(1) The applicant shall publish notice for each application in such a manner to inform and seek comments from interested and potentially interested persons.

(2) The public notice shall be in a form provided by the department and shall include at least the following:

(a) Name, address, and phone number of the office of the department issuing the public notice;

(b) Name and address of the applicant, and if different, of the facility or activity to be permitted;

(c) Brief description of the applicant's activities or operations which result in the discharge described in the application (e.g. municipal waste treatment plant, steel manufacturing, drainage from mining activities);

(d) A brief description of the discharge point(s);

(e) A statement of any tentative determination to issue or deny a permit for the discharge described in the application;

(f) A brief description of the procedures for the formulation of final determinations, including the thirty-day comment period required by subsection (6) of this section and any other means by which interested persons may influence or comment upon those determinations; and

(g) Address and phone number of the office of the department at which interested persons may obtain further information.

(3) Circulation of public notice shall include at least publishing once each week for two consecutive weeks, at applicants' expense, a public notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county of the proposal. The department shall also, in the case of a discharge into a municipal sewerage system, notify the municipality of the intent to issue or deny a permit.

(4) The department may require the following additional public notification requirements:

(a) Mailing the notice to persons who have expressed an interest in being notified;

(b) Mailing the notice to other state agencies and local governments with a regulatory interest in the proposal;

(c) Posting the notice on the premises.

(5) The public notification requirements do not apply for permit renewal, if there are no increases in volume or changes in characteristics of discharge beyond those previously authorized.

(6) The public notice shall include a statement that any person may express their views in writing to the department within thirty days of the last date of publication.

(7) Any person submitting written comment or any other person may, upon request, obtain a copy of the department's final decision.

(8) The applicant shall provide the department with an affidavit of publication.

(9) The department shall add the name of any person, upon request, to a mailing list to receive copies of notices for all applications within the state or within a geographical area.