(a) A person with a right to request a formal hearing may waive that right and request a hearing before the Commission under 16 CFR part 1052.

(b) The request—

(1) May be on the person's own initiative or at the suggestion of the Commission;

(2) Must be submitted by the person in the form of a petition before publication of a notice of hearing under § 1502.13 or a denial of hearing under § 1502.10; and

(3) Must be—

(i) In lieu of a request for a formal hearing under § 1502.5; or,

(ii) If submitted with or after a request for formal hearing, accompanied by a waiver of the right to a formal hearing, conditioned on the request for the alternative form of hearing. Upon acceptance by the Commission, the waiver becomes binding and may be withdrawn only by waiving any right to any form of hearing, unless the Commission determines otherwise.

(c) When more than one person requests and justifies a formal hearing under these procedures, an alternative form of hearing may be used only if all the persons concur and waive their right to request a formal hearing.

(d) The Commission will determine whether an alternative form of hearing should be used after considering the requests submitted and the appropriateness of the alternative hearing for the issues raised in the objections. The Commission's determination is binding unless, for good cause, the Commission subsequently determines otherwise.

(e) If the Commission determines that an alternative form of hearing will be used, the Commission will publish a notice in the Federal Register setting forth the following information:

(1) A description of the regulation that is the subject of the hearing.

(2) A statement specifying any part of the regulation that has been stayed by operation of law or in the Commission's discretion.

(3) The time, date, and place of the hearing, or a statement that such information will be contained in a later notice.

(4) The parties to the hearing.

(5) The issues at the hearing. The statement of issues determines the scope of the hearing.