I. NOTICE OF EVIDENTIARY HEARING AND HEARING ORDER

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Committee will conduct a public Evidentiary Hearing for the proposed Inland Empire Energy Center as follows:

BACKGROUND

On June 24, 2003, the Committee for the Inland Empire Energy Center Application for Certification held a Prehearing Conference. The parties present at the Conference (Staff and Applicant) indicated that while they are ready to proceed to Evidentiary Hearings on all topic areas, disputed issues remain in several topic areas. Staff indicated they will hold a public Staff Workshop in early July to further discuss any remaining issues. Intervenors CURE and Romoland School District neither filed a Prehearing Conference Statement nor appeared at the Prehearing Conference.

Based upon discussions at the Prehearing Conference and the content of the Prehearing Conference Statements, the Committee has divided the topic areas into three categories. These are reflected on Attachments A, B, and C. At the Evidentiary Hearing, witnesses will appear and present oral testimony only on those topic areas listed on ATTACHMENT A, unless the Committee is otherwise notified by the parties no later than July 18, 2003. Testimony on the remaining topics listed on ATTACHMENTS B and C will be taken by declaration unless a party indicates by July 18, 2003 that a dispute remains. Should a dispute on a topic(s) remain, the parties shall also present witnesses on such topic(s). The Evidentiary Hearings are open to the public; interested individuals and governmental agencies are encouraged to attend.

II. EVIDENTIARY HEARING

The purpose of formal evidentiary hearings is to establish the factual record necessary to reach a decision in this case. This is done through the taking of written and/or oral testimony, as well as exhibits from the parties.

Testimony may be presented in the form of a written declaration/affidavit or orally. Declarations/affidavits will suffice only for those topic areas which are undisputed and for which the Committee finds the information adequate. Parties proposing to present oral testimony by sponsoring a witness must also provide a written version of that witness' testimony as well as the witness qualifications to testify on the appropriate subject matter. In either instance, the testimony must be served upon all parties according to the schedule below.

Declarations/affidavits on uncontested areas will be received into the record upon motion by the sponsoring party. Oral testimony will be presented under oath or affirmation. A party presenting oral testimony shall have its witness briefly establish the witness' qualifications and have the witness orally summarize the prepared testimony before requesting that the testimony be moved into evidence. Relevant exhibits may be offered into evidence at that time as well. At the conclusion of a witness' direct testimony, the Committee will provide the other parties an opportunity for cross-examination, followed by redirect and recross examination as appropriate.

Parties intending to offer documentary exhibits as evidence (other than the Staff Assessment, the Application for Certification document, portions of either, or documents which have been previously docketed and served) shall also include a copy of such materials with their prefiled testimony. If appropriate, parties shall specify the withdrawal/substitution of previously identified witnesses, as well as the desire to recall prior witnesses sponsored by other parties, in their respective filings as scheduled below.

Should the Committee deem it necessary, it may establish maximum time limits for direct and cross-examination. Parties proposing multiple witnesses on a topic area should have the witnesses testify as a panel, if possible.

FAILURE TO PRESENT WITNESSES AS SCHEDULED, OR TO CROSS-EXAMINE ON THE TOPICS AS SCHEDULED, CAN CONSTITUTE A WAIVER OF THESE RIGHTS.

Members of the public and interested governmental agencies are invited to attend this hearing, and may offer unsworn public comment upon the matters discussed. These public comments will be entered into the record of the proceeding and the Committee may rely on them to supplement or explain the evidence of record. Public comments by themselves, however, are not sufficient to support a finding of fact or a decision on any issue.

The Commission's Public Adviser, Roberta Mendonca, is available to provide information or to assist those interested in participating at this hearing. She may be reached at (916) 654-4489 or, toll free, at 1-800-822-6228; or e-mail: pao@energy.state.ca.us

III. SECOND PREHEARING STATEMENT

The purposes of this second Prehearing Statement are similar to those of the first, i.e. to assess the parties' readiness for evidentiary hearings and identify areas of agreement or dispute.

Based upon the discussions at the Prehearing Conference, the topics to be heard at the Evidentiary Hearings have been divided into three categories, ATTACHMENT A lists those topics clearly in dispute; ATTACHMENT B lists topics which appear potentially suitable for evidentiary submission by declaration, depending upon the outcome of the Staff Workshop; and ATTACHMENT C lists topics which presently appear to be suitable for testimony and submission by declaration. The Committee directs each party to file a Statement by July 18, 2003 indicating which topics in ATTACHMENT B will be disputed and on which topics the parties have reached agreement. If the parties are not able to clarify which topics are disputed and undisputed in their Statements, the Committee may cancel the Evidentiary Hearing(s) and reschedule at a later date after for the parties have delineated the remaining issues.

The parties shall address each group of topics in their second Prehearing Statements. These Statements shall specify:

1. The topic areas that remain disputed and require adjudication, and the precise nature of the dispute for each topic;
2. The identity of each witness sponsored by each party; the topic area(s) which each witness will present; a brief summary of the testimony to be offered by each witness; qualifications of each witness (if not already included in the first Prehearing Conference Statement); and the time required to present direct testimony by each witness.
3. Topic areas upon which a party desires to cross-examine witness(es), a summary of the scope of such cross-examination, and the time desired for such cross-examination; and
4. A list identifying exhibits and declarations that each party intends to offer into evidence and the technical topics to which they apply.

IV. HEARING ORDER

The following filing schedule shall apply for these Evidentiary Hearings.

Submittals shall be served upon all parties to this proceeding and the Commission's Docket Unit, MS-4, 1516 Ninth Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Each party is responsible for ensuring that its respective submissions are received by the Docket Unit no later than 3:00 p.m. on the dates indicated. Identify all documents with "Docket No. 01-AFC-17."

DATE	EVENT
July 9, 2003	Applicant files all testimony.
July 18, 2003	Staff files supplemental testimony, if any. Applicant and Staff each file a Second Prehearing Statement indicating disputed topic areas, resolution of issues, and a witness list including time estimates for direct and cross-examination.
July 30-31, 2003	Evidentiary Hearing(s) on ATTACHMENT A topics and disputed topics in ATTACHMENTS B and C; receipt of declarations for uncontested topics.
August 22, 2003	Opening Briefs due.
September 3, 2003	Reply Briefs due.

Intervention

The period for timely intervention lapsed on June 13, 2003. Petitions to Intervene may now be granted only upon a sufficient showing of good cause. [20 Cal. Code of Regs., ¤ 1207.] For further information contact Roberta Mendonca, the Public Adviser, at (916) 654-4489 or, toll free, at 1-800-822-6228; or e-mail: pao@energy.state.ca.us

Public Participation

Members of the general public are welcome to attend and provide public comment at the Evidentiary Hearing. It is not necessary to become an Intervenor to participate in the public process. Please contact the Public Adviser as indicated above for further information on how to participate.

Additional Information

Technical questions concerning the project should be addressed to Jim Bartridge, the Commission Staff's Project Manager, at 916-651-8839 or email at: jbartrid@energy.state.ca.us

Questions of a legal or procedural nature should be directed to Kerry Willis, the Committee's Hearing Officer, at 916-654-3967.

Media inquiries should be directed to Claudia Chandler, Assistant Executive Director for Media and Public Communications, at 916-654-4989 or email at: energia@energy.ca.gov

If you have a disability and need assistance to participate in this event, contact Lourdes Quiroz at 916-654-5146 or e-mail at: lquiroz@energy.state.ca.us

Information concerning the status of the project, as well as notices and other relevant documents, is available on the Energy Commission's Internet webpage at:

Dated June 30, 2003 at Sacramento, California.
ROBERT PERNELL Commissioner and Presiding Member Inland Empire Energy Center AFC Committee	JAMES D. BOYD Commissioner and Associate Member Inland Empire Energy Center AFC Committee