According to the new law, when a permit application is completed, it is called a draft permit. At this stage, a public notice of the draft permit is issued in a local paper to notify the public. A copy of this draft permit is also sent to the township trustees, county commissioners, local health department, and local soil and water conservation district office. Members of the public have 30 days to write the Ohio Department of Agriculture with comments or to request a public meeting. Or, the farmer can request a public meeting when an application is submitted.

If a public meeting is requested, a public notice is issued in the newspaper 30 days prior to the public meeting. Written comments are collected up to and during the public meeting and the record will be open for five calendar days after the public meeting. At the public meeting, oral comments can be made on the record. Depending up on the number of people present, comment time may be limited. After the comments are collected, a responsiveness summary is prepared for Director Dailey's use as he considers his final action on the draft permit.

Those wishing to be kept on an interested party database can contact ODA's Livestock Environmental Permitting Program via e-mail at lepp@agri.ohio.gov or via regular mail at the Livestock Environmental Permitting Program's office, Ohio Department of Agriculture, 8995 East Main Street, Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068.