RULES AND REGULATIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL HEARING BOARD
[ 25 PA. CODE CH. 1021 ]
Practice and Procedure; Motions
[44 Pa.B. 7368]
[Saturday, November 22, 2014]The Environmental Hearing Board (Board), by this final-omitted rulemaking, amends § 1021.94(c) (relating to dispositive motions other than summary judgment motions) to read as set forth in Annex A. The amendments modify the rules of practice and procedure before the Board by implementing improvements in practice and procedure.
The Board approved the regulation at its meeting on December 17, 2013.
Effective Date
The final-omitted rulemaking will go into effect upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Contact Person
For further information, contact Maryanne Wesdock, Senior Counsel, Environmental Hearing Board, Suite 310 Piatt Place, 301 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, (412) 565-5245, mwesdock@pa.gov. If information concerning this final-omitted rulemaking is required in an alternative form, contact Vincent Gustitus, Secretary to the Board, (717) 787-1638, vgustitus@pa.gov. TDD users may telephone the Board through the AT&T Pennsylvania Relay Center at (800) 654-5984.
Statutory Authority
This final-omitted rulemaking is promulgated under the authority of section 5 of the Environmental Hearing Board Act (act) (35 P. S. § 7515), which empowers the Board to adopt regulations pertaining to practice and procedure before the Board.
Submission as Final-Omitted Rulemaking
These amendments to § 1021.94(c) were submitted as a final-omitted rulemaking under section 204(3) of the act of July 31, 1968 (P. L. 769, No. 240) (45 P. S. § 1204(3)), known as the Commonwealth Documents Law (CDL). An earlier version of the amendments was published as proposed rulemaking at 43 Pa.B. 2591 (May 11, 2013). Comments on the proposed rulemaking were submitted by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC), the Department of Environmental Protection (Department) and Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture).
The comments and the Board's responses were discussed at a public meeting and conference call of the Board's Rules Committee on July 25, 2013. In response to comments received during the official public comment period on the proposed rulemaking, a draft final rulemaking was prepared that incorporated many of the comments. Section 1021.94(c) was revised to address the comments submitted by IRRC, the Department and Penn-Future. However, the revised version of § 1021.94(c) was inadvertently omitted from the text of the final-form rulemaking submitted to IRRC, the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee (House and Senate Committees). Therefore, the revisions to § 1021.94(c) were not approved by IRRC and the House and Senate Committees and did not appear in the final-form rulemaking published at 44 Pa.B. 5328 (August 9, 2014). This final-omitted rulemaking corrects that error.
The amendments to § 1021.94(c) allow parties to file responses in support of a dispositive motion containing new facts or legal theories and provide an additional time period for the opposing party to respond to the new facts and legal theories raised in the supporting response.
Sunset Date
A sunset date has not been established for this regulation. The effectiveness of the regulation will be evaluated on an ongoing basis by the Board and the Rules Committee.
Regulatory Review
Under section 5.1(c) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(c)), on October 3, 2014, the Board submitted a copy of the final-omitted rulemaking and a copy of a Regulatory Analysis Form to IRRC and to the Chairpersons of the House and Senate Committees. On the same date, the regulations were submitted to the Office of Attorney General for review and approval under the Commonwealth Attorneys Act (71 P. S. §§ 732-101—732-506).
Under section 5.1(j.2) of the Regulatory Review Act, on November 5, 2014, the final-omitted rulemaking was deemed approved by the House and Senate Committees. Under section 5.1(e) of the Regulatory Review Act, IRRC met on November 6, 2014, and approved the final-omitted rulemaking.
Findings
The Board finds that:
(1) Public notice of the Board's intention to amend its regulations under the procedures in sections 201 and 202 of the CDL (45 P. S. §§ 1201 and 1202) has been omitted under the authority of section 204 of the CDL because public comment is unnecessary.
(2) The amendment of the Board's regulation in the manner provided in this order is necessary and appropriate for the administration of the act.
Order
(a) The regulations of the Board, 25 Pa. Code Chapter 1021, are amended by amending § 1021.94(c) to read as set forth in Annex A, with ellipses referring to the text of the regulations.
(Editor's Note: Final-form rulemaking 106-10 also amends § 1021.94. See 44 Pa.B. 7365 (November 22, 2014).)
(b) The Chairperson of the Board shall submit this order and Annex A to the Office of Attorney General and Office of General Counsel as to legality and form as required by law.
(c) The Chairperson of the Board shall submit this order and Annex A to the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and IRRC as required by law.
(d) The Chairperson of the Board shall certify this order and Annex A and deposit them with the Legislative Reference Bureau as required by law.
(e) This order shall take effect upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
THOMAS W. RENWAND,
Chairperson and Chief Judge(Editor's Note: For the text of the order of the Independent Regulatory Review Commission relating to this document, see 44 Pa.B. 7424 (November 22, 2014).)
Fiscal Note: 106-11. No fiscal impact; (8) recommends adoption.
Annex A
TITLE 25. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
PART IX. ENVIRONMENTAL HEARING BOARD
CHAPTER 1021. PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
MOTIONS § 1021.94. Dispositive motions other than summary judgment motions.
* * * * * (c) A response to a dispositive motion shall be filed within 30 days of service of the motion or, if a supporting party files a memorandum of law alone, within 30 days of service of that memorandum of law. The response to a dispositive motion must be accompanied by a supporting memorandum of law or brief.
* * * * *
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 14-2429. Filed for public inspection November 21, 2014, 9:00 a.m.]
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