Bill of Rights
for Environmental Permit Applicants
The California Environmental Protection Agency
(Cal/EPA) endorses the following precepts that form the basis of a permit
applicant's "Bill of Rights":
- Permit applicants have the right to assistance in understanding regulatory
and permit requirements. All Cal/EPA programs maintain an Ombudsman to
work directly with applicants. Permit Assistance Centers located throughout
California have permit specialists from all the State, regional, and local
agencies to identify permit requirements and assist in permit processing.
- Permit applicants have the right to know the projected fees for review
of applications, how any costs will be determined and billed, and procedures
for resolving any disputes over fee billings.
- Permit applicants have the right of access to complete and clearly
written guidance documents that explain the regulatory requirements. Agencies
must publish a list of all information required in a permit application
and of criteria used to determine whether the submitted information is
adequate.
- Permit applicants have the right of timely completeness determinations
for their applications. In general, agency notify the applicants within
30 days of any deficiencies or determine that the application is complete.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and public hearing requests
may require additional information.
- Permit applicants have the right to know exactly how their application
are deficient and what further information is needed to make their applications
complete. Pursuant to California Government Code Section 65944, after an
application is accepted as complete an agency may not request any new or
additional information that was not specified in the original application.
- Permit applicants have the right of a timely decision on their permit
application. The agencies are required to establish time limits for permit
reviews.
- Permit applicants have the right to appeal permit review time limits
by statute or administratively that have been violated without good cause.
For state environmental agencies, appeals are made directly to the Cal/EPA
Secretary or to a specific board. For local environmental agencies, appeals
are generally made to the local governing board or, under certain circumstances
to Cal/EPA. Through this appeal applicants may obtain a set date for a
decision on their permit and in some cases a refund of all application
fees (ask boards and departments for details).
- Permit applicants have the right to work with a single lead agency
where multiple environmental approvals are needed. For multiple permits,
all agency actions can be consolidated under a lead agency. For site remediation,
an applicable laws can be administered through a single lead agency.
- Permit applicants have the right to know who will be reviewing their
application and the time required to complete the full review process.
