455B.143 Variance.

Any person who owns or operates any plant, building, structure, process, or equipment may apply for a variance from the rules or standards adopted by the department by filing an application with the department. The application shall be accompanied by such information and data required by the department.

1. The director shall promptly investigate the application and approve or disapprove the application. The director may grant a variance if the director finds that:

a. The emissions occurring or proposed to occur do not endanger or tend to endanger human health or safety or property; and

b. Compliance with the rules or standards from which the variance is sought will produce serious hardship without equal or greater benefits to the public.

2. The applicant may request a review hearing before the department if the application is denied.

3. In determining under what conditions and to what extent a variance may be granted, the director shall give due recognition to the progress which the applicant has made toward eliminating or preventing air pollution. In such a case, the director shall consider the reasonableness of the request, conditioned upon such applicant effecting a partial abatement of the particular air pollution within a reasonable period of time, or the director may prescribe other requirements with which such applicant shall comply.

4. The director may grant a variance for a specified period of time, not exceeding one year, and the director may further specify that the applicant make periodic reports specifying the progress that has been made toward compliance with any rule for which the variance was granted. A variance may be extended from year to year by affirmative action of the director.

5. The director shall maintain a record of each variance granted specifying the reasons for its issuance or extension.

[C71, §136B.13; C73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §455B.22]

C83, §455B.143

86 Acts, ch 1245, §1899, 1899B