At the time of submission of an application for a surface coal mining and reclamation permit, or revision of an existing permit, the applicant shall submit to the Department a copy of his advertisement of the ownership, precise location and boundaries of the land to be affected. At the time of submission such advertisement shall be placed by the applicant in a local newspaper of general circulation in the locality of the proposed surface mine at least once a week for four (4) consecutive weeks. The Department shall notify various local governmental bodies, planning agencies, sewage and water treatment authorities and water companies in the locality in which the proposed surface mining will take place notifying them of the operator's intention to surface mine a particularly described tract of land and indicating the application's permit number and where a copy of the proposed mining and reclamation plan may be inspected. These local bodies, agencies, authorities or companies may submit written comments within a reasonable period established by the Department on the mining applications with respect to the effect of the proposed operation on the environment which are within their areas of responsibility. Such comments shall immediately be transmitted to the applicant by the Department and shall be made available to the public at the same locations as are the mining applications.