§ 2.752 - Prehearing conference.

(a) The Commission or the presiding officer may, and in the case of a proceeding on an application for a construction permit or an operating license for a facility of a type described in §§ 50.21(b) or 50.22 of this chapter or a testing facility, shall direct the parties or their counsel to appear at a specified time and place for a conference to consider:

(1) Simplification, clarification, and specification of the issues;

(2) The necessity or desirability of amending the pleadings;

(3) The obtaining of stipulations and admissions of fact and of the contents and authenticity of documents to avoid unnecessary proof;

(4) Identification of witnesses and the limitation of the number of expert witnesses, and other steps to expedite the presentation of evidence;

(5) The setting of a hearing schedule; and

(6) Such other matters as may aid in the orderly disposition of the proceeding.

A prehearing conference held under this section in a proceeding involving a construction permit or operating license shall be held within sixty (60) days after discovery has been completed, 1 or such other time as the Commission or the presiding officer may specify.

(b) Prehearing conferences may be stenographically reported.

(c) The presiding officer shall enter an order which recites the action taken at the conference, the amendments allowed to the pleadings and agreements by the parties, and which limits the issues or defines the matters in controversy to be determined in the proceeding. Objections to the order may be filed by a party within five (5) days after service of the order, except that the regulatory staff may file objections to such order within ten (10) days after service. Parties may not file replies to the objections unless the board so directs. The filing of objections shall not stay the decision unless the presiding officer so orders. The board may revise the order in the light of the objections presented and, as permitted by § 2.718(i) may certify for determination to the Commission such matters raised in the objections as it deems appropriate. The order shall control the subsequent course of the proceeding unless modified for good cause.