315.9—Hearings.
EDA will hold a public hearing on an accepted petition if the petitioner or any interested Person found by EDA to have a Substantial Interest in the proceedings submits a request for a hearing no later than 10 days after the date of publication of the notice of acceptance in the Federal Register, under the following procedures:
(a)
The petitioner or any interested Person(s) shall have an opportunity to be present, to produce evidence and to be heard;
(b)
A request for public hearing must be delivered by hand or by registered mail to EDA. A request by a Person other than the petitioner shall contain:
(2)
A complete statement of the relationship of the Person requesting the hearing to the petitioner and the subject matter of the petition, and a statement of the nature of its interest in the proceedings.
(c)
If EDA determines that the requesting party does not have a Substantial Interest in the proceedings, a written notice of denial shall be sent to the requesting party. The notice shall specify the reasons for the denial;
(d)
EDA shall publish a notice of a public hearing in the Federal Register, containing the subject matter, name of petitioner, and date, time and place of the hearing; and
(e)
EDA shall appoint a presiding officer for the hearing who shall respond to all procedural questions.