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EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1722
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR GREGORY (21).
7425S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 621.250, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to
environmental appeals.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 621.250, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 621.250, 2
to read as follows:3
621.250. 1. All authority to hear contested case 1
administrative appeals granted in chapters 236, 256, 260, 2
444, 640, 643, and 644, and to the hazardous waste 3
management commission in chapter 260, the Missouri mining 4
commission in chapter 444, the safe drinking water 5
commission in chapter 640, the air conservation commission 6
in chapter 643, and the clean water commission in chapter 7
644 shall be transferred to the administrative hearing 8
commission under this chapter. The authority to render 9
final decisions after hearing on appeals heard by the 10
administrative hearing commission shall remain with the 11
commissions listed in this subsection. For appeals pursuant 12
to chapter 236, chapter 256, section 260.235, or section 13
260.249, the administrative hearing commission shall render 14
a final decision rather than a recommended decision. The 15
administrative hearing commission may render its recommended 16
or final decision after hearing or through stipulation, 17
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consent order, agreed settlement or by disposition in the 18
nature of default judgment, judgment on the pleadings, or 19
summary determination, consistent with the requirements of 20
this subsection and the rules and procedures of the 21
administrative hearing commission. 22
2. Except as otherwise provided by law, any person or 23
entity who is a party to, or who is aggrieved or adversely 24
affected by, any finding, order, decision, or assessment for 25
which the authority to hear appeals was transferred to the 26
administrative hearing commission in subsection 1 of this 27
section may file a notice of appeal with the administrative 28
hearing commission within thirty days after any such 29
finding, order, decision, or assessment is placed in the 30
United States mail or within thirty days of any such 31
finding, order, decision, or assessment being delivered, 32
whichever is earlier. Within ninety days after the date on 33
which the notice of appeal is filed the administrative 34
hearing commission may hold hearings, and within one hundred 35
twenty days after the date on which the notice of appeal is 36
filed shall make a recommended decision, or a final decision 37
where applicable, in accordance with the requirements of 38
this section and the rules and procedures of the 39
administrative hearing commission; provided, however, that 40
the dates by which the administrative hearing commission is 41
required to hold hearings and make a recommended decision 42
may be extended at the sole discretion of the permittee as 43
either petitioner or intervenor in the appeal. 44
3. Any decision by the director of the department of 45
natural resources that may be appealed as provided in 46
subsection 1 of this section shall contain a notice of the 47
right of appeal in substantially the following language: 48
"If you were adversely affected by this decision, you may be 49
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entitled to pursue an appeal before the administrative 50
hearing commission. To appeal, you must file a petition 51
with the administrative hearing commission within thirty 52
days after the date this decision was mailed or the date it 53
was delivered, whichever date was earlier. If any such 54
petition is sent by registered mail or certified mail, it 55
will be deemed filed on the date it is mailed; if it is sent 56
by any method other than registered mail or certified mail, 57
it will be deemed filed on the date it is received by the 58
administrative hearing commission.". Within fifteen days 59
after the administrative hearing commission renders a 60
recommended decision, it shall transmit the record and a 61
transcript of the proceedings, together with the 62
administrative hearing commission's recommended decision to 63
the commission having authority to issue a final decision. 64
The final decision of the commission shall be issued within 65
one hundred eighty days of the date the notice of appeal in 66
subsection 2 of this section is filed and shall be based 67
only on the facts and evidence in the hearing record; 68
provided, however, that the date by which the commission is 69
required to issue a final decision may be extended at the 70
sole discretion of the permittee as either petitioner or 71
intervenor in the appeal. The commission may adopt the 72
recommended decision as its final decision. The commission 73
may change a finding of fact or conclusion of law made by 74
the administrative hearing commission, or may vacate or 75
modify the recommended decision issued by the administrative 76
hearing commission, only if the commission states in writing 77
the specific reason for a change made under this 78
subsection. When issuance or denial of a permit is 79
appealed, and the commission does not issue a final decision 80
within one hundred eighty days of the date the notice of 81
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appeal under subsection 2 of this section is filed or by the 82
date extended at the sole discretion of the permittee, the 83
commission shall issue a decision affirming the issuance of 84
the permit. 85
4. In the event the person filing the appeal prevails 86
in any dispute under this section, interest shall be allowed 87
upon any amount found to have been wrongfully collected or 88
erroneously paid at the rate established by the director of 89
the department of revenue under section 32.065. 90
5. Appropriations shall be made from the respective 91
funds of the department of natural resources to cover the 92
administrative hearing commission's costs associated with 93
these appeals. 94
6. In all matters heard by the administrative hearing 95
commission under this section, the burden of proof shall 96
comply with section 640.012. The hearings shall be 97
conducted by the administrative hearing commission in 98
accordance with the provisions of chapter 536 and its 99
regulations promulgated thereunder. 100
7. In any appeal filed by an aggrieved or adversely 101
affected party challenging the issuance of a permit issued 102
by the department of natural resources to a different 103
person, and the commission affirms the issuance of such 104
permit, when the person to whom the permit was issued is a 105
party or intervenor to the appeal, the commission shall 106
award to the permittee reasonable fees, damages, and 107
expenses incurred by the permittee in the civil action or 108
agency proceeding, unless the court or agency finds that the 109
position of the aggrieved or adversely affected party or 110
parties was substantially justified. The permittee may seek 111
award of such reasonable fees, damages, and expenses in the 112
manner provided for in section 536.087. 113
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[7.] 8. No cause of action or appeal arising out of 114
any finding, order, decision, or assessment of any of the 115
commissions listed in subsection 1 of this section shall 116
accrue in any court unless the party seeking to file such 117
cause of action or appeal shall have filed a notice of 118
appeal and received a final decision in accordance with the 119
provisions of this section. 120
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