SECTION 24.235. Notice Requirements for Certificate of Convenience and Necessity Applications

(a) If an application to obtain or amend a certificate of convenience and necessity (CCN) is filed, the applicant will prepare the notice prescribed in the commission's application form, which will include the following:

(1) all information outlined in the Administrative Procedure Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 2001;

(2) all information listed in the commission's instructions for completing a CCN application;

(3) the following statement: "Persons who wish to intervene in the proceeding or comment upon action sought should contact the Public Utility Commission, P.O. Box 13326, Austin, Texas 78711-3326, or call the Public Utility Commission at [phone] or [phone]. Hearing- and speech-impaired individuals may contact the commission through Relay Texas at 1-800-735-2989. The deadline for intervention in the proceeding is (30 days from the mailing or publication of notice, whichever occurs later, unless otherwise provided by the presiding officer). You must send a letter requesting intervention to the commission which is received by that date."; and

(4) except for publication of notice, the notice must include a map showing the requested area.

(b) After reviewing and, if necessary, modifying the proposed notice, the commission will provide the notice to the applicant for publication and/or mailing.

(1) For applications for a new CCN or a CCN amendment, the applicant must mail the notice to the following:

(A) cities, districts, and neighboring retail public utilities providing the same utility service whose corporate boundaries or certificated service area are located within two miles from the outer boundary of the requested area.

(B) the county judge of each county that is wholly or partially included in the requested area; and

(C) each groundwater conservation district that is wholly or partially included in the requested area.

(2) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, in addition to the notice required by subsection (a) of this section, the applicant must mail notice to each owner of a tract of land that is at least 25 acres and is wholly or partially included in the requested area. Notice required under this subsection must be mailed by first class mail to the owner of the tract of land according to the most current tax appraisal rolls of the applicable central appraisal district at the time the commission received the application for the CCN. Good faith efforts to comply with the requirements of this subsection may be considered adequate mailed notice to landowners. Notice under this subsection is not required for a matter filed with the commission under:

(A) TWC §13.248 or §13.255; or

(B) TWC Chapter 65.

(3) Utilities that are required to possess a CCN but that are currently providing service without a CCN must provide individual mailed notice to all current customers. The notice must contain the current rates, the effective date of the current rates, and any other information required in the application or notice form or by the commission.

(4) Within 30 days of the date of the notice, the applicant must file in the docket an affidavit specifying every person and entity to whom notice was provided and the date that the notice was provided.

(c) The applicant must publish the notice in a newspaper having general circulation in the county where a CCN is being requested, once each week for two consecutive weeks beginning with the week after the proposed notice is approved by the commission. Proof of publication in the form of a publisher's affidavit must be filed with the commission within 30 days of the last publication date. The affidavit must state with specificity each county in which the newspaper is of general circulation.

(d) The commission may require the applicant to deliver notice to other affected persons or agencies.

(e) The recording in the county records required by this section must be completed not later than the 31st day after the date a CCN holder receives a final order from the commission that grants or amends a CCN and thus changes the CCN holder's certificated service area.

Source Note: The provisions of this §24.235 adopted to be effective October 17, 2018, 43 TexReg 6826; amended to be effective July 19, 2023, 48 TexReg 3899