(a) Decisions approving or disapproving an application may be appealed as provided in this section. Decisions by the Vice President's designee may be appealed to the Vice President and decisions by the Vice President may be appealed to the Chief Executive Officer, with the possibility of further discretionary review by a committee of the TVA Board.

(b) If a designee of the Vice President issues an initial decision disapproving an application or approving it with terms and conditions deemed unacceptable by the applicant, the applicant may obtain the Vice President's review of that decision by mailing within thirty (30) days after receipt of the designee's decision a written request to the Vice President, Natural Resources, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902. Otherwise, the initial decision of the Vice President's designee becomes final.

(c) If the Vice President, either initially or as the result of an appeal, disapproves an application or approves it with terms and conditions deemed unacceptable by the applicant, the applicant may obtain the Chief Executive Officer's review of that decision by mailing within thirty (30) days after receipt of the decision a written request to the Chief Executive Officer, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 W. Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902. Otherwise, the Vice President's decision becomes final.

(d) The decision of the Chief Executive Officer shall become final unless a request for discretionary review by a committee of the Board (Committee) is justified by extraordinary circumstances and mailed within thirty (30) days after receipt of the decision to the attention of Board Services, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902. If within 60 days of such a request, one or more members of the Committee indicate that there are extraordinary circumstances warranting further review, the matter will be reviewed by the Committee. Otherwise, the Chief Executive Officer's decision becomes final. The Committee will schedule a meeting not more often that twice a year as needed to hear discretionary appeals. The Committee decides what kind of process to use for these appeals. Deliberations and voting on the reviews will take place at these meetings.

(e) Any interested party who becomes a party of record at a hearing as set forth in §1304.4(b) and who is aggrieved or adversely affected by any decision approving an application may obtain review by the Vice President or Chief Executive Officer, as appropriate, and may request discretionary review by the Committee, in the same manner as an applicant by adhering to the requirements of paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this section.

(f) All requests for review shall fully explain the reasons the applicant or other aggrieved party of record contends that the decision below is in error, and shall include a signed certification that the request for review was mailed to each party of record at the same time that it was mailed to TVA. TVA shall maintain lists of parties of record and make those available upon request for this purpose.

(g) The applicant and any party of record requesting review by the Vice President or Chief Executive Officer may submit additional written material in support of their positions within thirty (30) days after mailing the request for review or during such additional period as the Vice President or Chief Executive Officer may allow.

(h) In considering an appeal, the Vice President or Chief Executive Officer may conduct or cause to be conducted such investigation of the application as he or she deems necessary or desirable, and may appoint an Investigating Officer. The Investigating Officer may be a TVA employee or a person under contract to TVA, and shall not have been directly and substantially involved in the decision being appealed. The Investigating Officer may be the hearing officer for any hearing held during the appeal process. The Vice President or Chief Executive Officer shall render a decision approving or disapproving the application based on a review of the record and the information developed during any investigation and/or submitted by the applicant and any parties of record.

(i) No applicant or party of record shall contact the Chief Executive Officer, Committee members, or any other TVA Board member during the appeal process, except as specified in correspondence from the Chief Executive Officer or from the Committee Secretary. The appeal process runs from the date of an appeal to the Chief Executive Officer until a final resolution of the matter.

(j) A written copy of the decision by the Vice President or the Chief Executive Officer shall be furnished to the applicant and to all parties of record promptly following determination of the matter.

(k) In the event the Committee grants a request for discretionary review, notice of that decision and information about the review shall be provided to the person(s) requesting review and to other parties of record in accordance with the methods set forth in §1304.5(a). Written notice of the Committee's final determination of the appeal shall be provided to the applicant and to all parties of record in accordance with the methods set forth in §1304.5(a).

[79 FR 4622, Jan. 29, 2014]