Code of Federal Regulations: Containing a Codification of Documents of ...

All communications to the Commission shall be addressed to Federal Power Commission, Washington 25, D.C., unless otherwise specifically directed. Regional offices are maintained at Atlanta, Chicago, Fort Worth, New York, and San Francisco.

(b) Hours. The offices of the Commission will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. of each week-day except Saturday, unless otherwise provided by statute or Executive order.

(1) Public. Public sessions of the Commission will be held after due notice as ordered by the Commission.

(2) General. General sessions of the Commission for the transaction of its business will be held at the principal office of the Commission at Washington, D.C., on regular business days as scheduled by the Commission.

(3) Special. Special sessions of the Commission for consultation, or for the transaction of business, may be held at any time and place as may be scheduled by the Commission.

(d) Quorum. Three members of the Commission constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

(e) Action by members or representatives. The Commission may, by one or more of its members especially authorized, or by such other representatives as it may designate and authorize, conduct in any part of the United States any inquiry, investigation, hearing or other process necessary to its duties and functions.

(f) Definitions. As used in this part, except as otherwise required by the context:

(1) "Person” means and shall include individuals, partnerships, corporations, associations, joint stock companies, public trusts, organized groups of persons, whether incorporated or not, receivers or trustees of the foregoing, municipalities, including cities, counties, or other political subdivisions of a State, States of the Union, including the District of Columbia or any territory of the United States, or any agency, authority or instrumentality of the United States, or of any one or more of the foregoing, or any corporation which is wholly owned directly or indirectly, by the United States, or by any one or more of the foregoing, or any officer, agent, or employee

of any of the foregoing acting as such in the course of his official duty.

(2) "Participant" means and shall include any party, any person admitted by the Commission to limited participation in a proceeding, and staff counsel.

(3) "Commission" and Commissioner" means the Federal Power Commission, and a member thereof, respectively.

(4) "Secretary" means and shall include the Secretary, the Acting Secretary, or the Office of the Secretary of the Commission.

(5) "State Commission" means and shall include the regulatory body of any State or municipality having jurisdiction to regulate rates and charges for the sale of electric energy or natural gas to consumers within the State or municipality.

(6) "Presiding Officer" means and shall include any one or more of the members of the Commission duly designated, but not including the Commission when sitting as such, or one or more trial examiners appointed according to law and duly designated, to preside at hearings or conferences, or other officers specially provided for and designated pursuant to statute to conduct specified classes of proceedings.

(7) "Attorney" means and shall include any attorney admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, or the highest court of any State or Territory of the United States, or the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, or the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia, or any other person with the requisite qualifications to represent others, who acts in a representative capacity for any party or participant to a proceeding before the Commission.

(8) "Applicants." In proceedings involving applications for permission or authorization which the Commission may give under statutory or other authority delegated to it, the parties on whose behalf the applications are made are styled applicants.

(9) "Declarants." In proceedings involving declarations of intention filed under the provisions of section 23(b) of the Federal Power Act, the parties on whose behalf the declarations are made are styled declarants. (See Part 24 of this chapter.)

(10) "Complainants." Persons who complain to the Commission of anything done or omitted to be done in contravention or violation of the provisions of any

statute or other delegated authority administered by the Commission, or of any orders, rules, or regulations issued or promulgated thereunder, or any other alleged wrong over which the Commission may have jurisdiction, are styled complainants.

(11) "Petitioners." Persons seeking relief, not otherwise designated in this section, are styled petitioners.

(12) "Defendants." Persons subject to any statute or other delegated authority administered by the Commission, or any orders, rules, or regulations issued or promulgated thereunder, against whom any complaint is filed, are styled defendants.

(13) "Interveners." Persons petitioning to intervene as provided by § 1.8, when admitted as a participant to a proceeding, and State Commissions giving notice of intervention as provided in said section, are styled interveners. Admission as an intervener shall not be construed as recognition by the Commission that such intervener might be aggrieved by any order of the Commission in such proceeding.

(14) "Protestants." Persons objecting on the ground of private or public interest to the approval of an application, petition, motion or other matter which the Commission may have under consideration, are styled protestants. Protestants desiring to become interveners in any proceeding before the Commission may file a petition for intervention as provided by § 1.8.

(15) "Respondents." Persons subject to any statute or other delegated authority administered by the Commission, to whom an order or notice is issued by the Commission instituting a proceeding or investigation on its own initiative, are styled respondents.

(16) "Staff Counsel" means and shall include the counsel of the Commission participating in a proceeding before the Commission.

or rate schedules and related data and concurrences, and other filings and submittals to the Commission in compliance with the requirement of any statute, executive order, or Commission rule, regulation, order, license, or permit; (iii) all answers, replies, responses, objections, protests, motions, stipulations, exceptions, other pleadings, notices, depositions, certificates, proofs of service, transcripts of oral arguments, and briefs in any matter or proceeding; (iv) all exhibits, attachments and appendices to, amendments and corrections of, supplements to, or transmittals or withdrawals of, any of the foregoing.

(18) "Matter or proceeding." For the purpose of this paragraph and § 1.36, matter or proceeding means the Commission's elucidation of the relevant facts and applicable law, consideration thereof, and action thereupon with respect to a particular subject within the Commission's jurisdiction, initiated by a filing or submittal or a Commission notice or order.

(19) "Formal record." For the purpose of this paragraph and § 1.36, the formal record includes in addition to all the filings and submittals in a matter or proceeding, any notice or Commission order initiating the matter or proceeding, and, if a hearing is held, the following: the designation of the presiding officer, transcript of hearing, all exhibits received in evidence, all exhibits offered but not received in evidence, offers of proof, motions, stipulation, subpenas, proofs of service, references to the Commission, and determinations made by the Commission thereon, certifications to the Commission, and anything else upon which action of the presiding officer or the Commission may be based; it does not include any proposed testimony or exhibits not offered or received in evidence.

(20) "Staff papers." For the purpose of this paragraph and § 1.36 staff papers include the Commission staff's working notes, papers, records, memoranda, and correspondence, except: any such papers, not relating to a proposed settlement or to an application, permission, filing, or submittal under § 35.13 or § 154.66 of this chapter, which are intended for the Commission's consideration and are within the terms of § 1.36 (c) (4) and subparagraph (21) of this paragraph, because received by the Commission in a matter or proceeding after hearing has

commenced and before final Commission action; and any such papers made a part of the public rules and records by inclusion in a formal record (see subparagraph (19) of this paragraph, and said $ 1.36 (c) (4)) or in any Commission memorandum or correspondence which is part of the public files and records (see subparagraphs (21) and (22) of this paragraph and said § 1.36 (c)).

(21) "Commission memoranda." For the purpose of this paragraph and § 1.36, Commission memoranda include all written communications from the staff or a presiding officer which are intended for the Commission's consideration and all those to the staff or a presiding officer which are signed or transmitted by or on behalf of the Chairman, a Commissioner, the Secretary, or the Executive Director.

(22) "Commission correspondence." For the purpose of this paragraph and $ 1.36, Commission correspondence includes all written communications and enclosures received from others than the staff and intended for the Commission or sent to others than the staff and signed by the Chairman, a Commissioner, the Secretary, the Executive Director, or other authorized official, except those which are purely personal.

(g) Public information. Requests for Information may be addressed to the Office of Public Information at the Commission's headquarters in Washington, D.C. Public records are available for public inspection and copying at that office, as provided in $ 1.36. Pleadings and other official filings are made as provided in $ 1.2(c). A description of the facilities available for public reference and the procedures that may be employed to obtain information, copies of public records or to secure informal advice and assistance from or consultation with members of the staff on problems relating to the statutes and regulations administered by the Commission is contained in the material published in Part 3 of this chapter.

Order 141. 12 F.R. 8471, Dec. 19, 1947, as mended by Order 175, 19 F.R. 5213, Aug. 18, 1954; Order 186, 21 F.R. 2613, Apr. 24, 1956; Order 194-A, 21 F.R. 10335, Dec. 27, 1956; Order 351, 32 F.R. 10062, July 8, 1967] § 1.2

The Secretary.

(a) Official records. (1) The Secretary shall have custody of the Commission's seal, the minutes of all action taken by the Commission, its rules and regulations and its administrative orders.

(2) The Records Officer shall have custody of all records of the Commission except those designated in subparagraph (1) of this paragraph.

(b) Authentication of Commission action. All orders and other actions of the Commission shall be authenticated or signed by the Secretary or such other person as may be authorized by the Commission.

(c) Pleadings and submittals. Pleadings and other submittals or papers shall be filed in the Office of the Secretary of the Commission at Washington, D.C., within such time limits as are prescribed for such filings.

[Order 141, 12 F.R. 8472, Dec. 19, 1947, as amended by Order 248, 27 F.R. 5606, June 13, 1962; Order 351, 32 F.R. 10062, July 8, 1967] $ 1.3 Notice of public sessions and proceedings.

Public sessions of the Commission for taking evidence or hearing argument and public conferences and hearings before any presiding officer, including substantive rulemaking proceedings, will not be held except upon due notice.

[Order 141, 12 F.R. 8472, Dec. 19, 1947] § 1.4 Appearances and practice before the Commission.

Participants

(a) Appearances. (1) may appear in any proceeding in person or by an attorney or other qualified representative. An individual may appear in his own behalf, a member of a partnership may represent the partnership, a bona-fide officer of a corporation, trust, association or organized group may represent the corporation, trust, association or group, and an officer or employee of a State commission, of a department or political subdivision of a State or other governmental authority, may represent the State commission or the department or political subdivision of the State or other governmental authority, in any proceeding.

(2) Any person compelled to appear or voluntarily testifying or making a statement before the Commission or the presiding officer, may be accompanied, represented and advised by an attorney or other qualified representative.

(3) All persons appearing before the Commission or the presiding officer must conform to the standards of ethical conduct required of practitioners before the Courts of the United States, and where applicable, to the requirements of section 12(i) of the Public Utility Holding

Company Act of 1935 (49 Stat. 825; 15 U.S.C. 797(i)).

(4) Any person appearing before or transacting business with the Commission in a representative capacity may be required by the Commission or the presiding officer to file evidence of his authority to act in such capacity.

(b) Suspension. (1) After hearing the Commission may disqualify and deny, temporarily or permanently, the privilege of appearing or practicing before it in any way to any person who is found (i) not to possess the requisite qualifications to represent others, or (ii) to have engaged in unethical or improper professional conduct, or (iii) otherwise to be not qualified.

(2) Contumacious conduct at any hearing before the Commission or a presiding officer shall be ground for exclusion of any person from such hearing and for summary suspension for the duration of the hearing by the Commission or the presiding officer.

(c) Appearances of former employees. No person having served as a member, officer, expert, administrative law judge, attorney, accountant, engineer, or other employee of the Federal Power Commission may practice before or act as attorney, expert witness, or representative in connection with any proceeding or matter before the Commission which such person has handled, investigated, advised or participated in the consideration thereof while in the service of the Commission unless he be expressly authorized by the Commission on a verified showing that such participation would not be contrary to the public interest and would not be unethical or prejudicial to the interests of the Commission.

(d) Ex parte communications. In order to avoid all possibilities of prejudice, real or apparent, to the public interest and persons involved in proceedings pending before the Commission

(1) No person who is a party to, or his counsel, agent, or other persons acting on his behalf, and no interceder in, any on-the-record proceeding, shall submit ex parte, off-the-record communications to any member of the Commission or of his personal staff, to the administrative law judge or to any employee participating in the decision in such proceeding, regarding any matter at issue in any contested on-the-record proceeding, except as authorized by law; and no Commissioner, member of his personal staff,

administrative law judge, or any employee participating in the decision in such proceeding, shall request or entertain any such ex parte, off-the-record communications. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "contested on-therecord proceeding" means a proceeding required by statute, constitution, published Commission rule or regulation or order in a particular case, to be decided on the basis of the record of a Commission hearing, and in which a protest or a petition or notice to intervene in opposition to requested Commission action has been filed; the term "interceder" shall include any individual outside the Commission, whether in private or public life, partnership, corporation, association, or other agency, other than a party or an agent of a party, who volunteers a communication.

(2) All written communications prohibited by subparagraph (1) of this paragraph shall be delivered to the Secretary of the Commission who shall place the communication in public files associated with the case, but separate from the record material upon which the Commission can rely in reaching its decision. (3) A Commissioner, member of his immediate staff, administrative law judge, or employee participating in the decision in such proceeding who receives an offer of any communication concerning any matter at issue in an on-therecord proceeding shall decline to listen to such communication and shall explain that the matter is pending for determination. If unsuccessful in preventing such communication, the recipient thereof shall advise the communicator that he will not consider the communication, and he shall promptly and fully inform the Commission of the substance of the communication and the circumstances thereof, so that the Commission will be enabled to take appropriate action.

(4) Requests for an opportunity to rebut, on the record, any facts or contentions contained in an ex parte communication which the Secretary has associated with the record may be filed in writing with the Commission. The Commission will grant such requests only where it determines that the dictates of fairness so require. Where the communication contains assertions of fact not a part of the record and of which the Commission cannot take official notice, the Commission in lieu of receiving rebuttal material normally will direct that the

« Anterior Continuar »

Libros