(a)
Every district shall establish, by regulation, a program to provide for the expedited review of permits issued pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 42300) in order to reduce unnecessary delay in the issuance of those permits and to protect the public health and the environment. The expedited permit system shall include all of the following:
(1)
A precertification program for equipment which is mass-produced and operated by numerous sources under the same or similar conditions, in order to allow permit applicants who purchase that equipment to receive permits in an expedited fashion.
(2)
A consolidated permitting process for any source that requires more than one permit, which provides that the source will be permitted on a facility or project basis, provides a single point of contact for the permit applicant, and allows a source to be reviewed and permitted on a single, consolidated schedule.
(3)
An expedited permit review schedule, based upon the types and amount of pollution emitted from sources. In order to comply with this subdivision, a district shall classify sources within its jurisdiction as minor, moderate, and major sources of air pollution, and shall establish a permit action schedule that sets forth specific deadlines, based on each classification, for an air pollution control officer to notify a permit applicant in writing of the approval or disapproval of a permit application.
(4)
A training and certification program for private sector personnel, in order to establish a pool of professionals who can certify businesses as being in compliance with district rules and regulations.
(5)
The development of standardized permit application forms that are written in clear and understandable language and provide applicants with adequate information to complete and return the forms.
(6)
To the extent that a district determines that it will not adversely affect the public health and safety or the environment, the consolidation of the authority to construct and permit to operate into a single permit process in order to reduce processing times and paperwork for stationary sources.
(7)
An appeals process whereby, if the air pollution control officer fails to notify a permit applicant of the approval or disapproval of a permit application within the schedule established pursuant to paragraph (3), the permit applicant may, after notifying the district, request the district board, at its next regularly scheduled meeting, to set a date certain on which the permit will be acted upon. This paragraph does not prohibit a permit applicant from seeking relief under Section 42302.
(b)
For those districts which have a population of less than 1,000,000 persons, the state board shall provide assistance in developing regulations implementing this section.
(c)
This section does not apply to county air pollution control districts in counties that have a population of less than 250,000 persons.