(a) The purpose of this section is to state the procedures that will be followed by the Economic Regulatory Administration of the Department of Energy in electricity export adjudications.

(b) Definitions. As used in this subpart—

Administrator means the Administrator of the Economic Regulatory Administration.

Decisional employees means the Administrator, presiding officers at adjudicatory hearings, and other employees of the Department, including consultants and contractors, who are, or may reasonably be expected to be, involved in the decision-making process, which includes advising the Administrator in resolving the issues in an adjudication. The term does not include those employees of the Department performing investigative or trial functions in an adjudication, unless they are specifically requested by the Administrator or his delegate to participate in the decision-making process.

Department means the Department of Energy.

Off-the-record communication means an ex parte communication, which is an oral or written communication relevant to the merits of an adjudication and not on the record and with respect to which reasonable prior notice to all participants and opportunity to be present at, or respond to, the communication is not given, but does not include a communication relating solely to procedures which are not relevant to the merits of the adjudication.

Interested person means a person outside the Department whose interest in the adjudication goes beyond the general interest of the public as a whole and includes applicants, intervenors, competitors of applicants, non-profit and public interest organizations, and other individuals and organizations, including state, local and other public officials, with a proprietary, financial or other special interest in the outcome of the adjudication. The term does not include other federal agencies, unless an agency is a participant in the adjudication.

Participant means any applicant or intervenor participating in the adjudication.

Adjudication means a formal proceeding employing procedures identical or similar to those required by the Administrative Procedure Act, as codified in 5 U.S.C. 551,556,and,to.

Reasonable prior notice means 7 days' written notice stating the nature and purpose of the communication.

Relevant to the merits means a communication directly related to the merits of a specific adjudication but does not include general background discussions about an entire industry or communications of a general nature made in the course of developing agency policy for future general application.

(a) In any proceeding which is subject to this subpart—

(1) No interested person shall make an off-the-record communication or knowingly cause an off-the-record communication to be made to any decisional employee.

(2) No decisional employee shall make an off-the-record communication or knowingly cause an off-the-record communication to be made to any interested person.

(3) A decisional employee who receives, makes, or knowingly causes to be made an oral communication prohibited by this section shall prepare a memorandum stating the substance of the communication and any responses made to it.

(4) With 48 hours of receiving, making or knowingly causing to be made a communication prohibited by this section, a decisional employee shall deliver all written off-the-record communications and all memoranda prepared in compliance with paragraph (a)(3) of this section to the Director of the Coal and Electricity Division, ERA, who will immediately place the materials described above in the public record associated with the adjudication, available for public inspection.

(5) Upon receipt of a communication knowingly made or knowingly caused to be made by a participant in violation of this section, the Administrator or presiding officer may, to the extent consistent with the interests of justice and the applicable statutory policy, require the participant to show cause why his or her claim or interest in the adjudication should not be dismissed, denied, disregarded, or otherwise adversely affected on account of the violation.

(6) The prohibitions of this section shall apply beginning at the time an adjudication is noticed for hearing (or the person responsible for the communication acquires knowledge that it will be noticed), a protest is filed, or a petition or notice to intervene in opposition to the requested Department action is filed, whichever occurs first.

(b) The prohibition, cited at 18 CFR 1.30(f), against participation in the decision-making process by Department employees who perform investigative or trial functions in an adjudication, shall no longer be applicable to ERA.