(a)
On or before January 1, 1995, the secretary shall establish an administrative process which may be used, at the request of a permit applicant for a project pursuant to Section 71021, for the designation of a consolidated permit agency for the project.
(b)
That administrative process shall consist of the establishment of guidelines for designating the consolidated permit agency for the project. The guidelines shall be adopted as regulations pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. In those cases where an environmental 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), that environmental agency shall be the consolidated permit agency. In other cases, the guidelines shall require that at least the following factors be considered in determining which environmental agency has the greatest overall jurisdiction over the project:
(1)
The types of facilities or activities that make up the project.
(2)
The types of public health and safety and environmental concerns that should be considered in issuing environmental permits for the project.
(3)
The environmental medium that may be affected by the project, the extent of those potential effects, and the environmental protection measures that may be taken to prevent the occurrence of, or to mitigate, those potential effects.
(4)
The regulatory activity that is of greatest importance in preventing or mitigating the effects that the project may have on public health and safety or the environment.
(5)
The statutory and regulatory requirements that apply to the project and the complexity of those requirements.
(c)
The secretary shall also establish a procedure for referring projects to the council for the designation of a consolidated permit agency in any of the following circumstances:
(1)
Because of the nature of the project, the guidelines adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) do not provide clear guidance concerning which environmental agency should be designated the consolidated permit agency.
(2)
The consolidated permit agency or a participating permit agency disagrees with the designation of the consolidated permit agency.
(3)
The environmental agency designated as the consolidated permit agency under the guidelines declines the designation and participating permit agencies are not willing to accept designation as the consolidated permit agency.