GTE3PtyAgmt.docx

STATE OF IDAHO
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
In the Matter of the Investigation )
To Determine an Appropriate Cost)CASE NO. GNR-T-97-22
Model Using Forward-Looking)
Economic Costs for Calculating the )
Costs of Basic Telecommunication)
Service in Idaho.)
__________________________________________)
In the Matter of the Investigation)
To Establish the Idaho Non-Rural)CASE NO. GNR-T-00-2
Universal Service Fund as Required)
By Idaho Code § 62-610A-F.)
__________________________________________)
PROTECTIVE AGREEMENT
This Protective Agreement governs disclosure and use of proprietary and confidential information and trade secrets in this consolidated proceeding. Materials and information filed by the parties hereto that are claimed to be or contain trade secrets, confidential business information or other proprietary information exempt from public disclosure are so marked by the party or entity providing the information sealed, held in the official files, and reopened only upon order of the Commission or a court of competent jurisdiction. In order to preserve and protect the confidentiality of such information exchanged in this proceeding and to facilitate timely submission of information in response to any discovery conducted in this proceeding, the parties hereto enter into to the following Protective Agreement:
A. General Provisions.
1. Definition. The term "Confidential Information" refers to testimony, cost studies, and all documents, data, information, and other materials filed by a party or furnished in response to a request for information or other mode of discovery, that are claimed to be or contain trade secrets, confidential business information, and information subject to an evidentiary privilege or exempt from public disclosure under I.C. §9-340A through §9-340F.Confidential Information shall not include information contained in the public files of any federal or state agency that is subject to disclosure by statute, nor shall it include information that, at the time it is provided, is or was public knowledge or which becomes public knowledge other than through disclosure in violation of this Agreement. Confidential Information should not include information found by the Commission, or a court of competent jurisdiction not to merit the protection afforded under the terms of this Agreement.
2. Designation of Confidential Information. All access, review, use and disclosure of the correspondence, documents, data, studies, methodologies, or other information or materials designated by a party to this proceeding as proprietary (hereafter referred to as "Confidential Information") should be governed by the terms of this Agreement. Parties should in good faith designate documents as "Confidential Information" by a proprietary stamp. The placing of such a stamp on the first page of an exhibit will indicate that the entire document is Confidential Information. A stamp on other individual pages will indicate that only that page is Confidential Information.
3. Purpose of Access and Use; Confidentiality. No Confidential Information should be requested, reviewed, used, or disclosed for any purpose other than preparation for and conduct of this proceeding or any resulting proceedings before any judicial tribunal. Confidential Information should be requested, reviewed, used, or disclosed only by or to the persons authorized under this Agreement, and only in accordance with the terms specified herein. All such persons should use their best efforts to keep the Confidential Information secure in accordance with the purposes and intent of this Protective Agreement. To this end, persons having custody of any Confidential Information should keep the documents properly secured during all times when the documents are not being reviewed by a person authorized to do so.
B. Disclosure of Confidential Information.
Each receiving party may designate no more than twelve individuals associated with the party who will be allowed access to the Confidential Information. The individuals who may have access to the confidential information should be limited to the receiving party's counsel of record, regulatory personnel acting at the direction of counsel, and outside consultants employed by the receiving party. These individuals may use the confidential information only for the purpose of presenting or responding to matters raised in the course of this cost proceeding and should not divulge the confidential information to any person who is not authorized under this section to view this information.
Prior to giving access to Confidential Information as contemplated above to any party authorized to be given access pursuant to this Agreement, counsel for the party seeking review of the Confidential Information should deliver a copy of this Agreement to such person, and prior to disclosure, such persons should agree to sign a statement affirmatively stating that the individual has personally reviewed the Agreement, and will observe the limitations upon the use and disclosure of Confidential Information, in the form of Exhibit A, attached hereto. By signing such a statement, a party may not be deemed to have acquiesced in the designation of the material as confidential information or to have waived any rights to contest such designation or to seek further disclosure of the Confidential Information. Said counsel should, at the time of the review of such Confidential Information, or as soon thereafter as practicable, deliver to counsel for the party that produced the Confidential Information a copy of Exhibit A as executed, which should show each signatory's full name, permanent address and employer, and the party with whom the signatory is associated.No copies or transcription of Confidential Information shall be made by the recipient except as necessary to make information available to individuals who have executed a statement in the form of Exhibit A to this Protective Agreement.
C. Use of Confidential Information in This Proceeding.
1. Protected Use by Agreement. Any party desiring to use any Confidential Information in any motions, briefs, prepared testimony or any other written document filed during the course of this proceeding should either (a) file such document under seal so that the entire document will be considered as Confidential Information (in which case the parties thereafter should attempt to agree upon what portions of the document might be made available to the general public with the confidential Information redacted) or (b) prior to the filing of such document, give reasonable notice of such desire, and attempt in good faith to reach an agreement to present the Confidential Information in a manner that will protect its trade secret, proprietary, or confidential nature. In which case the parties should consider such methods as deletions of material from the document to be made public, characterizations of data rather than disclosure of substantive data, and aggregations of data in an effort to protect the party's rights while at the same time allowing the adverse party to present the evidence necessary to its case. These provisions do not restrict the right of any party to make an oral motion or fully engage in cross-examination, as allowed by statute and the Commission rules. If it is necessary to use Confidential Information in such oral motions or cross-examination, appropriate notice should be given to the Commission and arrangements to protect the Confidential Information should be made at that time.
2. Right to Challenge Admissibility. Nothing herein should be construed to restrict any party's right to challenge the admissibility or use in this proceeding of any Confidential Information on any legitimate ground, including but not limited to competence, relevance, materiality, or privilege. At any hearing to determine the confidentiality of information, the burden of proof to show that such information is property classified as confidential should be upon the party asserting the claim.
3. Use of Confidential Information During Hearings; Reference to Confidential Information in Briefs, Motions and Other Filings. To the extent that reference is to be made to any Confidential Information by counsel or persons afforded access thereto during any aspect of this proceeding including, but not limited to, motions, briefs, arguments, direct testimony cross-examination, rebuttal, and proposed offerings of proof, any public reference (i.e., any reference that will not be placed in a sealed portion of the record) should either be solely by title or by its exhibit reference, thereby not disclosing the Confidential Information, and any other references should be segregated so that, if written, it is marked "Confidential Information," and access to it should be given solely to the Commission and specified members of the Commission Staff and to counsel and experts who have executed a written agreement to be bound pursuant thereto and should be withheld from inspection by any person not bound by the terms of this Agreement. In oral testimony, cross-examination, or argument, public references to be made should be on such prior notice as is feasible to the affected party and in any event on sufficient notice to clear the hearing room of persons not bound by this Agreement.
4. Admission and Confidential Information Under Seal. That part of the record of this proceeding containing Confidential Information, including all exhibits, writing, direct testimony, cross-examination, argument, responses to discovery procedures, etc., should be sealed for all purposes, including administrative and judicial review, unless such Confidential Information is released from the restrictions of this Agreement, either through the agreement of the parties or pursuant to an order of the Commission.
5. Challenge to Confidentiality. In the event any party who desires to use or substantively refer to certain Confidential Information during this proceeding disputes the trade secret, proprietary, or confidential nature of such Confidential Information, that party should apply to the Commission for a determination. Any hearing on such application should be conducted in camera, and the Confidential Information should be treated in all respects as protected under the terms of the Agreement while the trade secret, proprietary, or confidential nature of the Confidential Information is in dispute. In the event of a ruling against confidentiality, the Confidential Information should continue to be protected under this Agreement for ten days thereafter, to enable the producing party to seek a stay pending Commission or judicial review.
6. Return of Confidential Information. Every person processing any Confidential Information (including notes taken during the review of the Confidential Information which make substantive reference to such Confidential Information), should return all Confidential Information to the party producing it, or certify in writing that all copies and substantive references to confidential information in notes have been destroyed, within thirty days following completion of this proceeding, including any administrative or judicial review.
7. Freedom of Information Laws. Until such time as any particular Confidential Information is found to be not of a trade secret, proprietary, or confidential nature by a court of competent jurisdiction (or absent judicial proceedings or review, by the Commission), any federal agency that has access to and/or receives copies of the Confidential Information will consider and treat the Confidential Information as within the exemption from disclosure provided in the Freedom of Information Act as set forth at 5 U.S.C. §  552(b)(4); and any state agency that has access to and/or receives copies of the Confidential Information will consider and treat the Confidential Information as within the exemption from disclosure provided in I.C. § 9-340A through §9-340F.
8. Violation of this Agreement. Violation of this Agreement by any party to this proceeding or by any other person bound by this Confidential Information should subject such party or person to liability for damages and penalties as generally provided by law.
B
GGTE NORTHWEST INCORPORATED
BBy:______________________________
TTitle:____________________________
Date:_________________________
IDAHO PUBLIC UTITILES COMMISSION STAFF
BBy:______________________________
TTitle:____________________________
Date:_________________________By:______________________________
TTitle:____________________________
Date:_________________________
By:______________________________
TTitle:____________________________
Date:_________________________AGREEMENT CONCERNING CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATIONIN CASE NOS.GNR-T-97-22 and GNR-T-00-2BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
I, _________________________________________, hereby agree to comply with and be bound by the Protective Agreement, and acknowledge that I have reviewed the Protective Agreement and fully understand its terms and conditions.
Signature:____________________________________
Full Name:____________________________________
(Print)
Permanent Address
and Employer:____________________________________
____________________________________
Party With Whom
Signatory Is Associated:____________________________________
Date:____________________________________