Background
Initially, Applicant sought review of its Application for Certification (AFC) under the four-month expedited review process of Public Resources Code section 25552. Said section provides that within 25 days after acceptance of an AFC, the Energy Commission, or a Committee of the Energy Commission, must determine whether the AFC qualifies for an expedited decision. [Pub. Resources Code, ¤ 25552, subd. (b)(2).] On Wednesday, October 17, 2001, the Energy Commission adopted Resolution No. 01-1017-02 as a necessary prerequisite to accepting Applicant's AFC as data adequate and appointed a committee to conduct proceedings on the AFC.

On November 14, 2001, the full Energy Commission considered a Petition for Reconsideration of Resolution No. 01-1017-02 asserting that the Energy Commission does not have the authority to waive the requirements of Section 25552. The specific requirements in question are that the project not be a major source of air pollution and that the project convert to combined cycle or cogeneration within 3 years of initial operation. The matter was continued to December 5, 2001, for further consideration.

In the absence of the waiver contained in Resolution No. 01-1017-02, the Henrietta project would not qualify for the expedited four-month process of Public Resources Code, section 25552.

At the public Informational Hearing on November 8, 2001, the Applicant and local agencies presented information about the project as well as the largely completed local agency review of the project, including the unprecedented availability of the Final Determination of Compliance prior to the Informational Hearing.

Discussion
The Energy Commission has not stayed the applicability of Resolution 01-1017-02. Nevertheless, it is potentially foreseeable that the Resolution may be withdrawn upon reconsideration, and that such withdrawal could be effective both prospectively and retroactively. This would affect this Henrietta proceeding.

Given this current unsettled nature, and out of an abundance of caution related to legal requirements and processes, the Committee believes that this proceeding should go forward under the provisions of Public Resources Code section 25540.6. We base this decision on the state of readiness of the proceeding due to the Applicant's success in providing not only timely but early information, and our belief that the processing of this AFC should be accomplished as expeditiously as the readiness of the parties will allow. Thus, to provide immediate clarity and guidance to the Applicant, staff, governmental agencies, and the participating public, the Committee establishes the attached schedule.

ORDER

1. The Henrietta AFC shall be processed pursuant to Public Resources Code section 25540.6; and


2. The Henrietta AFC shall be processed in accordance with the attached schedule.