Notice for hearings or other proceedings

Notice for hearings or other proceedings. (a) All permittees under this Act shall provide the Department with a current address within 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly for the Department's use in providing notice of any hearings or other proceedings under this Act. Permittees must inform the Department of any address changes within 30 days after the effective date of the address change. Permittees shall provide current address information and inform the Department of any address changes on a form prescribed by the Department. (b) Written notice of a hearing or proceeding required to be provided to a permittee under this Act shall be given either personally or by certified mail with return receipt requested sent to the address provided to the Department as required by subsection (a) of this Section. Permittees shall sign certified mail return receipts for all mail received from the Department. (c) If notice sent by certified mail is returned unsigned or undelivered and, upon due inquiry, the permittee cannot be found for personal delivery, the Department shall provide written notice of a hearing or other proceeding by publication of the notice in a newspaper published in the county where the well or wells at issue are located. If there is no newspaper published in that county, then the publication shall be in a newspaper published in an adjoining county in this State having a circulation in the county where the well or wells at issue are located. The notice shall be published once. The Department shall, within 10 days after the publication of the newspaper notice, send a copy of the notice to the address provided to the Department as required by subsection (a) of this Section. The certificate of an authorized representative of the Department that newspaper notice was published and that a copy of the newspaper notice has been sent to the permittee pursuant to this subsection is evidence that the Department has properly provided notice to the permittee for the hearing or other proceeding. (d) Any notice required to be provided to a permittee under this Act shall include the identification of the well or wells at issue, the date, time, place, and nature of the hearing or other proceeding, and the name and contact information of the Department where additional information can be obtained. (Source: P.A. 99-138, eff. 1-1-16.)