[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 18, Volume 1] [Revised as of April 1, 2001] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 18CFR385.206] [Page 888-890] TITLE 18--CONSERVATION OF POWER AND WATER RESOURCES CHAPTER I--FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY PART 385--RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE--Table of Contents Subpart B--Pleadings, Tariff and Rate Filings, Notices of Tariff or Rate Examination, Orders To Show Cause, Intervention, and Summary Disposition Sec. 385.206 Complaints (Rule 206). (a) General rule. Any person may file a complaint seeking Commission action against any other person alleged to be in contravention or violation of any statute, rule, order, or other law administered by the Commission, or for any other alleged wrong over which the Commission may have jurisdiction. (b) Contents. A complaint must: (1) Clearly identify the action or inaction which is alleged to violate applicable statutory standards or regulatory requirements; (2) Explain how the action or inaction violates applicable statutory standards or regulatory requirements; (3) Set forth the business, commercial, economic or other issues presented by the action or inaction as such relate to or affect the complainant; (4) Make a good faith effort to quantify the financial impact or burden (if any) created for the complainant as a result of the action or inaction; (5) Indicate the practical, operational, or other nonfinancial impacts imposed as a result of the action or inaction, including, where applicable, the environmental, safety or reliability impacts of the action or inaction; (6) State whether the issues presented are pending in an existing Commission proceeding or a proceeding in any other forum in which the complainant is a party, and if so, provide an explanation why timely resolution cannot be achieved in that forum; (7) State the specific relief or remedy requested, including any request for stay or extension of time, and the basis for that relief; (8) Include all documents that support the facts in the complaint in possession of, or otherwise attainable by, the complainant, including, but not limited to, contracts and affidavits; [[Page 889]] (9) State (i) Whether the Enforcement Hotline, Dispute Resolution Service, tariff-based dispute resolution mechanisms, or other informal dispute resolution procedures were used, or why these procedures were not used; (ii) Whether the complainant believes that alternative dispute resolution (ADR) under the Commission's supervision could successfully resolve the complaint; (iii) What types of ADR procedures could be used; and (iv) Any process that has been agreed on for resolving the complaint. (10) Include a form of notice suitable for publication in the Federal Register and submit a copy of the notice on a separate 3\1/2\ inch diskette in ASCII format; (11) Explain with respect to requests for Fast Track processing pursuant to section 385.206(h), why the standard processes will not be adequate for expeditiously resolving the complaint. (c) Service. Any person filing a complaint must serve a copy of the complaint on the respondent, affected regulatory agencies, and others the complainant reasonably knows may be expected to be affected by the complaint. Service must be simultaneous with filing at the Commission for respondents. Simultaneous or overnight service is permissible for other affected entities. Simultaneous service can be accomplished by electronic mail in accordance with Sec. 385.2010(f)(3), facsimile, express delivery, or messenger. (d) Notice. Public notice of the complaint will be issued by the Commission. (e) Privileged treatment. (1) If a complainant seeks privileged treatment for any documents submitted with the complaint, the complainant must submit, with its complaint, a request for privileged treatment of documents and information under section 388.112 of this chapter and a proposed form of protective agreement. In the event the complainant requests privileged treatment under section 388.112 of this chapter, it must file the original and three copies of its complaint with the information for which privileged treatment is sought and 11 copies of the pleading without the information for which privileged treatment is sought. The original and three copies must be clearly identified as containing information for which privileged treatment is sought. (2) A complainant must provide a copy of its complaint without the privileged information and its proposed form of protective agreement to each entity that is to be served pursuant to section 385.206(c). (3) The respondent and any interested person who has filed a motion to intervene in the complaint proceeding may make a written request to the complainant for a copy of the complete complaint. The request must include an executed copy of the protective agreement and, for persons other than the respondent, a copy of the motion to intervene. Any person may file an objection to the proposed form of protective agreement. (4) A complainant must provide a copy of the complete complaint to the requesting person within 5 days after receipt of the written request that is accompanied by an executed copy of the protective agreement. (f) Answers, interventions and comments. Unless otherwise ordered by the Commission, answers, interventions, and comments to a complaint must be filed within 20 days after the complaint is filed. In cases where the complainant requests privileged treatment for information in its complaint, answers, interventions, and comments are due within 30 days after the complaint is filed. In the event there is an objection to the protective agreement, the Commission will establish when answers will be due. (g) Complaint resolution paths. One of the following procedures may be used to resolve complaints: (1) The Commission may assign a case to be resolved through alternative dispute resolution procedures in accordance with Secs. 385.604-385.606, in cases where the affected parties consent, or the Commission may order the appointment of a settlement judge in accordance with Sec. 385.603; (2) The Commission may issue an order on the merits based upon the pleadings; (3) The Commission may establish a hearing before an ALJ; [[Page 890]] (h) Fast Track processing. (1) The Commission may resolve complaints using Fast Track procedures if the complaint requires expeditious resolution. Fast Track procedures may include expedited action on the pleadings by the Commission, expedited hearing before an ALJ, or expedited action on requests for stay, extension of time, or other relief by the Commission or an ALJ. (2) A complainant may request Fast Track processing of a complaint by including such a request in its complaint, captioning the complaint in bold type face ``COMPLAINT REQUESTING FAST TRACK PROCESSING,'' and explaining why expedition is necessary as required by section 385.206(b)(11). (3) Based on an assessment of the need for expedition, the period for filing answers, interventions and comments to a complaint requesting Fast Track processing may be shortened by the Commission from the time provided in section 385.206(f). (4) After the answer is filed, the Commission will issue promptly an order specifying the procedure and any schedule to be followed. (i) Simplified procedure for small controversies. A simplified procedure for complaints involving small controversies is found in section 385.218 of this subpart. (j) Satisfaction. (1) If the respondent to a complaint satisfies such complaint, in whole or in part, either before or after an answer is filed, the complainant and the respondent must sign and file: (i) A statement setting forth when and how the complaint was satisfied; and (ii) A motion for dismissal of, or an amendment to, the complaint based on the satisfaction. (2) The decisional authority may order the submission of additional information before acting on a motion for dismissal or an amendment under paragraph (c)(1)(ii) of this section. [Order 225, 47 FR 19022, May 3, 1982, as amended by Order 602, 64 FR 17097, Apr. 8, 1999; Order 602-A, 64 FR 43608, Aug. 11, 1999]