(a) If agreed to by the team and the applicant, consolidated hearings shall be used when possible. Such hearings shall include all hearings which agencies would be required to conduct individually. The team and the applicant shall determine which agencies shall be included in the consolidated hearings, but no agency shall be included over the objection of the applicant, if the action required from that agency is merely routine or administrative. If an application by the applicant to a particular agency would not otherwise require a hearing, such agency shall not be included in the consolidated hearing and no action taken in the consolidated hearing shall delay such application.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 13-18-116
Applicant: means any person planning or proposing a project which has been designated a major energy project. See Tennessee Code 13-18-102
Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
schedule: means the timetable set out by the joint review team in which to accomplish the joint review process, submit applications, hold hearings, and obtain approval of involved agencies. See Tennessee Code 13-18-102
team: means a coordinating group organized to conduct the joint review process on a major energy project. See Tennessee Code 13-18-102
Team leader: means the state or local lead agency which is selected by the joint review team to lead the team and coordinate and supervise the joint review process. See Tennessee Code 13-18-102
(b) The consolidated hearing is intended to combine public hearings concerned with similar regulatory topics, e.g., water quality, into one (1) hearing, thus avoiding the need for additional individual hearings. Issues to be considered in the hearing must be common to each agency and clearly indicated in the agenda and public notice. A common hearing procedure must be developed that satisfies due process and individual agency statutes. One (1) hearing record should be prepared for use by each agency.(c) Procedural and organizational arrangements for the hearing should be made as far in advance as possible. Guidelines for organizing the hearing are provided below:
(1) The team and applicant should identify those public hearings that could be coordinated. If possible, such identification should occur when the project decision schedule is formulated;(2) The team, in conjunction with the applicant and relevant agencies, should decide whether it is feasible to coordinate those hearings and which coordinated approach would be desirable;(3) Assuming coordination is feasible, the team leader should appoint one (1) team member to develop a coordinated hearing plan;(4) The team member assigned to develop the plan will arrange various meetings, as necessary, with relevant agency representatives, their attorneys and the proponent to develop and review proposed plans;(5) Once a plan has been agreed upon, the decision schedule should be modified, if necessary, to reflect the hearing agreement;(6) If the participating agencies and the proponent agree, the team member assigned to coordinate development of the joint hearing plan should continue to coordinate implementation of the plan; and(7) The coordinated hearing plan should be discussed at one (1) or more team meetings to allow for public comment.
