Permit issuance

(a) The commission shall determine, after a hearing, if required, whether the conditions set forth in section 174C-49(a) have been established; provided that the commission may make such determination without a hearing if the quantity of water applied for does not exceed an average amount per month to be established by rule or if the quantity of water applied for exceeds an average amount per month to be established by rule, but no objection to the application is filed by any person having standing to file an objection. (b) In acting upon any application, the commission need consider only those objections filed by a person who has some property interest in any land within the hydrologic unit from which the water sought by the applicant is to be drawn or who will be directly and immediately affected by the water use proposed in the application. The commission shall adopt rules governing the filing of objections and the persons having standing to file objections. (c) An application shall be acted upon within ninety calendar days of an application not requiring a hearing, or within one hundred eighty calendar days of an application requiring a hearing. The time periods prescribed in this section shall not be deemed to run for any period in which an application is not complete in all material respects, in the judgment of the commission. (d) As a condition for the issuance of a permit the commission may require the permittee to install meters, gauges, or other appropriate measuring devices.