Oregon Administrative Code

345-011-0070 Council Requests for Information The Council may at any time request that any person subject to the Council’s jurisdiction submit information to the Council about any matter within the Council’s jurisdiction. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 469.470 Statutes/Other Impl…

345-011-0080 Unacceptable Conduct The chair may expel any person who engages in conduct that disrupts any Council proceeding. In any proceeding of a Council committee, the chairman or chairwoman of the committee may expel any person who engages in conduct that disrupts the procee…

345-015-0001 Purpose and Authority The rules in this division, authorized by ORS 469.040, 469.470 and 469.440, establish procedures governing Department of Energy and Energy Facility Siting Council review processes, including contested case proceedings. Statutory/Other Authority:…

345-015-0003 Remote and Electronic Public Meeting and Hearings (1) The Council or Chair may waive any provision of OAR chapter 345 requiring that a public meeting or public hearing be held in person or in a specific geographical area, if: (a) The Council or Chair finds that in-pe…

345-015-0110 Public Notice of a Notice of Intent (1) After receiving a notice of intent (NOI), the Department must issue public notice of the NOI by: (a) Sending notice by mail or email to persons on the Council's general mailing list as defined in OAR 345-011-0020 and any specia…

345-015-0115 Appointment of Special Advisory Groups After receiving the notice of intent, the Department shall designate as a special advisory group the governing body of any local government within whose jurisdiction the facility is proposed to be located. Statutory/Other Author…

345-015-0120 Agency Memorandum on a Notice of Intent After receiving a notice of intent (NOI), the Department must prepare a memorandum. In the memorandum, the Department must: (1) Request comments from the reviewing agency by a specified date. (2) Request the following informati…

345-015-0130 Informational Meeting on a Notice of Intent (1) After issuing the public notice described in OAR 345-015-0110, the Department of Energy may hold one or more informational meetings on the proposed facility in the vicinity of the site of the proposed facility. The info…

345-015-0140 Review by the Department of Energy The Department of Energy shall review the notice of intent (NOI) and the comments and recommendations received by the final date for submission of comments specified in the public notice described in OAR 345-015-0110 and in the memo…

345-015-0160 Project Order (1) Following the review of a notice of intent or, in the case of an expedited review, following receipt of a preliminary application for a site certificate, the Department of Energy shall issue a project order to the applicant establishing the followin…

345-015-0171 Public Notice of a Preliminary Application After receiving the preliminary application, the Department must post an announcement on its website to notify the public that a preliminary application has been received. The Department must include the addresses of locatio…

345-015-0180 Agency Memorandum on a Preliminary Application (1) Until the Department determines the application to be complete as described in OAR 345-015-0190 or 345-015-0310, it is a preliminary application. (2) The Department must mail or email the memorandum described under (…

345-015-0190 Determination of Completeness (1) Within 60 days after receipt of a preliminary application for a site certificate, the Department must notify the applicant whether the application is complete. In the notification, the Department must: (a) State that the application …

345-015-0194 Public Notice of a Complete Application for Site Certificate (1) The Department must inform the public that the application is complete by publishing notice in a newspaper of general circulation available in the vicinity of the proposed facility. In addition, the Dep…

345-015-0198 Informational Meeting on a Complete Application (1) After issuing the public notice described in OAR 345-015-0194, the Department of Energy may hold one or more informational meetings on the proposed facility in the vicinity of the site of the proposed facility. The …

345-015-0200 Notice to Agencies that the Application is Complete (1) After receiving notification from the Department that the application is complete, the applicant must prepare an application supplement that includes all amendments to the preliminary application and all additio…

345-015-0205 Agency Coordination Each agency with legal authority to implement or enforce state statutes, state administrative rules or local government ordinances that must be satisfied in order for the Council to issue a site certificate for a proposed facility is encouraged to…

345-015-0210 Draft Proposed Order (1) Following the deadline for its receipt of agency reports and final land use decisions stated under OAR 345-015-0200, the Department of Energy shall issue a draft proposed order on the application that includes its recommendation to grant with…

345-015-0220 Public Hearing and Notice on the Draft Proposed Order (1) After the issuance of the draft proposed order described in OAR 345-015-0210, the Energy Facility Siting Council or its hearing officer must conduct at least one public hearing on the draft proposed order in t…

345-015-0230 Council Review and the Department of Energy’s Proposed Order (1) Following the close of the record of the public hearing conducted under OAR 345-015-0220, the Energy Facility Siting Council must review the draft proposed order. In accordance with ORS 469.370(3), when…

345-015-0240 The Decision-Making Record The decision-making record on an application for a site certificate includes the decision record for the Department of Energy’s proposed order and the record of the contested case proceeding. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 469.470 Statutes/…

345-015-0300 Request for Expedited Review of Small Capacity Facilities (1) In accordance with ORS 469.370(10), any person proposing to construct and operate an energy facility with an average electric generating capacity of less than 100 megawatts who chooses to request expedited…

345-015-0310 Request for Expedited Review of Special Criteria Facilities (1) Any person who proposes to construct and operate a special criteria facility, as defined in section (2), and who chooses to request expedited review of an application for a site certificate must submit t…

345-015-0320 Public Hearing Procedures for Special Criteria Facilities (1) The Council shall appoint a hearing officer to conduct the public hearing described in OAR 345-015-0310(22). The Council may appoint a Council member, an employee of the Department of Energy or other perso…

345-015-0350 Council Determination of Exemption The Council shall, upon a complete written request, determine whether a proposed facility or modification of a facility qualifies for exemption under ORS 469.320(8). (1) The Council may impose conditions when granting an exemption t…

345-015-0360 Requests for an Exemption (1) Except as noted in (9), any person wishing to construct and operate a facility exempt from Council jurisdiction shall submit a request for exemption to the Department of Energy before beginning construction or modification of an energy f…

345-015-0370 Consideration, Conditions, and Monitoring of Exemptions (1) Upon receipt of a complete request, the Department shall prepare findings and a proposed order for Council review. The Council may approve an exemption with conditions. (2) Conditions may include limitations…

345-015-0380 Loss of Exemption (1) The Council may revoke or modify an exemption if a facility no longer meets eligibility criteria, violates exemption conditions, or the Council determines that the exemption was based on false information. (2) Upon a preliminary finding of nonco…

345-015-0400 Governing Provisions (1) All contested case proceedings before the Council shall be conducted in accordance with OAR 137-003-0501 through 137-003-0700 (as of December 31, 2023), referred to herein as the Office of Administrative Hearing rules. (2) The rules in this D…

345-015-0403 Contested Case Notices The Department must issue contested case notices for Energy Facility Siting Council contested case proceedings as provided in OAR 137-003-0505. The notices will be served personally or by registered or certified mail to persons who commented in…

345-015-0405 Appointment and Duties of Hearing Officer (1) The Energy Facility Siting Council shall appoint a hearing officer to conduct a contested case proceeding on behalf of the Council or to compile the record of the contested case proceeding and recommend resolution of obje…

345-015-0410 Filing and Service (1) The hearing officer shall specify permissible means of filing and service of any pleading or document. The methods of filing with the hearing officer and service upon any party or limited party, may include, but are not limited to: personal del…

345-015-0415 Requests for Party or Limited Party Status (1) The Department and applicant or certificate holder are parties to the contested case proceeding, with the right to participate on all issues in the contested case proceeding. Notwithstanding OAR 137-003-0535(2) and (3), …

345-015-0420 Petition for Indigent Status (1) By petition to the hearing officer in a contested case submitted before the time of the prehearing conference, a party or limited party may request to be treated as an indigent. In the petition, the petitioner shall state in detail th…

345-015-0425 Participation by Government Agencies (1) Any state or local government agency other than the Department may request participation in a contested case as a party, limited party or interested agency, subject to the limitations described in OAR 345-015-0415. For a conte…

345-015-0430 Prehearing Conference and Prehearing Order (1) The hearing officer may hold one or more prehearing conferences to address petitions for party or limited party status and issues. The hearing officer shall consider which issues, if any, the person may participate in by…

345-015-0435 Suspension of Hearing and Exclusion of a Party (1) If any person engages in conduct that interferes with the hearing officer's duty in connection with any aspect of a contested case proceeding or fails to obey an order of the hearing officer, the hearing officer may …

345-015-0440 Burden of Presenting Evidence In a contested case regarding an application for a site certificate or amendment to a site certificate, each party or limited party bears the burden of presenting evidence in support of facts that party or limited party alleges and/or po…

345-015-0445 Submission of Evidence and Proposed Site Certificate Conditions (1) The hearing officer may require parties or limited parties to submit to the hearing officer, in writing, the qualifications and direct testimony of each witness whom a party or limited party proposes…

345-015-0450 Official Notice of Evidence (1) In a contested case proceeding, the hearing officer may take official notice of the following: (a) All facts of which the courts of the State of Oregon may take judicial notice; (b) Administrative rulings and reports of the Energy Faci…

345-015-0455 Motions All parties, including limited parties, shall submit any motions in a contested case to the hearing officer. All motions are subject to OAR 137-003-0630 and the following requirements: (1) Unless a motion is made orally on the record during a contested case h…

345-015-0460 Interlocutory Appeals to Council (1) Except as otherwise specifically provided for in the rules of this division, a party or limited party may not take an interlocutory appeal to the Energy Facility Siting Council from a ruling of the hearing officer unless such ruli…

345-015-0465 Stays (1) The hearing officer has the power to stay a proceeding for good cause, including to ensure a full, fair, and impartial proceeding. (2) Neither the filing of a motion nor the certification of a question to the Energy Facility Siting Council stays a contested…

345-015-0470 Reopening Record Prior to Decision The Energy Facility Siting Council or its hearing officer, on its own motion or for good cause shown, may reopen the contested case proceeding record for the taking of additional evidence while the proceeding is under advisement wit…

345-015-0475 Hearing Officer's Proposed Contested Case Order (1) After the completion of a contested case proceeding on an application for a site certificate or on a proposed site certificate amendment, the hearing officer shall issue a proposed contested case order stating the h…

345-015-0480 Council’s Final Order and Issuance of a Site Certificate (1) After the period for filing responses to exceptions to the proposed contested case order described in OAR 345-015-0475 (3) and (4), the Council shall: (a) Evaluate the exceptions and responses to the propos…

345-015-0500 Confidentiality and Inadmissibility of Mediation Communications (1) The words and phrases used in this rule have the same meaning as given to them in ORS 36.110 and 36.234. (2) Nothing in this rule affects any confidentiality created by other law. Nothing in this rul…

345-020-0006 Submission of a Notice of Intent (1) The purpose of the notice of intent (NOI) is to notify the Department of Energy and the Council of a proposed facility and to provide information about the site and the characteristics of the facility sufficient for the preparatio…

345-020-0011 Contents of a Notice of Intent (1) The applicant must, to the extent reasonably practicable, include in the notice of intent (NOI) the information described in the following subsections. If the applicant proposes alternative sites, the applicant must describe each al…

345-020-0016 Amendment of Notice of Intent (1) The applicant may amend the notice of intent (NOI). The applicant must submit to the Department an electronic version of the amended NOI in a non-copy-protected format acceptable to the Department. The applicant must provide a printe…