Sec.22a-3a-2. General

(a) Definitions

(1) As used in these Rules of Practice:

"Applicant" means a person who files an application with the Department.

"Application" means a request for a Department license or renewal thereof, for a modification of a Department license if the modification is sought by the licensee, for certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. Section 1341, or for a variance.

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Environmental Protection or his agent.

"Day" means calendar day.

"Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.

"Office of Adjudications" means the Department's Office of Adjudications.

"Order" means, unless otherwise indicated by the context, all or part of a Department order to enforce a statute, regulation or license, or of a notice to revoke, suspend, or modify a license, or of a notice under section 22a-6b of the General Statutes, or of a notice under section 22a-52 of the General Statutes, or any other Department action with respect to which there is an opportunity for hearing under the terms of an applicable statute or regulation. An order does not include a ruling as defined in this subsection.

"Petition" means a request for the Department to issue a declaratory ruling or to adopt, amend or repeal a regulation.

"Pleading" means a paper filed in a contested case other than an application, petition or document offered into evidence.

"Proceeding" means, unless otherwise indicated by the context, a licensing, a contested case, a regulation-making, a proceeding on a petition for a declaratory ruling, or any other matter which is a proceeding under law.

"Respondent" means a person to whom a Department order is issued.

"Ruling" means a decision or directive of the hearing officer, Director of Adjudications, or the Commissioner, other than a proposed final decision or final decision.

"Staff" means those employees acting in their official capacity or that bureau, division, unit, or section of the Department participating in a contested case.

(2) As used in these Rules of Practice, the following terms shall be defined as they are defined in section 4-166 of the General Statutes: contested case, final decision, hearing officer, intervenor, license, licensing, party, person, proposed final decision, proposed regulation, regulation, and regulation-making.

(b) Applicability, purpose, and construction

(1) These Rules of Practice govern practice in all Department proceedings unless otherwise provided by law, except that other procedural regulations of the Department which are more stringent than these Rules of Practice shall take precedence, and other procedural regulations of the Department which impose requirements in addition to those imposed by these Rules of Practice shall also apply. The purpose of these Rules of Practice is to secure the just and expeditious determination of proceedings, and they shall be interpreted liberally so as to further the purposes and policies of the statutes and regulations administered by the Commissioner.

(2) As used in this section, words in the singular include the plural, and words in the feminine include the masculine or neuter, and vice versa, as the case may be.

(3) These Rules of Practice shall apply on and after their effective date to every Department proceeding, whether such proceeding commenced before or after such effective date, except where application to a proceeding that commenced before such effective date would unavoidably result in unfairness to the Staff or any party or intervenor or would prejudice the public health, safety, or welfare or the environment.

(4) Notwithstanding any action of an agent of the Commissioner, the Commissioner shall retain authority to act under these Rules of Practice, including the authority to take any action a hearing officer may take. Any action of the Commissioner shall preempt the action of the hearing officer or other agent.

(5) Nothing in these Rules of Practice shall limit the Commissioner's authority under any statute or other regulation.

(c) Commencement and termination of proceedings

(1) A proceeding commences when (A) an application or petition is received by the Department, (B) the Commissioner issues notice under subdivision 22a-3a-4 (a) (5) of these Rules of Practice that he has on his own initiative initiated a declaratory ruling proceeding, (C) the Commissioner issues a notice under section 4-168 (a) of the General Statutes concerning a regulation-making which he has initiated on his own initiative, (D) the Commissioner issues an order, or (E) a proceeding commences under law.

(2) A proceeding terminates when (A) the Commissioner issues a final decision in a contested case, other than a decision remanding the matter to the hearing officer for further proceedings, provided that if a timely request for reconsideration under subdivision 22a-3a-6 (a) (1) of these Rules of Practice is made, the proceeding terminates when the Commissioner denies the request or issues a decision made after reconsideration, (B) the Commissioner issues a declaratory ruling pursuant to section 4-176 of the General Statutes, (C) the Commissioner decides not to issue a declaratory ruling pursuant to subsection (i) or to subdivision (4) or (5) of subsection (e) of section 4-176 of the General Statutes, (D) the Commissioner completes the adoption, amendment or repeal of a regulation pursuant to sections 4-168 through 4-172 of the General Statutes, (E) the Commissioner revokes an order, (F) the Commissioner rejects an application for insufficiency pursuant to subsection (e) of this section or any other provision of law, (G) the applicant or petitioner withdraws his application or petition, (H) the respondent withdraws his answer or request for hearing filed pursuant to subsection 22a-3a-6 (i) of these Rules of Practice, (I) the Commissioner disposes of a license application, unless an opportunity for hearing is provided with respect to such disposition, (J) the lawful time for filing an answer or request for hearing pursuant to subsection 22a-3a-6 (i) of these Rules of Practice has run without the filing of such answer or request, or (K) the Commissioner otherwise determines that the proceeding has terminated.

(d) Computation of time

In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by these Rules of Practice or by an order, ruling, final decision, regulation, permit, approval, or other action of the Commissioner, the day of the act, event or default from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed shall be included unless it is a Saturday, a Sunday, or a Connecticut or federal holiday, in which case such period runs until the end of the next day which is not a Saturday, a Sunday, or a Connecticut or federal holiday.

(e) Insufficient applications and petitions

The Commissioner may reject an application or petition as insufficient if it does not meet the requirements of Section 22a-3a-4 (a) or 22a-3a-5 (a), respectively, of these Rules of Practice, or does not meet the requirements of any other applicable provision of law governing the form, contents, and filing of such application or petition, or is so manifestly insufficient as to make further processing impossible. Except as otherwise provided by law or in subsection 22a-3a-5 (c) of these Rules of Practice, a rejection under this subsection shall stop the running of any time period which by law begins to run when the Department receives an application or petition; any such period shall begin anew when the Department receives an amended application or petition. Nothing shall preclude the Commissioner from requiring additional information from an applicant or petitioner if the application or petition is not rejected under this subsection or is deemed sufficient.

(f) Smoking

Any person who, in violation of section 1-21b of the General Statutes, lights or carries a lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe, or similar device in any room in which a Department hearing is taking place will be excluded from the hearing room.

(g) Media

Any proceedings under these Rules of Practice which are open to the public may be recorded, photographed, broadcasted, or recorded for broadcast in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of section 1-21a of the General Statutes, provided the proceedings are not so disturbed as to impair any person's ability to hear or be heard or to present evidence or argument. In order to minimize disruption of the proceedings, the hearing officer or Commissioner may impose reasonable limits on any person engaged in recording, photographing, broadcasting, or recording for broadcast.

(h) Attendance

Any person who attends a hearing in connection with any proceeding but is not a party or a witness for a party and who does not intend to speak pursuant to subdivision 22a-3a-3 (e) (2) or 22a-3a-6 (t) of these Rules of Practice shall not be required to give his name or any other information or to satisfy any condition precedent to his attending the hearing.

(i) Public access to documents

(1) Upon receipt of a request for public records under chapter 3 of the General Statutes, the Department will answer within the time allowed by law, provided that such answer may request further information, as appropriate, or indicate that a search for responsive documents is underway. The Department will complete a search for responsive documents as promptly as practicable, taking into consideration the Department's other obligations, the need to review records before release to determine whether they contain statutorily protected material, and the requester's circumstances. If the Department deems it appropriate, the Department may ask a person who has made a request to inspect documents under section 1-19 of the General Statutes to make an appointment for the inspection.

(2) An inspection of records in the Office of Adjudications shall be conducted in a manner that does not disrupt the conduct of a hearing.

(j) Recording of hearings

Hearings in all proceedings shall be recorded either stenographically or electronically. The recording of a hearing or any part thereof shall be transcribed by or through the Office of Adjudications (1) on request of any person, provided such person shall pay the cost of transcription and recording, or (2) in accordance with section 22a-6d of the General Statutes. Subject to the reasonable control of the hearing officer, the Staff, a party, or an intervenor may record any portion of a proceeding in which the hearing officer participates. Settlement discussions conducted by a referee under section 22a-3a-6 (j) do not constitute proceedings under these Rules of Practice and shall not be recorded unless all of the participants in such discussions consent to recording.

(k) Suspension and reconvening of hearings

Except as provided in subdivision (j) (2) and subparagraph (y) (3) (B) of section 22a-3a-6 of these Rules of Practice, the hearing officer or the Commissioner, as appropriate, may continue a hearing to another time and place.

(l) Investigative hearings

(1) The Commissioner may hold investigative hearings for the purpose of (A) investigating actual or potential noncompliance with any statute, regulation, license or order administered or issued by her, or (B) receiving information concerning any matter which reasonably may be the subject of regulation by the Department. The Commissioner shall provide reasonable notice of an investigative hearing.

(2) An investigative hearing shall be open to the public, and the provisions of subsections (d), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), and (n) of this section shall apply. The hearing officer shall have the power to exclude evidence which is irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious, administer oaths in the manner specified in subsection 22a-3a-6 (r) of these Rules of Practice, take testimony, and subpoena witnesses and evidence. After an investigative hearing, the hearing officer shall prepare findings of fact, conclusions of law, or both, if the Commissioner so directs.

(m) Voluntary termination of proceedings

The Commissioner may revoke an order at any time before a final decision is issued, provided that he shall give notice to the staff, parties, and intervenors of his intent to revoke. Objections to revocation may be filed with the Commissioner within seven days of such notice. A respondent to an order may withdraw the answer or request for hearing at any time, an applicant may withdraw an application or a request for hearing at any time, and a petitioner for a declaratory ruling or a regulation-making may withdraw the petition at any time. Nothing herein shall preclude the Commissioner from revoking an order after a proceeding has terminated.

(n) Disruption of hearings

If any person disrupts a hearing or otherwise interferes with the orderly conduct of a hearing, the hearing officer may order such person to leave the hearing or may suspend the hearing and reconvene it at an appropriate place and time.

(o) Filing of documents

Except as provided in Section 22a-3a-6 (b) (7) of these rules, any document required or allowed to be filed with the commissioner by any statute, regulation, license, or order, including without limitation a petition for declaratory ruling and a petition for hearing under Section 22a-208a (e) of the General Statutes, shall be deemed filed on the date such document is received by the Commissioner.

(p) Electronic filing

Except as provided in § 22a-3a-6 (b) (8) of these Rules of Practice, no document submitted to the Department pursuant to an order, and no petition or application, may be electronically filed without the Commissioner's consent.

(Effective June 19, 1992)