A licensing proceeding runs on a clock. Certain deadlines have been established by statute, and a participant must meet them or lose associated rights. There are four such deadlines in a typical proceeding. The licensee must file a Notice of Intent (NOI) 5 years before expiration of the existing license1 (Section 3.2.1) and its application for new license 2 years before such expiration (Section 3.2.2(B)).2 A rehearing request must be filed within 30 days of the final licensing order (Section 3.2.5), and the petition for judicial review must be filed within 60 days of FERC's rehearing decision (Section 3.2.7).3
Other deadlines are set by federal regulations as published in the Code of Federal Regulations 4 (e.g., 18 C.F.R. Part 5 for the ILP). FERC may also issue “letter orders” in normal course of the proceeding. For example, after the submittal of an application, FERC will publish a notice establishing expeditious procedures for relicensing and a deadline for submission of final amendments, if any, to the application.5
FERC often provides a specific date on which to submit comments. A deadline is typically stated as “X days from today's date,” rather than as the actual date when the deadline runs. You calculate the actual due date as follows. Under FERC's Rule of Practice and Procedure number 2007, the clock starts the day after the initiating event.6 For example, if you decide to seek rehearing of a license issued on Tuesday, May 4, any rehearing request is due 30 days thereafter. So the clock starts on May 5, the day after the final order issues, and the rehearing request is due 30 days from May 5, or June 3. If the due date falls on a weekend or holiday, the due date is the next business day.7
-
See 16 U.S.C. § 808(b)(1).
-
See 16 U.S.C. § 808(c)(1).
-
See 16 U.S.C. § 825l.
-
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the compilation of all rules published by the executive departments and agencies of the U.S. Rules implement statutes by converting the more general language into the more specific. Thus, while the FPA Part I establishes 4 deadlines applicable to any licensing process, the ILP includes nearly 20 more, based on FERC's experience how best to run its train on time.
-
See 18 C.F.R. § 5.19.
-
18 C.F.R. § 385.2007.
-
See id.
