notice of intent to deny a permit, the department makes a determination based on additional information or further consideration that a permit may be issued, the department may upon the applicant's consent:
(a) withdraw the notice of intent to deny;
(b) issue a draft permit; and
(c) provide public notice of the intent to issue a permit in accordance with this Part.
(8) For delegated permits, the notice of complete application will serve as a fact sheet for projects or facilities on a list agreed to by the department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or for projects that the department finds are the subject of significant public interest or raise substantive and significant issues. The notice of complete application must include the information required under:
(i) section 750-1.7 of this Title for SPDES permits;
(ii) Part 373 of this Title for HWMF permits or RAP permits; and
(iii) for air pollution control permits subject to Subpart 231-2 of this Title, the notice must state that information regarding the demonstration of the Lowest Achievable Emission Rate (LAER) or Best Available Control Technology (BACT)or both are available from the department and may be reviewed upon request.
(9) For title V facility permits, the notice of complete application must state that the EPA has the authority to bar issuance of the subject permit (see Part 201 of this Title).
(c) Publication of a notice of complete application in a newspaper is required for all major projects.
(d) Public announcement broadcast over local radio stations is required for complete applications on all HWMF permits or RAPs.
(e) The department may provide or require the applicant to provide other reasonable public notice of complete application. Such notice may include, but is not limited to, the distribution or posting of information about the proposed project in the area in which the proposed project is to be located, conduct of public information meetings, translation of notices for non-English speaking communities and the establishment of document repositories in the area in which the proposed project is to be located, and must contain the information specified in paragraphs 621.6(b)(1) through (9) of this section.
(f) If the application is determined to be complete and for a minor project, the notice must contain:
(1) information required by paragraphs (1)-(5) of subdivision (b) of this section; and
(2) a statement that the application is for a minor project.
(g) For minor projects, some or all of the above procedures in subdivisions 621.6 (a),(c), and (d) of this section may be required of the applicant, at the discretion of the department.
(h) Part 624 of this Title governs public comment procedures for projects subject to public adjudicatory hearing.
(i) Notice of complete application required under this section must also be provided to:
(1) all agencies which have jurisdiction to fund, approve or are directly undertaking the project;
(2) agencies with which the department is required to consult prior to its determination of completeness, including but not limited to those responsible for historic preservation and coastal zone management;
(3) the United States Environmental Protection Agency and other persons and agencies as required for federally delegated permits;
(4) any affected states and Indian governments for new projects, major permit modifications and permit renewals subject to air Title V facility permit requirements;
(5) for sources subject to air New Source Review permit requirements pursuant to Part 231 of this Title:
(i) affected states and Indian governments;
(ii) the federal land manager of federal class 1 areas whose air may be affected by the proposed source, and
(iii) the county chief executive, any local air pollution control agency and any comprehensive regional land use planning agency where the proposed source would be located;
(6) for Mined Land Reclamation permits, on lands not previously permitted pursuant to article 23, title 27 of the ECL, the department must send a notice by certified mail return receipt requested to the chief administrative officer of the political subdivision in which the proposed mine is to be located. This notice must:
(i) be accompanied by copies of all documents that comprise the complete application;
(ii) state whether the application is for a major project or a minor project pursuant to section 621.4(i) of this Part; and
(iii) allow thirty days for the chief administrative officer to provide comments on the application in regard to:
(a) appropriate setbacks from property boundaries or public thoroughfare rights-of-way;
(b) fabricated or natural barriers designed to restrict access if needed, and, if affirmative the type, length, height and location thereof;
(c) the control of dust;
(d) hours of operation; and
(e) whether mining is prohibited at that location.
(7) any person on a mailing list, developed by the department, of persons interested in such projects. The department must publish a notice in the Environmental Notice Bulletin of the opportunity to be on the list.
