The presiding officer shall be appointed by the Administrator of APHIS from officers and employees of the Department who have not participated in any action of the Secretary which is the subject of the hearing and who are not directly responsible to an officer or employee of the Department who has participated in any such action.

Each party to the hearing shall have the right at all times to be advised and accompanied by an attorney.

Before the hearing, each party to the hearing shall be given reasonable notice of the matters to be considered at the hearing, including a comprehensive statement of the basis for the action taken or proposed by the Secretary which is the subject of the hearing and any general summary of the information which will be presented at the hearing in support of such action.

At the hearing the parties to the hearing shall have the right to hear a full and complete statement of the action which is the subject of the hearing together with the information and reasons supporting such action, to conduct reasonable questioning, and to present any oral and written information relevant to such action.

The presiding officer in such hearing shall prepare a written report of the hearing to which shall be attached all written material presented at the hearing. The participants in the hearing shall be given the opportunity to review and correct or supplement the presiding officer's report of the hearing.

The Secretary may require the hearing to be transcribed. A party to the hearing shall have the right to have the hearing transcribed at his expense. Any transcription of a hearing shall be included in the presiding officer's report of the hearing.

The due diligence hearing will be conducted in accordance with rules of practice adopted for the proceeding. APHIS will provide the requesting party, the applicant, and the petitioner with an opportunity to participate as a party in the hearing. The standard of due diligence set forth in § 124.33 will apply at the hearing. The party requesting the due diligence hearing will have the burden of proof at the hearing.