Mailing
Address: Voice: (651) 361-7900
P.O. Box 64620 TTY: (651) 361-7878
April 28, 2009
|
To
All Persons on the Service List |
BY |
RE: ITMO the Applications to
the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for Two Certificates of Need and Site
Permit for the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant for Extended Power
Uprate and Additional Dry Cask Storage; OAH Docket No. 7-2500-19797-2;
MPUC Docket Nos. E002/CN-08-509 and 08-510, GS-08-690
Please find enclosed and served on you the executed
Protective Order in the above-entitled matter.
The terms of the Protective Order are those of the red-lined version
circulated last week. I have considered
the submissions of the parties, including the letter from OES in selecting
these terms.
OES expressed concern that the procedure in the Minnesota
Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA) would not adequately address the handling
of trade secret information consistent with the needs of the contested case
process. For that reason, OES urged
retention of the language “Notwithstanding, and in lieu of, any requirements of the
MGDPA to the contrary,” prior to three items in the Protective Order.
The ALJ agrees that the process set out
in the MGDPA is not suitable for handling the specific items at issue. But the language proposed purports to
authorize handling data inconsistent with the MGDPA. Such authority could only arise out of equity,
which is lacking in an administrative tribunal.
The ALJ’s direct authority regarding the record is conferred by Minn. Stat. §
14.60, subd. 2, which states in pertinent part: “When the hearing record
contains information which is not public, the administrative law judge or the
agency may conduct a closed hearing to discuss the information, issue necessary
protective orders, and seal all or part of the hearing record.”
April 28, 2009
Page
2
These statutes work in tandem to afford
the necessary protections required for handling not public data in contested
case proceedings. The MGDPA provides the
overall approach to handling public and not public data, and the Protective Order
issued under Minn.
Stat. § 14.60, subd. 2, provides the specific requirements that must be met
while this matter is under the jurisdiction of the ALJ, and for so long as the Protective
Order is effective. The terms of the
Protective Order, as issued, address the specific situations raised by OES. The handling of trade secret data under the
Protective Order is not compromised, due to the express authority provided
under Minn. Stat. § 14.60.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Richard C.
Luis
RICHARD
C. LUIS
Administrative
Law Judge
Telephone:
651-361-7843
Enclosures