(a)  Any responsible party may request the office to designate a consolidated permit agency for a repair or maintenance project to administer the processing and issuance of a consolidated permit for the repair or maintenance project subject to this division. The office is not authorized to act pursuant to this chapter in the absence of a request by a responsible party. The office shall designate a consolidated permit agency within 30 days from the date that the request was received.

(b)  A responsible party that requests the designation of a consolidated permit agency shall provide the office with a description of the repair or maintenance project, a preliminary list of the repair or maintenance project permits that the repair or maintenance project may require, the identity of any public agency that has been designated the lead agency for the repair or maintenance project pursuant to Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 65920) of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code or Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code, and the identity of the participating permit agencies. The office may request any information from the responsible party that is necessary to make the designation under subdivision (a), and may convene a scoping meeting of the likely consolidated permit agency and participating permit agencies to make that designation.

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(c)  In those cases where a public agency is the lead agency for purposes of Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 65920) of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code or Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code, that agency shall be the consolidated permit agency. In other cases, the following factors shall be considered in determining which public agency has the greatest overall jurisdiction over the repair or maintenance project:

(1)  The type of facility or structure that is the subject of the proposed repair or maintenance project.

(2)  The nature of the threat that a failure to repair and maintain the structure or facility poses to public health or safety or to the environment, including the environmental medium that may be affected by a failure to repair and maintain the structure or facility.

(3)  The environmental and human health and safety concerns that should be considered in properly carrying out the repair or maintenance project.

(4)  The statutory and regulatory standards applicable to the repair or maintenance project.

(d)  The consolidated permit agency shall serve as the main point of contact for the responsible party with regard to the processing of the consolidated permit for the repair or maintenance project and shall coordinate the procedural aspects of the processing consistent with existing laws governing the consolidated permit agency and participating permit agencies, and with the procedures agreed to by those agencies in accordance with Section 57053.1. In carrying out those responsibilities, the consolidated permit agency shall ensure that consolidated permit applicant has all of the information needed to apply for all of the component repair or maintenance project permits that are incorporated in the consolidated permit, coordinate the review of those repair or maintenance project permits by the respective participating permit agencies, ensure that timely permit decisions are made by the participating permit agencies, and assist in resolving any conflict or inconsistency among the repair or maintenance project permit requirements and conditions that are to be imposed by the participating permit agencies with regard to the repair or maintenance project.

(e)  This division shall not be construed to limit or abridge the authority or responsibilities of any participating permit agency pursuant to the law that authorizes or requires the agency to issue a permit for a repair or maintenance project or to grant any agency any new powers independent of those granted by other laws. Each participating permit agency shall retain its authority to make all decisions on all nonprocedural matters with regard to the respective component repair or maintenance project permit that is within the scope of its authority or responsibility, including, but not limited to, the determination of permit application completeness, permit approval or approval with conditions, or permit denial. The consolidated permit agency may not substitute its judgment for that of a participating permit agency on any such nonprocedural matters.

(Added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 776, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1997.)