| (a) Determination by judge. All parties to a proceeding
shall be determined at the preliminary hearing or when the judge otherwise
designates. To be admitted as a party, a person must have a justiciable
interest in the matter being considered and must, unless the person
is specifically named in the matter being considered, appear at the
preliminary hearing in person or by representative and seek to be
admitted as a party. After parties are designated, no person will
be admitted as a party except upon a finding that good cause and extenuating
circumstances exist and that the hearing in progress will not be unreasonably
delayed.
(b) Parties.
(1) The executive director is a mandatory party to
all commission proceedings concerning matters in which the executive
director bears the burden of proof, and in the following commission
proceedings:
(A) matters concerning Texas Water Code (TWC), §11.036
and §11.041; TWC, Chapters 13, 35, 36, and 49 - 66; and Texas
Local Government Code, Chapters 375 and 395;
(B) matters arising under Texas Government Code, Chapter
2260 and Chapter 11, Subchapter D of this title (relating to Resolution
of Contract Claims); and
(C) matters under TWC, Chapter 26, Subchapter I, and
Chapter 334, Subchapters H and L of this title (relating to Reimbursement
Program and Overpayment Prevention).
(2) In addition to paragraph (1) of this subsection,
the executive director is always a party in contested case hearings
concerning permitting matters, pursuant to, and in accordance with,
the provisions of §80.108 of this title (relating to Executive
Director Party Status in Permit Hearings).
(3) The public interest counsel of the commission is
a party to all commission proceedings.
(4) The applicant is a party in a hearing on its application.
(5) Affected persons shall be parties to hearings on
permit applications, based upon the standards set forth in §55.203
of this title (relating to Determination of Affected Person). Regardless
of any other law, a state agency, except a river authority, may not
be a party to a hearing on an application received by the commission
on or after September 1, 2011 unless the state agency is the applicant.
(6) The parties to a contested enforcement case include:
(A) the respondent(s);
(B) any other parties authorized by statute; and
(C) in proceedings alleging a violation of or failure
to obtain an underground injection control or Texas Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System permit, or a state permit for the same discharge
covered by a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
permit that has been assumed by the state under NPDES authorization,
any other party granted permissive intervention by the judge. In exercising
discretion whether to permit intervention, the judge shall consider
whether the intervention will unduly delay or prejudice the adjudication
of the rights of the original parties.
(7) The parties to a hearing upon a challenge to commission
rules include the person(s) challenging the rule and any other parties
authorized by statute.
(8) The parties to a permit revocation action initiated
by a person other than the executive director shall include the respondent
and the petitioner.
(9) The parties to a post-closure order contested case
are limited to:
(A) the executive director;
(B) the applicant(s); and
(C) the Public Interest Counsel.
(c) Alignment of participants. Participants (both party
and non-party) may be aligned according to the nature of the proceeding
and their relationship to it. The judge may require participants of
an aligned class to select one or more persons to represent them in
the proceeding. Unless otherwise ordered by the judge, each group
of aligned participants shall be considered to be one party for the
purposes of §80.115 of this title (relating to Rights of Parties)
for all purposes except settlement.
(d) Effect of postponement. If a hearing is postponed
for any reason, any person already designated as a party retains party
status.
|
| Source Note: The provisions of this §80.109 adopted to be effective June 6, 1996, 21 TexReg 4763; amended to be effective December 1, 1997, 22 TexReg 11381; amended to be effective September 23, 1999, 24 TexReg 8276; amended to be effective November 15, 2001, 26 TexReg 9105; amended to be effective January 30, 2003, 28 TexReg 6958; amended to be effective May 3, 2012, 37 TexReg 3147; amended to be effective January 3, 2019, 43 TexReg 8611; amended to be effective May 14, 2020, 45 TexReg 3087 |
