Sec. 14.14.01.06. Petitions for Adoption, Amendment, or Repeal of Regulations

A. General. These regulations set out procedures for interested persons to petition the Board for the promulgation, amendment, or repeal of regulations over which the Board has authority.

B. Definitions.

(1) "Petition" means a petition to promulgate, amend, or repeal a regulation.

(2) "Regulation" means rule as defined in the Administrative Procedure Act, Article 41,§244(b), Annotated Code of Maryland.

C. Who May File. Any person may file a petition requesting the promulgation, amendment, or repeal of any regulation over which the Board has rule-making authority.

D. Form. The petition may be in the form of a letter or any other written form desired by the petitioner. It shall include a detailed description of the new, amended, or existing regulation which the petitioner seeks to have the Board promulgate, amend, or repeal and a statement of reasons and other information in support of the petition. It shall also include the name, address, and telephone number of the petitioner.

E. The petition should be addressed to the Secretary, Hazardous Waste Facilities Siting Board, 60 West Street, Annapolis, Maryland 21401. Petitions will be considered submitted upon receipt in the office of the Secretary.

F. Disposition. Within 60 days after receipt of the petition, the Board will either deny the petition, stating the reasons for denial, or initiate rulemaking proceedings.

G. Reasons for Denial of a Petition. The Board may deny a petition to promulgate, amend, or repeal a regulation, for any reason permitted by law, including, but not limited to:

(1) That the Board does not have the authority to grant the petition;

(2) That the Board does not have adequate information or resources to evaluate the petition;

(3) That the Board does not have adequate resources to implement the requested regulation if it is adopted;

(4) That the Board previously adopted a regulation dealing with the same subject matter as that of the petition and rejected the position taken by the petitioner at that time, or the petitioner unreasonably failed to make his position known at that time; or

(5) That, in the legal discretion of the Board, the requested regulation change is contrary to or inconsistent with Board policy.

H. Rulemaking Proceedings.

(1) Rulemaking proceedings may include any type of action which the Board is authorized or required by law to take when promulgating, amending, or repealing regulations, including:

(a) Conducting studies (either before or after proposal of the regulation in the Maryland Register) to gather information in support of the regulation;

(b) Advance notice of proposed rulemaking if the Board determines that additional information or public comment is necessary or desirable before a proposed regulation can be formulated;

(c) Referral (either before or after proposal of the regulation in the Maryland Register) to advisory councils or other official or quasi-official agencies or groups responsible for reviewing the regulation;

(d) Proposal of the regulation in the Maryland Register;

(e) Reproposal of the regulation proposed in the Maryland Register if the Board determines that, before final adoption, the proposed regulation must be altered so that it is substantially different from its original text;

(f) Modification of the regulation change requested by the petitioner, either in form or substance, and either before or after proposal in the Maryland Register, to better reflect the Board's responsibilities, than reflected by the petitioner's request.

(2) Despite the initiation of rulemaking proceedings, the Board may decide not to finally promulgate, amend, or repeal the requested regulation.

I. Notice to the Petitioner and Other Persons. The Board shall send written notices to the petitioner and any other person requesting notification in accordance with this section, as follows:

(1) If the petition is denied, notice of the denial (including the reasons for the denial) shall be sent within 60 days of receipt of the petition.

(2) When the requested (or modified) regulation appears in the Maryland Register, notice of this event will be sent at the time of the appearance in the Maryland Register.

(3) When the Board finally disposes of the requested regulation (final promulgation, amendment, repeal, or a decision to discontinue the rulemaking), notice will be sent at this time. If the final disposition is a decision to discontinue the rulemaking, the notice will include a statement of the reasons for the discontinuance.