§ 900.9 - IIP Process close-out meeting.

§ 900.9 IIP Process close-out meeting.

(a) An Integrated Interagency Pre-Application (IIP) Process close-out meeting concludes the IIP Process for a proposed electric transmission project and may only be held after the project proponent submits a close-out meeting request to DOE. The project proponent may submit the request at any time following the submission of the updated resource reports as required under § 900.8. The close-out meeting request shall include:

(1) A summary table of changes made to the proposed project during the IIP Process, including potential environmental and community benefits from improved siting or design;

(2) A description of all changes made to the proposed project since the review meeting, including a summary of changes made to the updated resource reports in response to the concerns raised during the review meeting;

(3) A final public engagement plan, as described in § 900.5(d)(2);

(4) Requests for Federal authorizations for the proposed project; and

(5) An updated estimated timeline of filing requests for all other authorizations and consultations with non-Federal entities.

(b) Not later than 10 calendar days after the date that DOE receives the close-out meeting request, DOE shall provide relevant Federal entities and relevant non-Federal entities with materials included in the request and any updated resource reports submitted under § 900.6 via electronic means.

(c) Not later than 60 calendar days after the date that DOE receives the close-out meeting request, DOE shall:

(1) Determine whether the meeting request meets the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section and whether the updated resource reports are sufficiently detailed; and

(2) Give notice to the project proponent and relevant Federal and non-Federal entities of DOE's determinations under paragraph (c)(1) of this section.

(d) If DOE determines that the meeting request does not meet the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section or that the updated resource reports are not sufficiently detailed, DOE must provide the reasons for that finding and a description of how the project proponent may address any deficiencies in the meeting request or resource reports so that DOE may reconsider its determination.

(e) Not later than 15 calendar days after the date that DOE provides notice to the project proponent under paragraph (c) of this section that the close-out meeting request and updated resource reports have been accepted, DOE shall convene the close-out meeting with the project proponent and all relevant Federal entities. All relevant non-Federal entities participating in the IIP Process shall also be invited.

(f) The IIP Process close-out meeting concludes the IIP Process. During the close-out meeting:

(1) The participants shall discuss the project proponent's updates to the siting process to date, including stakeholder outreach activities, resultant stakeholder input, and project proponent response to stakeholder input; and

(2) DOE shall present the final project-specific schedule.

(g) Not later than 10 calendar days after the close-out meeting, DOE shall:

(1) Prepare a draft close-out meeting summary; and

(2) Convey the draft summary to the project proponent, relevant Federal entities, and any non-Federal entities that participated in the meeting.

(h) The project proponent and entities that received the draft close-out meeting summary under paragraph (g) of this section will have 10 calendar days following receipt of the draft to review the draft and provide corrections to DOE.

(i) Not later than 10 calendar days following the close of the 10-day review period under paragraph (h) of this section, DOE shall:

(1) Prepare a final close-out meeting summary by incorporating received corrections, as appropriate;

(2) Add the final summary to the consolidated administrative docket described by § 900.10;

(3) Provide an electronic copy of the summary to all relevant Federal entities, relevant non-Federal entities, and the project proponent; and

(4) In the event that the proposed project is not identified as a covered project pursuant to § 900.5(e), notify the FPISC Executive Director that the proposed project ought to be included on the FPISC Dashboard as a transparency project.

(j) DOE and any NEPA joint lead agency shall issue a Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental review document for the proposed project within 90 days of the later of the IIP Process close-out meeting or the receipt of a complete application for a Federal authorization for which NEPA review will be required, as consistent with the final project-specific schedule.

(k) DOE shall issue, for each Federal land use authorization for a proposed electric transmission facility, a preliminary duration determination commensurate with the anticipated use of the proposed facility.