SECTION 4.420. Acceptance or Rejection of an Application

(a) The Site Remediation Section shall process applications in the order in which they are received.

(b) The Commission may accept an application if it:

(1) is submitted by a person eligible to participate in the program, pursuant to §4.410(b) of this title (relating to Eligibility for the Voluntary Cleanup Program);

(2) pertains to an eligible site, pursuant to §4.410(a) of this title;

(3) includes all of the information required by §4.415 of this title (relating to Application to Participate in the Voluntary Cleanup Program), provided the information does not indicate that either the person or the site is ineligible;

(4) demonstrates that the applicant has the financial capability to pay for all costs of the response action, including but not limited to the direct costs of the response action and the reasonable costs attributable to the oversight of the response action likely to be incurred by the Commission;

(5) includes written authorization from all surface owners of the site agreeing to the applicant's participation in the program, or proof that the applicant is the surface owner of the site; and

(6) includes the application fee.

(c) The Commission may reject an application to participate in the voluntary cleanup program if:

(1) a state or federal enforcement action is pending that concerns the remediation of the contaminant or contaminants described in the application;

(2) a federal grant requires an enforcement action at the site;

(3) the application is incomplete or inaccurate; or

(4) the application fails to meet the requirements of subsection (b) of this section.

(d) If the Commission rejects the application, the Commission shall:

(1) not later than the 45th day after the Site Remediation Section receives the application, notify the applicant in writing that the application has been rejected;

(2) explain the reasons for rejection of the application; and

(3) inform the applicant that the Commission will refund half the application fee unless the applicant indicates a desire to resubmit the application.

(e) If the Commission rejects an application because it is incomplete or inaccurate, then not later than the 45th day after the Site Remediation Section receives the application, the Assistant Director shall notify the applicant in writing of all information needed to make the application complete or accurate. If the applicant resubmits the application not later than the 45th day after the Assistant Director issues notice that the application has been rejected, the applicant shall not submit an additional application fee. This waiver of the application fee applies only to the first re-submission within 45 days of notice of an incomplete application. An applicant who re-submits an application after the 45th day shall submit the application fee required by §4.415(b)(3) of this title.

Source Note: The provisions of this §4.420 adopted to be effective June 10, 2002, 27 TexReg 4936; amended to be effective February 3, 2011, 36 TexReg 410