Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-07 - Procedural rules › Part III - ADJUDICATIVE PROCEEDINGS › Subpart A - Rules of General Applicability › Section 480-07-420 - Discovery-Protective orders

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Standard
				  form.
The commission may enter a standard form of protective order
				  designed to promote the free exchange of information and development of the
				  factual record in a proceeding when the commission finds that parties
				  reasonably anticipate that discovery or evidentiary filings will require
				  information designated as confidential as defined in WAC
				  480-07-160
				  to be disclosed to other parties in the adjudication. Parties must comply with
				  the requirements in the protective order and in WAC
				  480-07-160
				  for designating, marking, and filing documents containing information claimed
				  to be confidential. In addition, parties must modify the designation required
				  in WAC
				  480-07-160(5)(c)(1)
				  to state, "Shaded information designated as confidential per protective order
				  in Docket (insert docket number)." When submitting the electronic unredacted
				  versions, the provider must state in the description field of the web portal
				  submission, in the subject line of the transmitting email, or on a visible
				  portion of the disc or electronic storage medium, whichever is applicable, that
				  one or more documents in the filing contain information designated as
				  confidential under the protective order.
(2)
Amendment.
The commission
				  may, upon motion by a party, or on its own initiative, amend its standard form
				  of protective order to meet the parties' and the commission's needs in
				  individual cases.
(a)
Protection for
				  highly confidential information.
A party that wishes to designate
				  information as highly confidential must make a motion, orally at the prehearing
				  conference or in writing, for an amendment to the standard protective order,
				  supported by a declaration, testimony, or representations of counsel that set
				  forth the specific factual and legal basis for the requested level of
				  protection and an explanation of why the standard protective order is
				  inadequate. The motion and declaration or testimony must identify specific
				  parties, persons, or categories of persons, if any, to whom a party wishes to
				  restrict access, and state the reasons for such proposed restrictions. If the
				  commission amends its standard protective order to include protections for
				  highly confidential information, parties must comply with the requirements in
				  the protective order and in WAC
				  480-07-160
				  for designating, marking, and filing documents containing information
				  designated as highly confidential.
(b)
Protection for exempt
				  information.
The commission may modify the standard protective order
				  to include protection for exempt information if the commission finds that
				  parties' access to information designated as exempt as defined in WAC
				  480-07-160
				  is necessary for development of the factual record in the adjudication. Parties
				  must comply with the requirements in the protective order and in WAC
				  480-07-160
				  for designating, marking, and filing documents containing information
				  designated as exempt. In addition, parties must modify the designation required
				  in WAC
				  480-07-160(4)(c)(i)
				  to state, "Shaded information designated as exempt per protective order in
				  Docket (insert docket number)." When submitting the electronic unredacted
				  versions, the provider must state in the description field of the web portal
				  submission, in the subject line of the transmitting email, or on a visible
				  portion of the disc or electronic storage medium, whichever is applicable, that
				  one or more documents in the filing contain information designated as exempt
				  under the protective order.
(c)
Other information.
The commission reserves the right to
				  restrict access to other types of information on a case-by-case basis through
				  the use of a protective order.