(A) The application and all documents submitted with the application shall be made available for public inspection at the office of the County Clerk and may be copied upon payment of the actual cost of reproduction.
(B) Any person may file written comments on the application with the County Clerk.
(1) The County Clerk shall date stamp the written comment and immediately deliver one copy, with the postmarked envelope in which the comment was received, to the Chairperson of the County Board, and Chair of the Environment, Education, Health, and Welfare Committee.
(2) Copies of the written comments shall be made available for public inspection in the office of the County Clerk and members of the public shall be allowed to obtain a copy of any written comments upon payment of the actual cost of reproduction.
(3) Any written comment postmarked or received by the County Clerk not later than 30 days after the date of the last public hearing shall be made part of the record.
(4) The County Board shall consider all written comments in making its determination concerning the application for site approval.
(C) At least one public hearing shall be held by the County Board no sooner than 90 days, but no later than 120 days from the receipt of the request for site approval.
(1) The applicant shall cause to be published a notice in a newspaper of the largest general circulation in the county of the date, time, and location of the public hearing no later than 14 days prior to the hearing.
(2) The applicant shall notify, by certified mail, all members of the General Assembly from the district where the proposed site is located, the state EPA and the applicant for site approval of the pollution control facility of the date, time, and location of the public hearing.
(3) The County Board shall ensure that a court reporter will be present at any public hearing for purposes of establishing a record and a transcript of the proceedings.
(a) The transcript of the public hearing shall be made available for public inspection at the office of the County Clerk. Interested persons may obtain copies of the transcription upon payment of the actual cost of reproduction.
(b) The office of the County Clerk will maintain the transcript and make it part of the site approval file.
(4) The Chairperson of the Board shall appoint a hearing officer to preside over the public hearing and a simple majority of the members of the EEHW Committee shall be a quorum. The Chairperson of the County Board may also request that representatives of the County State’s Attorney’s Office and the County Health Department be present at the hearing to assist the hearing officers.
(a) The presiding officer of the hearing shall not arbitrarily limit testimony, but may exclude matters which are irrelevant, scurrilous, slanderous, or unnecessarily repetitive. The presiding officer of the hearing may establish reasonable time limits for each witness.
(b) The hearing officer may, by a majority of those members present, vote to continue the public hearing if they find additional time for testimony is necessary. A continuance of time, date, and place shall be determined immediately and announced to all present.
(5) Any exhibits that a participant, other than the applicant, anticipates using during the public hearing shall be submitted to the county at least five days prior to its anticipated use. All participants shall submit at least five copies of all exhibits. A copy shall be furnished to the applicant by the county. All participants, other than the applicant, must register with the County Clerk at least ten days prior to the start of the public hearing. All other parties will be limited to public comment during the public comment time of the public hearing or to written comment through the written comment period.
(6) Members of the public who speak during the public comment time of the public hearing shall submit any exhibits they expect to use to the county prior to the time designated for the public to speak. At least three copies of all the exhibits shall be submitted. The applicant will be provided one of the three copies.
(7) Any additional exhibits to be used by the applicant during the public hearing and not a part of the application shall be submitted at least 24 hours prior to the commencement of the public hearing, if possible. If additional exhibits are used by the applicant that could not previously have been anticipated, but are in response to issues raised during the course of questions that were asked in the applicant’s case in chief or upon any other party’s case, they shall be submitted as soon as practicable. At least five copies of all additional exhibits shall be submitted. Any additional exhibit used by the applicant, that in any way changes information provided with the application, or provides information not submitted as part of the application, shall be considered an amendment to the application and all sections of this subchapter pertaining to amendments shall take effect.
(8) Any exhibits, other than those included in the application, submitted by the applicant or any participant must be on paper no larger than eight and one-half inches by 11 inches in size. If larger exhibits are submitted, they must also be submitted in the requested reduced-size format.
(9) The time limits for submission of evidence may be waived by the member of the EEHW Committee presiding over the hearing if he or she determines that the participant could not have reasonably anticipated the use of the exhibit at the time that the submission was due.
(10) It shall be the sole responsibility of the person(s) submitting an exhibit or written public comment at the hearing to place it on file with the County Clerk’s office in accordance with this section.
(D) After reviewing the application, written comments, transcript of the public hearing(s) and other pertinent documents, the Committee shall make recommendations on site approval to the full County Board no sooner than 30 days, but no later than 60 days after the last public hearing.
(Ord. O-75-9-08, passed 9-11-2008)