PUBLIC LAW 96-320—AUG. 3, 1980 required by law. Each agency or department involved shall review the application and, based upon legal considerations within its area of responsibility, recommend to the Administrator the approval or disapproval of the application not later than 45 days after public hearings are concluded pursuant to subsection (g) of this section. In any case in which an agency or department recommends disapproval, it shall set forth in detail the manner in which the application does not comply with any law or regulation within its area of responsibility and shall notify the Administrator of the manner in which the application may be amended or the license conditioned so as to bring it into compliance with the law or regulation involved. (g) A license may be issued, transferred, or renewed only after public notice, opportunity for comment, and public hearings in accordance with this subsection. At least one such public hearing shall be held in the District of Columbia and in any adjacent coastal State to which a facility is proposed to be directly connected by pipeline or electric transmission cable. Any interested person may present relevant material at any such hearing. After the hearings required by this subsection are concluded, if the Administrator determines that there exist one or more specific and material factual issues which may be resolved by a formal evidentiary hearing, at least one adjudicatory hearing shall be held in the District of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of section 554 of title 5, United States Code. The record developed in any such adjudicatory hearing shall be part of the basis for the Administrator's decision to approve or deny a license. Hearings held pursuant to this subsection shall be consolidated insofar as practicable with hearings held by other agencies. All public hearings on all applications with respect to facilities for any designated application area shall be consolidated and shall be concluded not later than 240 days after notice of the initial application has been published pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. All public hearings on applications with respect to ocean thermal energy conversion plantships shall be concluded not later than 240 days after notice of the application has been published pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. (h) Each person applying for a license pursuant to this Act shall remit to the Administrator at the time the application is filed a nonrefundable application fee, which shall be deposited into miscellaneous receipts of the Treasury. The amount of the fee shall be established by regulation by the Administrator, and shall reflect the reasonable administrative costs incurred in reviewing and processing the application. (i)(l) The Administrator shall approve or deny any timely filed application with respect to a facility for a designated application area submitted in accordance with the provision of this Act not later than 90 days after public hearings on proposed licenses for that area are concluded pursuant to subsection (g) of this section. The Administrator shall approve or deny an application for a license for ownership, construction, and operation of an ocean thermal energy conversion plantship submitted pursuant to this Act no later than 90 days after the public hearings on that application are concluded pursuant to subsection (g) of this section. (2) In the event more than one application for a license for ownership, construction, and operation of an ocean thermal energy conversion facility is submitted pursuant to this Act for the same designated application area, the Administrator, unless one or a specific combmation of the proposed facilities clearly best serves the
94 STAT. 981 Application review.
Notice, comments, and hearings.
Record. Consolidation of hearings.
Application fee.
Application approval or denial.
Applications for same area.
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