Members of the public may attend hearings. This section
governs participation at a hearing.
A.
Intervention. The Commissioner, the Board, or the Presiding
Officer pursuant to section 4(C)(5) of this rule shall decide petitions for
leave to intervene in a licensing proceeding where a decision has been made to
hold a hearing.
(1) Except as provided in this
subsection, any person who wants to participate in a hearing as an intervenor
must file a petition for leave to intervene within ten (10) days of the
Department's publication of notice of opportunity to intervene, or within such
other time as may be specified in the notice. The petition must include:
identification of the petitioner, a description of the effect of the proposed
activity on the petitioner; specific contentions regarding the subject matter
of the hearing and the relevant statutory criteria; the name of the
spokesperson for the petitioner; and a statement regarding the ability of the
petitioner to participate in the proceeding. If the petitioner is a group or
organization, the petition shall include a general description of the purpose
and membership of the group or organization. A petition shall be granted if it
demonstrates that the petitioner is or may be, or is a member of a class which
is or may be, substantially and directly affected by the proceeding. The
Department may, at its discretion, allow any other person to intervene and
participate as a party to the proceeding. A petition for leave to intervene may
be granted to allow participation as a full or limited party to the
proceeding.
(2) Any state, federal,
municipal or other governmental agency that wants to participate as a party
shall be granted intervenor status if it files a petition for leave to
intervene within ten (10) days of the Department's publication of notice of
opportunity to intervene, or within such other time as may be specified in the
notice.
(3) An appellant and a
licensee shall be granted automatic intervenor status in an appeal where the
Board has decided to hold a hearing and need not file a petition for leave to
intervene.
(4) A petition for leave
to intervene which is not timely filed will be denied unless the petitioner
shows good cause for failure to file on time, including but not limited to
failure to receive reasonable notice.
(5) An intervenor is a party to the
proceeding and has the right to offer testimony and evidence, and conduct cross
examination. An intervenor shall be permitted to participate in the hearing,
subject, however, to such reasonable terms as the Presiding Officer may
direct.
(6) Intervenors may be
required by the Presiding Officer to consolidate their presentations of
evidence and argument in part or in whole if their interests or contentions are
substantially similar and such consolidation would expedite or simplify the
hearing without prejudice to the rights of any party. A consolidation under
this section may be for all purposes of the proceeding, all of the issues of
the proceeding, or with respect to any one or more issues thereof.
(7) A Presiding Officer shall allow an
intervenor to withdraw from participation in a licensing proceeding. The
Presiding Officer shall evaluate whether any testimony or evidence presented by
the withdrawing party must be stricken from the record because a witness is no
longer available for cross-examination or inclusion of evidence would cause
undue prejudice to remaining parties. Any decision regarding such materials
shall be made in writing by the Presiding Officer, except that any such
decision that occurs during the hearing shall be stated on the
record.
B.
Participation by a Non-Intervenor. Any person who is not an intervenor
may, at the discretion of the Presiding Officer, attend but not participate in
a conference, and participate in a hearing by testifying and presenting
evidence and submitting cross-examination questions through the Presiding
Officer within such terms and conditions as the Presiding Officer specifies.
Written comments submitted at a hearing on a license application, but not
testified to, will be included in the application record. Nothing in this rule
shall be construed to limit a person's right to submit written comments to the
Department in the normal course of application processing.
C.
State, Federal, Municipal or Other
Governmental Agencies. An interested state, federal, municipal or other
governmental agency that has not been asked by Department staff to provide
assistance in the evaluation of the evidence under section 5 and that has not
petitioned for leave to intervene under section 11(A)(2) shall be afforded a
reasonable opportunity to participate in a hearing and to introduce evidence
and question witnesses. The agency will be permitted such rights as are granted
by this subsection only if the representative appearing on behalf of the agency
represents the views and positions of the agency. If a governmental agency
intends to participate in the hearing as set forth in this section, the agency
must notify the Department at least 20 days prior to the start of the hearing.
If the agency representative testifies or introduces evidence, the
representative shall be available for cross-examination by the
parties.
