Title 40

SECTION 179.83

179.83 Disclosure of data and information.

§ 179.83 Disclosure of data and information.

(a) Within 60 days of the publication of the Notice of Hearing under § l79.20, or, if no party will be prejudiced, within another period set by the presiding officer, the Assistant Administrator shall file with the hearing clerk, in accordance with § 179.80, the following documents numbered and organized in the manner prescribed by the presiding officer:

(1) The portions of the administrative record of the proceeding developed under part 178 of this chapter, and under part 180 of this chapter, that are relevant to the issues in the hearing.

(2) All documents in the files of OCSPP containing factual information or expert opinion, whether favorable or unfavorable to the position of OCSPP, which relate to the issues involved in the hearing. For purposes of this paragraph, “files” means the principal files in OCSPP in which documents relating to each of the issues in the hearing are ordinarily kept. Documents that are internal memoranda reflecting the deliberative process, or are attorney work product, or were prepared specifically for use in connection with the hearing, are not required to be submitted.

(3) All other documentary data and information upon which OCSPP plans to rely upon in the hearing.

(4) A narrative position statement on the factual issues in the Notice of Hearing and the nature of the supporting evidence that OCSPP intends to introduce.

(5) A signed statement that, to the best knowledge and belief of the Assistant Administrator, the submission complies with this section.

(b) Within 70 days of the publication of the Notice of Hearing or, if no party will be prejudiced, within another period of time set by the presiding officer, each party other than OCSPP shall submit to the hearing clerk in accordance with § 179.80 the following documents, numbered and organized in the manner prescribed by the presiding officer:

(1) Any objections that the administrative record filed under paragraph (a)(l) of this section is incomplete.

(2) All documents (other than those filed under paragraph (a) of this section) in the party's files containing factual information or expert opinion, whether favorable or unfavorable to the party's position, that relates to the issues involved in the hearing. For purposes of this paragraph, “files” means the party's principal files in which documents relating to each of the issues in the hearing are ordinarily kept. Documents that are attorney work product, or were prepared specifically for use in connection with the hearing, are not required to be submitted.

(3) All other documentary data and information the party plans to rely upon in the hearing.

(4) A narrative position statement on the factual issues in the Notice of Hearing and the nature of the supporting evidence the party intends to introduce.

(5) A signed statement that, to the best knowledge and belief of the party, the submission complies with this section.

(c) Submissions required by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section may be supplemented later in the proceeding, with the approval of the presiding officer, upon a showing that the material contained in the supplement was not reasonably known by or available to the party when the submission was made or that the relevance of the material contained in the supplement could not reasonably have been foreseen.

(d) If a party fails to comply substantially and in good faith with this section, the presiding officer may infer that such failure was for the purpose of withholding information that is unfavorable to the party's position, and may make such further adverse inferences and findings with respect to such failure as are warranted.

(e) Parties may reference each other's submissions. To reduce duplicative submissions, parties are encouraged to exchange and consolidate lists of documentary evidence. If a particular document is bulky or in limited supply and cannot reasonably be reproduced, and it constitutes relevant evidence, the presiding officer may authorize submission of a reduced number of copies.

(f) The presiding officer will rule on questions relating to this section.

[55 FR 50293, Dec. 5, 1990, as amended at 57 FR 28087, June 24, 1992; 70 FR 33359, June 8, 2005; 77 FR 46292, Aug. 3, 2012]