35-11-1604. Public participation; notice; plan.

(a) Following any determination by the department that a site is an eligible site, or following the submission of any application to modify an existing remedy agreement, the owner or operator shall give written notice to all surface owners of record of land which is contiguous to the site, and to all known adjacent surface owners of record of land, and shall publish notice once per week for four (4) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the site is located. The notice published in a newspaper shall be a display advertisement. The notice to individual landowners and the notice published in a newspaper shall identify the site, provide a summary of the criterion in W.S. 35-11-1602 which makes the site eligible for participation in the voluntary remediation program under this article, describe the process for the public to request the development of a public participation plan under subsection (b) of this section, and provide a thirty (30) day period for the public to request that a public participation plan be developed.

(b) For any eligible site where there is significant public interest as determined by the director after considering the factors enumerated in paragraphs (i) through (iii) of this subsection, the person who has submitted an application for participation, or the owner of the site, shall prepare and implement a public participation plan which shall be approved by the director. In preparing the plan, the applicant or owner shall consult with and consider the public participation needs of interested parties, including but not limited to contiguous surface owners of record and all known adjacent surface owners of record of land, local government, local economic development agencies or groups, and public interest groups. In determining whether there is significant public interest, the director shall consider whether there have been responses to the notice required under subsection (a) of this section requesting the development of a public participation plan by:

(i) At least twenty-five (25) individuals;

(ii) An organization representing at least twenty-five (25) individuals; or

(iii) The governing body of a local government.

(c) Any owner or operator of an eligible site which is also subject to permitting or corrective action requirements of the hazardous waste rules and regulations promulgated under W.S. 35-11-503(d) shall prepare and implement a public participation plan which complies with those rules and regulations.

(d) At a minimum for any eligible site regardless of whether a public participation plan has been required, prior to entering into a remedy agreement, the owner shall give written notice of the proposed remedy agreement to all surface owners of record of land adjacent to the site, and publish notice once per week for four (4) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the site is located. The notice shall be of a form and content prescribed by the department, and shall summarize the proposed remedy agreement, provide a description of the site, provide for a thirty (30) day public comment period after the date of the last publication, and provide an opportunity for an oral hearing. An oral hearing on the proposed remedy agreement shall be held if the department finds sufficient interest. The department may enter into a remedy agreement following the public comment period or any hearing, whichever is later.