Section 903.05. Application for a permit to install or permit to operate

(A) Each application for a permit to install or permit to operate a concentrated animal feeding facility that is submitted by an applicant who has not owned or operated a concentrated animal feeding facility in this state for at least two of the five years immediately preceding the submission of the application shall be accompanied by all of the following:

(1) A listing of all animal feeding facilities that the applicant or any person identified by the applicant under division (C)(1) of section 903.02 or 903.03 of the Revised Code owns, has owned, has operated, or is operating in this state;

(2) A listing of the animal feeding facilities that the applicant or any person identified by the applicant under division (C)(1) of section 903.02 or 903.03 of the Revised Code owns, has owned, has operated, or is operating elsewhere in the United States and that are regulated under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act together with a listing of the animal feeding facilities that the applicant or any such person owns, has owned, has operated, or is operating outside the United States;

(3) A listing of all administrative enforcement orders issued to the applicant or any person identified by the applicant under division (C)(1) of section 903.02 or 903.03 of the Revised Code, all civil actions in which the applicant or any such person was determined by the trier of fact to be liable in damages or was the subject of injunctive relief or another type of civil relief, and all criminal actions in which the applicant or any such person pleaded guilty or was convicted, during the five years immediately preceding the submission of the application, in connection with any violation of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the "Safe Drinking Water Act," as defined in section 6109.01 of the Revised Code, or any other applicable state laws pertaining to environmental protection that was alleged to have occurred or to be occurring at any animal feeding facility that the applicant or any such person owns, has owned, has operated, or is operating in the United States or with any violation of the environmental laws of another country that was alleged to have occurred or to be occurring at any animal feeding facility that the applicant or any such person owns, has owned, has operated, or is operating outside the United States.

The lists of animal feeding facilities owned or operated by the applicant or any person identified by the applicant under division (C)(1) of section 903.02 or 903.03 of the Revised Code within or outside this state or outside the United States shall include, respectively, all such facilities owned or operated by the applicant or any such person during the five-year period immediately preceding the submission of the application.

(B) If the applicant for a permit to install or permit to operate or any person identified by the applicant under division (C)(1) of section 903.02 or 903.03 of the Revised Code has been involved in any prior activity involving the operation of an animal feeding facility, the director of agriculture may deny the application if the director finds from the application, the information submitted under divisions (A)(1) to (3) of this section, pertinent information submitted to the director, and other pertinent information obtained by the director at the director's discretion that the applicant and any such person, in the operation of animal feeding facilities, have a history of substantial noncompliance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the "Safe Drinking Water Act," as defined in section 6109.01 of the Revised Code, any other applicable state laws pertaining to environmental protection, or the environmental laws of another country that indicates that the applicant or any such person lacks sufficient reliability, expertise, and competence to operate the proposed new or modified concentrated animal feeding facility in substantial compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it.

(C) A person who seeks to acquire or operate a concentrated animal feeding facility that has been issued an installation permit that has been transferred from the director of environmental protection to the director of agriculture, a permit to install, or a permit to operate shall submit to the director the information specified in divisions (A)(1) to (3) of this section prior to the transfer of the permit. The permit shall not be transferred as otherwise provided in division (I) of section 903.09 of the Revised Code if the director finds from the information submitted under divisions (A)(1) to (3) of this section, pertinent information submitted to the director, and other pertinent information obtained by the director at the director's discretion that the person, in the operation of animal feeding facilities, has a history of substantial noncompliance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the "Safe Drinking Water Act," as defined in section 6109.01 of the Revised Code, any other applicable state laws pertaining to environmental protection, or the environmental laws of another country that indicates that the person lacks sufficient reliability, expertise, and competence to operate the concentrated animal feeding facility in substantial compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it.

(D) An owner or operator of a concentrated animal feeding facility that has been issued an installation permit that has been transferred from the director of environmental protection to the director of agriculture, a permit to install, or a permit to operate shall submit to the director notice of any proposed change in the persons identified to the director under division (C)(1) of section 903.02 or 903.03 of the Revised Code, as applicable. The director may deny approval of the proposed change if the director finds from the information submitted under divisions (A)(1) to (3) of this section, pertinent information submitted to the director, and other pertinent information obtained by the director at the director's discretion that the proposed person, in the operation of animal feeding facilities, has a history of substantial noncompliance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the "Safe Drinking Water Act," as defined in section 6109.01 of the Revised Code, any other applicable state laws pertaining to environmental protection, or the environmental laws of another country that indicates that the person lacks sufficient reliability, expertise, and competence to operate the concentrated animal feeding facility in substantial compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.12, HB 363, §1, eff. 12/22/2009 and operative on the date on which the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency approves the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program submitted by the Director of Agriculture under section 903.08 of the Revised Code as amended by this act.

Effective Date: 03-15-2001; 09-29-2005