STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission

In the Matter of                      )     Docket No. 99-AFC-1
                                      )
Application for Certification         )     NOTICE OF PREHEARING
for the ELK HILLS Power Project       )     CONFERENCE
(ELK HILLS)                           )     - and - 
______________________________________)     [REVISED] SCHEDULING ORDER

I. NOTICE OF PREHEARING CONFERENCE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Committee will conduct a public Prehearing Conference as follows:

THURSDAY, December 16, 1999
Beginning at 10 a.m.
California Energy Commission
First Floor Hearing Room A
1516 Ninth Street
Sacramento, California

[Wheelchair Accessible]

At this event, all parties shall present their respective opinions concerning:

• which substantive topic areas are ready for formal evidentiary hearings;
• which require further analysis, including the nature of, and timeframe for, any such analysis;
• which topic areas the parties have reached agreement upon; and which remain subject to disagreement and require adjudication.

Interested agencies and members of the public are encouraged to attend and may comment at this Conference.

Purposes and Procedures

The Prehearing Conference is a public forum to assess the parties' readiness for evidentiary hearings. The parties are expected to identify areas of agreement or dispute. Likewise the parties are expected to discuss those procedures, which may tend to assist the Committee to conclude this licensing process according to its schedule issued on July 30, 1999.

In addition to those matters mentioned above, the parties shall be prepared to discuss:

• future filing dates for testimony and other evidentiary documents,
• briefing and comment periods, and
• other related items reflected on the Committee's July 30, 1999 schedule, a revised copy of which is attached.
  
  
  

Prehearing Conference Statements

Each party shall serve and file a Prehearing Conference Statement, along with Status Report # 5. These Documents, identified with the caption "Docket No. 99-AFC-1," must be received at the Energy Commission's Docket Unit, 1516 Ninth Street, MS-4, Sacramento, California 95814, no later than 5:00 p.m., on Thursday, December 9, 1999."

Each Prehearing Conference Statement shall specify:

1. the topic area(s) that a party believes ready to proceed to evidentiary hearings;
   
   
2. the topic area(s) that a party believes not yet ready to proceed to evidentiary hearings,
   
   a) the reasons therefor;
   
   
3. whether or not a dispute requiring adjudication exists for any topic area;
   
   
4. for topic areas that remain disputed, include a brief summary of the precise nature of the dispute;
   
   
5. the identity and qualifications of each witness a party proposes to sponsor, and
   
   a) the topic area upon which each witness will testify,
   
   b) a summary of the testimony each witness is to offer,
   
   c) an estimate of the time required to present each witness' direct testimony,
   
   d) identification of any exhibits a party intends to offer as evidence, and
   
   e) any comments on the attached Committee Scheduling Order to include knowledge of any scheduling conflicts, which may tend to extend the Committee's Schedule.

Petitions to Intervene to Become a Formal Party

Anyone with a legitimate interest relevant to the siting of the proposed project may file a Petition to Intervene and become a formal party to this proceeding. Party status confers the rights to:

• present independent evidence,
• receive pertinent documents, and
• cross-examine witnesses.
  
  

Becoming an active intervenor or formal party herein also imposes certain duties. Parties are expected, for example, to comply with various orders, procedures, and filing requirements, which the Committee issues. Moreover, parties are subject to evidentiary rules such as cross-examination by other parties.

Commission regulations provide that a Petition to Intervene should be filed at least 30 days prior to the beginning of evidentiary hearings. (20 Cal. Code of Regs., 1207(b).)

In this proceeding, the Committee directs that any Petition to Intervene should be filed prior to the December 16, 1999, Prehearing Conference. Typically, by the time the Committee schedules a Prehearing Conference, intervenors are not granted time extensions to review existing case materials since to do so could delay the proceeding.

The Public Adviser's Office

The Commission, through its Public Adviser's office, will assist anyone interested in preparing a Petition to Intervene. Those desiring information or assistance concerning participation in these proceedings should contact Roberta Mendonca, the Public Adviser, at (916) 654-4489 or, toll free, (800) 822-6228, or at pao@energy.state.ca.us.

Further Information

Marc S. Pryor is the Staff Project Manager in this proceeding. He will respond to technical inquiries and may be reached at (916) 653-0159. Questions of a legal or procedural nature should be addressed to Gary Fay, the Hearing Officer, at (916) 654-3893.

Contact Robert Sifuentes at (916) 654-5004 if you require special accommodation to participate at this meeting. Media inquiries should be directed to Claudia Chandler, Assistant Executive Director, at (916) 654-4989.

II. SCHEDULING ORDER

The Commission shall issue a final decision on an Application for Certification (AFC) within twelve months of its filing, or at a later time as is mutually agreed by the Commission and the Applicant. (Public Resources Code sections 25522(a) & 25540.6(a).)

The Commission accepted Elk Hills Power Project's AFC on June 9 1999.

We will therefore adhere to the attached schedule, which provides for a Final Commission Decision on June 7, 2000. Information concerning the status of the project, as well as notices and other relevant documents, are also available on the California Energy Commission's Internet home page located at: http://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/elkhills/index.html.

Date On Line: November 24, 1999

ENERGY RESOURCES CONSERVATION
AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION


DAVID A. ROHY, Ph.D. Vice Chair
Presiding Member
Elk Hills AFC Committee


MICHAL C. MOORE, Commissioner
Associate Member
Elk Hills AFC Committee

Mailed to Proof of Service List, Interested Parties, Property Owners

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EVENT	DATE
Commission deems AFC data adequate	June 9, 1999
Staff files Issue Identification Report	July 2
Informational Hearing & Site Visit	July 12
Committee issues Scheduling Order	July 27
Applicant files responses to staff data requests	August 3
Status Report #1 due to Committee	August 9
Public workshops on issues of concern	August-October
Applicant provides Cal-ISO’s comments on PG&E’s Detailed Facilities Study	August 16
Status Report #2 due to Committee	September 10
Applicant provides ISO findings on Transmission Line Interconnection Study	October 7
Applicant provides Preliminary Determination of Compliance [PDOC now expected from the SJVUAPCD]	October 7 [November 25, 1999]
Status Report #3 due to Committee	October 8
Status Report #4 due to Committee	November 8
Staff releases Preliminary Staff Assessment (PSA) [Absent Water Resources]	November 19
[BLM initiation of consultation with the USFWS to provide BRMIMP]	[November 25, 1999]
Staff conducts PSA workshops	November-December
Staff provides Water Resources portion of AFC	[December 6, 1999]
Applicant provides Final Determination of Compliance from SJVUAPCD [Applicant provides Final Determination of Compliance from SJVUAPCD]	December 6 [January 25, 2000]
Parties file Prehearing Conference Statements and Status Report #5	December 9
Committee Prehearing Conference	December 16
[BRMIMP to be provided by the Applicant]	[December 1999]
Staff releases Final Staff Assessment (FSA) as testimony [Absent sections on air quality, water resources, and biological resources]	January 5
Applicant and all other parties submit testimony	January 12
Evidentiary Hearings [on 19 technical areas not including air quality, water resources or biological resources]	Jan. 19, 2000 —Feb. 4
[Staff releases Final Staff Assessment (FSA) as testimony [on air quality, water resources, and biological resources]	[February 18, 1999]
[Evidentiary Hearings air quality, water resources or biological resources]	[March 7, 2000]
USFWS issues its biological opinion	April 10, 2000]

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