United States Environmental EPA Environmental Protection Appeals Board 6HSWHPEHU 20  Agency (1103B)

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# EPA The Environmental Appeals Board Practice Manual

This document is solely intended as guidance. The policies and procedures in this guidance do not constitute a rulemaking by the Agency, and may not be relied on to create a substantive or procedural right or benefit enforceable at law by any person.

Recycled/Recylable PaperTA BLE O F CO NT EN TS

I. IN TR OD UC TIO N
.......................................................... 1 II. GENERAL
............................................................... 3 A
. F un c t i o n s an d

P o w e r s o f

th e E A B
........................................ 3 B
. E A B J ur i s d i c t i o n ..................................................... 3 C. Environmental Appea ls J udg es and Staff
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 D
. J u d i c i a l R e v i e w ; F i n a l A g e n c y A c t i o n..................................... 5 E
. F i n a l E A B D e c i s i o n s .................................................. 7 1
. F o r m a l E A B D e c i s i o n s ........................................... 7 2
. P r e - E A B D e c i s i o n s .............................................. 9 3
. F i n a l E A B O r d e r s ............................................... 9 F
. S e r v i c e o f E A B D e c i s i o n s ............................................. 10 G. Sub se qu e nt H ist or ie s o f E AB De c isi on s in F e de ra l Co ur

ts
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 H
. O r a l A r g u m e n t
...................................................... 10 I
. G e n e r a l F i l i n gR e qu i r e m e n t s ............................................ 10 1
. E l e c tr o n i c F i l i n g ............................................... 11
a . E
- f i l i n gA u th o r i ty ........................................ 11 b
. T i m e l i n e s s o f

S u b m i s s i o n s ................................. 12 c. Require ments for Pape r Copies of Elec tronic Submissi ons . . . . . . . . 13 d. Duplicate F acsimiles Not Acc epted
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
e . C B IC l a i m s ............................................. 14ii 2
. P a p e r F i l i n g .................................................. 14
a . E A B M a i l i n gA d dr e s s ..................................... 14 b
. E A B H an d

- D e l i v e r

y A d dr e s s ............................... 15 c. Case N ame a

nd Case I dentifier on E nvelope or Outside P a c k a g i n g .............................................. 15 d
. T i m e l i n e s s o f

S u b m i s s i o n s ................................. 16 3
. R equ i re d

In fo rm at i o nfo r A l l Fi l i n gs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 4. F or mat and L e ng th o f F ile d D oc ume nts
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 J
. A l t e r n at i v e D i s p u t e R e s o l u t i o n ......................................... 17 K
. C l e r k o f th e B o ar d
................................................... 18 L
. E A B W e b S i t e ...................................................... 18 III. AP P EALS UNDER THE CONSOLIDATE D RULES OF P RACTICE (“CROP ”) , 40 C.F .R. P ART 22
............................................. 20 A
. In tr o d u c t i o n ........................................................ 20 B
. S c o p e o f

th e C R O P
.................................................. 21 C
. J u d i c i a l R e v i e w ; F i n a l A g e n c y A c t i o n .................................... 22 D
. Ap p e a l s P r o c e d

ur e ................................................... 24 1
. N o t i c e o f

Ap p e a l an d

Ap p e a l B r i e f
................................ .24
a . D e a d l i n e f

o r F i l i n g ....................................... 24 b
. F o r man d C o n t e n t
........................................ 25
c . M o t i o n s ................................................ 26 d
. N o n - p arty

P art i c i p at i o n .................................... 27 2
. F i l i n gan d

S e r v i c e R e qu i r e m e n t s .................................. 27iii
a . F i l i n g .................................................. 27 b
. S e r v i c e ................................................. 28 3
. C r o s s Ap p e a l s ................................................. 28 E
. S c o p e an d

S t an d ar d o f E A B R e v i e w ..................................... 28 1
. S c o p e o f

R e v i e w ............................................... 28 2
. S t an d ar d

o f R e v i e w ............................................. 28 F
. R e v i e wIn i t i at e d

b y E A B
.............................................. 30 G
. In t e r l o c u t o r

y Ap p e a l s ................................................. 30 H
. Ap p e a l s f

r o mD e f a u l tO r d e r s ........................................... 31 I. C o n f i d e n t i a l B u s i n e s s In f

o r m at i o n( C B I)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 J
. F e d e r a l F a c i l i t i e s ..................................................... 32 K. EA B Ap pr ov a l of

Ce rt a in P re he ari ngSe ttl e me nts
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
IV. P ERMIT AP P EALS UNDER 40 C.F .R. P ART 124
............................ 35 A
. In tr o d u c t i o n ........................................................ 35 B
. S c o p e o f

P art1 2 4
.................................................... 35 C
. J u d i c i a l R e v i e w ; F i n a l A g e n c y A c t i o n .................................... 38 D
. Ap p e a l s P r o c e d

ur e ................................................... 39 1
. O v e r v i e w ..................................................... 39 2
. P e t i t i o nf

o r R e v i e w ............................................. 40
a . D e a d l i n e f

o r F i l i n g ....................................... 40 b
. C o n t e n t
................................................ 41iv c. Require ment That Petitioner Has Par ticipated in the Comment P eriod (“ Standing” to Seek Review)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 d. Requirement That I ssues Were Raised D ur i n gth e C o m m e n tP e r i o d
............................... 43 3
. M o t i o n s ...................................................... 44 4
. N o n - p arty

P art i c i p at i o n .......................................... 45 5
. F i l i n gan d

S e r v i c e R e qu i r e m e n t s .................................. 46 6
. N o t i c e t o P e r

m i t t e e o f Ap p e a l
..................................... 47 7
. R e s p o n s e s t o P e t i t i o n ........................................... 48 8
. O r a l A r g u m e n tan d

D e c i s i o n ..................................... 49 9. Motions for Reconsider ation or Clarification
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 E
. S c o p e an d

S t an d ar d o f R e v i e w .......................................... 50 1
. S c o p e o f

R e v i e w ............................................... 50 2
. S t an d ar d

o f R e v i e w ............................................. 50 F
. R e v i e wIn i t i at e d

b y th e E A B
........................................... 51 G. Ef fe c t of an A dmi nis tr ativ e Ap pe a l on the Con dit ion s o f t

he Pe rm it
. . . . . . . . . . . . 51 H. Stay s of Permit Appea ls Pending Settlement Ne g otiations
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 V. OTHE R E AB AP P EA LS P RO CE DU RE S
.................................... 54 A
. In tr o d u c t i o n ........................................................ 54 B . Cl e an A ir

Ac t ( “ CA A” ) E nf

or c e me nt A

pp e a ls
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 1
. C A A § 1 2 0
................................................... 54 2
. C A A § 2 0 7 ( c )
................................................. 54 C
. C A A P e r

m i tAp p e a l s ................................................. 54v 1
. T i t l e V O p e r at i n gP e r

m i t s ........................................ 54 2
. A c i d R a i nP r o g r am ............................................. 55 3. Standards of Per formanc e for Residential Wood Heater s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 D
. F I F RA N o n - E n f

o r c e m e n tP r o c e e d i n g s ................................... 56 E
. E qu a l A c c e s s t o J u s t i c e A c t
............................................ 56 F
. F r a u d u l e n tC l a i m s A g a i n s tE P A
......................................... 56 G
. O c e anD u mp i n gP e r

m i t s .............................................. 57 H
. N o i s e P o l l u t i o nA c t
.................................................. 57 VI. CERCLA § 106(b) P ETIT IONS FOR REIMBUR SEMENT
.................... 58 A
. In tr o d u c t i o n ........................................................ 58 B. Proc edure for Submitting CERCL A Reimbursement Petitions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 1
. F i l i n gR e qu i r e m e n t s ............................................ 59 2
. E A B R e v i e wP r o c e d

ur e s ......................................... 60vi

AP P EN DI CE S
1. Revised Guidanc e on Proce dures f or Submissi on and Reviewof CERCL A Section 106(b) Reimburse ment Petitions (Nov. 10, 2004) 2. EAB Request for Re g ional Response to Petition for Review of RCRA, UI C, or NPDES Permit Decision under 40 C.F .R. part 124 3. EA B Re qu e st f

or Re g ion a l Re sp on se to P e tit ion fo r R e vie w o f P SD P e rm it Dec ision under 40 C.F.R. par t 124 4. EAB Consent Ag ree ment and F inal Orde r (“ CAFO” ) Proce dures 5. Memorandum f

rom Administrator to Environmental Appe als Boa rd tit le d “ Expe dit e d A dmi nis tr ativ e Re vie w o f A pp e a ls o f R CRA Permit Denials Filed by Interim Status Hazardous Waste Combusti on Fa cilities” (Mar . 16, 1994) 6. PleadingTemplates1

EPAis h e a de d b y

an A dmi nis tr ator

wh o is a pp ointe d b y

the Pr e sid e nt. Th e EA B is a 1 component off

ice within the Of

fice of the Administrator. It “is not part of a ny other off ice in the Ag ency and answ ers only

to the Administrator of the Ag ency .” In reMa rin e Sh aleProc esso rs, Inc. , 5 E.A.D. 751, 795 (E AB 1995), aff’d , 81 F.3d 1371 ( 5th Cir. 1996), cert. de nied , 5 19 U. S. 10 55 (1 99 7) . Wh e n th e EA B is the de c isi onmake r i n a n e nf or c e me nt p ro c e e din g , it

is e xpre ssl y prohibited by

regulation from eng ag ing in e xpa rted i s cu s s i o no nth e m er i t s o f t h e p ro ce ed i n g, afte r the c omplaint has been f iled, with Ag ency

staff me mbers who pe rfor med a pr osecutoria l or investigative function in that proce eding(or a fac tually related proc eeding ) or with any interested person outside EPA. See40 C.F.R. § 22.8. Prior to March 1992, E PA’s Chief J udicial Off icer or, in some ca ses, a Judicial Office r, 2 decide d civil penalty

appea ls, pursuant to a dele g ation of authority from the Administrator. The Administrator dec ided per mit appeals base d on the re commendation of the Chief J udicial Off icer or a Judicial Office r. I. IN TR OD UC TIO N The Environme ntal Appea ls Boar d (“EA B” or “B oard” ) of the U .S. Environmental Pr ote c tio n A g e nc y

(“ EPA ” or

“ Ag e nc y ” ) i s a

pe rm ane nt, imp art ia l, f

our- me mbe r b od

y that is ind e pe nd e nt o f a ll A g e nc y c omp on e nts outsi de the imm e diate Of fi c e of the Ad min ist rator
. I t is 1 the final Ag ency

decisionmake r on administrative a ppeals unde r all major e nvironmental statutes that EPA administers. See40 C.F .R. § 1 .2 5( e ). Th e EA B wa s c re ate d o n M arc h 1 , 1 99 2, to
rec og nize the gr owingimportance of EPA adjudicatory proce eding s as a mec hanism for implementing a

nd enfor cingthe environme ntal laws and to “ inspir[ e] confidenc e in the fa irness of Ag ency adjudications.” Chang es to Regulations to Reflect the Role of the New E nvironmental 2 Ap pe a ls B oa

rd in A g e nc y

Ad jud ic atio ns , 5 7 F e d. Re g . 5 32 0, 53 22 (F e b. 13 , 1 99 2) ; see also S. Rep. No. 103-257, 103d Cong . 2d Sess. 86 (1994). Prac tice bef ore the EAB is primarily

g overne d by fede ral re g ulations. This Manual provides g ener al desc riptions of the regulatory framework f

or EAB proce eding s and provides guidance to liti g ants on matters re lated to pra ctice be fore the EAB that2

are not expressly

cover ed by

regulation. Howeve r, “[a]n EPA guidanc e docume nt does not have the fo rc e of

law, ” a nd the re fo re thi s Ma

nu a l sh ou ld n ot b e re lie d o n a s d isp os iti ve of the matte rs it addre sses. In reV- 1 O il Co ., 8 E .A .D . 7 29 , 7 48 (E AB 20 00 ). Pr a c tit ion e rs sh ou ld a lw ay s c on su lt the a pp lic a ble statut e and

re g ulatio ns fo r t

he sp e c if ic su bs tanti ve and

pr oc e dura l r e qu ir e me nts
un de r a ny a uth or ity de sc ri be d in

thi s Ma nu a l. I n th e e ve nt o f a

ny dis c re pa nc y be tw e e n th is Manual a nd the re g ulations, the regulations gove rn. Ap pe nd ix 6 to thi s Ma

nu a l pr ov ide s te mpl ate s f or fi lin g s in EA B pr oc e e din g s. Th e se templates ar e solely

for the guidance of par

ticipants in EAB pr ocee dings. Submissions need not confor m to them provided that all applica ble re g ulatory

require ments have be en satisfied. The EAB provides additional information about its procedure s in A Citi zens’ Guide to the Envir onme nta l App e a ls B oa rd and in i ts r e sp on se s to F re qu e ntl y As ke d Q ue sti on s ( “ F AQ s” ), bo th of wh ic h a re on the EA B ’s Web sit e at www.e pa.g ov/eab. The Clerk of the B oard, a

nd the attorney s who serve as counse l to the EAB, a re a vailable to answ er que stions from liti g ants and the g ener al public about the a ppeals proc ess. Howe ver, que stions about the subject matter or status of a pa

rticular matter pendingbefor e the EA B c annot be a nswere d. See, e .g. , 4 0 C. F .R. § 2 2
. 8 (b ar

ri n g e xpa rtedis c us sio n o f t

he me ri ts o f a

ny pr oc e e din gbe fo re the EA B ). Pe rs on s w ith qu e sti on s a

bo ut t he a pp e a ls p ro c e ss m ay

c a ll the Cle rk

of the B oa rd at ( 20 2) 23 3- 01 22 . Ca lls wi ll be re fer red to the a

ppropriate person. The EAB has issued many decisions that interpre t the fede ral re g ulations gove rning appea ls procedur es, some of which ar e re fer ence d in this Manual. The full text of all formal EAB de c isi on s (seeSe c tio n I I .E .1 ), and a ll f ina l E AB or de rs ( seeSection I I .E.3) issued af ter Nove mber 1996 can be acc essed on the E AB Web site at www.e pa.g ov/eab.3

II. G EN ER

AL A. Func tions and Powers of the E AB Title 40 C.F.R. § 1.25(e) (1) e stablishes the EAB as “a perma nent body with continuing functions” that “ shall decide eac h matter be fore it in accor dance with applicable statutes and
re g ulatio ns .” Se c tio n 1 .2 5( e )( 2) pr ov ide s th at:

Th e Envir onme nta l App e a ls B oa rd sh a ll e xer c ise any

a uth or ity expressly deleg ated to it in this t itle. Wi th respec t to any matter for whic h authority

has not bee n expressly

deleg ated to the Environmental Appe als Boa rd, the Environme ntal Appea ls Boar d shall, at the Administrator’s r equest, provide advice and consultation, make f indings of f

act a nd conclusions of law , prepa re a rec ommended decision, or se rve a s the final dec isionmaker, as the Administrator deems a ppropriate
. The Ag ency

has pre scribed r

ules that g overn the EAB ’s proc eeding s, as detailed in the f ollowing section. B. EA B Jurisdiction The jurisdiction of the EA B is esta blished primarily

by regulation. The majority of the EA B ’s c a se s are a

pp e a ls f ro m a dmi nis tr ativ e e nf

or c e me nt d e c isi on s ( mos tly c ivi l pe na lty

c a se s) and appe als from pe rmit decisions. Appea ls from administrative enf orce ment decisions ar e g overne d primarily

by the Consolidated Rules of Practice Gover ning the Administrative As se ssm e nt o f C ivi l Pe na lti e s and the Re vo c atio n/T e rm inatio n o r S us pe ns ion of Pe rm its (“ CRO P” ), c od if

ie d at 40 C.F .R. pa

rt 22 . App e a ls f

ro m pe rm it d e c isi on s a

re g ov e rn e d p ri mari ly by the proc edure s codified at 40 C.F.R. part 124. Howe ver, the following permit proce eding s are g ov e rn e d b y

the CRO P r athe r t

ha n th e pa rt 12 4 r e g ulatio ns :4

(1) r evocation or suspension of a pe rmit under sec tions 105(a) a nd (f) of the Marine Prote ction, Resear ch, and Sanc tuaries Ac t (“MPRSA”), as amended, 33 U. S.C. § 1 41 5( a ) a

nd (f ), and 40 C.F .R. § 2 2. 1( a )( 3) ; (2) ter mination of an EPA-issued National Poll utant Dischar g e Elimination Sy stem (“NPD ES” ) p e rm it und e r C le an Wate r A c t § 4 02 (a ), 33 U. S.C. § 1 34 2( a ), and 40 C.F .R. § 22.1(a) (6); and (3) the te rmination of an EPA-issued pe rmit, under Resourc e Conservation Recovery Act (“ RCRA ” ) § 30 08 (a ), 42 U. S.C. § 6 92 8( a )( 3) , a nd the su sp e ns ion

or re vo c atio n o f a

uth or ity to operate pursuant to RCRA § 3005(e), 42 U .S.C. § 6925(e), and 40 C.F .R. § 22.1(a)( 4). The EAB is also authorized to hear a ppeals unde r other statutory and re g ulatory

authorities. These c ateg ories of a

ppeals a re a ddresse d briefly

in Section V. In a dd iti on

to i ts e xpre ss r e g ulator

y a uth or ity , th e EA B ha s a

uth or ity de le g ate d b y

the EPA Administrator (“A dminist rator” ). F or example, the EAB considers pe titions for r eimbursement of costs incurre d in complying w ith cleanup or ders issued unde r the Comprehe nsive Environmental Response, Compensation, and L iability Act of 1980 ( “CERCL A”) , 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601-9675. See Deleg ation of Authority

14-27 (“ Petitions for Reimburse ment”). A s noted in Section I I .A, the EAB may also be re quested by

the Administrator, on a spe cific matter, to “provide advice and consultation, make finding s of fa ct and c onclusions of law, pre pare a re commended de cision, or
se rv e a s th e fi na l de c isi onmake r, a s th e Ad min istra tor de e ms a pp ro pr iate .” 40 C.F .R. § 1.25(e) (2); see, e .g., In re Tenne ssee Valley

Auth. , 9 E.A.D. 357, 368 (E AB 2000).5

Two EAB members c onstitut e a quor um if a three -member

panel c annot be c onvened. 3 I f t he EA B sit s a s a

pa ne l of tw o me mbe rs , a

nd the re is a tie vo te , th e matte r c an b e re fe rr e d to the Administrator to brea k the tie. 40 C.F.R. § 1.25(e )(1)
. City of San Diego v. EPA , 2 42 F .3 d 1 09 7, 11 01 (9 th C ir . 2 00 1) . A c c or din gto t he U. S. 4 Supreme Court, ag ency

action is “fina l” if it constitutes “the ‘c onsummation of the ag ency ’s (continued...) C. Environmental Appea ls J udg es and Staff The Environme ntal Appea ls Boar d consists of four Environme ntal Appea ls J udg es who
are Senior Executive Service (“SES”)- level ca ree r Ag ency

attorney s. Under the internal proce dures g overningthe EAB ’s org anization, the four judg es ser ve as c o-equa ls. There is no Chief J udg e or e quivalent. At any g iven time, one judg e ser ves as the le ad judg e for administrative matters, a

position t hat rotate s amongthe judg es on an a nnual basis. Dec isions
re g ard ingc a se pr ior iti e s are ma de by the EA B a s a

wh ole . Ca se s a

re ra nd oml y a ssi g ne d to pa

ne ls comprised of

three judge s, who dec ide ea ch matter by majority vote. 40 C.F.R. § 1.25(e)
. 3 Con c ur ri ngand dis se nti ngop ini on s ma

y be iss ue d. Th e EA B is a ssi ste d in c arr yingout it s responsibilities by

a number of staff attorney s (“Counsel to the B oard” ), the Clerk of the B oard (“Cler k”), a staff a ssistant, and a sec reta ry . D. J udicial Review; F inal Ag ency Action The Administrative Proce dure A ct (“ APA”) pr ovides a right of judicial revie w of “ Ag ency
a c tio n ma de re vie wa

ble by statut e and

fi na l a g e nc y

a c tio n f or wh ic h th e re is n o o the r a de qu ate
reme dy in a cour t * * * .” 5 U.S.C. § 704. I n most cases, the de cision of the EAB constitutes final ag ency

action and ma

y be appe aled to a f

eder al cour

t. A final dec ision constitut es the “consummation of the a g ency ’s dec ision-making pr ocess” and is deter minative of the rights of the pa rt ie s. Th e de c isi on s o f t

he EA B c ann ot b e a

pp e a le d to the Ad

min ist rator
. Mo re ov e r, the re is 4 56

(...continued) 4 decision-makingproce ss’” a nd if it determines “ rig hts or obligations.” Benne tt v. Spear , 520 U.S. 154, 177-78 (1997). Title 40 § 22.31(e) of the C.F.R. provide s the sole exception. I t applies to any final 5 EAB order

issued to a fe dera l ag ency afte r an a ppeal. I n such a c ircumstance , the fe dera l ag ency may reque st a confe renc e with the Administrator followingthe issuance of the EAB ’s final orde r. The Administrator’ s decision bec omes the final or der in the matter. See40 C.F .R. § 2 2. 4( a ) ( e nf or c e me nt c a se s) ; id . § 124.2 (per mit cases). 6 no provision for re view by the Administrator on his or her initiative. Although the EA B ha s the
a uth or ity to r e fe r a matte r o n a

pp e a l to the Ad

min ist rator on its own in iti ativ e , that a

uth or ity is 6 intended to be e x erc ised only in exceptional case s. As such, most EAB de cisions are final ag ency actions that may

be appe aled to a f

eder al cour

t. SeeSections I I I .C (enfor ceme nt appea ls) and I V.C (per mit appeals) of

this Manual for a dditional information. I n some ca ses, howeve r, the EAB may issue a re mand orde r or a n interlocutory

decision that re quires fur ther a ction from the Presiding O ffice r (e nforc ement appe als) or the permitting a uthority (per mit appeals). The EAB
may re qu ir e the pa

rt ie s to a pp e a l c on te ste d p or

tio ns of any de c isi on on re mand to t he EA B in order to exhaust all admini strative re medies. See, e .g. , 40 C.F.R. § 124.19(f) (1)( iii). Under the APA, a f

eder al cour

t will only

revie w the EAB ’s dec ision to determine whethe r it was “a rbitrar y , capr icious, an abuse of discre tion, or otherwise not in ac corda nce w ith law.” 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A)
. See Peppe rell Assoc. v. EPA , 246 F.3d 15, 22 ( 1st Cir. 2001) (“To the
e xtent th at th e EA B ’s de c isi on re fl e c ts a g los s o n it s inte rp re tatio n o f t he g ov e rn ingEPA regulations, a revie wingcourt must also aff ord those policy

judgme nts substantial defer ence , de fe rr ingto t

he m un le ss t

he y are arb itr ary , c a

pr ic iou s, or

oth e rw ise ‘p la inl y ’ i mpe rm iss ibl e .” ); see also Martex Farms, S.E. v . EPA, No. 08-1311, at 4 (1st Cir. Mar. 5, 2009) (stating that the c ourt7

Individual volumes of the E.A.D. ma y be purc hased f

rom the U.S. Superintendent of 7 Do c ume nts by

c a lli ng(2 02 ) 5 12 -1 80 0 o r b y a c c e ssi ngits we bs ite at http://bookstore.gpo.g ov/. Volumes 1-3 conta in three hundr ed sele cted opinions that wer e issued by EPA’s Administrator, Chief J udicial Off

icer and Judi cial Of

fice rs betwe en Mar ch 1972 and Ma rch 1992, be fore the cre ation of the EAB
. re vie ws the EA B ’s pe na lty a sse ssm e nt w ith“ he ig hte ne d d e fe re nc e ” ); Catali na Y achts, Inc. v

. EPA , 112 F. Supp. 2d 965, 967 (C.D. Cal. 2000), aff’g In re Catalina Y achts, Inc., 8 E.A.D. 199 (EAB 1999). E. F ina l E AB De c isi on s and Or de rs All final EAB decisions and f inal EAB order s may

be cited in EA B pr ocee dings at any time after issuance, usingthe forms of c itation set forth below. 1. For mal EAB Dec isions The EAB desig nates many of its decisions as for

mal EAB decisions. These decisions ar e initially issued as slip opinions; they are subsequently

ref ormatted a s formal de cisions and assig ned a volume a

nd pag e number

in a serie s of bound volumes titled Environmental Administrative Dec isions (“E.A.D.” ). Eac h volume of the E.A.D . contains a subjec t index and 7 ref ere nce ta bles. Volumes 8 and 13 c ontain five-year consolidated subjec t index es. Curre ntly the E.A.D. c ontains decisions issued by the EAB throug h J une 2008. Additional volumes will be issued as wa

rra nted. The c omplete text of any

formal EA B de cision may be ac cesse d elec tronically at the EAB ’s Web site, www.e pa.g ov/eab , or by contac ting the Cler

k of the B oard. SeeSection I I .K. The full text of these dec isions is also commerc ially available throug h L EXI S and WESTL AW
. © © The EAB has adopte d an off icial form of

citation for its forma l decisions. A forma l EAB8

When the EAB itself cites a slip opinion, the citation also indicates the volume of the 8 E.A.D. in which the opinion will appear, a s, for e x ample, In re De sert Rock Energy Co. , PSD Ap pe a l N os . 0 8- 03 thr ou g h 0 8- 06 (E AB Se pt. 24 , 2 00 9) , 1 4 E .A .D
. . L iti g ants c iti nga sli p opinion are not e x pecte d to indicate the volume number in which the opinion will appear
. decision should be cited by E.A.D. volume a

nd pag e number , indicatingthe EAB as the deci si on mak er an d t he y ear t he d eci si on was is su ed. An e x amp le o f a ci tat io n t o an EAB de c isi on that a pp e ars in v olume 12 of

the E. A. D. is a s f

oll ow s: In re Env tl. Disposal Sys., Inc. , 12 E.A.D. 254 (E AB 2005) An e xamp le of

a c itatio n to a

sp e c if ic pa g e of that op ini on

is a s f oll ow s: In re Env tl. Disposal Sys., Inc. , 12 E.A.D. 254, 281 (E AB 2005) The EAB has also adopte d an off icial form of

citation for a

slip opini on that has not y et bee n repor ted. A slip opinion shoul d be cited by its EAB a

ppeal number , indicatingthe EAB as the 8 decisionmake r and the complete date on which the de cision was issued. An e x ample of a citation to a sli p o pin ion

is a s f oll ow s: In re Ram , Inc. , RCRA (9006) A ppeal Nos. 08- 01 & 08- 02 (EAB J uly 10, 2009) An e xamp le of

a c itatio n to a

sp e c if ic pa g e of that op ini on

is a s f oll ow s: In re Ram , Inc. , RCRA (9006) A ppeal Nos. 08- 01 & 08- 02, slip.op. at 8 (EAB J uly 10, 2009) Final EA B de cisions in CER CL A § 106(b) c ases should be c ited using the form of c itation for formal EA B de cisions. The EAB ’s Preliminary Dec isions in C ERCL A § 106(b) c ases may be
c ite d u sin gthe fo rm

of c ita tio n f or F ina l E AB Or de rs ( see infra Section I I .E.3). SeeAp p e n d ix 1 (discussingpreliminary

decisions).9 2. Pre-EA B D ecisions E n f o r c e m e n td e c i s i o n s th atw e r e i s s u e d b y E P A ’ s C h i e f

J u d i c i a l O f

f i c e r ( “ C J O ” ) o r

b y a J udicial Off

icer (“JO”), a nd permit dec isions that were issued by the Administrator prior to the
cre ation of the EAB , may be cited in EA B pr ocee dings, a lthough c itations to EAB ca ses standing fo r t he same po int , if

any , a re pr e fe ra ble . Se le c te d p re -E AB de c isi on s h ave be e n p ub lis he d in volumes 1-3 of the E.A .D. I f the de cision appea rs in the E.A.D., it should be cited by volume and pag e number , indicatingthe dec isionmaker (i.e ., Adm’r, CJO, or J O) a nd the y ear

the opinion was iss ue d. An

e xamp le of

a c itatio n to a

pr e -E AB de c isi on

is a s f oll ow s: In re Boliden-

Mete ch, Inc

. , 3 E.A.D. 439 (CJO 1990). An e xamp le of

a c itatio n to a

sp e c if ic pa g e of that de c isi on

is a s f oll ow s: In re Boliden-

Mete ch, Inc

. , 3 E.A.D. 439, 451 (CJO 1990). 3. Final EA B O rder s The EAB also issues final orde rs that ar e dispositive of the outcome of the ca se but that th e E AB d o es n o td es i gn at e a s fo rm al E AB d ec i s i o n s . T h es e o rd er s m ay b e c i t edi np ro ce ed i n gs be fo re the EA B , in dic atin gthe a pp e a l numbe r a

nd c omp le te date , a s f

oll ow s: In re Gate way Gene rating Stat ion , PSD Appeal No. 09-02 ( EAB Sept. 15, 2009) (Orde r Dismissing Petition for Review) Final EA B or ders that we re issued subse quent to November 1996 may

be ac cesse d at the EAB ’s Web site located at www.epa .g ov/eab. Copies of othe r EAB order s may be obtained f

rom the Clerk of the B oard. Se e inf ra Section I I .K.10

F. Ser vice of EAB Dec isions The EAB serve s its decisions upon the parties by U.S. Post al Service mail. EAB de cisions and orde rs ar e ser

ved whe n they

are place d in the mail. G. Subsequent Histories of F inal EAB Dec isions and Final EAB Orde rs in Fe dera l Court The EAB maintains two tables on its W eb site that conta in information relating to the subsequent history

of final EA B de cisions and final EAB order s that have be en appe aled to the fe de ra l di str ic t and

c ir c uit c ourt s o f a

pp e a l, t itl e d E AB De c isi on s Re vie we d b y the F e de ra l Co ur

ts and EAB Dec isions P endingFe dera l Review. H. Ora l Argument Or a l argume nt t ake s p la c e in t he EPAAd

min istra tiv e Court

ro om, loc ate d at th e U. S. Environmental Protec tion Age ncy , EPA East Building , Room 1152, 1201 Cons tituti on Avenue , N. W., Was hin g ton , D .C. Pr oc e e din g s are op e n to the pu bli c , h ow e ve r, fo r s e c ur ity purp os e s, advanc e notice is re quired to g ain entry into the EPA buildi ngwher e the Courtroom is locate d. Persons intereste d in attendingoral a rgument are encour ag ed to contac t the Clerk of the B oard sufficie ntly

in advanc e of the oral a

rgument to allow the Clerk re asonable opportunity to notify appropr iate sec urity

personne l (i.e., not less than one business da y prior to the sche duled
argume nt) . T he EA B ha s in sta lle d a ud io- vis ua l e qu ipm e nt i n th e c ourt ro om t hat pe rm its participation in oral argument via video conf ere nce at the Boa

rd’s discr etion. A sche dule of ora l arguments may

be obtained f

rom the Clerk of the Boa

rd. The sc hedule is also ava ilable on the EA B ’s Web sit e at www. e pa .g ov/e a b/o ra l.htm
. I . G e ne ra l F ili ngRe qu ir e me nts Gene ral filingrequire ments are descr ibed in this section. For a dditional filing11

require ments, consult Sections I I I .D for e nforc ement appe als, Section I V.D for permit appe als, and Section VI

and Appe ndix 1 for CERCL A § 106(b) r eimbursement pr ocee dings. Documents in EAB proce eding s may be filed by

mail (either thr oug h the U.S. Postal Service (“U SPS ”) or

a non-U SPS car

rier) , hand-de livery , or ele ctronica lly throug h EPA’s Central Data E x chang e (CDX) sy stem. The EAB does not ac cept notice s of appe al, petitions for re view, or briefs submitted by

fac simil e. The EAB will acce pt motions and re sponses to motions fil ed by fac simil e provide d that they do not contain attac hments. The EAB uses diffe rent a ddresse s for diff ere nt methods of paper

delivery
. SeeSection I .2. Parties ar e on notice that filing plea dings w ith the USPS may result in a dela

y in delivery

cause d by USP S ma il- sc re e nin gpr oc e dure s, inc lud inga ste ri lizatio n p ro c e dure that is ra nd oml y a pp lie d to mail delivere d to the U.S. gove rnment. De livery of mail addre ssed to fede ral g overnme nt zi p code 20460 may

be dela y ed as longas 10-12 da

y s and deliver

y of mail addre ssed to fede ral g overnme nt zip code 20005 may

be dela y ed as longas 6-7 da

y s. The B oard w ill ex erc ise its discretion, on a
case -by -ca se basis, whe ther to excuse a pa rty for f ailing to mee t a filing deadline sole ly beca use of a dela y cause d by

mail-scre eningproce dures. 1. Electronic Filing a. E-F iling Authorized All submiss ions in procee dings be fore the EAB may be filed e lectronic ally , subject to any appropr iate conditions and limitations im posed by the EAB
. SeeOr de r Auth or izin gEl e c tr on ic Filingin Procee dings B efor e the Environme ntal Appea ls Boar d Under 40 C.F.R. Part 22 (Jan. 28, 20 10 ) a nd Or de r Auth or izin gEl e c tr on ic F ili ngin P ro c e e din g s B e fo re the Envir onme nta l App e a ls B oa rd No t G ov e rn e d b y

40 C.F .R. Part

22 (Jan. 28 , 2 01 0) . A dd iti on a l in fo rm atio n o n e le c tr on ic12

Reg istration with CDX fulfills any regulatory

signature re quirements that mig ht 9 otherwise a

pply to filings with the EAB . L itigants filingelec tronically should stil l ty

pe or pr int their full name be low the sig nature line. filing is provide d online at www.e pa.g ov/eab. Par ties who would like to file a doc ument or do c ume nts e le c tr on ic a lly

mus t f ir st a c c e ss t

he CD X s y ste m at http:// cdx.epa.g ov and re g ist e r w ith CDX. 9 b. Ti me lin e ss o f S ub mis sio ns EPA ’s CD X s y ste m w ill pr ov ide the pa rt y su bmi tti ngthe do c ume nt
an d th e C l erk o f t h e B o ar d

wi than el ec tro n i c r ec ei p tth ats h o ws th e d at e a n d t i m e o f f i l i n g. Th e B oa rd wi ll c on sid e r a

do c ume nt t

hat w a s f ile d e le c tr on ic a lly

to b e tim e ly

if the e le c tr on ic
rec eipt g ener ated by

CDX shows that the docume nt was re ceive d by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the day the document is re quired to be f iled with the Boa

rd. A par ty experiencingproblems with the CDX sy stem may call CDX be fore 6 p.m. Eastern Time to obtain filing a ssistance. I f the proble m is caused by an equipment malf

unction of CDX, and CDX is unable to r esolve the pr oblem, the par ty should promptly

notify the Clerk of the Boa

rd and make alternative filing a rra ng ements. A pa

rty experiencingproblems with CDX afte r 4 :3 0 p . m. E a s te r

nT im e , w h e nth e Cl e r

k ’ s o f f ic e c lo s e s , s h o u ld

n o ti f y th e Cl e r k o nth e n e xt business day , and provide any supporting e vidence of such pr oblems, such as a printed copy

of an
err or messag e or sc ree n print of an e rror pag e. The EAB will verify repor ted outag es with CDX. “ I t is a pe tit ion e r’ s r e sp on sib ili ty to e ns ur e that f

ili ngde a dli ne s a

re me t, a nd the B oa rd wi ll g ener ally dismiss petitions for revie w that ar e re ceive d afte r a f iling dea dline.” In reAE S P ue rto Rico, L.P. , 8 E.A.D. 324, 329 (E AB 1999), aff’d sub nom. Sur Contra L a Contaminacion v. EPA , 202 F.3d 443 ( 1st Cir. 2000). A party filing e lectronic ally

assumes the risk at all times of filing13

For purposes of this re quirement only , if the pape r copy is sent via U.S. mail, the 10 timeliness of the submission wil l be deter mined by the postmark. I f the pa

per c opy is delivered by courie r or c ommercia l delivery service , the timeliness of the submission will be dete rmined by when the c ourier or

commerc ial delivery

service took possession of the document. I f a doc ument is d e liv e re d b y

ha nd , th e tim e lin e ss o f t

he su bmi ssi on wi ll b e de te rm ine d b y

the date sta

mp place d on the document whe n it is receive d by the B oard. The EAB may exclude from the r ecor d any elec tronically

filed docume nt, or set of e x hibits or attachments, that does not comply with the fore g oing r equire ment. For more infor

mation, see the EA B’ s Fre quently Asked Que stions and

(continued...) p r o b l e m s c a

u s e d b y i t s o w ne r

r o r s i nu s i n gC D X
. Iti s w i th i nth e B o ar d ’ s d i s c r e t i o n , o na c a s e - b yc a se ba sis , to a c c e pt a

late fi lin gun de r s pe c ia l c ir c ums tanc e s. A f ili ngpr ob le m no t attr ibuta ble to a malfunc tion of CDX will not normally be conside red a

specia l circumstanc e justifying late filing
. Thus, any party filing e lectronic ally

is advised to allow suffic ient time in advance of the filing deadline to c orre ct any

such er ror. c. Require ments for Pape r Copies of Elec tronic Submissi ons A pa rt y fi li ng a do cum entele ctr on ica ll y is no t r equ ir ed t o s ub mi t a p aper cop y to th e EAB, except as set for

th in this para g raph. Aparty filing e lectronic ally

any single document that excee ds 50 pag es (includingthe ce rtificate of ser vice, table of conte nts, and table of a uthorities, but excluding exhibits and attac hments), must deliver to the EAB or plac e in the mail a pa per c opy of the document f

or the EAB ’s re cords within one business da y of the date of the e lectronic filing. See inf ra Section I I .I .2 (providingEAB addre sses). A pa rty filing e lectronic ally

any exhibi ts or attachme nts in support of a brief or motion that in tot al exceed 50 pa g es must deliver to the EAB or place in the mail a pape r copy of the e ntire set of e x hibits or attachments within one business day of the date of the e lectronic filing. H oweve r, the off icial filing date r emains the date the EAB
rec eives the e lectronic filing. Apaper copy require d under this par ag raph must be a ccompa nied by a sig ned ce rtification that it is identical to the elec tronic submission. L itigants filingexhibi ts that 1014

(...continued) 10 Electronic Filingweb pa g es, located on its website at www .epa.g ov/eab. they want to be view ed in color should either provide the EA B w ith a hard c opy of the c olor exhibi t or elec tronically

file a sc anned c olor copy
. d. Duplicate F acsimiles Not Acc epted The Clerk w ill not accept f or filingany

fac simil e duplicate of a doc ument that has bee n filed ele ctronica lly
. e . CB ICla ims A p art y wa ive s any

c la im that th e do c ume nt c on ta ins Con fi de nti a l B us ine ss I nf or matio n if th atd o c u m e n ti s f

i l e d e l e c tr o n i c a l l y. 2. Paper F iling
a . E AB Ma ili ngAd dr e ss AL Ldocuments that ar e sent through the USPS, ex cept by USPS Ex press Mail, MUST be
a dd re sse d to the EA B ’s ma ili nga dd re ss, wh ic h is : U.S. Environmental Protection Ag ency Cl erk o f t he Bo ard, En vi ron men tal App eal s Bo ard ( MC 11 03 B) Ariel Rios Building 1 2 0 0 Pe n n s ylv an ia A v e nu e , N
. W. Washington, D.C. 20460-0001
Do c ume nts se nt t o th e EA B ’s ha nd -d e liv e ry

a dd re ss ( be low ) t

hr ou g h th e USP S ( e xce pt f or USP S Ex press Mail) w ill be returne d to the sender and will not be consider ed filed. Expr e ss M a il i s a

se rv ic e of

the USP S. A ll U SPS E xpre ss M a il w ill be de liv e re d f ir st t o EPA headqua

rters a nd then re -deliver ed to the EAB ’s hand- delivery addre ss. Parties who send15

documents by

USPS Ex press Mail should allow for the possibilit y

of dela y in delivery

cause d by this ex tra step in the de livery proce ss. b. EA B Ha

nd -D e liv e ry

Ad dr e ss Documents that a

re ha nd-ca rried in pe rson, or de livered via courie r, USPS Ex press Mail, or
a no n- USP S c arr ie r s uc h a s U PS or F e de ra l E xpre ss M UST be a dd re sse d to : U.S. Environmental Protection Ag ency Clerk of the B oard, Envir onmental Appea ls Boar d 1341 G Street, N.W., Suite 600 Washington, D.C. 20005 Do c ume nts that are ha

nd -c arr ie d ma

y be de liv e re d to the Cle rk of the B oa rd fr om 8 :30 a .m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m ., Monday throug h Fr iday

(excluding f

eder al holiday s). The Cle rk c an b e re a c he d b y

te le ph on e at ( 20 2) 23 3- 01 22 duri ngof fi c e ho ur s. c. Case N ame a

nd Case I dentifier on E nvelope or Outside Packa g ing Any e nv e lop e or

oth e r p a c ka g ingc on ta ini ngdo c ume nts se nt t o th e EA B ’s ma ili nga dd re ss
or ha nd -d e liv e ry

a dd re ss, a s p re sc ri be d a

bo ve , s ho uld

be a r a c omp le te and

a c c ur ate re tur

n a dd re ss in t he up pe r l e ft

ha nd c or ne r. Th e e nv e lop e or

pa c ka g ingsh ou ld a lso c le arl y state the c a se name and ca se identifier

in the lower le ft hand c orner . In all instances, if a n appea l has alre ady

been f iled with the Clerk of the B oard, the case name a nd case identifier a

re the name a

nd appea l number
a ssi g ne d to the matte r b y

the Cle rk . I f a

n a pp e a l ha s n ot ye t be e n f

ile d: ( a ) f or e nf or c e me nt c a se s, state the name of the non- EPA party and the doc ket number ( e.g ., Dkt. No. CWA-02-0000) of the pr oc e e din gbe low ; ( b) fo r p e rm it a pp e a ls, state the name of

the pe rm itt e e or

fa c ili ty and the pe rm it
numbe r ( e .g ., NPD ES Pe rm it N o. I D- 00 00 -0 0) ; and (c ) f or CER CLA r e imb ur se me nt p e tit ion s, state the name of the c lean- up site.16

See Section VI .B of

this Manual for g ener al information about de adlines for filing 11 CERCL A re imbursement petitions. Reg istration with CDX fulfills any regulatory

signature re quirements that mig ht 12 (continued...)

d. Ti me lin e ss o f S ub mis sio ns F ile d b y Ma il Th e po stm ark

date of a ple a din gfi le d b y

ma il i s n ot d e te rm inativ e of tim e lin e ss e ith e r i n enfor ceme nt or permit proc eeding s. Pleading s must be rece ived at th e EA B ’s of

fi c e (n ot E PA headqua rters) by 4:30 p.m. on the specified f iling date . Documents that a re de livered a fter 4:30 p.m. will be date-stamped on the following day . I f the EAB establishes a br iefingschedule by order , any date the E AB specifie s for filinga plea ding me ans the date by which it must be rece ived, unless otherwise spe cified in the or der. Spe c if ic de a dli ne s f

or su bmi ssi on s in

e nf or c e me nt a

nd pe rm it p ro c e e din g s a

re de sc ri be d in Sections I I I .D.1.a a

nd I V.D.2.a, r espec tively . As furthe r discussed in those sec tions, the EAB ha s held that it will st rictly

construe de adlines for

filing a ppeals. De adlines for

petitions for reimburse ment filed pursua nt to CER CL A § 106(b) a re se t forth in the Revised Guidanc e on Procedur es for

Submis sion and Review of CERCL A Section 106(b) Re imbursement Petitions (N ov . 1 0, 20 04 ), c on ta ine d in Ap pe nd ix 1 of

thi s Ma nu a l. 11 3. Re qu ir e d Inf

or matio n f or Al l F ili ng s Documents filed w ith the EAB in a proce edingshall contain the name, addr ess, telephone
numbe r, and

e ma il a dd

re ss ( if ava ila ble ) o f t he pe rs on fi lin gthe ple a din g . Pa

rt ie s sh a ll p ro mpt ly notify the Clerk of the Boa

rd, the Reg ional Hea

ringClerk, and a ll parties to the proc eeding , of any chang es in this information. I n a per mit procee ding g overne d by 40 C.F.R. § 124.19, the name of the ca se and the docket number should also appea

r on the doc ument. A sig nature (in blue ink for 1217

(...continued) 12 otherwise a

pply to filings with the EAB . L itigants filingelec tronically should stil l ty

pe or pr int their full name be low the sig nature line. those not filing e lectronic ally ) by the par ty filing or by the par ty ’s attorne y

or duly authorized repr esentative is also require d.

4. F or mat and L e ng th o f F ile d D oc ume nts The EAB pref

ers that a ll documents be ty ped and double -spac ed on 8 1⁄2 x 11 paper, that the pa g e s o f e a c h d oc ume nt b e numbe re d, and that e a c h d oc ume nt c on ta in t he se nd e r’ s e ma il a dd

re ss and fa csimile number, if available. The parties a re strong ly

encour ag ed to limit briefs to 50 pag es (includingthe ce rtificate of ser vice, table of conte nts, and table of a uthorities). “To a ssure the eff icient use of A g ency

resour ces,” the EA B ha s th e dis c re tio n to re je c t a br ie f o n th e g ro un d th at it i s un d u l y l o n g. In re Roc ky W

ell Servic e, Inc

. , SDWA Appeal Nos. 08-03 & 08-04, at 1 (E AB Dec . 15, 2008) (Or der Reje ctingBr ief B eca use of Excessive L eng th and RequiringRevised B rief)
. J . Alternative Dispute Resolution Th e EA B e nc oura g e s p art ie s to purs ue a ll ave nu e s o f d isp ute re so lut ion and is implementing its own alter native dispute re solution (“ADR”) pr og ram to assist parties in re solving disputes before the B oard. A DR has bee n succe ssfully used by other fe dera l ag encie s and by fede ral c ourts (includingappellate courts) in settlingcontested matters. ADR re fer s to voluntary techniques f

or re solving c onflict with the help of a neutra l third party . The EAB ’s pilot prog ram wi ll f oc us pr ima

ri ly on pe na lty c a se s a s w e ll a s CE RCLA § 10 6( b) pe tit ion s f or re imb ur se me nt,
an d wi l l o ff er p art i es th e o p t i o no f p art i ci p at i n g i nAD R wi thth e a s s i s t an ce o f a nE AB J u d ge actingas a ne utral eva luator/mediator. Que stions reg ardingthe prog ram may be addr essed to the18

Clerk of the B oard. See Section I I .K (c ontaining c ontact information for the Clerk of the B oard)
. For more infor

mation about the pilot ADR prog ram visit the EAB ’s website at www.epa .g ov/eab. K. Clerk of the Boa

rd The Clerk of

the B oard ( “Clerk” ) maintains the EAB ’s docke t at 1341 G Street, N.W., Suite 600, W ashing ton, D.C. 20005. The docke t can be acc essed on the E AB ’s web site loc ated at
www. e pa .g ov/e a

b. Th e Cle rk ’s of

fi c e is o pe n f

ro m 8: 30 a .m. to 1 2:0 0 p .m. and fr om 1 :00 p. m. t o 4:30 p.m. Monday

throug h Fr iday

(excluding f

eder al holiday s). The Cler k can be rea ched by telephone at (202) 233-0122 dur ing of fice hours. Subject to the provisions of law re stricting the public disclosure of c onfidential information, any

person may

inspect and c opy , at that addr ess, any document that wa s filed in any proce edingbefor e the EA B. See 40 C.F.R. § 22.9 (statingthe rule on inspec ting a nd copying do c ume nts in e nf

or c e me nt p ro c e e din g s) . A n a pp ointme nt w iththe Cle rk sh ou ld b e ma de to inspect or c opy

documents. The E AB provides the f irst 100 pag es of c opies at no cha rg e. B eyond that, the cost of duplication of documents is $.15 per pa g e, or $.30 pe r double-side d pag e. Howeve r, duplication costs may be wa ived when the total fee amounts to less than $14.00. Nonconfide ntial documents filed in a c ase that is pending be fore the EAB can be found on the EAB ’s website at www.epa .g ov/eab ( click on “E AB Docke ts” and then c lick on “Ac tive Docke ts”). L . E AB Web Site The EAB Web site contains extensive information about the EAB and its proce dures. Inf or matio n th at is ava ila

ble on the EA B ’s we bs ite inc lud e s: 1. EA B Do c ke ts 2. EA B F or

ma l D e c isi on s ( c omp le te te xt)19 3. EA B F ina l O rd e rs I ssu e d Si nc e No ve mbe r 1 99 6 ( c omp le te te xt) 4. EAB Dec isions R eviewe d by the Fe dera l Courts (Table 1) 5. EAB Dec isions P endingFe dera l Court Review (Ta ble 2) 6. Fr equently

Asked Que stions (“FA Qs”) 7. Up c omi ngOr a l A rgume nts 8. EA B Stand ingOr de rs and Gu ida nc e Do c ume nts 9. Electronic Filing 10 . A lte rn ativ e Di sp ute Re so lut ion (A DR )20

A PresidingOffic er is an E PA Administ rative L aw Judge in most proceeding s under 13 the CRO P. H ow e ve r, wh e re the c omp la int is p re mis e d o n Su

bp art Iof the CRO P ( se e inf

ra Se c tio n I I I .B ), wh ic h e sta bli sh e s p ro c e dure s n ot s ub je c t to se c tio n 5 54 of

the APA , 5 U. S.C. § 554, the PresidingOffic er is a Re g ional J udicial Off icer
. See40 C.F.R. § 22.51. Section 22.1(c) provides that “[q]uestions arising at a ny stag e of the proce edingwhich 14 are not addre ssed in these Consolidated Rules of Prac tice shall be r esolved at the discretion of the * * * Environmental Appe als Boa rd * * *.” See also 40 C.F.R. § 22.4(a) (2) ( The EAB has the authority

to “do all ac ts and take a ll measures a s are nece ssary for the e fficie nt, fair a

nd impartial adjudication of issues arisingin a proc eeding* * * .”). III. AP P EALS UNDER THE CONSOLIDATE D RULES OF P RACTICE (CROP ), 40 C.F .R. P ART 22 A. Introduction This section descr ibes the rules of prac tice for

EAB proce eding s g overne d by the Con so lid ate d Ru le s o f P ra c tic e (“ CRO P” ), c od if ie d at 40 C.F .R. pa

rt 22 . In g e ne ra l, t

he CRO P de sc ri be s th e EA B ’s ro le a s f oll ow s: The Environme ntal Appea ls Boar d rules on appe als from the initial d ec i s i o n s , ru l i n gs an d

o rd er s o f aP re s i d i n g Of

fi ce r i np ro ce ed i n gs [13] under [the CROP] ; acts as Pre siding Of fice r until the responde nt files an a ns we r i n p ro c e e din g s und e r [the CRO P] co mme nc e d at E PA Hea dquarte rs; and appr oves settlements of pr ocee dings unde r [the CRO P] co mme nc e d at E PA H e a dq ua rt e rs . 40 C.F .R. § 2 2. 4( a )( i) . T he EA B ha s th e dis c re tio n to re so lve iss ue s th at are no t e xpre ssl y addre ssed in the CROP pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 22.1(c). See In re Zaclon, Inc

. , 7 E.A.D. 482, 490 14 n.7 (EAB 1998). Although the Fe dera l Rules of Civil Procedur e do not apply to EPA administrative proce eding s, the EAB may look to them for guidance in interpretingthe CROP. Se e, e .g., In re Euclid of Va., Inc. , 1 3 E .A .D . 6 16 , 6 57 -5 8 ( EA B 20 08 ); In re Zaclon, Inc

. , 7 E.A.D. 482, 490 n.7 (E AB 19 98 ); In re Lazarus, Inc. , 7 E. A. D. 31 8, 33 0 n .2 5 ( EA B 19 97 ); se e als o Puerto Rico21

Aqueduc t & Sewer Auth. v. U .S. EPA , 35 F.3d 600, 608 ( 1st Cir. 1994) (stating E PA’s view that fede ral rule s “may

inform administrative pra ctice in a ppropriate situations”). B . Sc op e of

the CRO P Th e CRO P a

pp lie s to mos t E PA a dmi nis tr ativ e e nf or c e me nt p ro c e e din g s a

nd to c e rt a in proce eding s for the r evoca tion, suspension, or termination of a pe rmit. Section 22.1 list s the ty pes of pr oc e e din g s th at are c ov e re d b y the CRO P a s f

oll ow s: (1) The assessment of a

ny administrative civil penalty under se ction 14(a) of the F eder al Insecticide , Fung icide, and Rode nticide Act, a s amende d (7 U.S.C. 136 l (a) ); (2) The assessment of a

ny administrative civil penalty under se ctions 113(d), 205(c) , 211(d), a

nd 213(d) of

the Clean Air A ct (CAA) , as ame nded (42 U.S.C. §§ 7413(d), 7524(c ), 7545(d) , 7547(d)) ; (3) The assessment of a

ny civil penalty

or for the re vocation or suspe nsion of any permit under se ction 105(a) and (f ) of the Ma

rine Protec tion, Resear ch, and Sanc tuaries Ac t, as amende d (33 U.S.C. § 1415(a), ( f)) ; (4) The issuance of

a complianc e orde r or the issuanc e of a corr ective a ction order , the termination of a permit pursuant to sec tion 3008(a)( 3), the suspension or re vocation of a uthority to operate pursuant to sec tion 3005(e), or the a ssessment of any civil penalty

under se ctions 3008, 9006, and 11005 of the Solid W aste Disposal Ac t, as amende d (42 U.S.C. §§ 6925(d), 6925(e) , 6928, 6991e, 6992d), e x cept a s provided in 40 C.F.R. par t 24; (5) The assessment of a

ny administrative civil penalty under se ctions 16(a) and 207 of the Toxic Subst ance s Control Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 2615(a), 2647) ; (6) The assessment of a

ny Class I Ipenalty

under se ctions 309(g ) and 311(b)( 6), or ter

mination of any

permit issued pursuant to sec tion 402(a) of the Clean Water

Act, as a mended ( 33 U.S.C. §§ 1319(g) , 1321(b)( 6), 13 42 (a )) ; (7) The assessment of a

ny administrative pena lty

under se ction 109 of the Comprehensive Envir onmental Response, Compensation, and L iability Act of 19 80 , a s ame nd e d ( 42 U. S.C. § 9 60 9) ;22

See, e .g. , Clean Air Ac t § 307(b)(1) , 42 U.S.C. § 7607(b)(1); Toxic Subst ance s Control 15 Act § 16(a ), 15 U.S.C. § 2615(a); Clea n Water Ac t § 509, 33 U.S.C. § 1369. As noted above , the B oard ha s the discre tion pursuant to section 22.4(a) (1) to re fer a 16 (continued...) (8) The assessment of a

ny administrative civil penalty under se ction 325 of the Emerg ency

Planning a

nd Communi ty

Right-To- Know Ac t of 1986 (EPCRA), (42 U.S.C. § 11045); (9) The assessment of a

ny administrative civil penalty under se ctions 1414(g )(3) (B ), 14 23 (c ), and

14 47 (b ) o f t

he Sa fe Dr ink ingWat e r A c t a s ame nd e d ( 42 U. S.C. §§ 300g -3(g )(3) (B ), 300h-2c , 300j-6(b)) , or the issuanc e of a ny order requiringboth compliance a nd the assessment of

any administrative pena lty

under SDWA § 1423(c). ( 1 0 ) Th e a sse ssm e nt o f a

ny a dmi nis tr ativ e c ivi l pe na lty or the iss ua nc e of any or de r requiringcompliance under se ction 5 of the Mer cury -Containing a nd Recha

rg eable Battery

Manag ement Ac t (42 U.S.C. § 14304). Subpart Iof the CROP establishes proce dures f or spec ified adjudicatory

proce eding s that are not subject to section 554 of the APA. Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 22.50(b), an a dverse ruling in a proce edingg overne d by

Subpart Imay

be appe aled to the EA B to the same extent as other de c isi on s und e r t

he CRO P. C. J udicial Review; F inal Ag ency Action Non-EPA par

ties ty pically have a rig ht to obtain judicial review of an EAB decision issued under the CROP. The right to judicial re view is ty pically g overne d by

the par ticular e nvironmental statut e that is the su

bje c t of the lit ig atio n, or

by the APAif

the statut e its e lf

do e s n ot s pe ak to it. 15 Pursuant to the APA, the rig ht to judicial review doe s not arise until there ha s been f inal Ag ency action on the matter , s e e su pra Section I I .D. Gene rally , once the EAB issues a ruling , the EA B ’s fi na l or de r c on sti tut e s f ina l a g e nc y

a c tio n f or purp os e s o f j ud ic ia l r e vie w. 40 C.F .R. § 22.31(a)
. A par

ty dissatisfied with the EAB ’s dec ision may file a motion for r econside ration 1623

(...continued) 16 matte r t o th e Ad

min istrator . In a dd iti on , whe n th e EA B iss ue s a fi na l or de r t o a

de pa rtme nt, ag ency , or instrumentality of the United States, that e ntity may reque st a confe renc e with the Administrator within 30 day s of servic e of the EAB order . 40 C.F.R. § 22.31(e) . In that instance, the Administrator’s dec ision constitut es final a g ency action for

purposes of a

ppeal. Id. As ide fr om s uc h a

tim e ly re qu e st f or a c on fe re nc e wi th t

he Ad min ist rator fr om a fe de ra l f a c ili ty pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 22.31(e ), a motion direc ted to the Administrator will not be consider ed un le ss i t r e late s to a

matte r t hat th e EA B ha s r e fe rr e d to the Ad min istra tor purs ua nt t o section 22.4(a ), or is a motion to disqualify pursuant to sec tion 22.4(d). See40 C.F .R. § 22.4(a) , (d). with the EAB within 10 day s of servic e of the order
. Id . § 22.32. A motion for re consideration will not st ay

the ef fec tive date of

the orde r unless a stay

is specifica lly

order ed by

the EAB
. Id
. There is a hig h bar f

or g rantingmotions for rec onsideration. The EAB will gr ant a motion for
re c on sid e ratio n to c or

re c t an o bv iou s e rr or , a

mis take of

law o r f a c t, o r a c ha ng e in t he a pp lic a ble law. See, e .g. , In re Capozzi, Inc. , RCRA (3008) A ppeal No. 02- 01, at 3 (EAB Oct. 16, 2003) (Orde r De nying Motion for Reconsider ation). Howe ver, “ the filing of a motion for r econside ration should not be reg arde d as an oppor tunity to rea rgue the c ase in a

more c onvincingfashion.” In re Pyramid Chem. Co. , RCRA (3008) A ppeal No. 03- 03, at 2 (EAB Nov. 8, 2004) (O rder Deny ing Motion for Reconsider ation).24

An Initial Decision bec omes the final a g ency decision 45 day s after

service unless, 17 wi th i nth e t i m e f

ra m e s p ec i fi edi nth e r egu l at i o n , ei th er p arty m o v es t o re o p en th e h ea ri n g, appea ls the decision to the EAB , or moves to set aside a defa ult order that c onstitut es an I nitial De c isi on . 4 0 C. F .R. § 2 2. 27 (c ). Th e EA B may a lso e le c t to re vie w the Init ia l D e c isi on on its own initiative, in which case the Initial Decision would not become final ag ency action. Id. D. Appea ls Procedure 17 1. Notice of

Appea l and Appea l Brie f a. De adline for

Filing Any party may appea l the Presiding O ffice r’s de cision (the “I nitial Decision”) w ithin 30 day s from ser

vice of that decision. 40 C.F.R. § 22.30. A Notice of Appe al is considere d filed when r ece ived by

the EAB . 40 C.F.R. § 22.5(a)
. See supra Se c tio n I I .I .2 .d . Pr ov isi on s r e latin gto computation of time for pur poses of mee ting that de adline ar e g overne d by 40 C.F.R. § 22.7, which pr ov ide s: The [EAB] * * * may

g rant a n extension of tim e for

filing a ny document: upon timely motion of a party

to the proce eding , for g ood cause shown, and a fter consideration of prejudice to other par ties; or upon its own init iative. Any motion for an e x te ns ion of t im e sh all

befile d s uff

ic ie ntl yin a dv an c e of t

hedu e da teso as to allow ot her parties reasonable opportunity to respond and to allow t he * * * En v iro nm e nta l A

pp e als Bo ar

d r e as on ab leop

po rtu nit yto i ssu e an or

de r. 40 C.F.R. § 22.7(b) ( emphasis adde d). Th e EA B a

pp lie s th e re g ulator

y de a dli ne fo r f

ili nga No tic e of Ap pe a l st

ri c tly , a nd wi ll dismiss a late a

ppeal in most case s. The EAB does not excuse a late -filed a ppeal unless it finds specia l circumstanc es to justify the untimeliness. In re B& L Plati ng, Inc. , 11 E.A.D. 183, 190 (EAB 2003); se e als o I

n r e Ou tbo ar

d M ar ineCor p ., 6 E.A.D. 194, 196 (E AB 1995). The E AB may extend the deadline f

or filingthe appe al brief

if g ood cause is shown and there is no prejudice to opposing pa

rties. See I

n re B &B W

reck ing and Excav ating , Inc. , 4 E.A.D. 16, 17 (E AB 1992);25

When filing e lectronic ally , reg istration with CDX fulfills the signature require ment at 18 40 C.F .R. § 2 2. 5( c )( 3) . L iti g ants fi lin ge le c tr on ic a lly sh ou ld s til l ty

pe or pr int the ir fu ll n ame below the sig nature line. see also In reGuam W

aterworks Auth. , N PDE S Ap pe a l N os . 0 9- 15 & 09 -1 6, at 4 (EAB Nov. 3, 2009) (O rder Gra nting Motion in the Alternative to Timely File Summary

Petitions with Ex tension of Time to File Supplementa l Brie fs); In reCity &Cnt y . o f H on olu lu , NPDES Appea l No. 09-01, at 2-3 ( EAB Fe b. 2, 2009) (Or der G rantingAlternative Motion for Ext ension of Time to File Petitions for Review) . The CROP emphasizes that any motion for an extension of tim e sh a ll b e fi le d s uf

fi c ie ntl y in a dv anc e of

the du e date so a s to a llo w o the r p art ie s r e a so na ble op po rt un ity to r e sp on d a

nd to a llo w the EA B re a so na ble op po rt

un ity to i ssu e an o rd e r. 40 C.F .R. § 2 2. 7( b) ; se e als o In re M GP Ingre dients of Illinois , Inc. , PSD Ap pe a l N o. 09 -0 3, at 4 (Jan. 8, 2010) (Orde r Imposing Sanc tions, S etting F inal Dea dline for F iling Response a nd SchedulingStatus Conferenc e).

b. For m and Content Section 22.5(c) of the CROP contains require ments for doc uments that are filed with the EAB . There is no specific f orm for a Notice of Appea l. The re g ulations do provide that the Notice of Appea l should contain: (1) a c aption that indicates the na me of the c ase a

nd the docke t number; (2) the name, a ddress, a nd telephone numbe r of the pe rson who is authorized to rec eive service relating to the pr ocee ding; ( 3) a sig nature by the par ty or its repre sentative; and (4) a 18
cer tificate of service . 40 C.F.R. § 22.5(c) (4). Par ties are require d by

the re g ulations to noti fy

the EAB and all par

ties of any

chang es in the information provided. The Notice of Appe al should be ac companied by an appe al brief

. Specifications for the
c on te nts of

an a pp e a l br ie f a

re se t f or th at 40 C.F .R. § 2 2. 30 (a ), wh ic h p ro vid e s th at:26

I f the re questor ca

nnot determine the position of the opposing pa rty on the motion after 19 makinga re asonable eff

ort to do so, the reque stor shall repr esent that fa ct in its pleading
. Se e su pra Se c tio n I I .I .1 .d . T he Cle rk wi ll n ot a c c e pt f

or fi lin gany

fa c sim ile du

pli c ate 20 of a doc ument that has bee n filed ele ctronica lly
. T h e ap p el l an t ’s b ri ef

s h al l co n t ai nt ab l es o f c o n t en t s an d au th o ri t i es (w i thp age ref ere nces) , a stateme nt of the issues pre sented for revie w, a state ment of the nature of the c a se and

the fa c ts r e le va

nt t o th e iss ue s p re se nte d f or re vie w ( wi th a

pp ro pr iate ref ere nces to the r ecor d), ar g ument on the issues prese nted, a short conclusion statingthe pre cise re lief soug ht, alternative finding s of fa ct, and a lternative conclusions re g ardingissues of law or discretion. L e g a l br ie fs and

me mor and a

that e xce e d tw e nty

pa g e s in le ng th ( e xclu din gatta c hme nts ) m us t a lso contain a ta

ble of c ontents and a ta

ble of a uthorities with pag e re fer ence s. Id . § 22.5(c) (2). The regulations provide that the EAB may exclude from the r ecor d any pleadingor docume nt that does not comply

with the regulatory

require ments. Id . § 22.5(c) (5). c. Motions All motions shall be in writing , state the g rounds there for with par ticularity , set forth the relief soug ht, and be a ccompa

nied by any supporting doc umentation. 40 C.F.R. § 22.16. A motion shall state whethe r the opposingparty concur s or objects to g rantingthe re quest set forth in the motion. Unless the EAB sets a shorter or long er time for

a re sponse, a pa

rty ’s re sponse to any 19 written motion must be filed within 15 day s after service of the motion. Id
. Motions may

be filed by

mail, hand-de livery , fac simil e (if w ithout attachments), or elec tronically
. Motions for an extension of time shall be filed suff iciently in advanc e of the due 20 date a s to a llo w o the r p art ie s r e a so na ble op po rt

un ity to r e sp on d a

nd to a llo w the EA B re a so na ble opportunity

to consider whe ther to issue an or der. Id . § 22 .7 (a )- (b ). B e c a us e a Pr e sid ingOf

fi c e r i s
no t a ssi g ne d to the c a se un til the ans we r i s f ile d, a mot ion fo r e xten sio n o f t ime wi thi n whic h to27

file an a nswer sha ll be made to the EA B f or ca ses initiated at EPA Hea dquarte rs and to the Reg ional Administrator for c ases initiated in a Reg ion. Id. § 22.16(c)
.

d. Non-pa

rty Participation Any person who is not a pa

rty to a proc eedingmay

move for le ave to inter

vene or to file a non-par ty brief. 40 C.F .R. § 22.11. A person re questing to intervene in a proc eedingafte r the
e xch ang e of

inf or matio n p ur su ant t o 4 0 C. F .R. § 2 2. 19 (a ) o c c ur s sh a ll n ot b e g ra nte d p e rm iss ion

to intervene without showing g ood cause for f ailing to f ile a re quest befor e the e x chang e of information. Id. § 22.11(a)
.

2. F ili ngand

Se rv ic e Re qu ir e me nts
a. Fi l i n g The CROP sets forth basic f iling re quirements for

paper filings in EAB proce eding s, and further provides that the EA B ma y authorize by

order the fa csimile or elec tronic filingof any document, in lieu of pa

per f iling, under

appropr iate conditions and limitations. Id. § 22.5(a) (1). T h e E AB h as i s s u edan o rd er au th o ri z i n g p art i es t o fi l e d o cu m en t s el ec tro n i ca l l y i np ro ce ed i n gs under the CROP. See supra Section I I .I .1. The CROP require s an orig inal and one c opy of any filing, id. § 22.5(a) (1), but whe n a litigant choose s to file a pape r copy , rathe r than a n elec tronic copy , of a notice of appe al and
acc ompanying a

ppeal br ief, litiga

nts should subm it the orig inal document sig ned in blue ink along with any supporting doc umentation. The EAB ’s re quirement for the submission of one paper copy for c erta in electr onic filing s is discussed at Section I I .I .c. The EAB has not authorized the filingof docume nts by fac simil e, except that motions and
re s p o n s es t o m o t i o n s th atd o n o ti n cl u d e a t t ac h m en t s , m ay b e f i l edb y fa cs i m i l e. Up o nfi l i n g a28

SeeAPA, 5 U.S.C. § 557(b) (“O n appea l from * * * the initial decision, the ag ency has 21 all the power

[t hat] itwould have in makingthe initial decision except as it may limit the issues on notice or by

rule.” ). motion by

fac simil e, the se nder should, within 24 hours, place in the mail or hand-de liver the orig inal copy

of the motion to the EAB . The Clerk of the B oard w ill not i nclude in the r ecor d any fac simil e duplicate of a motion or re sponse to motion that is filed ele ctronica lly
. Se e su pra Section I I .I .1.d. b. Service The CROP sets forth requir ements for service of docume nts. See40 C.F.R. § 22.5(b). 3. Cr os s App e a ls I f a timely

Notice of Appea l has bee n filed, any other pa rty may file a N otice of A

ppeal on any issue within 20 day s after the date on which the first Notice of Appe al was se rved. Id. § 22.30(a) (i). E. Scope a

nd Standard of E AB Review 1. Scope of Revie w A par ty ’s rig ht of appe al to the EAB is “limit ed to those issues ra ised duringthe cour se of the proc eedingand by

the initial decision, and to issues conce rningsubject matter jur isdiction.” Id. § 22.30(c)
.

2. Standard of Re view The CROP provides for de novo revie w of both the fa ctual and le g al conc lusions of the P re s i d i n g Of

fi ce r. 4 0 C
. F. R
. § 2 2
. 3 0 (f ) ( T h e E AB “s h al l ad o p t , m o d i fy , o r s etas i d e t h e f i n d i n gs 21 of fa c t and c on c lus ion s o f l aw o r d isc re tio n c on ta ine d in the de c isi on

or or de r b e ingre vie we d” ); see I n re Ram, I

nc. , RCRA (9006) A

ppeal Nos. 08- 01 & 08- 02, slip op. at 10 (EAB J uly 10, 2009),29

“ W h e na P r e s i d i n gO f

f i c e r h a s ‘ th e o p p o rtun i ty t o o b s e r v e th e w i tn e s s e s t e s t i f

y 22 and to eva luate their c redibility , his factua l findings a re e ntitled to considerable de fer ence * * * .’” In reChe mp ac e Cor p . , 9 E
. A. D. 1 1 9 , 1 3 4 (E AB 2 0 0 0 ) ( ci t i n g In reEc he v arria , 5 E .A .D . 6 26 , 6 38 (E AB 19 94 )) ; see also In reRam , Inc. , RCRA (9006) A ppeal Nos. 08- 01 & 08 -0 2, sli p o p. at 10 , 1 4 E .A .D . _

__ ; In re Oc ean State Asbestos Re moval, Inc

. , 7 E.A.D. 522, 530 (EAB 1998). The E AB has also g iven def ere nce to pr esiding office rs on dec isions reg arding the admissibilit y

of evide nce, In re Gre at Lakes Div. of Nat’l Steel Corp. , 5 E.A.D. 355, 368 (EAB 1994), and de cisions reg ardingdiscovery , In re Billy Y ee , 10 E.A.D. 1, 10 (E AB 2001). The B oard “ adher es to the g ener ally acc epted leg al principle that ‘administrative 23 pleading s are liberally

construed a

nd easily amende d.’” In re Port of Oakland, 4 E.A.D. 170, 205 (E AB 1 9 9 2 ) ( ci t i n g Y

affe Iron &Metal Co. v. U.S. Env tl. Prot. Agency , 774 F.2d 1008, 1012 (10th Cir. 1985), aff’g In re Yaf fe Iron &Metal Co. , TSCA Appeal No. 81- 2 (Aug . 9, 1982)); ac c or d I n r e En v tl. Prot. Se rv

s. , Inc. , 1 3 E .A .D . 5 06 , 5 60 -6 1 & n. 67 ; In re W ego Chem. &Mineral Corp. , 4 E.A.D. 513, 525 n.11 (E AB 1993). 14 E. A. D. __

_; s e e als o In re Billy Y

ee , 10 E.A.D. 1, 10 (E AB 2001) (statingthat “[t] he B oard g ener ally revie ws the PresidingOffic er’ s fac tual and leg al conc lusions on a de novo basis * * * ”). Howeve r, the EAB will ge nera lly g ive def ere nce to f

indings of f

act ba sed upon the testimony of witnesses bec ause the Presiding O ffice r is in a position to assess their cre dibilit y . Moreove r, the 22 EA B ha s o rd ina

ri ly no t r e ve rs e d d e c isi on s b a se d o n mi no r p le a din gde fi c ie nc ie s. 23 The EAB applies the “ preponde ranc e of the evidenc e” sta ndard e stablished by

40 C.F.R. § 22.24(b). Se e In reTheBu lle n Co s. , 9 E.A.D. 620, 632 (E AB 2001). The r egulation provides that: (a) The c omplainant has the burde ns of pre sentation and pe rsuasion that the violation occur

red a s set forth in the complaint and that the re lie f s ou g ht i s a

pp ro pr iate . F oll ow ingc omp la ina nt’ s e sta bli sh me nt o f a

pr ima fac ie ca se, re spondent shall have the burden of prese nting a

ny defe nse to the alleg ations set forth in the complaint and a ny response or evide nce w ith respec t to the appropr iate re lief. The r espondent ha s the burdens of prese ntation and pe rs ua sio n f

or any a ff ir mativ e de fe ns e s. (b) Ea ch matter

of controve rsy

shall be dec ided by

the PresidingOffic er upon a pre pondera

nce of the evidenc e.30

The EAB may

revie w a de cision on its own init iative af ter the 45- day

deadline if

it has 24 g rante d an extension of time to file an appe al that will ext end the f iling dea dline beyond the 45- day deadline f

or such r eview. See, e .g. , In re Zaclon, Inc

. , RCRA Appea l No. 07-03, at 2 n.1 (E AB Au g . 2 1, 20 07 ) ( Or de r G ra nti ngCom

pla ina nt’ s Se c on d M oti on

fo r E xten sio n o f T ime to F ile No tic e of

Ap pe a l) ; In re Rhe e Bros., Inc

. , FI FRA Appe al No. 06-02, at 2 n.1 (EAB Oct. 18, 2006) (Or der G rantingReg ion I I I ’s Motion for Extension of Time to File Appea l Brie f). I f ce rtification is denied, the party may move for inter locutory

revie w direc tly

to the 25 EA B wi thi n te n d ay s o f t

he Pr e sid ingOf

fi c e r’ s r e fu sa l to c e rt if

y . 4 0 C. F .R. § 2 2. 29 (c ). A p art y does not waive any

rig hts of appea l by

not pursuing a

n interlocutory

appea l. See I

n re W ego Chem. &Mineral Corp. , 4 E.A.D. 513, 529-30 & n.16 (EAB 1993). 40 C.F.R. § 22.24. The EAB has stated that the “ preponde ranc e of the evidenc e” sta ndard r equire s that “a f act f inder should believe that his factua l conclusion is more likely than not.” In reEu c lid of Va., Inc. , RCRA (9006) A ppeal Nos. 06- 05 & 06- 06, slip op. at 13 (EAB Mar. 11, 2008) , 14 E. A. D. __ ; In re Oc ean State Asbestos Re moval, Inc ., 7 E.A.D. 522, 530 (E AB 1998). F. Revie w Initiated by

the EAB Th e EA B ha s 4 5 d ay s f

ro m th e date the Init ia l D e c isi on wa s se rv e d u

po n th e pa

rt ie s to de te rm ine wh e the r t o r e vie w a n in iti a l de c isi on

on its own in iti ativ e , p ur su ant t o 4 0 C. F .R. § 22.30(b). The EAB uses this authority sparing ly
. 24 G. Inte rl oc uto ry

Ap pe a ls In t er l o cu t o ry

ap p ea l s t o th e E AB ar e go v ern edb y 4 0 C
. F. R
. § 2 2
. 2 9
. A m o t i o nre qu es t i n g that the PresidingOffic er c ertify the orde r or r

uling to the EA B f

or re view must be made to the Presiding O ffice r within ten day s after service of the orde r fr om which the appe al is reque sted. A 25
cer tified interlocutory

appea l is li kely

to be ac cepte d by

the EAB if: (1) the or der or ruling involves an important question of lawor policy conce rningwhich ther e ar e substantial g rounds for differ ence of opinion; and (2) e ither an immediate ruling will advance the termination of the31

See ge nerally In reCW

M Chem. Se rvs., Inc

. , 6 E.A.D. 1, 10 (E AB 1995). 26 proce eding , or re view af

ter the f inal order is issued will be inadequate or ineff ective. 26 Upon ce rtification, the EA B ha s 30 day s to take ac tion on the interlocutory appea l, or the appea l will be dismi ssed automatica lly without further a ction by the EAB . As a matter

of pra ctice, wh e n th e EA B int e nd s to re vie w a matte r t hat ha s b e e n c e rt if

ie d, it w ill ty

pic a lly iss ue an o rd e r t o that eff ect within the 30-da

y period a nd, if appropr iate, provide a sche dule for br iefs or or al argument. The EAB is not required to issue a substantive ruling within 30 day s. H. Appea ls from Def

ault Orde rs A def ault order issued by the PresidingOffic er pur suant to 40 C.F.R. § 22.17 may be appea led to the EAB
. See, e .g. , In re Four Strong Builders, Inc ., 12 E.A.D. 762, 765-66 (E AB 20 06 ); In re Ry bond, Inc. , 6 E. A. D. 61 4, 61 5- 16 (E AB 19 96 ); se e als o In re Ag- Air Flying Servs., I nc. , FI FRA Appe al No. 06-01, at 6 (EAB Sept. 1, 2006) (F inal Dec ision and Order). When the orde r appe aled f

rom is a def

ault order , the EAB may

not assess a c ivil penalty in an amount that is highe r than the a

mount proposed in the complaint or in the motion for de fault (whic hever amount is smaller). 40 C.F.R. § 22.30(f ). In all other re spects, appe als from de fault orde rs ar e g overne d by

the same pr ocedur es as a ppeals fr om I nitial Decisions. See I n re Prod. Plated Plastics, Inc., 5 E.A.D. 101, 103-04 ( EAB 1994). I. C o n f i d e n t i a l B u s i n e s s In f

o r m at i o n( C B I) A per son who wishes to asser t a business confide ntiality claim with reg ard to a

ny inf or matio n c on ta ine d in

a ple a din gor

do c ume nt t o b e fi le d in

a pr oc e e din gun de r t

he CRO P mu st
asser t that claim at the time the plea ding or document is filed. 40 C.F.R. § 22.5(d) . Filing require ments for CB Iare set forth at 40 C.F.R. § 22.5(d)(2) and (3) . Any pleadingor docume nt32

Th e a uth or ity to a sse ss a dmi nis tr ativ e pe na lti e s o r i ssu e c omp lia nc e or de rs a g a ins t 27 Fe dera l ag encie s under the Clea n Air Ac t was conf

irmed in 1997, when the Offic e of L eg al Counsel within the Depar tment of J ustice issued an opinion ver ifying E PA’s authority to do so. Offic e of L eg al Counsel, U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Administrati ve A ssessment of Civil Penalties Against Faciliti es Unde r the Clean Air Act (Jul y 16, 1997) (Ye llow Book App. B ). that has bee n filed without a cla im of confidentiality shall be ava ilable to the public for inspe ction and copy ing. Aparty

filing a document ele ctronica lly

waives a ny claim that the docume nt contains confide ntial business information. Se e su pra Section I I .I .1.e. J . Fe dera l Fac iliti es Cur re ntl y , E PA h a s a

uth or ity to a sse ss f

ine s a nd pe na lti e s a g a ins t f

e de ra l f a c ili tie s in vio latio n o f e nv ir onme nta l st atut e s in c lud ing , b ut n ot l imi te d to , th e Cle an A ir Ac t, 4 2 U .S. C. §§ 7401 - 7671q, the Resourc e Conservation and Recove ry Act (“ RCRA”) , 42 U.S.C. §§ 6901 - 6992k, and the Saf

e Dr inking Water

Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 300f - 300j-26. Of fice of Enfor ceme nt and Compli ance Assuranc e, U.S. EPA, EPA-315-B -98-011, The Y ellow Book: Guideto Environmental Enforceme nt and Compliance at Federal Fac iliti es at V-1 ( 1999) (“ Yellow B ook”), available at http:// www.e pa.g ov/compliance/r esourc es/publications/civil/federa l/y ellowbk.pdf. The Yellow Book c ontains summaries of EPA’s statute- specific policies and guidance for f eder al fa cilities, and provides an ove rview of

enfor ceme nt authorities and the e nforc ement proc ess. Id. at V-1, V -3. Un de r t he Cle an A ir

Ac t, t he pr oc e dure s se t f

or th i n th e CRO P, i nc lud ingthe op po rt un ity f o r ana p p e a l t o th e E A B , a

p p l y w h e nE P A i s s u e s a

p e n a l ty o r d e r

a g a i n s ta F e d e r a l a g e n c y. See 27 42 U. S.C. §§ 74 13 (d ), 75 24 (c ), 75 45 (d )( 1) ; se e als o Yellow B ook at I I -10 to -11, V- 3 to -4. The F eder al Fa cility

Compli ance Act of 1992 a mended RCRA, and conf irmed that RCRA’s waiver of immunity

subjects fe dera l fac iliti es to all ava ilable enf orce ment tools, including administrative orde rs and pe nalties, and it specif ically authorizes administrative enf orce ment33

a c tio ns . 4 2 U .S. C. § 69 61 (a )- (b ); se e als o Yellow B ook at I I -79, I I -87, V-4 to - 5. Ag ency proce dures g overningRCRA administrative enf orce ment actions, includingthe opportunity for a n appea l to the EAB, a

pply to fede ral a g encie s, with the exception, consistent with the statutory require ment at 42 U.S.C. § 6961(b)(2) , that the fe dera l ag ency may reque st a confe renc e with the Administrator within thirty day s of servic e of the EAB ' s final dec ision. See40 C.F.R. § 22.31(e)
. I f the re quest is timely , a dec ision by the Administrator bec omes the final or der of the Ag ency . Id. The Safe DrinkingWater Ac t (“SDWA”) amendments of 1996 cle arly express EPA’s administrative authority

over f eder al ag encie s with respec t to, among othe r thing s, compliance order s and pena lty

provisions. See42 U. S.C. §§ 30 0g -3 (g ), 30 0j- 6; se e als o Yellow B ook at I I -102 to -03. The CROP gove rns the asse ssment of civil administrative pena lties and the issuance of compliance order s ag ainst fede ral fa cilities under the SDWA. SDWA §§ 1414(g) (3)( B) , 1423(a) , 1447(b), 42 U.S.C. §§ 300g -3(g )(3) (B ), 300h-2( a), 300j-6( b); 40 C.F.R. § 22.1(a) (9). Upon exhaustion of procedur es under the CROP, a fede ral e ntity subject to a pe nalty

may reque st the op po rt un ity to c on fe r w iththe Ad

min istrator . 4 2 U .S. C. 3 00 j- 6( b) ; seeYellow B ook at V-9. The Ad min istrator ’s ob lig atio n to pr ov ide an o pp or tun ity to c on fe r a

pp lie s o nly

in c onne c tio n w ith EPA-issued orde rs, not those order s issued by a state w ith primary

enfor ceme nt authority

under the SDWA. Office of

Enforc ement and Compliance Assuranc e, U.S. EPA, Guidance on F ederal Facility Penalty Orde r Authority Under the Safe Drink ing W ater Act, as ame nded in 1996 , at 6-7 & n.8 ( May

28, 1998) (“ SDWA Guidance” ). The SDWA Guidanc e also states that even in the absenc e of a

statutory provision requiringit, a fede ral a g ency may have the opportunity

to confe r with an appr opriate Reg ional officia l who has the a uthority to issue compliance or ders unde r the SDWA. See SDWA Guidance at 4-5; Yellow B ook at V-9.34

Part ie s are fr e e to p ur su e se ttl e me nt o n th e ir own a c c or d. Th e EA B ’s AD R pr og ra m is 28 o n e o p t i o np art i es m ay

p urs u e i nat t em p t i n g t o s et t l e ap ro ce ed i n g. See40 C.F.R. § 22.18(b)( 2). 29 K. EA B Ap pr ov a l of

Ce rt a in P re he ari ngSe ttl e me nts The pa rties may discuss the possibili ty

of settlement duringthe 30-da y time period betwe en the filing of the c omplaint and the filing of the a nswer. I n fac t, the rules expressly rec og nize that the Ag ency

“enc ourag es settlement of pr ocee dings.” 40 C.F.R. § 22.18(b). F urther inf ormation
a bo ut t he EA B ’s a lte rn ativ e dis pute re so lut ion (“ AD R” ) p ro g ra

m is ava ila

ble in s e c tio n I I .J of

thi s Manu a l, a nd on the EA B ’s we bs ite at www.e pa.g ov/eab. The EAB may , on motion, ex tend the 28 deadline f or filingan answ er to a

n EPA Hea dquarte rs-initiated complaint while settlement neg otiations are in progress. See supra Section I I I .I .1 (statingadditional information about motions t o extend the deadline f or filingan answ er)
. I f an a ction settles befor e the he aringbeg ins, the parties a re r equire d to prepa

re both a consent a g ree ment and a pr oposed final or der, which ar e known c ollectively as a “ CAFO.” A 29 consent a g ree ment does not finally resolve the action until a final orde r is signe d by the Reg ional Administrator, or if the pr ocee ding is initiated at He adquar ters, the EA B. SeeAppendix 4.35

Part 124 was r evised e ffe ctive June 14, 2000. SeeAmendments to Streamline the 30 National Pollutant Discharg e Elimination Sy stem Progr am Regulations: Round Two, 65 Fed. Reg . 30,886, 30,888, 30,894-95, 30,900-91 ( May 15, 2000). The r evised re g ulations chang e the proce dure f

or appe alingfrom NPDES permit dec isions and from ce rtain RCRA permit decisions. See note 36 be low for a

brief de scription of these r egulatory chang es. 42 U.S.C. §§ 6901-6992k. 31 33 U.S.C. § 1342. 32 42 U.S.C. § 300h to 300h-7. 33 IV. P ERMIT AP P EALS UNDER 40 C.F .R. P ART 124 A. Introduction This part of the Ma

nual addr esses the r

ules of pra ctice in pr ocee dings g overne d by 40 C.F.R. part 124 (“ Part 124 ”). This cover s appea ls from most categ ories of pe rmit decisions 30 iss ue d b y EPA . Pa rt 12 4 g e ne ra lly

de fi ne s th e EA B ro le a s f oll ow s: The Administrator de leg ates a uthority to the Environmental Appe als Boa rd to issue fi na l de c isi on s in

RCRA , PSD , U I C, o r N PDE S pe rm it a pp e a ls f ile d und e r t

his subpart, includinginformal appe als of denia ls of reque sts for modification, revoc ation and re issuance, or termination of per

mits under Section 124.5(b). An a pp e a l di re c te d to the Ad

min istrator , r athe r t

ha n to the Envir onme nta l App e a ls Boa rd, will not be consider ed. 40 C.F.R. § 124.2(a)
. B. Scope of Part 124 Part 124 sets forth proc edure s that aff ect pe rmit decisions issued by EPA under the 1984 Hazardous a

nd Solid W aste Ame ndments to the Resource Conservation Recove ry Act (“RCRA”), the National Pollutant Discharg e Elimination Sy stem (“NPDES”) prog ram unde r the

31 Clean Water Ac t, the Under g round Injection Control (“UI C”) program unde r the Safe Drinking 32 Wat e r A c t, and

the Pr e ve nti on

of Sig nif ic ant D e te ri or atio n ( “ PSD ” ) p ro g ra m un de r t he Cle an A ir 3336

42 U.S.C. §§ 7470-7492. Section 328(a) of the Clean Air A ct, 42 U.S.C. § 7627(a), 34 establishes per

mit requirements to control a ir pollution from outer continental she lf (“O CS”) so ur c e s. 40 C.F .R. § 5 5. 1. Th e Part 12 4 p ro c e dure s u se d to iss ue PSD pe rm its are a lso us e d to issue OCS permits. Id. § 55.6(a) (3). See40 C.F .R. § 1 24 .5 (c on ta ini ngfu rt he r i nf or matio n r e g ard ingthe se pr oc e dure s) ; see 35 als o In reW

as teTe c hn ologie

s I nd us . , 5 E.A.D. 646, 655 & n.13 (EAB 1995). Prior to regulatory

chang es that we re implemente d in J une 2000, any person 36 challeng ing a

n EPA-issued NPDES permit was re quired to file a reque st with the Regiona l Administrator for a

n evidentiar

y hear ing pur suant to 40 C.F.R. pt. 124 subpt. E (“Subpart E”) , reg ardle ss of whethe r the c halleng e ra ised leg al or fa ctual issues. 40 C.F.R. § 124.91 (1998)
. Section 124.91 provided a rig ht of appe al from the Re g ional Administrator’s dec ision after a n evidentiar y hear ing a nd also provided a

rig ht of appe al from the de nial (in whole or in pa rt) of the reque st for an e videntiary hear ing. A s amende d, the Subpart E evide ntiary hear ing pr ocedur e for NPD ES p e rm it a

pp e a ls h a s b e e n e lim inate d, and re pla c e d w itha

dir e c t r ig ht o f a

pp e a l of a pe rm it decision to the EAB . For further discussion of the re g ulatory chang e and the transition to the new f rame work, see Amendments to Streamline the National Poll utant Dischar g e Elimination Sy stem Progr am Regulations: Round Two, 65 Fed. Reg . 30,886, 30,887 (May 15, 2000). See als o Dominion Energy B rayton Point, LL C v. Johnson , 443 F.3d 12, 16- 18 (1st Cir. 2006) (upholding EPA’s dec ision to elim inate for mal evidentiar

y hear ings f

rom the NPDES permitting proce ss). Simi larly , the EAB does not have jurisdiction to review state c ertification decisions 37 under se ction 401 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1341, even thoug h such ce rtifications may deter mine cer tain conditions of a fe dera lly -issued per mit. See, e .g. , In reCity

of F itc hb ur g , (continued...) Ac t. See 40 C.F .R. § 1 24 .1 9( a ). Part 12 4 a lso c re ate s a

n in fo rm a l a

pp e a ls p ro c e dure fo r a

pp e a ls 34 from denia ls of cer

tain reque sts for modification, re vocation, and r eissuance of NPDES, UI C, or RCRApe rm its
. A f

e w c ate g or ie s o f p e rm it d e c isi on s is su e d b y EPAare g ov e rn e d b y

the CRO P, 35 40 C.F.R. part 22, or by

statute-spec ific re g ulations rather than by Part 124. Gene ral infor

mation about these pr ocedur es ca n be found in Sec tions I Iand I I Iof this Manual. Se c tio n 1 24 .1 9( a ) a

uth or ize s a

pp e a ls t o th e EA B fr om federally-issued RCRA, UI C, PS D, and NPDES permit dec isions. The EAB g ener ally does not have authority

to reviewstate-issued 36 pe rm its ; su c h p e rm its are re vie wa ble on ly un de r t he la ws of the state that is su e d th e pe rm it. See 3737

(...continued) 37 5 E.A.D. 93, 97 (E AB 1994). Rather, “ the prope r for um to review the appropr iateness of a state’s c ertifica

tion is t he state c ourt * * * .” Rooseve lt Campobello Int’l Park Commission v. EPA , 684 F.2d 1041, 1056 ( 1st Cir. 1982). In re BP Che rry Point , 12 E.A.D. 209, 214 (E AB 2005) (“ [T] he B oard la cks authority to review
c on dit ion s o f a

state -i ssu e d p e rm it t

hat are a do pte d s ole ly

purs ua nt t o s tate law. ” ); In re Gre at Lakes Chem. Corp. , 5 E.A.D. 395, 396 (E AB 1994) (EA B ha s no authority to reviewconditions imp os e d und e r a

state RCRApr og ra

m) ; see also In reGateway Ge nerating Station , PSD Appeal No . 0 9- 02 , at 10 , n .6 (E AB Se pt. 15 , 2 00 9) (O rd e r D ism iss ingPe tit ion fo r R e vie w) (“ In g e ne ra l, the B oa rd ’s jur isd ic tio n to re vie w s tate -i ssu e d p e rm its is l imi te d to tho se e le me nts of the pe rm it that find their orig in in the fede ral PSD prog ram * * * ” ). Note a lso that the conditions of a g ener al NPD ES p e rm it ( wh ic h im po se s r e str ic tio ns on

a c la ss o f f a c ili tie s, in c on tr a st t o a

sp e c if ic pe rm it that im po se s r e str ic tio ns on

an in div idu a l f

a c ili ty ) a re no t a pp e a la ble to t he EA B . 4 0 C. F .R. § 124.19(a)
. Th e EA B ha s juri sd ic tio n to re vie w PS D p e rm its iss ue d b y state s th at a dmi nis te r p e rm it prog rams under

a delegation from EPA (in contr ast to PS D per mits i ssued by

states pursuant to an EPA-appr oved state implementation plan (SI P)). The PSD permits issued pursuant to a f eder al deleg ation of authority

are considere d fede rally -issued per mits for purposes of r eview by the EAB
. S ee 40 C.F .R. § 1 24 .4 1 ( statin gthat w he n E PA h a s d e le g ate d a uth or ity to a dmi nis te r r e g ulatio ns to another ag ency , the term “ EPA” shall mean the deleg ate a g ency and the ter

m “Reg ional Ad min istrator ” sh a ll m e an th e c hie f a dmi nis tr ativ e of fi c e r o f t he de le g ate a g e nc y

); s e e als o I

n r e De se rt R oc k En e rg yCo. , LLC , PSD Appeal Nos. 08-03 through 08-06, slip op. at 58-59 (E AB Se pt. 24 , 2 00 9) , 1 4 E .A .D . _

__ ; In re Se minole Elec tric Coop., Inc. , PSD Appeal No. 08-09,38

See, e .g. , Clean Air Ac t § 307(b), 42 U.S.C. § 7607(b); Clean Water Act § 509(b) (1), 38 33 U.S.C. § 1369(b)(1); RCRA § 7006, 42 U.S.C. § 6976; Public Health Service Act § 1448, 42 U.S.C. § 300j-7. In re De sert Rock Energy Co. , PSD Appeal Nos. 08-03 through 08-06, slip op. at 31-32 39 (EAB Sept. 24, 2009), 14 E.A.D. ___. sli p o p. at 10 (E AB Se pt. 22 , 2 00 9) , 1 4 E .A .D . _

__ ; In re Stee l Dynamics, I nc. , 9 E.A.D. 165, 168- 69 (E AB 20 00 ). Ho we ve r, wh e re su c h a pe rm it c omb ine s PSD re qu ir e me nts and no n- PSD require ments, only

the PSD part of the pe rmit is reviewa ble by the EAB
. In re Kawaihae Cogeneration Project , 7 E.A.D. 107, 110 n.5 (E AB 1997). C. J udicial Review; F inal Ag ency Action J udicial re view of pe rmit decisions is ty pically g overne d by

the par ticular e nvironmental statut e that is the su

bje c t of the lit ig atio n, or

by the APAif

the statut e its e lf

do e s n ot s pe ak to it. 38 Under Ag ency regulations, an appe al to the EAB is a “pre requisite to the see king of judicial revie w of the fina l ag ency

action.” 40 C.F .R. § 124.19(e). F or purpose s of judicial re view, “f inal ag ency action occ urs when a

final * * * per

mit decision is is sued by

EPA and ag ency

revie w proce dures * * * a

re e x hausted,” id. § 124.19(f) (1), that is whe n either: (1) the EAB issues a final decision deny

ing r eview; ( 2) the EAB issues a final de cision on the merits that does not include a
rema nd; or (3) “ the re mand proc edure s are completed a nd the re mand orde r [does] not require appea l of the re mand dec ision to ex haust administrative re medies.” See 40 C.F .R. 39 § 1 24 .1 9( f) (1 )( i) -( iii ); see ge ne ra lly Se c tio n IV. D. 1. Whe n f e de ra l c ourt

re vie w o f a

pe rm it decision is available , it is based on the administrative re cord.39

See 40 C.F.R. § 124.19. 40 D. Appea ls Procedure 1. Over view Part 12 4 r e g ulatio ns outli ne a tw o- tr a c k p ro c e ss f

or the EA B ’s c on sid e ra

tio n o f p e rm it appea ls. Duringthe first stag e of the appea ls process, a ny person who f

iled comments on a dra ft 40 permit or par

ticipated in a public he aringon the per mit may petition the EAB to r eview a ny condition of the per

mit. A petition for reviewshould include all of the a rguments alleg ing a

ny proce dural de ficienc ies, or substantive def iciencie s in the permit’s terms. The EAB then consider s the petition, and any

response brief r ece ived, and issues a decision either

decliningrevie w or g rantingthe petition and, wher e appr opriate, r emandingthe per mit for further

revie w. The EA B may deter mine, in the alternative, to issue a forma l gr ant of re view. 40 C.F.R. § 124.19(c ). In that instance, public notice of the g rant of r eview is g iven and a ny interested pe rson may

file an a micus brief. Id. The EAB establishes a br iefingschedule , revie ws the brief s submitt ed by

the petitioner and any interested pe rsons (includingthe per mit is suer) , and issues a de cision. In the intere st of prompt and informe d resolution of per mit appeals the EAB , in prac tice, endea vors to resolve a s many

case s as possible throug h the first-tra ck proc ess desc ribed a bove. That proc ess is briefly

descr ibed her e. Upon re ceipt of a

petition for re view, the EA B se nds a letter to the pe rmit issuer reque sting that the per

mit is suer r eview the petition and respond to petitioner’ s contentions. See Ap pe nd ic e s 2 & 3; see also Section I V.D.5 (“ Response to Petition”). I f the pe tition i s filed by someone other

than the per

mit applicant or per

mittee, the EAB will ge nera lly g rant a reque st by

the permit applica

nt or permittee to r espond to the petition. After consideringthe re sponse, the EAB40

See, e .g. , In re City of Marlborough , 1 2 E
. A. D. 2 3 5 , 2 5 3 n . 2 3 (E AB 2 0 0 5 ) ( “A l th o u gh 41 40 C.F.R. § 124.19 contemplates that additional briefingty pically will be submitt ed upon a grant of re view, a dir ect r emand without additional submissions i s appropr iate whe re, a s here , it does not appea r as thoug h further

briefs on a

ppeal would she d light on the issue.” ). c on du c ts a

tho ro ug h a

na ly sis of the iss ue s r a ise d b y

the pe tit ion

to d e te rm ine wh e the r t

he pe rm it suffe rs any

defic iencies in the pe rmit terms or per mit-issuance proc ess that would merit the Boa rd’s e x erc ising its discretion to g rant re view. I f the EAB identifies no def iciencie s in the permit terms or pe rmit-issuance pr ocess wa rra nting a g rant of r eview, the EAB will deny revie w without qualification. I f the EAB identifies any defic iencies in the pe rmit terms or per mit-issuance pr oc e ss w arr anti nga

g ra nt o f r e vie w, it m ay

g ra nt t he pe tit ion

and re mand the pe rm it t o th e pe rm it issuer with instructions to corre ct the def iciencie s. Since the EAB fre quently issues a dec ision that is disposi tive of the matter based on the petitioner’s brie f and the response s thereto, a petition for 41 revie w should set forth, in detail, all of the issues and all of the a rguments in petitioner’s favor. Fur ther infor mation about the contents of a petition for re view is provided be low in Sections I V.D.2.b throug h I V.D.2.e. In the eve nt that the EAB identifies def iciencie s in the permit terms or pe rmit-issuance proce ss with the permit on appea l, such as issues of national significa nce, the EAB may

deter mine that broade r par

ticipation by

interested pa

rties is warr anted, a

nd there fore issue a for

mal g rant of revie w under

40 C.F.R. § 124.19(c)
. 2. Petition for review a. De adline for

filing A petition for re view of a ny condition of a RCRA, UI C, NPDES, or PS D per mit decision
mus t be fi le d w iththe EA B wi thi n 3 0 d ay s o f i ssu anc e of the fi na l pe rm it d e c isi on . 4 0 C. F .R.41

See, e .g. , In re Env otech, L.P. , 6 E.A.D. 260, 264-65 ( EAB 1996). 42 § 1 24 .1 9( a ). Th e 30 -d ay

pe ri od be g ins wi th t

he se rv ic e of

no tic e of the pe rm it d e c isi on , unle ss a later date is specifie d in that notice. 40 C.F.R. § 124.19(a) . When the permitting a uthority serve s 42 the notice by

mail, service is deemed to be completed whe n the notice is plac ed in the mail, not when it is rec eived. How ever , to compensate for the de lay cause d by

mailing, the 30- day

deadline for f iling a petition is ex tended by three day s if the final pe rmit decision beingappea led was se rved on the petitioner by

mail. Id . § 124.20(d). Pe tit ion s are de e me d f

ile d whe n r e c e ive d b y

the B oa rd , a nd the B oa rd wi ll g e ne ra lly dismiss petitions for revie w that ar e re ceive d afte r a f iling dea dline. See, e .g. , In reAE S P ue rto Rico L.P. , 8 E.A.D. 324, 329 (E AB 1999), aff’d sub nom. Sur Contra L a Contaminacion v. EPA , 202 F.3d 443 ( 1st Cir. 2000).

b. Content The pe titioner bear s the burden of demonstratingthat the Reg ion based the pe rmit decision
on a c le arl y e rr on e ou s f

ind ingof fa c t or c on c lus ion

of law o r t hat th e B oa

rd sh ou ld e xer c ise its discretion to re view an importa nt policy matter or a

n exercise of

discretion by

the per mit is suer. 40 C.F .R. § 1 24 .1 9( a ); s e e, e .g., In reCity of A ttle bo ro , NPDES Appeal No. 08- 08, slip op. at 10 (Sept. 15, 2009), 14 E.A.D . ___. The pe tition s hould contain all supportingargumentation. Petitioners should be awa re that “[a] petit ion for re view under § 124.19 is not analog ous to a notice of a pp e a l th at ma

y be su pp le me nte d b y

fu rt he r b ri e fi ng . A lth ou g h a dd iti on a l br ie fi ngmay oc c ur in the eve nt formal re view is g rante d, the discre tion to gra nt reviewis to be sparing ly exercised, a

nd there fore , * * * a petition for r eview must spec ifically identify disputed permit conditions and demonstrate why

revie w is warr anted.” I

n r e L C P C h e m i c a l s - N

. Y. , 4 E.A.D. 661, 665 n.9 (E AB42

The B oard ha s held that “mer e alleg ations of er ror” are not enoug h to warr ant re view. 43 Se e At tle bo ro , s lip op . at 32 , 4 5, 61 , 7 4, 14 E. A. D. __ _; In re Are cibo &Aguadilla Reg’l W as te wate r Tr e atm e nt P lan ts , 1 2 E
. A. D. 9 7 , 1 3 6 n . 7 1 (E AB 2 0 0 5 ) ( qu o t i n g In re New Eng. Plating Co. , 9 E.A.D. 726, 737 (E AB 2001)); In re Carlota Copper Co. , 11 E.A.D. 692, 720 (EAB 2004). 1993). Pe tit ion s f

or re vie w mus t me e t a

min imum st and ard

of sp e c if ic ity . T o me e t th is require ment, “a pe titioner must demonstrate with specific ity in the petition why

the Reg ion’s prior response to those objections is clear ly err oneous or other

wise merits re view.” In re W estborough , 10 E.A.D. 297, 305 (E AB 2002). A pe titioner must support it s alleg ations with solid evidence that the per mit is suer c lear ly

err ed in its decision, as “the Boa rd will not entertain va g ue or unsubstantiated claims.” In reCity of A ttle bo ro , NPDES Appeal No. 08- 08, slip op. at 61 (Sept. 15, 2009), 14 E.A.D . ___. For permit cha lleng es base d on technica l issues, the Boa rd 43 expects a petitioner to pre sent “re fer ence s to studies, reports, or other materia ls that provide
re le va nt, de ta ile d, and

sp e c if ic fa c ts a nd data a bo ut p e rm itt ingmatte rs that w e re no t a de qu ate ly considere d by

a per mit is suer.” At tle bo ro , s l i p o p . at3 2 , 1 4 E
. A. D. _ _ _ (c i t i n g In reEn v tl. Disposal Sys., Inc. , 12 E.A.D. 254, 291 (E AB 2005)).

c. Require ment That Petitioner Has Par ticipated in the Comment P eriod (“ Standing” to Seek Review) On ly tho se pe rs on s w ho pa

rt ic ipate d in

the pe rm it p ro c e ss l e a din gup to t he pe rm it d ec i s i o n , ei th er

b y fi l i n g co m m en t s o nth e d ra ftp erm i to r b y p art i ci p at i n g i nth e p u

b l i c h ea ri n g,
may a pp e a l a pe rm it d e c isi on . 4 0 C. F .R. § 1 24 .1 9( a ); accord I n re Christian C

nty. Gene ration, LLC , 1 3 E .A .D . 4 49 , 4 57 -6 0 ( EA B 20 08 ); In re Av on Custom Mixing Servs., Inc

. , 10 E.A.D. 700, 704-05 (EA B 2002) . As the EAB explained in its opinion in In re Ec oEléctrica , L.P. , 7 E.A.D. 56,43

A discussion of “standing ” re quirements also a ppear s in In re Am . Soda, L.L.P. , 44 9 E .A .D . 2 80 , 2 88 -8 9 ( EA B 20 02 ); In re Commonwealth Chesapeak e Corp. , 6 E.A.D. 764, 770 (E AB 19 97 ); In re Env otech , L.P. , 6 E. A. D. 26 0, 26 6- 67 (E AB 19 96 ); In re Be ckm an Prod. Se rv s. , 5 E.A.D. 10, 16-17 ( EAB 1994). Section 124.13 provides that a pe rson “must raise all rea sonably asce rtainable issues 45 and su bmi t a ll r e a so na

bly ava ila ble argume nts su

pp or tin gthe ir po sit ion by the c los e of

the pu bli c comment per iod (including any public hear ing) under se ction 124.10.” 40 C.F.R. § 124.13. The EAB has construe d this requireme nt in severa l case s. See, e .g. , In re Christian Cnt y. Ge neration, LLC , 13 E. A. D. 44 9, 45 7- 60 ; In re She ll Offshore, Inc. , OC S Ap pe a l N os . 0 7- 01 & 07 -0 2, sli p op . at 52 -5 3 & n. 55 (E AB Se pt. 14 , 2 00 7) , 1 3 E .A .D . _ _; In reSie rra Pa c . I

nd us . , 11 E.A.D. 1, 6- 8 ( EA B 20 03 ); In reCity of Pho e nix , 9 E.A.D. 515, 524-25 ( EAB 2000). See I n re Ash GroveCement Co. , 7 E.A.D. 387, 431 (E AB 1997) (“ The purpose of the 46 (continued...) 63 n. 9 ( EA B 19 97 ), a

pe tit ion e r “ ha s st and ingto s e e k r e vie w o f [a ] pe rm it d e c isi on by vir tue of its acknow ledg ed par

ticipation in the public hear ing on the permit.” A pe rson who has not filed
c omm e nts or

pa rt ic ipate d in

a he ari ngon

the dr a ft pe rm it m ay , h ow e ve r, pe tit ion fo r r e vie w w ith respe ct to the “c hang es fr om the draf t to the final permit dec ision.” 40 C.F.R. § 124.19(a)
. 44 A petitioner with standingmay raise a ny issues that are elig ible for r eview unde r the regulations, even if the pe titioner did not raise or pr eviously comment on that par

ticular issue. These r egulatory

require ments are descr ibed below in Section IV.D.2.e. d. Requirement That I ssues Were Raised D uringthe Comment Period The pe titioner has the oblig ation to demonstrate that a ny issues raised in the pe tition were previously

raised by someone (e ither petitioner or another commenter) duringthe public comment period (inc luding a

ny public hear ing) , provided that they wer e “r easona

bly asce rtainable ” at that tim e . 4 0 C. F .R. § 1 24 .1 3; see40 C.F.R. § 124.19. The purpose of this require ment is to give the 45 permitting a

uthority the opportunity

to hear and re spond to objections to permit conditions before the per mit is issued. 4644

(...continued) 46 re sp on se to c omm e nts and any su pp le me ntatio n o f t

he a dmi nis tr ativ e re c or d at th at ti me is t o ensure that interested pa

rties have full notice of the ba sis for final pe rmit decisions and ca n a dd re ss a ny c on c e rn s r e g ard ingthe fi na l pe rm it i n a n a pp e a l to the B oa

rd purs ua nt t o 4 0 C. F .R. se c tio n 1 24 .1 9. ” ); se e als o I n r e Sie rra Pa c . I

nd us . , 11 E.A.D. 1, 8 (E AB 2003); In re City of Ph oe nix , 9 E. A. D. 51 5, 52 6 ( EA B 20 00 ) ( “ In N PDE S pr oc e e din g s, a s w e ll a s o the r p e rm it pr oc e e din g s, the br oa d p ur po se be hin d th e re qu ir e me nt o f r a isi ngan is su e duri ngthe pu bli c c omm e nt p e ri od

is t o a le rt the pe rm it i ssu e r t o p ote nti a l pr ob le ms w itha dr a ft pe rm it a nd to e ns ur e that th e pe rm it i ssu e r h a s an o pp or tun ity to a dd re ss t he pr ob le ms b e fo re the pe rm it become s final.”)
. Th e on ly dis c us sio n o f m oti on s p ra c tic e wi thi n p art 12 4 is fo un d in

40 C.F .R. 47 § 124.19(g ), which se ts forth the standar ds and timefra me within which a pa

rty may file a motion for r econside ration of a

final orde r issued by

the B oard. By contra st, the Consoli dated Rules of Pra ctice ( “CROP”) at 40 C.F.R. pa rt 22, which 48 g overn e nforc ement appe als, specif ically assig n to the Boa

rd discre tionary

authority to rule on motions, see 40 C.F .R. § 2 2. 16 , a s w e ll a s se t f or th s tand ard s r e g ard ingthe c on te nts and tim e ly filing of motions. W hile the CROP do not apply to permit appea ls under Part 124, a nd the B oard reta ins its di scre tion to manag e its permit appea ls docket, sec tion 22.16 of the CROP i s a usef ul re fe re nc e fo r t

he B oa rd and fo r p art ie s e ng a g e d in

pe rm it a pp e a l pr oc e e din g s. 3. Motions Although the regulations do not specifica lly provide for

motions practice in the c ontext of a permit appe al, the B oard r egularly considers motions rec eived f rom parties in a

Part 124 47 proce eding
. E.g. , In re Pe abody W . Coal Co. , CAA Appea l No. 10-01, slip op. at 5-8 (EA B Aug . 13, 2010), 14 E.A.D. ___ ( “In the par t 124 context, despit e the lac k of deta iled proce dures in the regulations, the Boa rd has e x erc ised broad disc retion to manag e its permit appea l docket by
ru lin gon mot ion s p re se nte d to it f or va ri ou s p ur po se s * * * .” ); see also Am. Farm Lines v. Black Ball Freight Serv. , 397 U.S 532, 539 (1970) (“ [I ]tis alway s within the discretion of * * * an administrative ag ency

to relax or modify

its procedur al rules a dopted for the order ly transac tion of bu sin e ss b e fo re it whe n in a g ive n c a se the e nd s o f j us tic e re qu ir e it. ” ). Mo tio ns are re qu ir e d to 48 be in writing , stating the g rounds there for with par ticularity , and settingforth the r elief sought.45

I f the re questor ca

nnot determine the position of the opposing pa rty on the motion after 49 makinga re asonable eff

ort to do so, the reque stor shall repr esent that fa ct in its pleading
. Se e su pra Se c tio n I I .I .1 .d . T he Cle rk wi ll n ot a c c e pt f

or fi lin gany

fa c sim ile du

pli c ate 50 of a doc ument that has bee n filed ele ctronica lly
. Mo tio ns sh a ll b e a c c omp anie d b y any ne c e ssa ry su pp or tin gdo c ume ntatio n. A m oti on sh a ll s tate whether the opposing party

concur s or objects to g rantingthe re quest set forth in the motion. 49 Al tho ug h th e EA B may

se t a sh or te r o r l on g e r t ime fo r a

re sp on se , a

pa rt y sh ou ld f ile its re sp on se to any written motion within 10 day s after service of the motion. Parties may

file motions by

mail, hand-de livery , fac simil e (if w ithout attachments), or elec tronically
. Motions for an extension of time should be filed suffic iently in advanc e of the due 50 date a s to a llo w o the r p art ie s r e a so na ble op po rt

un ity to r e sp on d a

nd to a llo w the EA B re a so na ble opportunity

to issue an orde r. 4. Non-Party

Participation Part 12 4 d oe s n ot s pe c if

ic a lly a dd re ss n on -p art

y pa rt ic ipatio n o r n on -p art

y br ie fs in p e rm it appea l proce eding s, except where revie w has be en grante d. In other c ircumstance s, the Boa rd exercises its discretion, whe re a ppropriate , to allow intervention and/or non- party briefing . The Boa rd ty pically allows permittees not a lrea dy a par ty to the proce edingto participate as intervenor s. See, e .g. , In re USG en New Eng., Inc

. , NPDES Appeal No. 03- 12, at 7 & n.13 (F eb. 20, 2004) ( Orde r Gra nting Revie w), perm. rem anded sub nom. In reDominion Energy Bray ton Po int

, LLC , 1 2 E .A .D . 4 90 (E AB 20 06 ); see also id. at 7- 8 & n. 12 (d e nyingtw o r e qu e sts to intervene but simul taneously g rantingleave to file an amicus brief, a nd also g rantingthree nonpa rt ie s’ mot ion s to fi le amic us br ie fs ); In re De sert Rock Energy Co. , PSD Appeal Nos. 08-03 throug h 08-06, at 2-3 ( Oct. 14, 2008) ( g rantinginstrumentality of the Na vajo Nation’s motion for46

le ave to p art ic ipate and

c on se rv atio n g ro up ’s mot ion fo r l e ave to f

ile an amic us c ur ia e br ie f) ; In re Dist. Of Columbia W

ater &Sewer Auth. , N PDE S Ap pe a l N os . 0 5- 02 & 07 -1 0 thro ug h 0 7- 12 , at 2 (EAB J uly

27, 2007) (grantinga non-pa rty leave to file a brie f); In reDi st. Of Colum bia W

ate r & Sewer Auth. , N PDE S Ap pe a l 07 -1 2, at 2- 3 ( EA B June 15 , 2 00 7) (gra nti ngint e rv e no r s tatus to pe rm itt e e ); In re Four Corners Power Plant , NPDES Appeal No. 01- 06, at 1-2 (E AB Fe b. 20, 2001) (grantingmotion to i nterve ne and f ile a brie f of a

tribe whose a

uthority to regulate water qu a lity wa s at is su e ); In re NPDES Pe rmit for W astewater Treatment Facility of Union Twp., Mich. , NPDES Appeal Nos. 00- 26 & 00- 28, at 3, 7 (EAB J an. 23, 2001) ( same). In p ro c e e din g s w he re the B oa rd g ra nts re vie w, the B oa

rd mus t g ive pu

bli c no tic e of

its de c isi on , a

nd “ sh a ll s tate that any

int e re ste d p e rs on

may fi le an amic us br ie f. ” 40 C.F .R. § 1 24 .1 9( c ); see also In reDese rt Rock Ene rgy Co. , PSD Appeal Nos. 08-03 through 08-06, at 5-6 (Jan. 22 , 2 00 9) (gra

nti ngre vie w b a se d o n “ a

numbe r o f i ssu e s o f s ig nif ic ant r e g ion a l inte re st, wi th po te nti a l tr iba l and

int e rs tate imp lic atio ns ” ); In re De seret Power Elec . Coop. , PSD Appeal No. 07-03, at 2-3 (Nov. 21, 2007) (g rantingrevie w to allow brief ing a nd argument from intere sted pe rs on s o n a

matte r o f p ote nti a l natio na l si g nif ic anc e ); In re USG en New Eng., Inc

. , NPDES Appea l No. 03-12, at 5-6 ( Fe b. 20, 2004), perm. rem anded sub nom. In reDominion Energy Bray ton Po int

, LLC , 12 E.A.D. 490 (E AB 2006) (c iting a le g al issue of fir st impression, significa nt reg ional interest, potential interstate implications, and the relatively complex and unique nature of some issues when grantingrevie w).

5. F ili ngand

Se rv ic e Re qu ir e me nts Th e re g ulatio ns do no t se t f or th f ili ngre qu ir e me nts fo r p e tit ion s to re vie w a pe rm it decision. The E AB will acce pt documents filed ele ctronica lly or on pape r. Se e su

pra Section I I .I
.47

The Clerk w ill not accept f or filingany

fac simil e duplicate of a doc ument that has bee n 51 filed ele ctronica lly
. Se e su pra Section I I .I .1.d. The re g ulations provide that the per mitti ngauthority

shall g ive public notice, including 52 notice to the per

mittee, that revie w has be en g rante d. 40 C.F.R. § 124.19(c) . The re g ulations further provide that, a fter r eview ha s been grante d, any interested pe rson (includingthe permittee) may

participate in the proc eedingby filing a n amicus brief

, also known as a

“fr iend of the cour t” brief
. Id. When a petitioner c hooses to forg o elec tronic filingand instead f iles on paper , the petitioner should provide an or igina l petition si g ned in blue ink, a supportingbrief, a nd any supporting do c ume ntatio n. Th e EA B ’s re qu ir e me nt f or the su bmi ssi on of on e pa pe r c op y fo r c e rt a in elec tronic filing s is discussed at Section I I .I .c. Motions that do not i nclude attachments may be filed w ith the EAB by fac simil e. Upon filing a motion by

fac simil e, the se nder should, within 24 hours, place in the mail or hand-de liver th e o r ig in a l c o p y

o f th e mo ti o nto th e E A B
. T h e E A B ma y , o na c a s e - b y - c a s e b a s is , a

u th o r iz e fac simil e filingof any

other doc ument. Howeve r, the EAB will not ordinarily authorize the filing of a br ief by

fac simil e. 51 6. Notice to Permittee of Appea l Petitions for r eview ma

y be filed by

someone other

than the per

mittee. In such ca ses, the regulations do not require notice to the permittee until the EAB has dec ided whethe r or not to g rant formal r eview. See40 C.F .R. § 1 24 .1 0( a )( iv) , ( c )( 1) (i ). In p ra c tic e , h ow e ve r, the EA B wi ll 52 provide a permittee w ith notice that a petition for r eview ha s been f iled conce rningthe per

mittee’s pe rm it at th e same tim e that th e EA B re qu e sts a re sp on se fr om t

he pe rm it i ssu e r a

nd wi ll o rd ina

ri ly g rant a timely reque st by

the per mittee to participate in the proce edingand re spond to the petition for r eview.48

Howeve r, whe n the appe al conc erns a PSD or other new sour ce pe rmit, the EAB 53 re qu e sts that th e pe rm itt inga uth or ity fi le a re sp on se wi thi n 1 5 d a

y s if the pe rm itt inga

uth or ity believes that the petition in it s entirety may be appr opriate f

or summary

dispositi on. I f the permitting a

uthority is not seekingsummary

dispositi on, the EAB reque sts a response within 30 day s. SeeAp pe nd ix 3 ( “ EA B Re qu e st f or Re g ion a l Re sp on se to P e tit ion fo r R e vie w o f P SD Permit Decision under

40 C.F.R. part 124" ). 7. Responses to Petition Upon re ceipt of a

petition, the EAB r outinely reque sts a response from the pe rmitting authority whose pe rmit decision has bee n challeng ed, addr essingall proce dural a nd substantive
c ha lle ng e s to the pe rm it. 40 C.F .R. § 1 24 .1 9; seeAppendice s 2 & 3. Acopy of the re quest is sent to t he pe tit ion e r. Th e EA B ’s re qu e st ty pic a lly g ive s th e pe rm itt inga

uth or ity 45 da y s to fi le its response . 53 The EAB also asks the pe rmitting authority to file with the Clerk of the B oard, a nd to serve up on the pe tit ion e r, a

c e rt if ie d in de x of a ll d oc ume nts in t he a dmi nis tr ativ e re c or d o f t he pe rm it decision as we ll as copies of those pa rts of the re cord that pertain to the matter s raised in the petition. The permitting a uthority should provide the petitioner a nd the Clerk of the Boa

rd with a
cer tificate of service showing the date a nd method of ser

vice. After the per mitti ngauthority ’s re sponse has be en filed, the EAB normally does not requir e further briefingbefor e issuing a

decision whe ther to g rant re view. Howe ver, pe titioners or other interested pe rsons may , upon motion ex plaining why a re ply brief is ne cessa

ry , seek le ave to f

ile a reply brief. Motions for le ave to f ile a re ply brief should be filed as soon a s possible upon rece ipt of the pe rmitting authority ’s re sponse, since the timeliness of the motion may be a f actor in the Boa rd’s c onsideration of whether to gr ant the motion. I f a r eply brief ha s been f

iled, the EAB may simil arly , upon motion, allow the filing of a surre ply brief.49

A motion to reconsider

must be filed within 10 day s of servic e of the final orde r. 54 40 C.F.R. § 124.19(g ). Where a motion for clar ification see ks a modification of some a spect of the decision, 55 (continued...) 8. Ora l Argument and De cision Followingbriefing , the EAB may direc t the parties to pre sent oral a rgument on specifie d issues. The EAB will then issue a final de cision addre ssing a ll issues raised in the petition that the Boa rd conc ludes are proper ly prese rved f

or appe al. The B oard’ s decision may include re manding an issue or issues to the pe rmitting authority for f urther a ction. 9. Motions for Reconsider ation or Clarification Under 40 C.F.R. § 124.19(g ), a pa rty that is adverse ly

aff ecte d by an EAB final orde r may seek r econside ration. Such motions wil l not be g rante d absent a showing that the EAB has made 54 a cle ar e rror , such as a

mistake of law or

fac t. See, e .g. , In re Dist. of Columbia W ater and Sewer Auth. , NPDES Appeal Nos. 05- 02, 07-10, 07-11, a nd 07-12, at 2 (E AB Apr. 23, 2008) ( Orde r Deny ing Motion for

Reconsider ation). “The rec onsideration proc ess ‘should not be re g arde d as an opportunity

to rea rgue the c ase in a

more c onvincingfashion. It should only be used to bringto the attention of [the Boa

rd] clear ly

err oneous fa ctual or le g al conc lusions.’” In re Town of Ashland W as te wate r Tr e atm e nt F

ac ili ty , NPDES Appeal No. 00- 15, at 2 (EAB Apr. 9, 2001) ( Orde r De n yi n g M o t i o nfo r R ec o n s i d er at i o n ) ( qu o t i n g In re S. Timber Produc ts, Inc. , 3 E.A.D. 880, 889 (JO 1992)). The rule s do not ex pressly provide for

motions for clarif

ication. Howe ver, the EAB will entertain a

motion for clar ification filed pr omptly afte r issuance of the EAB final orde r whe re the mov ingpa

rt y c an d e mon str ate that an a sp e c t of the EA B ’s de c isi on

is a mbi g uo us . 5550

(...continued) 55 howeve r, the EAB has trea ted it as a motion for re consideration subject to the 10-day filing deadline f or such motions. In re Adc om W ire Co. , RCRA Appea l No. 92-2, at 2 (E AB J uly 22, 1994) (Or der on A dcom’s Motion for Clarific ation). In reMi ne rs A dv oc ac

yCou nc il , 4 E.A.D. 40, 42 (E AB 1992). 56 See, e .g. , In reCity

of J ac k so nv ille , 4 E.A.D. 150, 152 (E AB 1992). 57 E. Scope a

nd Standard of Re view 1. Scope of Revie w The EAB ’s jurisdiction under sec tion 124.19(a) is limited to iss ues re lated to the “conditions” of the fede ral pe rmit that are c laimed to be er roneous. The EAB does not have authority to rule on matters that are outside the permit proc ess. In re Fe derated Oil &Gas of Tra v e rseCity , 6 E. A. D. 72 2, 72 5- 26 (E AB 19 97 ); s e e als o I n re Ton du En e rg

yCo ., 9 E.A.D. 710, 716 n.10 (EAB 2001) (the pe rmit appea ls process is not the appr opriate ve nue to cha lleng e Ag ency regulations). 2. Standard of Re view There is no appea l as of rig ht from the Reg ional Administrator’s per mit decision to the EAB
. Rather, unde r the rule s g overningpermit appe als, the petitioner ha s the burden of 56 demonstratingthat the per mit decision warr ants revie w. I n particula

r, the pe tition m ust show that the pe rm it c on dit ion

in q ue sti on is b a se d o n “ a

fi nd ingof

fa c t or c on c lus ion

of law whic h is c le arl y
erro neo us ,” o r “anex erci se o f di scr eti on or an im po rt antpo li cy con si dera ti on whi ch t he [ EAB] should, in it s discretion, re view.” 40 C.F.R. § 124.19(a) . The pre amble to 40 C.F.R. § 124.19 57 state s th at “ thi s p ow e r o f r e vie w s ho uld on ly be sp ari ng ly

e xer c ise d, ” and

that “ mos t pe rm it conditions should be finally deter mined [by

the per mitti ngauthority ] * * * .” 45 Fed. Reg . 33,290,51

See I n re W astewater Treatment Facility of Union Twp. , NPDES Appeal No. 00- 27, 58 at 2 (EAB Oct. 19, 2000) ( Orde r De nying Re quest Not to Stay Permit) (“[T]here is no statutory or re g ulatory

authority allowinga new

discharg er to c ommence disc harg ing while its NPDES permit is on appea l * * * ”). 33 ,4 12 (M ay

19 , 1 98 0) (C on so lid ate d Pe rm it Re g ulatio ns ); ac c or d I n r e City of A ttle bo ro , NPDES Ap pe a l N o. 08 -0 8, sli p o p. at 10 (E AB Se pt. 15 , 2 00 9) , 1 4 E .A .D . _ _; In re J ett Black, I

nc. , 8 E .A .D . 3 53 , 3 58 (E AB 19 99 ); In re M aui Electric Co., 8 E.A.D. 1, 7 (E AB 1998). F. Review Initiated by

the EAB Th e EA B may

de c ide on

its own in iti ativ e to r e vie w a ny c on dit ion

of any RCRA , N PDE S, UI C, o r P SD p e rm it i ssu e d und e r p art 12 4, pr ov ide d th at it

a c ts w ith in 3 0 d ay s o f t

he se rv ic e date of notice of

the per mit is suer’ s action. 40 C.F.R. § 124.19(b)
. G. Ef fe c t of Ad min istrativ e Ap pe a l on

the Con dit ion s o f t

he Pe rm it The re g ulations disti ng uish betwee n an appe al involving a n exis ting f

acility that is alrea dy operating unde r a pe rmit and an a ppeal involvinga new

fac ility that is applying f

or its first permit. I f the a ppeal involves a

new f acility or newinjection well, new sour ce, ne w dischar g er, or
rec ommencingdischarg er, the permit applica nt will be without a permit pendingfinal ag ency action and ma

y not proce ed under

the per mit during that time per iod. 40 C.F.R. § 124.16(a) (1). 58 I f the a ppeal involves a

RCRA, UI C, or NPDES permit for an e x isting fa cility , the fa cility may continue to oper ate unde r the unc ontested conditions of the old per mit and under those unc ontested conditions of the new pe rmit that are se vera ble from the c ontested conditions. Id
. The e ffe ct of a

ny contested pe rmit conditions and the eff ect of any uncontested c onditions that are not severa

ble from c ontested conditions under a RCRA, UI C, or NPDES permit is stay ed pendingfinal ag ency

action. 40 C.F.R. § 124.16(a )(2) (i). The EAB will notify the Reg ional52

Part ie s are fr e e to p ur su e se ttl e me nt o n th e ir own a c c or d. Th e EA B ’s AD R pr og ra m is 59 o n e o p t i o np art i es m ay

p urs u e i nat t em p t i n g t o s et t l e ap ro ce ed i n g. Administrator that a pe tition has been filed. Upon r ece ipt of such notification, the Reg ional Ad min istrator

wi ll n oti fy

the EA B , th e a

pp lic ant, and

a ll o the r i nte re ste d p e rs on s w hic h p e rm it conditions are unc ontested (a nd sever able f

rom any contested pr ovisions). Id. § 124.16(a) (2)( ii). These unc ontested and se vera ble conditions shall become f ully eff ective 30 da

y s after the date of the Reg ional Administrator’s notification. See id. § 1 24 .1 6( a )( 2) (i ). I f r e vie w o f t he pe rm it i s de nie d, the pe rm it w ill be c ome e ff e c tiv e a s p ro vid e d in

40 C.F .R. § 1 24 .1 9( f) (1 ). I f r e vie w i s g rante d, and the pe rmit is for a new fac ility , the per

mit applicant will be without a permit pending resolution of the a

ppeal a nd final ag ency

action. Id. § 124.16(a) (l). PSD pe rm it d e c isi on s are tr e ate d d if fe re ntl y un de r t he re g ulatio ns fr om o the r p e rm it decisions that ar e subjec t to EAB r eview. See id. § 124.16(a) . For such per mits, construction of
new or signific antly

modified fac iliti es ca

nnot beg in until a final permit is issued by the Reg ional Administrator (or de leg ated state ag ency ) followingEAB revie w. Se e ge ne ra lly In reSh e ll Offshore, Inc. , 13 E.A.D. 357, 364-65 ( EAB 2007). H. Stay s of Permit Appea ls Pending Settlement Ne g otiations An appe al is not automatically stay ed duringsettlement neg otiations between the permitting authority and the a pplicant. Howe ver, the EAB may , upon reque st of the par ties or on its own init iative, stay

further briefingduringsettlement neg otiations. Further information about the EA B ’s a lte rn ativ e dis pute re so lut ion (“ AD R” ) p ro g ra

m is ava ila

ble in s e c tio n I I .J of

thi s Manu a l, a nd on the EA B ’s we bs ite at www.e pa.g ov/eab. 59 I f protra cted se ttlement neg otiations are
co n t em p l at ed , th e E AB m ay re m an d th e p erm i tt o th e R egi o nfo r t h e p urp o s e o f p urs u i n g a53

se ttl e me nt o uts ide the a

pp e a ls p ro c e ss, wi tho ut p re jud ic e to e ith e r p art

y ’s ri g ht t o r e qu e st
r e i n s t at e m e n to f

th e a p p e a l i f th ats h o u l d

p r o v e n e c e s s ar

y.54

V. OTHE R E AB AP P EA LS A. Introduction Al tho ug h mo st e nf

or c e me nt a

pp e a ls t o th e EA B are g ov e rn e d b y the CRO P ( se e su

pra Section I I I ) and most per

mit appeals to the EAB are g overne d by 40 C.F.R. part 124 (se e su pra Section I V), some a dminist rative a ppeals a re a uthorized by

other re g ulations. These c ateg ories of appea ls are br iefly

descr ibed below. Pra ctitioners should consult the applicable statute and regulations for fur

ther infor mation reg ardingthese a

ppeals. B . Cl e an A ir

Ac t ( “ CA A” ) E nf

or c e me nt A

pp e a ls 1. CAA § 120 A dec ision of the Presiding O ffice r asse ssing a noncompliance penalty

under CAA § 120, 42 U.S.C. § 7420, may be appe aled to the EA B pur suant to 40 C.F.R. § 66.95(c)
. Se e als o 40 C.F.R. § 66.3(g ) (de leg atingauthority to the EAB to issue final dec isions in appeals under 40 C.F.R. part 66).

2. CAA § 207(c) A d e c isi on

of the Pr e sid ingOf

fi c e r u nd e r 4 0 C. F .R. pa

rt 85 (E PA- or de re d a

uto mob ile
rec alls for fa ilure to meet e missions standards unde r CAA § 207(c ), 42 U.S.C. § 7541(c)) may be appea led to the EAB pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 85.1807(u). Se e als o 40 C.F.R § 85.1807(a) (6) (dele g atingauthority

to the EAB to issue final dec isions in appeals under 40 C.F .R. part 85). C. C AAPe rm it App e a ls 1. Ti tle V O pe ratin gPe rm its Title V of the 1990 amendments to the CAA ( see42 U.S.C. §§ 7661-7661f) re quires
cer tain stationary

source s of air pollution to obtain permits from state air pollution age ncies a

nd55

require s EPA to establish a fede ral pe rmit prog ram whe re no state prog ram e x ists. C AA § 502(d)( 3), 42 U.S.C. § 7661a(d)( 3). EPA has e stablished proce dures f or a f eder al oper ating permit prog ram unde r Title V of the CAA amendme nts at 40 C.F.R. part 71. Se c tio n 7 1. 11 (l ) p ro vid e s f or a pp e a l to the EA B fr om a

fe de ra l T itl e V o pe ratin gpe rm it decision. Section 71.10(i) pr ovides for a n appea l to the EAB f

rom a Title V ope ratingpermit that was issued by

a state, triba l, local, or other authority pursuant to a delegation of authority from EPA. See, e .g. , In re Pe abody W . Coal Co. , 1 2 E .A .D . 2 2, 27 -2 9 ( EA B 20 05 ). Ho we ve r, a pe rm it issued by a state w ith an EPA-authorized state pr og ram may not be appe aled to the EA B. An Administrator’s de nial of a r equest that a permit be re vised, revoke d and re issued, or terminated ma

y be informa lly

appea led to the EAB , pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 71.27(a )(2)
. 2. Ac id R a in P ro g ra

m Title 40 C.F.R. part 72 esta blishes permit require ments under EPA’s A cid Rain Prog ram pursuant to Title I V of the CAA. Sec tion 78.3(b)(1) pr ovides for a n appea l to the EAB f

rom
cer tain acid r ain per

mit decisions lis ted at 40 C.F.R. § 78.1(a ). See, e .g. , In re I ndianapolis Pow er &Light Co. , 6 E. A. D. 23 , 2 7 ( EA B 19 95 ); see also 40 C.F .R. § 7 8. 1( c ). Se c tio n 7 8. 20 se ts f or th the appe als proce dure unde r par t 78. 3. Standards of Per formanc e for Residential Wood Heater s A dec ision of the Presiding O ffice r to deny an application for ce rtification, or r evoke a
cer tification, for a

residential wood he ater , under 40 C.F .R. § 60.539, or a dec ision to deny or revoke a ce rtification for

laboratory

acc reditation under

40 C.F.R. § 60.533, may be appe aled to the EAB pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 60.539(h)( 2). See, e .g. , In re W oodkiln, Inc. , 7 E.A.D. 254, 256 (EAB 1997).56

D. Fe dera l I nsecticide , Fung icide, and Rode nticide Act ( “F I FRA” ) No n- En fo rc e me nt P ro c e e din g s EPAre g ulatio ns at 40 C.F .R. pa rt 16 4 g ov e rn

he ari ng s in

F I F RApr oc e e din g s a

ri sin gfr om: (1) r efusa l to reg ister a pe sticide; (2) c ance llation of a pesticide r eg istration; (3) cha ng e of cl as s i fi ca t i o no f ap es t i ci d e; (4 ) s u s p en s i o no f ap es t i ci d e r egi s tra t i o n ; an d (5 ) o th er h ea ri n gs
c onve ne d p ur su ant t o F I F RA§ 6 , 7 U. S.C. § 1 36 d. An a pp e a l to the EA B of

an in iti a l de c isi on

is authorized by

40 C.F.R. §§ 164.101-.103. The E AB is require d to issue a final Ag ency decision within 90 day s from an initial dec ision iss ued at the c lose of a he aringor fr om the filing of an
acc eler ated de cision. 40 C.F.R. § 164.103. Special rules a pply to expedited hearing s, see 40 C.F.R. §§ 164.120-.123, and modifications of previous ca ncellation and suspe nsion orders, see 40 C.F.R. §§ 164.130-.133. E. Equal Ac cess to Just ice Ac t The Administrator ha s deleg ated a uthority to the EAB to take fina l action on claims made under the Equal Ac cess to Just ice Ac t. 40 C.F.R. § 17.8. See, e .g. , In re Cutler , In re Brick s, Inc. , 11 E.A.D. 796, 797 (E AB 2004); see ge ne ra lly 40 C.F.R. part 17 (Implementation of the Equa l Acc ess to J ustice Ac t in Adminis trative Proce eding s). F . F ra ud ule nt C la ims Ag a ins t E PA The Administrator ha s deleg ated a uthority to the EAB to take fina l action in administrative proce eding s to impose civil penalties ag ainst persons who make false or fra udulent claims or statements to EPA. 40 C.F.R. § 27.48; see als o id. § 2 7. 1. A d e fe nd ant who ha s f ile d a tim e ly
ans we r i n a

c ivi l pe na lty

a c tio n f or makin gsu c h a

c la im o r s tate me nt m ay

a pp e a l an a dv e rs e decision to the EAB pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 27.39(a ). Se e ge ne ra lly 40 C.F.R. pt. 27.57

G. Oc e an D ump ingPe rm its A d e c isi on

of the Pr e sid ingOf

fi c e r t o d e ny

an a pp lic atio n f

or an o c e an d

ump ingpe rm it pursuant to sec tion 102 of the Marine Protection, Resea rch, a nd Sanctuar ies Act of 1972, a s amende d, 33 U.S.C. § 1412, may be appe aled to the EA B. 40 C.F .R. § 222.12(a)( 1). H. Noise Control Act A dec ision of the Presiding O ffice r under the Noise Control Act of 1972, 42 U .S.C. § 4910, may be appe aled to the EA B pur suant to 40 C.F.R. § 209.3(k).58

I f the pe titioner has not complied with the terms of the order , the petition will be 60 denied. See E

mp’rs Ins. of W

ausau v. Clinton , 8 48 F . Su pp . 1 35 9, 13 68 (N .D . I ll. 19 94 ); aff’d , 52 F.3d 656 ( 7th Cir. 1995), cert. de nied , 516 U.S. 1042 (1996) (e stablishing the pr oposition); In re Findley

Adhesive s, Inc. , 5 E.A.D. 710, 716, 718 & n.23 (EAB 1995). The c onstitut ionality

of the re imbursement proc edure established in sec tion 106(b)(2) 61 was uphe ld in Emp’rs Ins. of W ausau v. Browner , 848 F. Supp. 1369, 1374-78 (N .D. I ll. 1994), aff’d , 52 F.3d 656 ( 7th Cir. 1995), cert. de nied , 51 6 U .S. 10 42 (1 99 6) (c on so lid ate d o n a pp e a l to the 7th Circuit with the district court ca se cited in the immediate ly prec edingfootnote). Certain fe dera l ag encie s other than EPA a lso have the a uthority to issue orders unde r 62 se c tio n 1 06 (a ). Re imb ur se me nt c la ims ba se d o n o rd e rs iss ue d b y a g e nc ie s o the r t

ha n E PA m us t (continued...) VI. CERCLA SECTION 106(b) PETITIONS FOR REIMBURSEMENT A. Introduction The EAB issues final dec isions gra nting or denying pe titions for r eimbursement submitted under se ction 106(b)( 2) of the Compre hensive Environme ntal Response, Compensation, and L iability Act of 1980 ( “CERCL A”) , 42 U.S.C. § 9606(b)(2). Sec tion 106(b)(2) a llows any person who has c omplied with an order issued under se ction 106(a) of the statute to petition for reimburse ment of the re asonable costs incurre d in complying w ith the order, plus intere st. To 60 establish a cla im for re imbursement, a pe titioner must demonstrate that it was not liable for response costs under CERCL A sec tion 107(a) or that the selec tion of the order ed re sponse ac tion
was a rbitrar y , capr icious, or otherw ise not in acc ordanc e with law. 61 There are no fede ral re g ulations gove rningCERCL A re imbursement proc eeding s. EAB has issued a de tailed guidance document, “Re vised Guidanc e on Proce dures f or Submissi on
an d R e v i e wo f

C E R C LAS e c t i o n1 0 6 ( b ) R e i mb ur s e m e n tP e t i t i o n s ” (N o v . 1 0 , 2 0 0 4 ) ( “ C E R C LA Guidance ”), seeAppendix 1, describingthe information that petitioners a re e x pecte d to submitand the pr oc e dure s th at th e EA B int e nd s to fo llo w i n e va luatin gse c tio n 1 06 (b ) p e tit ion s. 6259

(...continued) 62 b e f i l e d w i thth e E A B
. W h i l e s u c hp e t i t i o n s ar e n o ts p e c i f i c a l l y a d dr e s s e d

i nth e C E R C LA Guidance , proce dures similar to those set for th in the CERC L A Guidanc e will apply to any such claims. See I

n re Katania Shipping Co. , 8 E.A.D. 294, 298-300 & n.3 (EAB 1999). See CERCL A Guidanc e at 2- 3. 63 Pe rs on s w ho be lie ve the y ma y be e lig ibl e to a sse rt

a c la im und e r s e c tio n 1 06 (b ) s ho uld ref er to the guidance document for further discussion of the applica ble proc edure s, which ar e
summa ri zed in t he fo llo wi ngpa

ra g ra ph s. B. Proc edure for Submitting CERCL A Reimbursement Petitions 1. F ili ngRe qu ir e me nts By statute, a c laimant must file a petition for re imbursement “within 60 day s after completion of the re quired a ction.” SeeCER CLA § 10 6( b) (2 )( A) , 4 2 U .S. C. § 96 06 (b )( 2) (A ); see als o In reGran d P ie r Ct

r. , LLC , 12 E.A.D. 403, 407 n.7 (E AB 2003) (c hara cter izi ngthe 60-da y deadline a s a “pr ere quisite” that must be satisfied bef ore the Boa

rd will consider the merits of the petition). Petiti ons for re imbursement and other pleading s may

be filed e lectronic ally
. See Section I I .I .1 (conta ining infor mation about the EAB ’s re quirements for elec tronic filing ). F or the p urp o s e o f d et erm i n i n g a p et i t i o n er ’s co mp l i an ce wi thth e s t atu t o ry 6 0 -d ay d ea d l i n e f

o r f i l i n g a petition, the EAB w ill look at the postm ark date if the pe tition was sent to the Boa rd by cer tified mail, or to the date of

rec eipt by

the EAB if the petition was tra nsmitt ed ele ctronica lly , byhanddelivery or by any other mail ser

vice. See CERCL A Guidanc e at 2. Ex cept f or a pe tition for reimburseme nt that is sent by cer tified mail, the postmark date of

63 a plea ding is not dete rminative of the time a pleadingwas filed. Plea dings must be rece ived at the EAB ’s offic es by

the spec ified filingdate. I f the EAB establishes a br iefingschedule by order , any60

Se e su pra n.62. 64 date the EA B sp e c if

ie s f or fi lin ga ple a din gis the date by

wh ic h it mus t be re c e ive d, un le ss oth e rw ise sp e c if

ie d in the or de r. Se c tio n I I .I .2 c on ta ins fu rt he r i nf or matio n a bo ut a dd re ssi ngma il sent to the EAB
.

2. EAB Review Proce dures Upon re ceipt of a

petition, the EAB w ill is sue a le tter to the appr opriate EPA Reg ional Offic e (or fede ral a g ency , if the cla im is based on an orde r issued by a fe dera l ag ency

other than EPA) soliciting a written response to the petition. I f the Reg ion contends that one or more of the 64 thr e sh old re qu ir e me nts fo r c on sid e ratio n o f t he pe tit ion

have no t be e n me t, t

he Re g ion

mus t su bmi t a limited response to the pe tition raising any such conte ntions withi n 30 day s of the EAB ’s letter soliciting a r esponse. The se threshold e ligibility require ments relate to: (1) whethe r the administrative orde r in question is subject to section 106(b)( 2); (2) whether the orde r has be en
c omp lie d w ith ; ( 3) wh e the r t he re qu ir e d a c tio n h a s b e e n c omp le te d, and ; ( 4) wh e the r t he pe tit ion

is timely
. See , e.g , In reGran d P ie r Ct r. , LLC , 12 E.A.D. 403, 407 n.7 (E AB 2005). The pe titioner wi ll the n b e g ive n a

n o pp or tun ity to r e sp on d to the Re g ion ’s c on te nti on s r e g ard ingthr e sh old require ments. After

these issues have been br iefe d, the EAB will either rule on a ny threshold issue raised by the Reg ion or defe r its ruling until the merits have been br iefe d. I f the Reg ion finds that the petitioner has met the thr eshold elig ibilit y require ments, the Reg ion shall submit a re sponse addr essingthe merits of the pe titioners’ claims within 60 day s after the date of

the EAB ’s letter solicitinga re sponse to the petition. The EAB will then evaluate the
me ri ts o f t

he pe tit ion e r’ s c la im. Whe n e va luatin ga pe tit ion fo r r e imb ur se me nt, the EA B may , in its discretion, reque st supplemental briefing , direc t the parties to pre sent oral a rgument, or re fer61

The EAB has issued a f

inal decision without first issuing a pr eliminary decision. In re 65 Glidden Co. , 10 E.A.D. 738, 754 n.15 (E AB 2002). The E AB dismiss ed the pe titions for reimburse ment as pre mature on the g round that petitioners ha d not completed the r equire d response action and the ref ore ha d not satisfied a statutory prer equisite for r eimbursement. Id. at 754. The EA B e x plained that, “be cause today ’s orde r does not involve a f inal dispositi on, but a dismissal without prejudice to re file, the B oard is not issuing a preliminary

decision.” Id
. at 754 n.15. particula r fa ctual questions to a hea ringoffice r for

the purpose of

conductingan evide ntiary hear ing. I

n most cases, howe ver, the EAB will issue a proposed disposition of the petition in the form of a preliminary

decision base d on the petition, the reg ional office r’s re sponse to the petition,
an d th e un d e r l yi n ga dm i n i s tr at i v e r e c o r d
. T h e p r e l i m i n ar y d e c i s i o nw i l l b e a c c o mp an i e d b y a schedule providing both parties with an oppor tunity to submitcomments. A final de cision on whether the petitioner is entitled to any reimburse ment will be issued afte r consider ation of the parties’ comments. I f the EAB deter mines that the petitioner is entitled to reimburseme nt of at 65 le a st s ome of

its c os ts o f c omp lia

nc e , f ur the r p ro c e e din g s w ill be he ld t o d e te rm ine the a pp ro pr iate level of r eimbursement. See, e .g. , In re Solutia, Inc. , 10 E.A.D. 193, 204 n.12, 217 (E AB 2001); I n r e P o r t A u th

. o f N

. Y. , 1 0 E
. A. D. 6 1 , 9 8 (E AB 2 0 0 1 ). An y fi n al d ec i s i o nb y

th e E AB d en yi n g a
re imb ur se me nt p e tit ion

in who le or

in p art may be a pp e a le d b y

the pe tit ion e r t o th e a

pp ro pr iate U.S. district court as provide d in CERC L A § 106(b)( 2)(B ), 42 U.S.C. § 9606(b)(2) (B ).62

AP P EN DI CE S 1. Revised Guidanc e on Proce dures f or Submissi on and Reviewof CERCL A Section 106(b) Reimburse ment Petitions (Nov. 10, 2004) 2. EAB Request for Re g ional Response to Petition for Review of RCRA, UI C, or NPDES Permit Decisions under 40 C.F.R. pa rt 124 3. EA B Re qu e st f

or Re g ion a l Re sp on se to P e tit ion fo r R e vie w o f P SD P e rm it Dec ision under 40 C.F.R. par t 124 4. EAB Consent Ag ree ment and F inal Orde r (“ CAFO” ) Proce dures 5. Memorandum f

rom Administrator to Environmental Appe als Boa rd tit le d “ Expe dit e d A dmi nis tr ativ e Re vie w o f A pp e a ls o f R CRA Permit Denials Filed by Interim Status Hazardous Waste Combusti on Fa cilities” (Mar . 16, 1994) 6. PleadingTemplatesRevised Guidance on Procedures for Submission and Review of CERCLA Section 106(b) Reimbursement Petitions

Date: November 10, 2004 Environmental Appeals Board

This document is intended solely as guidance and is not determinative of the issues addressed. The policies and procedures in this guidance do not constitute a rulemaking by the Agency and may not be relied on to create a substantive or procedural right or benefit enforceable at law by any person. The Agency may take action at variance with this guidance.Contents I. Introduction .......................1 II. Filing Procedures and Deadlines .............2 III. Contents of the Petition .................3 A. Background Information ...............3 B. Statutory Prerequisites for Obtaining Review on the Merits ...................4 Compliance with the Order ..............4 Completion of the Required Action ..........4 Timeliness of the Petition .............4 Incurrence of Costs .................4 C. Statement of Grounds for Reimbursement .......5 D. Required Attachments ................6 IV. Environmental Appeals Board Procedures for Processing Section 106(b) Petitions .................6 A. Response to the Petition ..............6 B. Additional Briefing .................8 C. Evidentiary Hearings and Oral Arguments .......8 D. Preliminary Decision ................9 E. Comments on the Preliminary Decision ........9 F. Further Proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Final Order Denying Reimbursement . . . . . . . . . 10 Final Decision and Order Granting Reimbursement . . 10 Final Decision Determining Reimbursable Costs and Authorizing Payment . . . . . . . . . . . 11 G. Federal Court Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 V. Further information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 This document is intended solely as guidance. It is not determinative of the issues addressed. The policies and procedures in this guidance do not constitute a rulemaking by the Agency, and may not be relied on to create a substantive or procedural right or benefit enforceable at law by any person. The Agency may take action at variance with this guidance.
2 Certain federal agencies other than EPA also have the authority to issue CERCLA § 106(a) orders. See Exec. Order No. 12580, 52 Fed. Reg. 2923 (Jan. 23, 1987). Reimbursement claims based on orders issued by these agencies also must be filed with the EAB. The procedures set forth in this guidance apply to those claims. I. INTRODUCTION This document sets forth guidance 1 regarding petitions for reimbursement submitted under section 106(b)(2) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. § 9606(b)(2), as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA). This guidance describes the contents of reimbursement petitions and the procedures that EPA uses in responding to reimbursement petitions. Section 106(b)(2) allows any person who has complied with an administrative order issued by EPA or another federal agency under section 106(a) of CERCLA to petition for reimbursement of the reasonable costs incurred in complying with the order, plus interest. To establish a claim for reimbursement, a petitioner must demonstrate that it was not liable for response costs under CERCLA section 107(a), or that EPA’s selection of the ordered response action was arbitrary and capricious or was otherwise not in accordance with law. The full text of sections 106(a) and 106(b)(2) is set forth as an appendix to this guidance. The President's authority to implement CERCLA section 106(b) was delegated to the EPA Administrator by Executive Order 12580 (January 23, 1987). The authority to receive, evaluate, and make determinations regarding petitions for reimbursement submitted pursuant to section 106(b) has been delegated to EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board (“EAB”). See Delegation of Authority 14-27 ("Petitions for Reimbursement"). 2 Since there are no regulatory procedures for reviewing CERCLA § 106(b) petitions, the EAB has issued this guidance document to outline the procedures it intends to follow in such cases. This guidance supersedes the “Revised Guidance on- 2 - Procedures for Submitting CERCLA Section 106(b) Reimbursement Petitions and on EPA Review of Those Petitions," issued by the EAB on October 9, 1996, and is effective immediately. The procedures described in this guidance will be applied to all petitions submitted on or after the date the guidance is issued. The EAB will also apply these procedures, to the extent the EAB determines it to be practicable and nonprejudicial to any party, to petitions that were submitted before the date of issuance of this guidance but not yet decided by the EAB. II. FILING PROCEDURES AND DEADLINES Petitions for reimbursement and supporting documents shall be sent to the EAB as follows: Petitions and documents that are sent by U.S. mail (except by U.S. Express Mail) shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to: Clerk of the Board Environmental Appeals Board (Mail Code 1103B) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20460 Petitions and supporting documents that are delivered by hand or courier (including U.S. Express Mail) shall be delivered to: Clerk of the Board Environmental Appeals Board U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Colorado Building Suite 600 1341 G Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20005 The office hours of the Clerk of the Board are 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (excluding federal holidays). The petitioner shall also send a copy of its petition, including attachments, to the EPA Regional office (or federal agency, if other than EPA) that issued the underlying administrative order. Consult the EAB Practice Manual, which is accessible on the EAB’s website at www.epa.gov/eab for additional requirements pertaining to the filing of documents with the EAB. Section 106(b)(2) requires that a petition be submitted to EPA “within 60 days after completion of the required action.”- 3 - For the purpose of determining whether a petitioner has complied with the statutory 60-day deadline, EPA requires that a petition that was sent by certified mail be postmarked not later than the 60th day after the date of completion of the required action. A petition that was sent to the EAB by any means other than certified mail must actually be received by the EAB not later than the 60th day after the date of completion of the required action. If the 60-day time period for filing the petition with EPA expires on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal legal holiday, the period will be extended to include the next business day. III. CONTENTS OF THE PETITION A. Background Information A petition must include the following background information: • the petitioner's full name, title, and address; • the name, title, address, telephone number and fax number of any agent or attorney authorized to represent the petitioner (or, if the petitioner is not represented, the petitioner’s own telephone number and fax number); • the name and address of the facility at which the response action was implemented; and • the U.S. EPA docket number for the section 106(a) order, if issued by EPA. A complete copy of the order must also accompany the petition as an attachment. The petition must be signed by the petitioner or by an attorney representing the petitioner. If the petitioner is not a natural person (e.g., if the petitioner is a corporation), the petition must be signed by the petitioner’s attorney or by an agent or officer of the petitioner who is qualified to act as a signatory. For purposes of this requirement, a “qualified” agent or officer means one who satisfies the definition provided in 40 C.F.R. § 270.11(a). The EAB may at any time require any factual assertion contained in a petition to be substantiated by an affidavit based on the affiant’s personal knowledge of the matter asserted.- 4 - B. Statutory Prerequisites for Obtaining Review on the Merits (Threshold Issues) CERCLA establishes four prerequisites for obtaining review, and the petitioner must demonstrate that it satisfies all four of them. The EAB will ordinarily not address the merits of a petition unless the petitioner has first demonstrated that it has satisfied these prerequisites. See Section IV.A.1. relative to a Region’s disputing that one or more of the statutory prerequisites have been met. The four prerequisites are: 1) Compliance With the Order : A petitioner may seek reimbursement of costs incurred in responding to a section 106(a) order only if it complied with the order. The reimbursement petition must state that the petitioner has complied with the order, and must be accompanied by evidence supporting that statement. 2) Completion of the Required Action : A petitioner may seek reimbursement only after having completed the action required by the order. The reimbursement petition must state that the action has been completed, and be accompanied by evidence supporting that statement. 3) Timeliness of the Petition : The petition must state the date on which the action required by the section 106(a) order was completed, so that the EAB can determine whether the petition is timely. Information regarding compliance with the statutory 60-day filing deadline appears in Section II of this guidance. 4) Incurrence of Costs : The petitioner must demonstrate that it incurred costs. However, the petitioner need not demonstrate the “reasonableness” of those costs until and unless the EAB concludes that the petitioner is entitled to reimbursement in some amount. When initially filing a petition, the only cost information the petitioner must include is: (1) a statement asserting that the petitioner incurred costs in complying with the section 106(a) order, and (2) an estimate of the total costs the petitioner is claiming. The EAB will ordinarily consider any dispute concerning the reasonableness of the costs incurred only after it decides that reimbursement of some amount should be awarded. However, it may request cost information at3 A petition must be promptly amended as appropriate to correct or clarify any statements therein that are no longer true, or that are determined not to have been true when made.
4 Section 106(b)(2)(D) provides for the reimbursement of “reasonable response costs incurred by the petitioner pursuant to the portions of the order found to be arbitrary and capricious or otherwise not in accordance with law” (emphasis added). Therefore, when making a claim under section 106(b)(2)(D), the petitioner must be specific in identifying the portions of EPA’s order that it seeks to challenge. - 5 - an earlier date if it deems such information useful in determining either threshold eligibility issues or a petitioner’s entitlement to reimbursement on the merits. C. Statement of Grounds for Reimbursement The petition must set forth all legal arguments, factual contentions (including contentions, if any, regarding technical or scientific matters), and supporting evidence on which the petitioner relies in support of its claim for reimbursement. 3 Except as may be permitted by the EAB for good cause shown, and except as specifically provided in Sections III.B(4) and IV.F of this guidance (describing procedures for submitting cost-related information), a petitioner may not raise any issues during the petition review process that were not identified in the petition, and may not submit any evidence or information during the petition review process that was not identified in the petition, unless the petitioner demonstrates in a motion to the EAB that: (1) for new issues, such issues were not reasonably ascertainable as of the date the petition was filed; or (2) for new evidence or information, the petitioner could not reasonably have known of its existence, or could not reasonably have anticipated its relevance or materiality, as of the date the petition was filed. The petition must explicitly state, as to each claim set forth therein, whether the claim arises under CERCLA § 106(b)(2)(C) or under CERCLA § 106(b)(2)(D), or both in the alternative. 4 Both subparagraph 106(b)(2)(C) and subparagraph 106(b)(2)(D) expressly place the burden of proof on the petitioner.5 Copies of such cost-related documents need only be submitted after the Board issues a Final Decision and Order Granting Reimbursement. See Section IV.F, infra . - 6 - D. Required Attachments A copy of the administrative order on which the petitioner’s claim is based must accompany the petition as an attachment. In addition, all other documents on which the petitioner relies in support of its claim must also be submitted as attachments to the petition, except for documents to be relied on solely as evidence of the costs incurred or as evidence of their reasonableness. 5 Each of the attachments must be separately identified, and the relevance of each attachment to the petitioner’s claim briefly explained, in the body of the petition. IV. EAB PROCEDURES FOR PROCESSING SECTION 106(b) PETITIONS The EAB will generally evaluate petitions for reimbursement using the procedures set forth below. However, it may exercise its discretion to stay further action on a petition at any time. The EAB may, for example, defer consideration of a petition while related settlement discussions or judicial actions are proceeding, or for other good cause. A petitioner may elect to withdraw its petition, or to withdraw its own claim from a petition submitted jointly with other petitioners. Whenever a petitioner withdraws a claim for reimbursement, the petitioner will be permitted to reinstate that claim onlyif the 60-day statutory deadline (measured from the date of completion of the required action) has not yet expired. A. Response to the Petition Upon receiving a petition for reimbursement, the EAB will send a letter to the appropriate EPA Regional office, or federal agency if the order was not issued by EPA (with a copy to the petitioner) soliciting a response to the petition. (All references to the Region in Section IV of this Guidance also apply to the federal agency that issued the order when the order was not issued by EPA.) 1. Limited response addressing prerequisites for obtaining review If the Region contends that one or more of the four prerequisites for obtaining review discussed in Section III.B of6 The Region may request a limited extension of time if necessary to verify whether a petitioner has completed the response action. - 7 - this guidance have not been met – i.e., that the petitioner has failed to comply with EPA’s section 106(a) order, that the required action has not been completed, that the petition was not timely filed, and/or that the petitioner has not incurred any costs in complying with a section 106(a) order – the Region must raise those contentions by submitting a limited responsive pleading in the nature of a motion to dismiss the petition. Such a pleading should address onlythe petitioner’s alleged failure to meet one or more of the prerequisites for obtaining review described in Section III.B, and will be treated by the EAB as a request to reject the petition without reaching the merits of the petitioner’s claims. The Region shall file its pleading within thirtydays after the date of the EAB’s letter soliciting a response to the petition. 6 The petitioner will then be invited to respond to the Region’s motion. If the Region has filed a pleading moving to dismiss the petition for failure to meet one or more of the prerequisites for obtaining review, and once the petitioner has had the opportunity to respond, the EAB may rule on any or all of the prerequisite issues or may defer ruling on them until the merits have also been briefed (pursuant to a further order of the EAB). The Region’s filing of a responsive pleading in the nature of a motion to dismiss does not waive any of the Regions’s arguments with respect to the merits of the petitioner’s claims. The EAB’s dismissal of a petition as premature on the ground that the petitioner has not completed the response action is without prejudice to re-filing the petition at a subsequent time. 2. Response on the merits If the Region does not contend that one or more of the statutory prerequisites discussed in Section III.B of this guidance have not been met, the Region must submit a response addressing the merits of the petitioner’s claims. The Region’s response must be received within sixtydays after the date of the EAB’s letter soliciting a response to the petition (unless a later date is specified by the EAB). The Region’s submission of a response addressing the merits of the petitioner’s claims in no way limits the EAB’s authority to reject the petition for failure to satisfy one or more of the statutory prerequisites described in Section III.B of this guidance.7 If the EAB designates a hearing officer to conduct an evidentiary hearing, he or she will be asked to issue a recommended decision to the EAB with respect to the issues addressed at the hearing. - 8 - 3. Certified index and copies of documents The Region’s first response to the EAB (either addressing one or more statutory prerequisites for reimbursement or the merits of the petitioner’s claims) must be accompanied by a certified index to the administrative record that the Region compiled in connection with the issuance of the underlying CERCLA § 106(a) order. In addition, the Region must provide the EAB with copies of all documents that are relied on in the responsive pleading and that have not already been submitted by the petitioner. B. Additional Briefing The EAB may at any time require or invite the petitioner and/or the Region to provide such supplemental briefing as the Board may deem necessary for an informed resolution of the issues presented. Briefs other than those expressly required or invited by the EAB may be submitted only with leave of the EAB. C. Evidentiary Hearings and Oral Arguments CERCLA § 106(b) does not require that EPA provide an evidentiary hearing on a reimbursement petition. However, the EAB may, in its discretion, designate an EPA employee who has had no prior involvement in the matter under review to serve as a hearing officer and to conduct an evidentiary hearing with respect to any issue of fact that the EAB may consider material to the resolution of a reimbursement petition. 7 Similarly in its sole discretion, the EAB may direct the parties to appear before it to present oral argument with respect to one or more specified issues. The EAB may take either of those actions either in response to a request by a party or on its own initiative. If the EAB determines that an evidentiary hearing or oral argument shall take place, both the petitioner and the Region will be notified in writing of the issues to be addressed and the hearing date and location. Both the Region and the petitioner will be expected to participate in such proceedings; a party's failure to participate may cause adverse inferences or conclusions to be drawn against that party with respect to any matter to be addressed at the proceedings.- 9 - D. Preliminary Decision The EAB’s proposed disposition of a petition for reimbursement, whether on the merits or otherwise, will ordinarily be issued to the parties in the form of a “Preliminary Decision” on which comments will be solicited (see Section IV.E). If any materials cited in the Preliminary Decision were not furnished by the parties themselves and are not generally available, such materials will either be sent by the EAB to all parties along with the Preliminary Decision or be made available for inspection by the parties at the Regional office upon issuance of the Preliminary Decision, as the EAB deems appropriate. In addition, if an evidentiary hearing was conducted in connection with the evaluation of a petition, the EAB will provide a copy of the hearing officer's recommended decision to the parties along with its own Preliminary Decision. In cases where the EAB dismisses a petition without prejudice to refiling, or where the EAB action is reflective of a settlement among the parties, the EAB may issue a Final Decision and Order either granting or denying reimbursement, as appropriate, with no opportunity for comment, instead of a Preliminary Decision. E. Comments on the Preliminary Decision When the EAB issues its Preliminary Decision, it will also establish a schedule providing both parties with an opportunity to comment on the decision. The EAB will generally invite such comments according to the following sequence: If the Preliminary Decision proposes to award reimbursement (in whole or in part) to the petitioner, the EAB will direct the Regional office to submit its comments first. The EAB will specify a later date for submission of the petitioner’s comments, which may include a response to the Region’s comments. If the Preliminary Decision proposes to deny the petitioner’s claim in full, the EAB will direct the petitioner to submit its comments first. The EAB will specify a later date for submission of the Region’s comments, which may include a response to the petitioner’s comments. The comment period following issuance of the EAB's Preliminary Decision represents the final opportunity for each party to present its views in relation to the substance of the petitioner's claim for reimbursement under section 106(b)(2). Comments should focus with particularity on the analysis in the Preliminary Decision rather than merely repeating general arguments previously made. To the extent that a party wishes only- 10 - to reaffirm its reliance on arguments already made to the EAB, such arguments need not be repeated at length. Instead, comments of that nature may be submitted in summary form, referencing the commenting party’s prior submissions. Absent extraordinary circumstances, the EAB will decline to consider any new claims, issues, or evidence sought to be raised or submitted during the comment period. Therefore, unless such extraordinary circumstances exist, comments should be limited to issues raised in the petition, the Region's response to the petition, or to any other matter discussed in the Preliminary Decision. The burden is on the party seeking to submit additional information to establish that extraordinary circumstances exist. F. Further Proceedings After reviewing comments and responses to comments submitted by the parties, and making such changes as it deems appropriate in light of those submissions, the EAB will issue either a Final Decision and Order Granting Reimbursement or a Final Order Denying Reimbursement. A Final Decision and Order Granting Reimbursement will be issued if the EAB determines that a petitioner is entitled to reimbursement of all or any portion of the costs claimed in the petition. A Final Order Denying Reimbursement will be issued only if the EAB determines that no portion of the costs claimed by the petitioner should be reimbursed. Final Order Denying Reimbursement : A Final Order Denying Reimbursement represents the Agency’s final decision with respect to the petitioner’s claim. It will be served on the petitioner by certified mail, return receipt requested. A petitioner who wishes to file an action in Federal district court challenging a Final Order Denying Reimbursement under CERCLA § 106(b)(2)(B) must do so within thirty days of receipt of that order. Final Decision and Order Granting Reimbursement : A Final Decision and Order Granting Reimbursement does not constitute the Agency’s final action on the petition because the EAB must still determine the amount of reimbursement to be awarded. When issuing a Final Decision and Order Granting Reimbursement, therefore, the EAB will also direct the petitioner to file a brief with supporting documentation of all reasonable costs that it incurred8 Petitioner may reference documents in the record.
9 The statute expressly limits reimbursement from the Fund to “reasonable” costs (plus interest). The petitioner shall submit evidence of the costs actually incurred, which evidence shall include, at a minimum, itemized invoices and proof of their payment in full. The EAB may also require a demonstration that those costs are reasonable, particularly in cases where the Region argues that specific cost items are not reasonable. While not all factors bearing on the reasonableness of a petitioner’s costs can be articulated in this guidance, they would typically include: bidding procedures used for a particular project and the number of bids received; reasons for selecting a contractor other than the lowest bidder; cost estimates provided by prospective contractors and the circumstances surrounding any later deviations from those estimates; and the reasons for any unforeseen expansion of a particular project or unforeseen delay in its completion, to the extent that such expansion or delay resulted in additional costs. Petitioners should retain documents and other evidence bearing on such matters, and should be prepared to submit such evidence to the EAB upon request. - 11 - in implementing the order. 8 The Region will then be afforded an opportunity to challenge particular cost items (as unreasonable or otherwise not recoverable), and the petitioner will be permitted to respond to those challenges, in accordance with a briefing schedule established by the EAB. 9 Final Decision Determining Reimbursable Costs and Authorizing Payment : After the cost issues have been briefed, the EAB will issue a Final Decision Determining Reimbursable Costs and Authorizing Payment. The Final Decision Determining Costs and Authorizing Payment will be served on the petitioner by certified mail, return receipt requested. A Final Decision Determining Reimbursable Costs and Authorizing Payment represents the Agency’s final decision with respect to the petitioner’s claim. A petitioner who wishes to file an action in Federal district court under CERCLA § 106(b)(2)(B) challenging a Final Decision and Order Granting Reimbursement and/or a Final Decision Determining Reimbursable Costs and Authorizing Payment must do so within thirty days of receipt of a Final10 Individual volumes of the E.A.D. may be purchased from the U.S. Superintendent of Documents, telephone: 202-512-1800. - 12 - Decision Determining Reimbursable Costs and Authorizing Payment. The EAB’s Final Orders Denying Reimbursement, Final Decisions and Orders Granting Reimbursement, and Final Decisions Determining Reimbursable Costs and Authorizing Payment may be published in the Environmental Administrative Decisions (E.A.D.) 10 and are available on the EAB’s website at www.epa.gov/eab. These decisions are also available through such services as LEXIS © , WESTLAW © , the EPA Administrative Law Reporter, the ELI Environmental Law Reporter, and EPA Shadow LawTM. For the convenience of litigants and the EAB, the EAB encourages the citation of Board decisions to the appropriate volume and page number of the E.A.D. if the cited decision appears therein. The official form of citation for the EAB’s opinions is set forth in the EAB Practice Manual, which is also accessible at the EAB’s website, www.epa.gov/eab . Preliminary decisions are also available on the EAB’s website. G. Federal court review of EAB decisions The EAB’s decisions in CERCLA § 106(b) matters are reviewable de novo in the federal district courts. V. FURTHER INFORMATION For further information concerning the matters addressed in this guidance, contact the Clerk of the Board, Environmental Appeals Board (Mail Code 1103B), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20460, (202) 233-0110.APPENDIX CERCLA Section 106(a) provides: In addition to any other action taken by a State or local government, when the President determines that there may be an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health or welfare or the environment because of an actual or threatened release of a hazardous substance from a facility, he may require the Attorney General of the United States to secure such relief as may be necessary to abate such danger or threat, and the district court of the United States in the district in which the threat occurs shall have jurisdiction to grant such relief as the public interest and the equities of the case may require. The President may also, after notice to the affected State, take other action under this section including, but not limited to, issuing such orders as may be necessary to protect public health and welfare and the environment. CERCLA Section 106(b)(2) provides: (A) Any person who receives and complies with the terms of any order issued under subsection (a) of this section may, within 60 days after completion of the required action, petition the President for reimbursement from the Fund for the reasonable costs of such action, plus interest. Any interest payable under this paragraph shall accrue on the amounts expended from the date of expenditure at the same rate as specified for interest on investments of the Hazardous Substance Superfund established under subchapter A of chapter 98 of Title 26. (B) If the President refuses to grant all or part of a petition made under this paragraph, the petitioner may within 30 days of receipt of such refusal file an action against the President in the appropriate United States district court seeking reimbursement from the Fund. (C) Except as provided in subparagraph (D), to obtain reimbursement, the petitioner shall establish by a preponderance of the evidence that it is not liable for response costs under section 9607(a) of this title and that costs for which it seeks reimbursement are reasonable in light of the action required by the relevant order. (D) A petitioner who is liable for response costs under section 9607(a) of this title may also recover its reasonable costs of response to the extent that it can demonstrate, on the administrative record, that the President's decision in selecting the response action ordered was arbitrary and capricious or wasotherwise not in accordance with law. Reimbursement awarded under this subparagraph shall include all reasonable response costs incurred by the petitioner pursuant to the portions of the order found to be arbitrary and capricious or otherwise not in accordance with law. (E) Reimbursement awarded by a court under subparagraph (C) or (D) may include appropriate costs, fees, and other expenses in accordance with subsections (a) and (d) of section 2412 of Title 28.The Bo ard h as issu ed an O rder authoriz ingthe electronic filing of docum ents in case s inv olv ing 1 perm it app eals. See Orde r Authoriz ingEle ctronic Filingin Proce eding s B efore th e E nv ironm ental App eals B oard Not Gov erned by 40 C .F. R. Part 22 (J an. 28, 20 10), availab le at http://www. epa. g ov/eab (click “S tandingO rders” on sidebar). Instruction s on reg istration and docum ent filingare av ailable b y usingthe “Electro nic F iling ” link on the Board’s w ebsite. D ocum ents c ontainin g con fidential busine ss i n f o rma t i o ns h o u l d

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and e xhibi ts ( IF ANY) can be found on the B oard’ s website at ( IN CL UD E THE LIN K TO TH E D OC KET P AG E LIS TIN GAL L THE DO CU M EN TS F ILED IN TH E CASE). I f you have any dif fi c ult y a c c e ssi ngthi s d oc ume nt, ple a se le t me know. To assist the Environmental Appe als Boa rd in dec iding whe ther the matters ra ised by petitioner should be re viewed, ple ase ha ve your staff

prepa re a response that addre sses the petitioner’s c ontentions and whethe r petitioner ha s satisfied the re quirements for obtaining revie w under

40 C.F.R. § 124.19(a) and file suc h response no later tha n [45 day s of the date of this letter]. I nclude r eleva nt portions of the administrative re cord w ith the response, tog ether with a ce rtified index of the entire a dminist rative r ecor d. Filingmay be ac complished elec tronically

pursuant to the B oard’ s Order of January

28, 2010. Alternatively , filing ma y be 1waiv ed when a do cum ent is electronica lly filed. Id . at 5- 6. Plea se n ote th at if a party , o r its atto rney

or other represen tativ e, electronica lly files any do cum ent, such as a notice of ap peal, brief, or m otion, that exceed s fifty

(50 ) pag es in leng th, inclusiv e of the ce rtificate of serv ice, table o f con tents, and table o f auth or it ie s, b ut

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y s erv ic e w ithi n on e bu si ne ss d ay o f th e date of the electro nic filing
. Se e id . at 4- 5. Su ch p aper copy m ust b e acc om

panied by a sig ned certification statingthat it is id entical to the electronica lly filed docum ent. Id
. a t 5
. I f th e co m bi ne d pa g e le ng tho f al l of the exh ibits or attachm ents s ubm itted in supp ort of a brief or m otion exceed s fifty (50 ) pag es, the requirem ent to sub m it a p aper copy , and its tim ing , a pplies to the entire set of exhibits or attac hm ents. Id
. Any one electronica lly filingexh ibits or attachm ents in sup port o f a brief, m otion, or other docum ent shou ld su bm it them

sep arately

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brief or m otion. Id . at 3. Mail sent to the Env ironm ental P rotection Ag ency v ia the U. S. Postal Serv ice m ay be delay ed 2 by ar an do m

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y a dd re ss w he n fi li ngp le ad in g s w ith th e B oard
. A dd it io na l i nf or m at io n re g ar di ngm ai l deliv ery to the B oard is av ailable o n the Env ironm ental A ppeals Board w ebsite ( ww w. epa. g ov/eab ) at th e Clerk of the B oard or F requen tly A sk ed Q uestion s link s. a c c omp lis he d b y

fi lin ga pa pe r o ri g ina l ( signe d in

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nd tw o c op ie s o f t

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the date sp e c if

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mus t be se nt t o Petitioner, and a c ertifica te of ser vice showingthe date a

nd method of ser

vice should be inc luded with the filing. Al l do c ume nts , in c lud ingthe mate ri a ls d ue [45 d ay s o f t

he date of thi s le tte r], mus t ref ere nce the appea l number. IMP ORTANT : I n addition, any envelope or other pa ckag ing containingdocuments sent to the Environmenta l Appeals B oard’ s mailing a ddress or handdelivery addre ss, as presc ribed be low, must bear a complete a

nd acc urate return a ddress in the upper le ft hand c orner . The e nvelope or packa g ing must also cle arly state the c ase na

me and appea l number in the lower left hand c orner . Al l do c um e nt s t hatar e se ntth r oug h t he U. S. P os ta l Se r vic e , Ex pr e ss M ail , ha ndde liv e r e d, v ia c our ie r m ustinc lude th e nam e of t he or ga niz at ion , a ddr e ss, fac sim ile num be r , t e le phone num be r , a nd an e m ailaddr e ss, if av ail abl e . 2 Do c ume nts that are se nt t hr ou g h th e U. S. Po sta l Se rv ic e (e xce pt b y Expr e ss M a il) MU ST be a dd re sse d to the Envir onme nta l App e a ls B oa rd ’s ma ili nga dd

re ss whic h is : U.S. Environmental Protection Ag ency Clerk of the B oard Environmental Appe als Boa rd 1103B Ariel Rios Building 1 2 0 0 Pe n n s ylv an ia

A v e nu e , N
. W. Washington, D.C. 20460-0001Do c ume nts that are se nt t o th e Envir onme nta l App e a ls B oa rd ’s ha nd -d e liv e ry

a dd re ss (below) throug h the U.S. Postal S ervic e (e x cept by Ex press Mail) w ill be returne d to the sender and shall not be c onsidered a s filed. Do c ume nts that are ha

nd -c arr ie d in

pe rs on , d e liv e re d v ia

c ouri e r, ma ile d b y

Expr e ss M a il, or deliver ed by

a non-U .S. Pos tal Service car rier ( e.g ., Fe dera l Ex press or U PS) MUST be delivere d to: U.S. Environmental Protection Ag ency

Clerk of the B oard Environmental Appe als Boa rd 1341 G Street, N.W. Suite 600 Washington, D.C. 20005 Documents that a

re ha nd-ca rried ma y be deliver ed to the Clerk of the B oard f

rom 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m ., Monday throug h Fr iday

(excluding f

eder al holiday s). Docume nts filed elec tronically may be filed at any

time up to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the day

the document is re quired to be f iled with the Boa

rd. A copy of this letter is beingsent to the petitioner as notification of these filing require ments. Th ank y ou fo r you r atte nti on

to t he se matte rs . S i n c e r e l y,

Eurika Dur

r Clerk of the B oard

cc: [Name and Addr ess of Petitioner(s) ] [Name and

Ad dr e ss o f R e g ion a l Co un se l] [Name and Addr ess of Permittee][Director]

[R eg ion or Name of the State Of fice ] [Ad dr e ss] Re : Ca se Na me Pe rm it Numb e r: Appea l Number: PSD De ar [N ame ]: This is to advise y ou that the Environmental Appe als Boa rd (the “ Boa

rd” or “EAB ”) rec eived on [Date] , a petition dated ___________, f iled by [Name] , on b e h a l f [ N am e o f

P e t i t i o n e r ( s ) ] , a s k i n gth e B o ar d t o r e v i e wa

P S D d e t e r

m i n at i o nb y [P ermit issuer/State and or Reg ion]
. A c op y of the pe tit ion

and e xhibi ts ( IF ANY) can be found on the B oard’ s website at ( IN CL UD E THE LIN K TO TH E D OC KET P AG E LIS TIN GAL L THE DO CU M EN TS F ILED IN TH E CASE). I f you have any dif fi c ult y a c c e ssi ngthi s d oc ume nt, ple a se le t me know. To assist the Boa

rd in dec iding whe ther the matters ra ised by Petitioner should be revie wed, plea se have y our staff prepa re a response that addre sses Petitioner’s contentions and wh e the r P e tit ion e r h a s satis fi e d th e re qu ir e me nts fo r o bta ini ngre vie w und e r 4 0 C. F .R. section 124.19. Re sp on se Se e kin gSummary Di sp os iti on . I f you

be lie ve that th e pe tit ion

in i ts e nti re ty may be appr opriate f

or summary

dispositi on, either be cause the B oard doe s not have jurisdiction to consider the pe tition, t he appe al is untimely , Petitioner lacks standingto file an a ppeal, or none of the issues ra ised in the petition were prese rved f or re view, file a

response to that effe ct by no later tha n [15 day s of the date of this letter] . I nclude r eleva nt portions of the administrative re cord w ith y our re sponse. Filingmay

be ac complished elec tronically pursuant to the B oard’ s Order of January

28,The B oard has issued an O rder authoriz ingthe electronic filing of docum ents in case s inv olv ing 1 perm it app eals. See Orde r Authoriz ingEle ctronic Filingin Proce eding s B efore th e E nv ironm ental App eals B oard Not Gov erned by 40 C .F. R. Part 22 (J an. 28, 20 10), availab le at http://www. epa. g ov/eab (click “S tandingO rders” on sidebar). Instruction s on reg istration and docum ent filingare av ailable b y usingthe “Electro nic F iling ” link on the Board’s w ebsite. D ocum ents c ontainin g con fidential busine ss i n f o rma t i o ns h o u l d

n o tb e f i l e d e l e c t r o n i c a l l y a s th e Bo a r d c o n s i d e r s b u s i n e s s c o n f

i d e n t i a l i t y c l a i ms waiv ed when a do cum ent is electronica lly filed. Id . at 5- 6. Plea se n ote th at if a party , o r its atto rney

or other represen tativ e, electronica lly files any do cum ent, such as a notice of ap peal, brief, or m otion, that exceed s fifty

(50 ) pag es in leng th, inclusiv e of the ce rtificate of serv ice, table o f con tents, and table o f auth or it ie s, b ut

e xc lu si v e of

e xh ib it s or

a tt ac hm en ts , it

m us t a ls o se nd

o ne p ap er

c op y o f th at d oc um en t t o th e B oard b y U
. S
. Ma il , h an d, c ouri er , o r co m m er ci al d el iv er

y s erv ic e w ithi n on e bu si ne ss d ay o f th e date of the electro nic filing
. Se e id . at 4- 5. Su ch p aper copy m ust b e acc om

panied by a sig ned certification statingthat it is id entical to the electronica lly filed docum ent. Id
. a t 5
. I f th e co m bi ne d pa g e le ng tho f al l of the exh ibits or attachm ents s ubm itted in supp ort of a brief or m otion exceed s fifty (50 ) pag es, the requirem ent to sub m it a p aper copy , and its tim ing , a pplies to the entire set of exhibits or attac hm ents. Id
. Any one electronica lly filingexh ibits or attachm ents in sup port o f a brief, m otion, or other docum ent shou ld su bm it them

sep arately

from the associated

brief or m otion. Id . at 3. See supra no te 1 reg ardingpro cedure s for electronica lly filingdo cum ents w ith the Board. 2 2010. Alternatively , filing ma y be ac complished by

filing a paper orig inal (sig ned in blue ink) 1 and tw o c op ie s o f t

he se mate ri a ls w iththe B oa rd (a t th e a dd re ss s ho wn

be low ) b y

the date sp e c if ie d a bo ve . Ac op y

mus t be se nt t o Pe tit ion e r, and a c e rt if ic ate of se rv ic e sh ow ingthe date and method of se rvice should be included with the filing . Petitioner shall have 10 da y s from the date of se rv ic e of

a re sp on se se e kin gsumma ry dis po sit ion

to f ile a re ply wi th t he B oa rd , unle ss the B oard de termines other wise. I f the B oard de termines that summary dispositi on is appropriate, the B oard w ill is sue an or de r t o th at e ff

e c t. I f t he B oa rd de te rm ine s th at summa

ry dis po sit ion

is n ot a pp ro pr iate , o r t

hat the issue of summary

dispositi on should be rese rved until afte r a r esponse to the merits of the petition is filed, the Boa

rd will issue an orde r direc ting that a response to the merits of the petition be filed within 15 day s of the B oard’ s order
. Response not SeekingSummary Disposition. I f you do not file a re sponse see king summary dispositi on, file a r esponse to the mer its of the petition by not later than [30 day s of the date of this letter]. I nclude with your re sponse re levant portions of the a dminist rative r ecor d, toge ther with a c ertified inde x of the e ntire administrative re cord. Filingmay

be ac complished elec tronically pursuant to the B oard’ s Order of January

28, 2 0 1 0 o r b y f i l i n gano r i g i n a l ( s i g n e d

i nb l u e i n k ) an d

tw o o f th e s e m at e r i a l s w i thth e B o ar d
. In 2 addition, a copy

of the filingmust be sent to petitioner, and a cer tificate of service showing the date a nd method of ser

vice should be inc luded with the filing
. Al l do c um e nt s t hatar e se ntth r oug h t he U. S. P os ta l Se r vic e , Ex pr e ss M ail , ha ndde liv e r e d, v ia c our ie r m ustinc lude th e nam e of t he or ga niz at ion , a ddr e ss, fac sim ileMail sent to the Env ironm ental P rotection Ag ency v ia the U. S. Postal Serv ice m ay be delay ed 3 by ar an do m

s te ri li z at io n pr oc ed

ur e ap pl ie d to m ai l d el iv er ed to th e fe de ra l g ov er

nm en t. P arti es are en co ur ag ed

to u ti li z e th e B oard ’s e - fi li ngs y st em o r no n- U
. S
. P os ta l S erv ic e carr ie rs and th e B oard ’s hand

- de li v er

y a dd re ss w he n fi li ngp le ad in g s w ith th e B oard
. A dd it io na l i nf or m at io n re g ar di ngm ai l deliv ery to the B oard is av ailable o n the Env ironm ental A ppeals Board w ebsite ( ww w. epa. g ov/eab ) at th e Clerk of the B oard or F requen tly A sk ed Q uestion s link s. number , tele phon e num ber, and an em ail add ress, if availab le. 3 Documents that a

re se nt throug h the U.S. Postal S ervic e (e x cept by Ex press Mail) M UST be a dd re sse d to the Envir onme nta l App e a ls B oa rd ’s ma ili nga dd

re ss whic h is : U.S. Environmental Protection Ag ency Clerk of the B oard Environmental Appe als Boa rd 1103B Ariel Rios Building 1 2 0 0 Pe n n s ylv an ia

A v e nu e , N
. W. Washington, D.C. 20460-0001 Do c ume nts that are se nt t o th e Envir onme nta l App e a ls B oa rd ’s ha nd -d e liv e ry

a dd re ss (below) throug h the U.S. Postal S ervic e (e x cept by Ex press Mail) w ill be returne d to the sender and shall not be c onsidered a s filed.

Han d De liv e r y A ddr e ss Documents that a

re hand- c ar r ie d in p e rs on , d e liv e re d v ia c ouri e r, ma ile d b y

Expr e ss Mail, or deliver ed by

a non-U .S. Pos tal Service car rier ( e.g ., Fe dera l Ex press or U PS) M UST be de liv e re d to : U.S. Environmental Protection Ag ency

Clerk of the B oard Environmental Appe als Boa rd 1341 G Street NW, Suite 600 Washington, D.C. 20005 Documents that a

re ha nd-ca rried ma y be deliver ed to the Clerk of the B oard f

rom 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday throug h Fr iday

(excluding f

eder al holiday s). Docume nts filed elec tronically may be filed at any

time up to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the day

the document is re quired to be f iled with the Boa

rd. F ilin g Requirem ents IMP ORTANT : A ll d o c u me n ts , in c lu d in gth e mate r ia ls d u e [ D A T E ] an d

[ DATE ] must refer ence the appe al number. In addition, any envelope or other pa ckag ingcontainingdocuments sent to the addr ess, as pre scribed a bove, must bear

a complete and a c c ur ate re tur

n a dd re ss i n th e up pe r l e ft

ha nd c or ne r. Th e e nv e lop e or

pa c ka g ingmus t a lso clea rly state the c ase na

me and c ase ide ntifier in the lower left hand c orner . No furthe r brief

ing w ill be allowed except by order of the B oard. A c o p y o f t h i s l et t er

i s b ei n g s en tt o th e p et i t i o n er as n o t i fi ca t i o no f t h es e f

i l i n g require ments. Thank you for your attention to this matter. S i n c e r e l y,

Eurika Dur

r Clerk of the B oard

cc: [Name and Addr ess of Petitioner(s) ] [Name and

Ad dr e ss o f R e g ion a l Co un se l] [Name and Addr ess of Permittee]Appendix 4: EAB Consent Order Procedures ENVIRONMENTAL APPEALS BOARD CONSENT ORDER REVIEW PROCEDURES The Environmental Appeals Board is delegated the authority to sign for the Environmental Protection Agency consent orders memorializing settlements between the Agency and respondents resulting from various administrative enforcement actions. This authority encompasses orders under the Toxic Substances Control Act (EPA Delegation 12-2-C), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (5-15-B), the Solid Waste Disposal Act (8-9- C, 8-27, 8-44), and other statutes. Under the terms of the delegations, these orders may assess penalties and, in some circumstances, require compliance. To assure that the Board may properly perform its approval function, starting January 1, 1993, any proposed order shall be transmitted to the Board by an action memorandum signed by either the Assistant Administrator for Enforcement or the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Enforcement, which includes the following: 1. A non-CBI copy of the complaint. 2. A detailed explanation of how the proposed agreement is consistent with the applicable penalty guidelines or, if not, why not; with a brief statement of the facts describing both the allegations of the complaint and how the settlement addresses each of the violations identified. 3. A summary of any human health or environmental concerns presented by the respondent’s actions or why there are no concerns. 4. An explanation of how the order addresses the disposition of any substances or wastes identified in the complaint, including any additional steps, if required, to address any past exposure to the environment. 5. A brief explanation of any past or pending actions involving this same respondent arising out of the same facts. 6. A statement of how the public interest is served by the agreement.Appendix 5: Memorandum from Administrator to Environmental Appeals Board titled “Expedited Administrati ve Review of Appeals of RCRA Permit Denials Filed by Interim Status Hazardous Waste Combustion Facilities” (March 16, 1994)
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460 March 16, 1994

THE ADMINISTRATOR MEMORANDUM SUBJECT: Expedited Administrative Review of Appeals of RCRA Permit Denials Filed by Interim Status Hazardous Waste Combustion Facilities TO: Environmental Appeals Board On May 18, 1993, I announced EPA's Draft Hazardous Waste Minimization and Combustion Strategy. The draft strategy sets as top priorities the reduction of hazardous waste at the source and the implementation of fully protective controls at hazardous waste combustion facilities. As part of the draft strategy, I directed the Regions to give priority to permit decisions for existing hazardous waste combustion facilities operating under interim status requirements while awaiting final action on their RCRA permit applications. This priority is important because interim status requirements are generally less stringent than permit requirements. In addition, the draft strategy calls for improved permitting processes and public involvement. One area targeted for improvement was the process governing the denial of final permits because of a facility's inability to demonstrate compliance with the permit requirements of RCRA. Under the regulations governing appeals of RCRA permit decisions, a facility can petition the Environmental Appeals Board to review the Region's decision within thirty days of that decision. The filing of a petition for review w ith the Board automatically stays the effective date of the Region's decision denying a final permit until the Board takes final action on the petition and the Region issues a final permit decision based on the Board's disposition. Thus, where a facility appeals a decision denying its permit application or challenges permit conditions that are more stringent than the applicable interim standards, the facility can continue to operate under the interim status standards during the pendency of the appeal. There is presently no fixed timeframe within which the Board must act upon petitions for. review of RCRA permit denials.In order to ensure the prompt cessation of hazardous waste combustion at facilities that have been denied a final permit by the Region, while still preserving the important role of administrative review, I am today directing the Board to give its highest priority to appeals of Regional RCRA permit denial decisions for interim status combustion facilities. Absent truly extraordinary circumstances, I am directing the Board to take final action on any such appeal no later than 90 days following the Board's receipt of the petition for review. This directive shall take effect immediately. In addition, in cases where a permit establishing more stringent permit conditions is granted but appealed, if the facility's continued operation during the appeal subject to the less restrictive interim status standards has particularly serious environmental consequences, the Regions will be asked to so notify the Board and I expect the Board to adjust its priorities accordingly. I believe that this approach, which has been endorsed by the Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response and EPA' s Waste Minimization and Combustion Strategy Steering Committee, will help us achieve the goal of aggressively controlling hazardous waste combustion facilities. Furthermore, this approach addresses in direct fashion one of the important parts of our May l8 draft strategy -- enhancing the permitting process such that timely decisions are made in a manner consistent with strong protection of human health and the environment. Carol M. BrownerAppendix 6 : Pleading Templates The Environmental Appeals Board has developed templates for filings in EAB proceedings. These templates are solely for the guidance of participants in these proceedings. The EAB will accept documents that do not conform to these templates, provided that all applicable regulatory requirements have been satisfied. The templates, which are set forth below, are as follows: 1. Notice of Appeal under 40 C.F.R. Part 22 2. Appeal Brief under 40 C.F.R. Part 22 3. Petition for Review of Permit Decision under 40 C.F.R. Part 124 4. Motion for Leave to File Reply Brief under 40 C.F.R. Part 22 or Part 124 5. Motion for Extension of Time under 40 C.F.R. Part 22 or Part 124 6. Request for Oral Argument 7. CERCLA Section 106(b) Reimbursement Petition 8. Certificate of Service1. Notice of Appeal under 40 C.F.R. Part 22

BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL APPEALS BOARD UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON, D.C. ) In re: ) ) [named Respondent below] ) Dkt. No. [docket number below] ) )
NOTICE OF APPEAL [name of appellant] (“Appellant”) seeks review of a decision of Administrative Law Judge [or other Presiding Officer] 1 [name], issued [date], assessing a civil penalty of $ , for violations of section[s] of [name of statute], U.S.C. . An appeal brief is attached. [name] [address] [telephone number] [fax number, if any] Date: Attorney for Appellant

1 The Presiding Officer is an Administrative Law Judge except where the regulations allow a Regional Judicial Officer to serve as the Presiding Officer. 40 C.F.R. § 22.3.2. Appeal Brief under 40 C.F.R. Part 22
BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL APPEALS BOARD UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON, D.C. ) In re: ) ) [named Respondent below] ) Dkt. No. [docket number below] ) )
APPEAL BRIEFTABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Authorities ............................................................................................ [page number] Introduction ......................................................................................................... Issues Presented for Review ............................................................................... Factual and Procedural Background ................................................................... Argument ........................................................................................................... Conclusion ........................................................................................................ Alternative Findings of Fact ............................................................................. Alternative Conclusions of Law ........................................................................ * * *
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Cases [case name and citation]
................................................................................. Statutes [title and section of statute] ............................................................................ Regulations [title and section of regulation] ...................................................................... * * *INTRODUCTION appeals from an Initial Decision of [the Administrative Law Judge or other Presid ing Officer] assessing a civil penalty of $ for violations of [title and section of statute]. Judge [or “The Presiding Officer”] found that had violated section[s] [and _____ ] on occasions, by . For the reasons stated below, the Administrative Law Judge [or “the Presiding Officer”] erred in his [her] conclusion that [indicate nature of alleged error(s), i.e., erroneous liability determination, erroneous penalty assessment, or both]. * * *
ISSUES PRESENTED FOR REVIEW [Succintly state each issue with respect to which Appellant alleges error.] A. B. * * *
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND [Describe relevant facts, citing to the record before the Administrative Law Judge (or other Presiding Officer) as appropriate, and reference relevant procedural history.]ARGUMENT [Set forth with particularity each argument that the Administrative Law Judge (or other Presiding Officer) erred in his/her Initial Decision] A. B.

ALTERNATIVE FINDINGS OF FACT [To the extent that Appellant is arguing that the Administrative Law Judge (or other Presiding Officer) erred in one or more findings of fact, appellant should set forth with particularity its proposed alternative findings.] * * *
ALTERNATIVE CONCLUSIONS OF LAW [To the extent that appellant is arguing that the Administrative Law Judge (or other Presiding Officer) erred in one or more conclusions of law, appellant should set forth with particularity its proposed alternative findings.] * * *____________________ CONCLUSION [State the relief sought through the appeal.] Respectfully submitted

[name] [address] [telephone number] [fax number, if any] Attorney for Appellant Date: __________3. Petition for Review of Permit Decision under 40 C.F.R. Part 124

BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL APPEALS BOARD UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON, D.C. ) In re: ) ) [name of permittee] ) Permit No. ) ) PETITION FOR REVIEWTABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Authorities ............................................................................................ [page numbe r] Introduction ....................................................................................................... Threshold Procedural Requirements ................................................................... Factual and Statutory Background .................................................................... Issues Presented for Review .............................................................................. Argument .......................................................................................................... Conclusion .......................................................................................................... List of Exhibits ...................................................................................................

INTRODUCTION Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 124.19(a), [name of petitioner] (“Petitioner” or “ ”) petitions for review of the conditions of [type of permit] Permit No. 00-0000 (“the Permit”), which was issued to (“Permittee” or “ ”) on , by . [If the permit was a Clean Air Act Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit issued pursuant to an EPA delegation, include the following: The State of is authorized to administer the Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit program pursuant to a delegation of authority by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.] The permit at issue in this proceeding authorizes _________________ to . Petitioner contends that certain pertain conditions are based on clearly erroneous findings of fact and conclusions of law. Specifically, petitioner challenges the following permit conditions:(1) (2)
FACTUAL AND STATUTORY BACKGROUND [Describe nature of activity being permitted and circumstances leading to issuance of permit.] * * * THRESHOLD PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS Petitioner satisfies the threshold requirements for filing a petition for review under Part 124, to wit: 1. Petitioner has standing to petition for review of the permit decision because it participated in the public comment period on the permit. See 40 C.F.R. § 124.19(a). [If petitioner commented in writing, attach a copy of the comments or cite the administrative record. If petitioner commented at a public hearing, reference the date, time, and place of the hearing.] 2. The issues raised by Petitioner in its petition were raised during the public comment period and therefore were preserved for review. [Cite administrative record or other evidence.] * * *____________________________ ARGUMENT [Petitioner should set forth with particularity its arguments pertaining to each permit condition with respect to which petitioner seeks review, citing relevant case law in support of any legal arguments. The argument(s) must also explain why the permitting authority’s treatment of the issues in its Response to Comments document issued after the public comment period was deficient or erroneous. * * *
CONCLUSION [Summarize the relief sought]

[name] [address] [telephone number] [fax number, if any] Attorney for Appellant Date: ________________4. Motion for Leave to File Reply Brief under 40 C.F.R. Parts 22 or 124

BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL APPEALS BOARD UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON, D.C. ) In re: ) ) [name of Appellant (Part 22) or ) Appeal No. Permittee (Part 124)] ) [Appeal number assigned by EAB Clerk] ) MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE REPLY BRIEF (“Appellant” or “Petitioner” ) moves for leave to file a reply to the briefs submitted in the above-captioned matter. Petitioner filed its Notice of Appeal [Petition for Review] on
. filed its response on
. In support of its motion, Petitioner states that the response brief raises new issues that Petitioner did not previously have the opportunity to address. Specifically, [state nature of new issues and/or any other jus tification for leave to file a reply brief ].

_____________________________ [name]

[address] [telephone number] [fax number, if any] Date: Attorney for Appellant [Petitioner]5. Motion for Extension of Time under 40 C.F.R. Parts 22 or 124

BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL APPEALS BOARD UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON, D.C. ) In re: ) ) [name of Appellant (Part 22) or ) Appeal No. [EAB Appeal Number] Permittee (Part 124)] ) ) )
MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME ___________________ requests that the Environmental Appeals Board (“EAB”) grant a ______ day extension of time to file its response to the Notice of Appeal [or Petition for Review] filed on behalf of in the above-captioned matter. seeks this additional time because [provide justification (e.g., scheduling conflict for movant’s counsel, need to coordinate with other governmental entities, etc.)]. Movant’s counsel believes that a ________day extension will allow Movant to provide an adequate response to and will not prejudice the Appellant [or Petitioner]. Movant represents that Opposing Counsel does not oppose the motion. [ See Letter from ___________ to _________________, [date], attached hereto.]For the reasons set forth above, respectively requests that its Motion for Extension of Time to respond to the be granted and that the EAB extend the deadline for ’s response to _____________. Respectively submitted,

______________________ [name]

[address] [telephone number] [fax number, if any]
Date: Attorney for Appellant [Petitioner]6. Request for Oral Argument under 40 C.F.R. Parts 22 or 124

BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL APPEALS BOARD UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON, D.C. ) In re: ) ) [name of Appellant (Part 22) ) ______ Appeal No. ____ [EAB Appeal No.] or Permittee (Part 124)] ) ) ) REQUEST FOR ORAL ARGUMENT hereby requests that the EAB order oral argument in the above-captioned matter. Oral argument would assist the Board in its deliberations on the issues presented by the case for the following reasons: [provide justification for oral argument (e.g., the issues presented are of first impression for the Board or of a nature or complexity such that oral argument would materially assist in their resolution.)]

[name] [address] [telephone number] [fax number, if any] Date: Attorney for Appellant [Petitioner]7. CERCLA Section 106(b) Petition for Reimbursement
BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL APPEALS BOARD UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON, D.C. ) In re: )
___________________, ) ) Petitioner ) ) ) )
PETITION FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF COSTSINTRODUCTION _________ (“Petitioner”) submits this petition for reimbursement pursuant to section 106(b) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C. § 9606(b)(2). Petitioner requests reimbursement of $____ in costs incurred in complying with an Administrative Order (“AO”) issued by ______________ pursuant to section 106(b) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. § 9606(b), on ___________ [date], requiring Petitioner [and others] to perform a response action at the ____________ site in __________ (AO attached as Exhibit __ ). 2 issued a notice of completion of the response action on ___________. As explained below, Petitioner is entitled to reimbursement under CERCLA § 106(b) because [explain basis for reimbursement (i.e., petitioner is not a liable party under CERCLA § 107(b), the response action directed by the AO was arbitrary and capricious, or both)]. Petitioner meets the statutory and regulatory threshold requirements for reimbursement: 1. Petitioner complied fully with the terms of the AO. 2. This petition is being filed within 60 days after completion of the response action, as required by CERCLA § 106(b)(2)(a). 3. Petitioner incurred response costs in complying with the AO. * * *

2 A copy of the AO must be attached to the petition.FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
[Describe, inter alia , the site of the response action, Petitioner’s relationship to the site, the circumstances surrounding issuance of the AO to Petitioner, the nature of the response action undertaken.]

* * *

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT
[State in summary form the grounds for reimbursement.]

* * *

ARGUMENT
[State in detail the grounds for reimbursement, citing legal and factual support as appropriate.]

* * *CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, Petitioner requests reimbursement of approximately $______, the precise amount of which will be documented for the Board following the determination of Petitioner’s entitlement to reimbursement. [name] [address] [telephone number] [fax number, if any] Attorney for Petitioner [name of facility] [address of facility] Date: _________________
APPENDIX [Petitioner should include as attachments the AO, evidence of satisfaction of the AO, and all affidavits and other appropriate evidence needed to support factual assertions in the petition.]____________________ 8. Certificate of Service
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing __________________ in the matter of ________________, ____ Appeal No. _____, were served by United States First Class Mail on the following persons, this ______ day of _______, _______: [name] [address] [name] [address]

[name] [address] [telephone number] [fax number, if any] Attorney for Appellant Date: _____________