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Home My WebLink About20260921Answer to PotlatchDeltic Forest Holdings LLCs Motion to Strike.pdf RECEIVED September 21, 2026 IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION JEFFREY R. LOLL DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION PO BOX 83720 BOISE, IDAHO 83702 (208) 334-0357 IDAHO BAR NO. 11675 Attorney for the Commission Staff BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION IN THE MATTER OF AVISTA ) CORPORATION'S APPLICATION FOR ) CASE NO. AVU-E-25-15 APPROVAL OF THE 2026 WILDFIRE ) MITIGATION PLAN ) STAFF'S ANSWER TO POTLATCHDELTIC FOREST HOLDINGS,LLC'S MOTION TO STRIKE Commission Staff("Staff') of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission("Commission"),by and through its attorney of record, Jeffrey R. Loll, Deputy Attorney General, and in accordance with Commission Rules of Procedure ("RP") Nos. 57 and 256, submits the following answer to PotlatchDeltic Forest Holdings, LLC's ("PotlatchDeltic") Motion to Strike and in the Alternative Reply to Staff s Response to Petition for Reconsideration ("Motion"), containing a request for a technical hearing ("Motion"). As set forth herein, the Commission should deny PotlatchDeltic's Motion and accompanying request for technical hearing. I. BACKGROUND On June 9,2026,the Commission issued Order No. 37064,approving Avista Corporation's ("Avista") 2026 Wildfire Mitigation Plan ("WMP"). On June 30, 2026, PotlatchDeltic filed a petition for reconsideration ("Petition") of Order No. 37064, arguing that the Commission exceeded the bounds of its authority, illegally failed to STAFF'S ANSWER TO POTLATCHDELTIC'S MOTION TO STRIKE 1 SEPTEMBER 21, 2026 implement the recommendations of the Idaho State Forester, and arbitrarily and capriciously ignored uncontested evidence identifying fatal flaws in Avista's WMP. Petition at 2. On July 28, 2026, the Commission issued Order No. 37106 granting reconsideration and setting a briefing schedule to supplement the record in this case. Order No. 37106 at 2. Following Order No. 37106, the Commission granted Petitioners 14 days to supplement their petitions with all documentation Petitioners considered relevant for reconsideration. Id. Additionally, the Commission granted the Company and all other interested parties 21 days to file any responsive comments to the petitions once the petitions were fully submitted. Lastly, the Petitioners were granted an additional 7 days to file any replies to the responses. Id. Consistent with the Commission's briefing schedule, on August 11, 2026, PotlatchDeltic filed a response to Order No. 37106, in which it incorporated by reference the substantive arguments contained in its Petition. PotlatchDeltic's Response to Reconsideration Order No. 37106 at 4, n. 7. On August 31, 2026, Staff submitted a filing titled "Staffs Response to PotlatchDeltic Petition for Reconsideration" ("Response"), which addressed the substantive arguments contained in PotlatchDeltic's Petition that concerned Staff s initial comments in the case. Response at 3. On September 8, 2026, PotlatchDeltic filed the Motion requesting the Commission strike Staffs Response as untimely. II. LEGAL STANDARD Idaho Code § 61-626 and Commission RP No. 331.05 provides any person the opportunity to oppose a petition for reconsideration within seven days after any other person has filed such a petition. Idaho Code § 61-626 and RP No. 332 indicate that the Commission has wide discretion to determine the procedure and schedule once it has granted reconsideration. III. ANSWER TO MOTION TO STRIKE Because it did not oppose PotlatchDeltic's effort to facilitate the reconsideration process, Staff did not file an answer to the Petition under RP 331.05 prior to the Commission's issuance of Order No. 37106. Rather, Staff filed the Response, responding to the substantive arguments contained in PotlatchDeltic's Petition, which PotlatchDeltic's response to Order No. 37106 incorporated by reference, in accordance with the Commission's reconsideration schedule. STAFF'S ANSWER TO POTLATCHDELTIC'S MOTION TO STRIKE 2 SEPTEMBER 21, 2026 PotlatchDeltic argues that"Staff s `coincidental' filing of its Response to PotlatchDeltic's Petition for Reconsideration on the same say [sic] that `responsive comments' to supplements to the record were due should not be confused as a clerical error by simply mis-labeling its `responsive comments' as a `Response to PotlatchDeltic's Petition for Reconsideration."'Motion at 6. Despite acknowledging its confusion regarding the reconsideration scheduling order (PotlatchDeltic's Response to Reconsideration Order No. 37106 at 6,n. 12)—a confusion that was seemingly not shared by any other parry to the case (see Avista's Reply Comments to Reconsideration Order No. 37106 at 4-5)—PotlatchDeltic is adamant that Staffs Response could not have been consistent with Order No. 37106. PotlatchDeltic contends that it did not file any supplements to the record and that,therefore,"there are no supplements to [the]record upon which [Staff] may respond."Motion at 6-7. This argument seeks to create a standard by which assertions contained in a petition for reconsideration can only be challenged through an opposition to the petition under RP No. 331.05 and never during the reconsideration process, itself. Even accepting this untenable standard, for the sake of argument,it would have no bearing here.PotlatchDeltic's response to Order No. 37106 expressly incorporated by reference its earlier Petition: "PotlatchDeltic hereby incorporates by this reference its Comments and its Petition for Reconsideration previously filed in this matter." PotlatchDeltic's Response to Reconsideration Order No. 37106 at 4, n. 7. The Motion acknowledges this fact: "PotlatchDeltic's Petition for Reconsideration was incorporated by reference in its Response—which reiteration once again details all of the reasons Avista's WMP must be rejected by the Commission,"(Motion at 3)before claiming that Staff(and apparently any other parry) should have no ability to respond to PotlatchDeltic's arguments during the reconsideration process. The Response was unmistakably a filing submitted in accordance with the reconsideration schedule established in Order No. 37106 and not a procedural opposition to PotlatchDeltic's Petition under RP No. 331.05.Furthermore,the Response appropriately addressed PotlatchDeltic's Response to Reconsideration Order No. 37106, which incorporated by reference the substantive arguments contained in its Petition. PotlatchDeltic's attempt to have Staffs Response stricken from the record would deprive the record of valuable context due solely to a harmless titling error. STAFF'S ANSWER TO POTLATCHDELTIC'S MOTION TO STRIKE 3 SEPTEMBER 21, 2026 IV. CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons, the Commission should deny PotlatchDeltic's pedantic Motion to Strike. Respectfully submitted this 2 1"day of September 2026. Jeffrey R. Loll Deputy Attorney General STAFF'S ANSWER TO POTLATCHDELTIC'S MOTION TO STRIKE 4 SEPTEMBER 21, 2026 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT I HAVE THIS 21 ST DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2026, SERVED THE FOREGOING STAFF'S ANSWER TO POTLATCHDELTIC FOREST HOLDINGS, LLC'S MOTION TO STRIKE, IN CASE NO. AVU-E-25-15, BY E-MAILING A COPY THEREOF TO THE FOLLOWING: Avista: Anni Glogovac Elizabeth Andrews Counsel for Regulatory Affairs Sr. Mgr., Revenue Requirements Avista Corporation Avista Corporation P.O. Box 3727 P.O. Box 3727 Spokane WA 99220-3727 Spokane WA 99220-3727 anni.glo og vackavistacop2.com liz.andrewskavistacorp.com avistadockets(ae,avistacorp.com Potlatch Deltic Forest Holdings,LLC. Peter J. Richardson Michele Tyler, Esq. Richardson Adams, PLLC Wade Semeliss 515 N. 27th Street Brian Schlect, Esq. Boise, ID 83702 Anna Torma peter(krichardsonadams.com 601 W. First Ave., Ste. 1600 Spokane, WA 99201 michele.tyler(k]2otlatchdeltic.com wade.semelis s(&,potlatchdeltic.com briars.schlectgpotlatchdeltic.com anna.torma(a),potlatchdeltic.com Idaho Department of Lands: Bennett Lumber, et al. J.J. Winters Tara Malek John A. Richards Smith+Malek, PLLC 300 N. 6�' St., Ste. 103 601 E. Front Ave., Ste. 304 Boise, ID 83702 Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814 jwinterskidl.idaho.gov servicegmalekattorne. s jrichards(c),idl.idaho.gov fit, 1✓KP/1� Keri J. awker Legal Assistant STAFF'S ANSWER TO POTLATCHDELTIC'S MOTION TO STRIKE 5 SEPTEMBER 21, 2026