(a) The department shall provide a time period for public comment, starting from the date of the receipt of a working forest management plan, as follows:

(1) Ninety days for a working forest management plan for less than 5,000 acres.

(2) One hundred ten days for a working forest management plan for between 5,000 and 10,000 acres.

(b) Before a working forest management plan may be approved, all of the following requirements shall be met:

(1) Within 30 working days of the receipt of a working forest management plan, or within 40 working days of the receipt of a plan to which a road management plan is appended, the department shall determine if the plan is accurate, complete, and in proper order, and if so, the plan shall be filed. An unfiled plan shall be returned to the applicant with an explanation that includes provisions for resubmitting the plan.

(2) The initial inspection shall be initiated within 20 working days from the date of filing of the working forest management plan, and completed no more than 30 working days from the date of filing.

(3) Upon completion of the initial inspection, the department shall have up to 45 working days to conduct the final interagency review of the plan.

(4) The public comment period shall end 20 working days after the completion of the final interagency review of the plan or until the requirement in subdivision (a) is met, whichever is greater.

(5) After the final interagency review and public comment period has ended, the department shall have up to 30 working days to review the public input, to consider recommendations and mitigation measures of other agencies, to respond in writing to the issues raised, and to determine if the plan is in conformance with the applicable rules adopted by the board and other applicable provisions of law.

(c) If after final interagency review the director determines that the plan is not in conformance with the rules and regulations of the board or this chapter, the director shall deny and return the plan, stating the reasons for the denial and advising the person submitting the plan of the person’s right to a hearing before the board.

(d) If the director does not act within the time periods provided in paragraphs (1) through (5) in subdivision (b), the director and the working forest landowner submitting the working forest management plan shall negotiate and mutually agree upon a longer period for the director to review the plan. If a longer period cannot be mutually agreed upon, the working forest management plan shall be deemed denied and returned to the working forest landowner submitting the plan.

(e) (1) A working forest landowner to whom a plan is denied pursuant to subdivision (c) or (d) may request, within 30 working days from the receipt of the plan, a public hearing before the board. The board shall schedule a public hearing to review the plan to determine if the plan is in conformance with the rules and regulations of the board and this chapter.

(2) Board action shall take place within 30 working days from the filing of the appeal, or a longer period mutually agreed upon by the board and the person filing the appeal.

(3) If the director’s decision to deny the plan is overturned by the board, the board shall prepare findings and its rationale for overturning the decision, and return the plan to the department for approval by the director.

(4) If the plan is not approved on appeal to the board, the director, within 10 working days of board action, shall advise the plan submitter regarding changes needed that would achieve compliance with this chapter and other applicable provisions of the law. The plan submitter shall have 45 working days from the date of the notification letter, or longer, if mutually agreeable to the department and the plan submitter to revise the plan to bring it into full conformance with the rules and regulations of the board and this chapter. Upon receipt of the information requested of the plan submitter, the department shall recirculate the plan and reopen the public comment period for 30 working days. Prior to determining whether to approve the proposed revised plan, the director shall have 30 working days to review public input and consider recommendations and mitigation measures of other agencies, and to respond in writing to issues raised.

(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 626, Sec. 21. (SB 901) Effective January 1, 2019.)