W. Va. Code R. § 150-30-3

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 150-30-3 - Pre-filing and Filing Requirements

3.1. Any entity intending to file an application for a Siting certificate pursuant to W.Va. Code § 24-2-11c shall, at least thirty days prior to the date it intends to file its application, give the Commission notice of its intent to file an application by filing with the Commission's Executive Secretary, an original and twelve (12) copies of, a letter of notification. The Commission may modify or waive this requirement. A prefiling notice shall expire after 90 days.

3.2. An applicant for a Siting certificate may request that information it files in response to discovery requests, or pursuant to Rules 4.1.1. through 4.1.5. hereof, be accorded proprietary treatment. The Commission will review such requests pursuant to applicable statutory and case law. Any party asserting confidentiality for such information must:

3.2.1 File with the Executive Secretary's office an unredacted hard copy version of each document that contains the confidential information and clearly marks each page, including cover page, for which a confidential designation is claimed, with a bold header stating "Confidential Version." In addition, all information for which confidential treatment is requested must be identified with the use of bold double square brackets ([[ ]]) at the beginning and end of redacted material in the public version. The party claiming confidentiality should restrict its designations to encompass only the specific information that it asserts is confidential. If a confidential designation is challenged, the party claiming confidentiality shall have the burden to prove that the documents designated as confidential fall under the standards for nondisclosure enunciated in the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act, W.Va. Code § 29B-1-1, et.seq. and that the designation is narrowly tailored to encompass only confidential information.

3.2.2 File with the Executive Secretary's office a public version of each document containing confidential information that redacts any confidential information and clearly marks each page, including the cover page, of the redacted public version with a bold header stating "Public Version." The redaction may be actual blacked-out sections, or, blank sections beginning and ending with bold double square brackets and the phrase "redacted material" within the brackets. The redaction shall cover the entire length of redacted text.

3.2.3 The confidential version must be filed on the same day as the public, redacted version.

3.3. Within 90 days following the filing of a notice of intent pursuant to Rule 3.1., an applicant shall file with the Commission's Executive Secretary an original and twelve (12) copies of its application for a Siting certificate. To be acceptable, an application shall include a completed Form No. 1 attached to these Rules and a completed Form No. 2. When preparing Form No. 2, the applicant should leave blank the date of the order and the case number. When the Executive Secretary has assigned a case number, a completed Form No. 2 will be issued to the applicant as an order requiring publication of the Notice of Filing either as a Class I legal advertisement (if the application is for a Siting certificate and/or a transmission support line) or a Class II legal advertisement (if the application is for both a Siting certificate and a certificate of public convenience and necessity to construct an associated transmission line of 200,000 volts or over). Publication shall be made in newspapers of general circulation in each county in which all or a portion of the proposed 24-2-1(d) generating facility, and, if applicable, a 200,000 volts or over transmission line, is located or will be located and in a newspaper published and of general circulation in Kanawha County. The applicant shall file proof of publication provided by the newspaper(s) with the Commission as soon as possible after the Notice of Filing is published.

3.4. When an applicant seeks authority to construct a 24-2-1(d) generating facility and related transmission facilities of 200,000 volts or greater, the applicant must simultaneously apply for both a Siting certificate for the 24-2-1(d) generating facility and a certificate of public convenience and necessity under W.Va. Code § 24-2-11a for the 200,000 volts or greater transmission facilities. When such an application contains both a Siting certificate application and an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to construct a transmission line of 200,000 volts or greater the Commission will schedule proceedings to allow it to render its combined decision in both cases within three hundred (300) days of the application filing date.

3.5. When an applicant proposes to construct a Transmission support line, less than 200,000 volts, to be associated with a 24-2-1(d) generating facility, then the applicant shall not be required to file a separate application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity, pursuant to W.Va. Code § 24-2-11. Rather, the Transmission support line shall be deemed to be an integral part of the 24-2-1(d) generating facility and will be evaluated by the Commission within the 300 day period set forth in W.Va. Code § 24-2-11c, within the context of the Siting certificate application case. However, the applicant must include in its filing all of the information concerning the transmission line, as if it were a separate filing as required by the Rules for Government of Electric Utilities, 150 C.S.R. 3.

3.6. An applicant for a Siting certificate may request a waiver of any of the information requirements of Rules 4.1.1. through 4.1.5. of these Rules that is inapplicable to the proposed Siting certificate. The Commission will consider requests for waiver of Siting certificate requirements as to distributed energy generation facilities that are not net-metered on a case by case basis.

W. Va. Code R. § 150-30-3