(1) Formal opening.

The hearing officer shall convene the hearing by opening the record, identifying the applications involved, and making appropriate procedural announcements as necessary.

(2) Noting appearances.

The hearing officer shall call the name of each person who has properly filed for status as a party and announce the rulings on the extent of each party's participation. The hearing officer shall establish procedures for receiving the statements of others making a limited appearance.

(3) Legislative hearing sessions and comments on the DEIS (where applicable).

The hearing officer shall hear and receive the unsworn statements of persons other than parties as they relate to the permit application(s), and to the DEIS where it is among the subjects of the hearing. The hearing officer may require that lengthy statements be submitted in writing and summarized for oral presentation. If the applicant has prepared the DEIS, it shall prepare a written response to comments received and shall file it as an exhibit to the hearing record. Other parties shall be afforded opportunity to contest the response to comments prior to the close of the hearing record.

(4) Reconvening the issues conference.

At the discretion of the hearing officer, the issues conference may be reconvened to consider additional issues raised during the legislative hearing session, if one has been held (or, if not previously held, initiated) at this time.

(5) Opening statements.

Prior to the commencement of the adjudicatory session, each party will be called upon to offer a brief opening statement of position on the application.

(6) Admission of evidence.

The applicant will present its direct case first and will start by identifying all documents which constitute and support the applications and the DEIS (where applicable) which are relevant to the issues to be adjudicated. A panel of witnesses may be used for presenting testimony or for cross-examination at the hearing officer's discretion. Cross-examination will be conducted by parties in a sequence to be established by the hearing officer, which normally will be the sequence in which the parties will present their direct cases. The evidence will be confined to that which is relevant in the hearing officer's determination to the issues identified following the issues conference.

(7) Closing statements and briefs.

Closing statements will be allowed in the same manner as opening statements. At the concluding session of the hearing, the hearing officer will determine whether to allow the submission of written post-hearing briefs and proposed findings of fact. The hearing record will be officially closed upon the receipt of the stenographic record by the hearing officer, the receipt of additional technical data or other material agreed upon at the hearing to be made available after the hearing, or the submission of briefs and reply briefs, proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law, memoranda, and exceptions, if any, by the various parties, whichever occurs later. The hearing officer shall notify the applicant and all other parties by regular mail, immediately upon official closing of the hearing record.