Source: http://openjurist.org/470/us/116/chemical-manufacturers-association-v-natural-resources-defense-council-inc
Timestamp: 2013-06-19 07:53:14
Document Index: 418919115

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 1311', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 502', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 1311', '§ 26', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 307', '§ 301', '§ 307', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 307', '§ 307', '§ 301', '§ 304', '§ 403', '§ 403', '§ 307', '§ 307', '§ 307', '§ 403', '§ 307', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 1536', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 307', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 1311', '§ 304', '§ 1314', '§ 304', '§ 1314', '§ 1311', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 415', '§ 304', '§ 1314', '§ 1314', '§ 403', '§ 403', '§ 1311', '§ 1311', '§ 306', '§ 307', '§ 307', '§ 307', '§ 307', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 7194', '§ 3412', '§ 6393', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 301']

I first consider EPA's argument that § 301(l ) proscribes only those modifications otherwise authorized by §§ 301(c) and (g). Under these provisions, EPA can "modify" the categorical standard if a discharger makes an adequate showing that such a standard is not within the discharger's economic capability and that a less stringent standard would nonetheless result in reasonable environmental progress, § 301(c),4 or that a less stringent standard adequately protects water quality, § 301(g).5 This limited view of § 301(l )'s scope is clearly inconsistent with congressional intent; the plain meaning of the statute and its legislative history show a clear congressional intent to ban all "modifications."
Section 301(l ) provides:
"The Administrator may not modify any requirement of this section as it applies to any specific pollutant which is on the toxic pollutant list under section 307(a)(1) of this Act." 91 Stat. 1590, 33 U.S.C. § 1311(l ).
EPA's argument that § 301(l ) bans only those modifications otherwise authorized by §§ 301(c) and (g) is therefore inconsistent with the plain meaning of the statute. By its terms, the statutory prohibition has universal scope, not the limited scope attributed to it by EPA.
Moreover, the legislative history demonstrates that Congress meant what it said, and it evidences a clear congressional intent to ban all "modifications." First, the legislative history firmly establishes that § 301(l ) was enacted as part of a program to deal effectively and comprehensively with the problem of toxic pollutants, and that its prohibition was an integral part of this program. Under any canon of statutory construction, the congressional purposes in enacting a provision would be deemed relevant to the question of the scope of that provision, but the Court simply fails to discuss this issue.
In 1977, when it enacted the amendments to the Clean Water Act containing § 301(l ), Congress regarded the problem of toxic pollution as a very serious one. For example, Senator Muskie, the major drafter and Senate manager of the bill containing § 301(l ), remarked:
"The seriousness of the toxics problem is just beginning to be understood. New cases are reported each day of unacceptable concentrations of materials in the aquatic environment, in fish and shellfish, and even in mother's milk. Empirical evidence has shown a statistical correlation between materials in New Orleans' drinking water and cancer mortality rates; Kepone has destroyed the James River, one of America's most productive, and most historic rivers; PCB's are pervasive and have ruined the fishing in the Hudson River and the Great Lakes; carbon tetrachloride is only the most recent material to contaminate the Ohio River; the pesticide endrin has been found in Mississippi; perhaps worst of all, are the ones we do not know yet.
"The more we find out, the more cause there is for concern. It is imperative that these materials be controlled." 123 Cong.Rec. 39181 (1977), Legislative History of the Clean Water Act of 1977, p. 454 (1978) (1977 Leg.Hist.).6
"[Toxics] have not only polluted drinking water and destroyed both commercial and sport fishing, but in many major water bodies they also constitute a hazard to aquatic environment and public health that has yet to be fully recognized." 123 Cong.Rec. 38960 (1977), 1977 Leg.Hist. 327.
See also 1977 Leg.Hist. at 334 (House Subcommittee memorandum).
The primary purpose of the 1977 amendments was to strengthen the regulation "of the increasingly evident toxic hazard." 123 Cong.Rec. 38960 (1977), 1977 Leg.Hist. 326 (Rep. Roberts). See also 123 Cong.Rec. 39219 (1977), 1977 Leg.Hist. 549 (Sen. Moynihan) ("There is no room for compromise here: toxics must be controlled"). The § 301(l ) ban on "modifications" was an integral part of this effort to make the environment safe from toxics, and through it, Congress sought to prevent any weakening of the categorical standards for the control of toxic pollutants. It is clear that Congress knew full well what effects the rule might have on industry, and that it went forward nonetheless. For example, the legislators were aware that the prohibition against "modifications" of the standards for toxic pollutants could lead to "new regulations more restrictive than any previously contemplated." 123 Cong.Rec. 38993 (1977), 1977 Leg.Hist. 411 (Rep. Buchanan). Congress also realized that such regulations would cost industry "millions of dollars and result only in a little more clean-up of our waters." 123 Cong.Rec. 38952 (1977), 1977 Leg.Hist. 305 (Rep. Roberts). But Congress found that for toxics, unlike for other pollutants, ibid., such high costs of pollution control were justified in view of the serious environmental dangers at stake. Cf. § 502(13) (defining "toxic" pollutants as pollutants that "cause death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological malfunctions (including malfunctions in reproduction) or physical deformations").
Similarly, in the case of § 301(g) water-quality modifications, Congress decided not to force dischargers to meet standards higher than those that could be justified by legitimate environmental considerations. Thus, as long as a discharge did not interfere with the attainment of adequate water quality, a discharger would not be forced to expend additional resources in pollution control merely because a higher standards was "economically achievable." Cf. 123 Cong.Rec. 38960 (1977), 1977 Leg.Hist. 326 (Rep. Roberts).
If these two modifications are the only ones now prohibited, the result is wholly counterintuitive. EPA is in effect contending that economic and water-quality factors present the most compelling case for modification of the standard in the nontoxic context—as they are explicitly authorized by statute—but the least compelling case for modification in the toxic context—as they are the only modifications prohibited by § 301(l ). As might be expected, EPA does not present any theory, much less a logical argument, or evidence in the legislative history, to support this extremely inconsistent result.
The changes made in conference to the 1977 amendments, which ultimately included § 301(l ), provide further support for the proposition that Congress did not intend to limit § 301(l ) in the way suggested by EPA. Of the three provisions that undergird EPA's theory—subsections (c), (g), and (l ) of § 301—only subsection (c) was adopted before the 1977 amendments, as part of the 1972 amendments. See 33 U.S.C. § 1311(c). The 1977 Senate bill contained two provisions of interest here. First, the bill proposed amending subsection (c) to prohibit, in the case of toxic pollutants, variances based on economic factors. S. 1952, 95th Cong., 1st Sess., § 26(c) (1977), 1977 Leg.Hist. 584. Second, the Senate proposed what ultimately became subsection (g), which authorized modifications that did not interfere with water-quality goals. Like the proposed amendment to subsection (c), subsection (g) prohibited modifications in the case of toxic pollutants. The Senate bill did not contain subsection (l ).
The Conference Committee changed the Senate bill in three relevant ways. First, it took out of subsection (c) the ban against modifications for toxics. Second, it reworded subsection (g) to prohibit water-quality modifications for conventional pollutants and for all thermal discharges, but it left unaffected the Senate bill's prohibition against modifications for toxic pollutants. Third, it added subsection (l ), which creates a ban of general applicability on modifications for toxic pollutants.
In explaining these changes, petitioner CMA contends that during the Conference Committee deliberations, "it was decided that, rather than repeating the identical limiting clause [for toxic pollutants] at the end of § 301(c) and what had become § 301(g) of the Act, the limitation would be put into a separate § 301(l )." Brief for Petitioners in No. 83-1013, pp. 29-30. The debates of the Conference bill do not suggest that such a thing was "decided"; in fact, the reasons for the changes are not discussed at all. Moreover, if cleaning up the statutory language was in fact the objective of the changes, the Conference Committee was remarkably unsuccessful at doing so. Indeed, while the Committee took the prohibition against toxic modifications out of subsection (c), it left this prohibition undisturbed in subsection (g). Thus, the language of the Act simply belies CMA's explanation.
More importantly, the wording of § 301(l ) strongly suggests that the purpose of the change was not to improve the style of the statute, but to expand the scope of the prohibition against "modifications." Indeed, there is an important difference in the wording of subsections (c), (g), and (l ). Subsections (c) and (g), which authorize exceptions, apply by their terms only to modifications of "the requirements of subsection (b)(2)(A)."7 If the Conference Committee was attempting merely to consolidate the bans on modifications of toxic standards, then it would similarly have limited the applicability of subsection (l ) to subsection (b)(2)(A) requirements. Instead, subsection (l ) applies to "any requirement of this section," which includes numerous standards in addition to those of subsection (b)(2)(A).8
In fact, it appears that EPA once agreed that the changes made in conference expanded the scope of the ban on "modifications." In the past, EPA construed § 301(l ) to prohibit, in the case of toxics, not only subsection (c) and (g) modifications, but also modifications from secondary treatment standards otherwise authorized by subsection (h), Brief for EPA on Petition to Enforce Mandate and Petitions for Review 24 in Appalachian Power Co. v. Train, 620 F.2d 1040 (CA4 1980). Cf. FMC v. Seatrain Lines, Inc., 411 U.S. 726, 745, 93 S.Ct. 1773, 1784, 36 L.Ed.2d 620 (1973) (administrative interpretation entitled to additional deference if "longstanding").
In summary, the Conference changes provide further support for a broad reading of § 301(l ). See FTC v. Raladam Co., 283 U.S. 643, 648, 51 S.Ct. 587, 590, 75 L.Ed. 1324 (1931). The Court, however, appears to draw the opposite conclusion. But in doing so, it completely ignores the difference in the scope of §§ 301(c) and (g) on the one hand, and § 301(l ) on the other, and instead rests on an explanation of congressional activity that in fact explains almost nothing. See ante, at 126-127.
The Court and EPA both attach great importance to the congressional silence regarding FDF variances. EPA argues that E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. v. Train, 430 U.S. 112, 97 S.Ct. 965, 51 L.Ed.2d 204 (1977), held that FDF variances are "appropriate." According to EPA, if Congress had intended to reverse this result it would have made its intention clear. See Brief for EPA 28-29. This contention, which the Court finds persuasive, see ante, at 127-128, is based on a misunderstanding of what was at stake in Du Pont. That case did not authorize the issuance of variances in any context that is relevant here.
Du Pont involved a challenge to EPA's authority to issue, to direct discharges, categorical effluent limitations for BPT and BAT. The Court had little difficulty in upholding such categorical limitations in the BAT context, as the statute provided that the limitations be set for "categories and classes" of dischargers, § 301(b)(1)(B). See Du Pont, supra, at 127, 97 S.Ct., at 974. In contrast, the statute provided that BPT limitations be set for "point sources." § 301(b)(1)(A). Several chemical manufacturers argued that, given this language, individualized BPT limitations were necessary, and that regulation by categories and classes of dischargers was inappropriate. This Court rejected the industry's challenge, holding that BPT limitations could be set by industrywide regulation, so long as some allowance—such as FDF variances—was made for variations in individual plants. 430 U.S., at 128, 97 S.Ct., at 975.
Only by taking this sentence out of context can one find support for the proposition that Du Pont requires FDF variances from BAT limitations, just as it does in the case of BPT limitations.9 When read in context, the sentence cited by EPA clearly means that BPT standards, like BAT standards, can be set by regulation, but if EPA does so in the BPT context, it must allow for variances. Indeed, the Court had earlier concluded that "§ 301 unambiguously provides for the use of regulations to establish the [BAT] effluent limitations." Du Pont, supra, at 127, 97 S.Ct., at 974. The Court did not qualify this conclusion in any way, but instead went on to discuss the BPT problem. The sentence that EPA refers to comes at the end of the discussion of BPT limitations, and is thus logically related to that discussion.
Furthermore, the Court upheld the regulations challenged in Du Pont even though they did not contain an FDF variance clause for BAT limitations. See 430 U.S., at 123, 127, 97 S.Ct., at 974.10 If the sentence in question has the meaning that EPA now ascribes to it, the Court would presumably have had to reverse on that point.
In summary, the portion of Du Pont on which EPA relies, has absolutely no bearing on the question of whether FDF variances are "appropriate"—to use the language employed by EPA, see n. 9, supra —when the statute calls for limitations for categories or classes of dischargers. See EPA v. National Crushed Stone Assn., 449 U.S. 64, 72, 101 S.Ct. 295, 301, 66 L.Ed.2d 268 (1980) ("[Du Pont ] indicated that a variance provision was a necessary aspect of aspect of BPT limitations applicable by regulation to classes and categories of point sources"); id., at 73, n. 12, 101 S.Ct., at 301, n. 12 ("[Du Pont ] held that a uniform BPT limitation must contain a variance provision, if it is to be valid"). Both the facts and the rationale of this portion of Du Pont are of relevance only to cases in which EPA issues categorical standards in the face of a statutory scheme that calls for regulation of "point sources."
This distinction is of crucial significance because the standards for toxic pollutants, like all BAT and pretreatment standards, are to be set not for "point sources," but instead "for the applicable category or class of point sources." § 307(a)(2) (emphasis added) (toxics); see also § 301(b)(2)(A) (BAT); § 307(b)(3) (pretreatment). Du Pont did not consider whether such standards are necessary, or even appropriate, in this context.11 We should scarcely attribute any significance to the legislative failure to discuss Du Pont because Du Pont considered a fundamentally different scheme of regulation. It may be that one day the Clean Water Act will be read to permit, for nontoxic pollutants, FDF variances from BAT and pretreatment standards; however, there is no reason why Congress should have said anything in 1977, when it enacted § 301(l ), about a legal development that has not yet taken place, eight years later.
There is, moreover, another reason for the legislative silence on FDF variances. The legislative history of the 1977 amendments shows that Congress believed—correctly, as it turns out that the courts had not yet determined whether FDF variances were permissible in the BAT context. See S.Rep. No. 95-370 (1977), 1977 Leg.Hist. 674.12 Only by misreading Du Pont and ignoring the relevant legislative history can the Court say that Du Pont "construed the Act to permit the very FDF variance NRDC insists the Conference Committee was silently proposing to abolish." Ante, at 128.13
"Due to the nature of toxic pollutants, those identified for regulation will not be subject to waivers from or modification of the requirements prescribed under this section, specifically, neither section § 301(c) waivers based on the economic capability of the discharger nor 301(g) waivers based on water quality considerations shall be available." 123 Cong.Rec. 38960 (1977), 1977 Leg.Hist. 328-329 (emphasis added).
"Like toxic pollutants for which there are no waivers or modifications, there are no potential waivers or modifications for conventional pollutants." 123 Cong.Rec. 39183 (1977), 1977 Leg.Hist. 458 (emphasis added).
See also 123 Cong.Rec. 38952 (1977), 1977 Leg.Hist. 305 ("Strict requirements are still in effect for damaging pollutants, such as toxics. However, for certain other pollutants, industry may get a waiver") (Rep. Roberts); 123 Cong.Rec. 38993 (1977), 1977 Leg.Hist. 411 (referring to "denial of any waiver" with respect to toxics) (Rep. Buchanan) (emphasis added).
Taken as a whole, the legislative history firmly supports the plain meaning of the statute, namely, that § 301(l ) bans all "modifications," and not just those otherwise permitted by §§ 301(c) and (g). EPA's strongest argument in support of its position on this score is that, during the course of debates, one of the bill's managers used the word "specifically" instead of "for example." Under any accepted canon of construction, this choice of words is insufficient to overcome the other, more probative indications of congressional intent that emerge from an analysis of the legislative history. And, with the language and the legislative history pointing so definitely in the same direction, there can be no doubt that congressional intent was clear.
The determination that Congress clearly intended that § 301(l ) do more than just ban modifications otherwise permitted by §§ 301(c) and (g) compels the conclusion that EPA's construction to the contrary cannot stand. As this Court has repeatedly stated:
"The interpretation put on the statute by the agency charged with administering it is entitled to deference, but the courts are the final authorities on issues of statutory construction. They must reject administrative constructions of the statute, whether reached by adjudication or by rulemaking, that are inconsistent with the statutory mandate or that frustrate the policy that Congress sought to implement." FEC v. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, 454 U.S. 27, 31-32, 102 S.Ct. 38, 41-42, 70 L.Ed.2d 23 (1981) (citations omitted).
See also SEC v. Sloan, 436 U.S. 103, 117-118, 98 S.Ct. 1702, 1711, 56 L.Ed.2d 148 (1978); FMC v. Seatrain Lines, Inc., 411 U.S., at 745-746, 93 S.Ct., at 1784-1785; Volkswagenwerk v. FMC, 390 U.S. 261, 272, 88 S.Ct. 929, 935, 19 L.Ed.2d 1090 (1968); NLRB v. Brown, 380 U.S. 278, 291, 85 S.Ct. 980, 988, 13 L.Ed.2d 839 (1965); Social Security Board v. Nierotko, 327 U.S. 358, 369, 66 S.Ct. 637, 643, 90 L.Ed. 718 (1946); Burnet v. Chicago Portrait Co., 285 U.S. 1, 16, 52 S.Ct. 275, 280, 76 L.Ed. 587 (1932); Webster v. Luther, 163 U.S. 331, 342, 16 S.Ct. 963, 967, 41 L.Ed. 179 (1896).
This case is thus unlike Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. NRDC, 467 U.S. 837, 104 S.Ct. 2778, 81 L.Ed.2d 694 (1984), on which the Court and EPA rely. In Chevron, the Court reviewed an EPA regulation that treated all pollution-emitting devices within the same industrial grouping as though they were encased within a single "bubble." This regulation was challenged on the ground that it was not based on a proper construction of the statutory term "stationary source." Analyzing the statutory language, the Court concluded that "parsing of general terms in the text of the statute" would not reveal the actual intent of Congress. Id., at 861, 104 S.Ct., at 2791. Similarly, it found the legislative history "unilluminating." Id., at 862, 104 S.Ct., at 2791. Given these two conclusions, the Court determined that deference to the Agency's reasonable interpretation was appropriate.
Chevron § deference requirement, however, was explicitly limited to cases in which congressional intent cannot be discerned through the use of the traditional techniques of statutory interpretation. Indeed, Chevron reaffirmed the principle that "[t]he judiciary is the final authority on issues of statutory construction and must reject administrative constructions which are contrary to clear congressional intent." Id., at 843, n. 9, 104 S.Ct., at 2782, n. 9.14
My disagreement with the Court does not center on its reading of Chevron, but instead on its analysis of the congressional purposes behind § 301(l ). If I agreed with the Court's analysis of the statute and the legislative history, I too would conclude that Chevron commands deference to the administrative construction.
EPA's second construction of the statutory scheme is, on the surface, a more plausible one. EPA argues that FDF variances do not excuse compliance with the correct standards, but instead provide a means for setting more appropriate standards. It is clear that, pursuant to § 307(b)(2), EPA can "revise" the pretreatment standards, as long as it does so "following the procedure established . . . for the promulgation of such standards." The statute contemplates that the standards will be set and revised through notice-and-comment rulemaking and will be applicable to categories of sources. See §§ 307(b)(2), (3); see also Brief for EPA 9. EPA argues that such a "revision," which is clearly not proscribed by § 301(l ), would be substantively indistinguishable from an FDF variance. Thus, according to the Agency, NRDC's concern stems not from the result achieved when an FDF variance is granted, but rather from the procedure employed in reaching that result. EPA relies on Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 98 S.Ct. 1197, 55 L.Ed.2d 460 (1978), for the proposition that an agency is free to choose between two procedures for reaching the same substantive ends. See Brief for EPA 11, 36.
To support its argument, EPA points out that the factors that may justify an FDF variance are the same factors that may be taken into account in setting and revising the national pretreatment standards. Compare § 304(b)(2) (statutory standard) with 40 CFR § 403.13(d) (1984) (FDF variance provision). EPA also points out that, in considering whether an FDF variance will be granted, it cannot take into account factors that could not have justified a change in the national standards. See Brief for EPA 31; 40 CFR § 403.13(e) (1984). EPA acknowledges that the statute requires that the national pretreatment standards be established—and therefore revised—for "categories" of dischargers, see § 307(b)(3) (pretreatment standards); Brief for EPA 11; see also § 307(a)(2) (toxic standards), and not on a case-by-case basis. It argues, however, that nothing in the Clean Water Act precludes EPA from defining a subcategory that has only one discharger. See Brief for EPA 31.
The logic of EPA's position is superficially powerful. If EPA can, through rulemaking, define a subcategory that includes only one discharger, why should it not be able to do so through a variance procedure? In fact, if rulemaking and the variance procedure were alternative means to the same end, I might have no quarrel with EPA's position, which the Court has accepted. Ante, at 132-133. Indeed, "[a]bsent constitutional constraints or extremely compelling circumstances the administrative agencies should be free to fashion their own rules of procedure and to pursue methods of inquiry capable of permitting them to discharge their multitudinous duties." Vermont Yankee, supra, at 543, 98 S.Ct., at 1211 (citations omitted); see also SEC v. Chenery Corp., 332 U.S. 194, 202-203, 67 S.Ct. 1575, 1580, 91 L.Ed. 1995 (1947).
However, the Agency's position does not withstand more than superficial analysis. An examination of the legislative history of the 1972 amendments to the Clean Water Act—the relevance of which both the Court and EPA ignore—reveals that Congress attached great substantive significance to the method used for establishing pollution control requirements.
The Conference Committee Report directed EPA to "make the determination of the economic impact of an effluent limitation on the basis of classes and categories of point sources, as distinguished from a plant by plant determination." 1972 Leg.Hist. 304 (emphasis added).15 Representative Dingell, one of the House conferees, described this principle as "very important" and stated that "a plant-by-plant determination of the economic impact of an effluent limitation is neither expected, nor desired, and, in fact, it should be avoided." 118 Cong.Rec. 33758 (1972), 1972 Leg.Hist. 254-255.
"The Conferees intend that the factors described in section 304(b) be considered only within categories and classes of point sources and that such factors not be considered at the time of the application of an effluent limitation to an individual point source within such a category or class." 118 Cong.Rec. 33697 (1972), 1972 Leg.Hist. 172 (emphasis added).
See also Du Pont, 430 U.S., at 130, 97 S.Ct., at 976; American Iron & Steel Institute v. EPA, 526 F.2d 1027, 1051 (CA3 1975) ("Congress clearly intended that the Administrator consider costs on a class or category basis, rather than on a plant-by-plant basis ") (emphasis added). Moreover, in a letter urging the President to approve the 1972 amendments, William Ruckelshaus, EPA's Administrator, observed that the Act's standards should be set "for industrial categories, taking into account processes involved, age of equipment, and cost, considered on a national, industry-wide basis." 118 Cong.Rec. 36775 (1972), 1972 Leg.Hist. 145 (emphasis added). It is difficult to imagine a legislative history that would make more clear that standards should not be set—and therefore should not be revised—on an individual basis.
The legislative history also makes clear why Congress found it so important that the standards be set for "categories" of dischargers, and not for individual dischargers. Congress intended to use the standards as a means to "force" the introduction of more effective pollution control technology. Thus, Congress directed EPA to establish BPT levels by reference to "the average of the best existing performance by plants of various sizes, ages, and unit processes within each industrial category." 118 Cong.Rec. 33696 (1972) Leg.Hist. 169 (Sen. Muskie). In establishing BAT levels, it directed EPA to look at "the best performer in an industrial category." 118 Cong.Rec. 33696 (1972) Leg.Hist. 170. By requiring that the standards be set by reference to either the "average of the best" or very "best" technology, the Act seeks to foster technological innovation. 118 Cong.Rec. 33696 (1972) Leg.Hist. 170. See generally La Pierre, Technology-Forcing and Federal Environmental Protection Statutes, 62 Iowa L.Rev. 771, 805-829 (1977); Note, Forcing-Technology: The Clean Air Act Experience, 88 Yale L.J. 1713 (1979).
The FDF variance procedure leads to substantive results that are different in two fundamental ways from those attained through the rulemaking for categories of dischargers contemplated in § 307(b). First, it is less protective of the environment. If, for example, a discharger shows that its production processes—and, as a result, its costs of compliance—are significantly different from those taken into account in setting the categorical standards, that discharger would be eligible for an FDF variance, and EPA could set a new requirement based on the applicant's peculiar situation. See 40 CFR §§ 403.13(d)(5), (6) (1984); Tr. of Oral Arg. 14. It may turn out, however, that there are many other dischargers in the same situation, and that all of these dischargers use production processes that make pollution control possible at a much lower cost. If EPA took into account the production processes of these more efficient dischargers—as it presumably would have to do if it proceeded through rulemaking on a categorical scale—it would set a requirement far more stringent than that adopted as part of the FDF variance mechanism.
In the aggregate, if EPA defines a new pretreatment subcategory through rulemaking, the BAT-level pollution control requirement of each discharger would be determined by reference to the capability of the "best" performer. In contrast, if EPA provides individual variances to each plant in this group, only one discharger would have a requirement based on the capability of the best performer—the best performer itself. The others would necessarily be subject to less stringent standards.16
In summary, whatever else FDF variances might do, they do not further the same congressional goals as the notice-and-comment rulemaking required for § 307(b) revisions.17 Vermont Yankee is simply inapposite; Congress intended, for substantive reasons, that the pretreatment standards be set and revised through rulemaking for categories of dischargers.18 The Court's conclusion to the contrary stems exclusively from its failure to consider why Congress chose to require categorical standards.
The analysis of Parts II and III compels the conclusion that neither of the alternative arguments advanced to support EPA's construction of the statute can stand. That analysis also leads directly to the conclusion that § 301(l ) in fact disallows FDF variances from the standards for toxic pollutants. Congress clearly intended that § 301(l ) ban variances such as those at issue here, and the language and legislative history permit no other interpretation.
Part II shows that the language of § 301(l ), the purposes that led to the adoption of the provision, and the changes made by the Conference Committee, indicate a clear congressional intent to ban all "modifications" to the standards for toxics, not merely those otherwise authorized by §§ 301(c) and (g). The legislative history also establishes that Congress banned "modifications" because it wanted to ensure that the serious problem of toxic pollution not be exacerbated by the granting of exceptions to the general rulemaking standards. See Part II-B, supra.
It is true, of course, that in many cases exceptions serve the important purpose of softening the impact of rules of general applicability. They mediate between demands for comprehensive solutions on the one hand, and individualized application of law on the other. See generally Diver, Policymaking Paradigms in Administrative Law, 95 Harv.L.Rev. 393 (1981).
Exceptions, however, are not without costs. For example, they are inappropriate where small errors could lead to irreversible or catastrophic results.19 In such cases, individual equity should give way to comprehensive rationality. See id., at 431-432; Note, Regulatory Values and the Exceptions Process, 93 Yale L.J. 938, 955, and n. 85 (1984).
The decision of when exceptions are required, when they are permissible, and when they are prohibited is, in the first instance, one for Congress to make. It is an administrative decision only where Congress has left a gap for the agency to fill. See Chevron, 467 U.S., at 843-844, 104 S.Ct., at 2782. In this case, Congress determined that the flexibility resulting from exceptions would interfere with the furtherance of the more important goal of controlling toxic pollution. There is no question that courts should defer to this congressional judgment.
In fact, when Congress has attached great importance to certain environmental goals, we have disallowed exceptions even in the absence of an explicit statutory ban. For example, in TVA v. Hill, 437 U.S. 153, 98 S.Ct. 2279, 57 L.Ed.2d 117 (1978), we reviewed a provision of the Endangered Species Act that required federal agencies "to insure that actions authorized, funded, or carried out by them do not jeopardize the continued existence" of an endangered species or "result in the destruction or modification of habitat of such species. . . ." 16 U.S.C. § 1536 (1976 ed.). Even though Congress had not expressly banned exceptions from the statutory requirements, the Court focused on the quoted language and found that it "admits of no exception." Id., at 173, 98 S.Ct., at 2291. It further found that both the language and the legislative history "clearly" showed that Congress viewed the preservation of endangered species as a goal of great importance. Id., at 187-188, 98 S.Ct., at 2298. In light of this statutory construction, the Court concluded that any exemption from the statute's requirements—other than exemptions specifically approved by Congress—would be inappropriate.20
Similarly, in Du Pont itself, the Court disallowed FDF variances from the Clean Water Act's standards of performance for new sources, reasoning that such variances would be inconsistent with the environmental goals expressed in the statute and the legislative history. There, the Court stated that FDF variances "would be inappropriate in a standard that was intended to insure national uniformity and 'maximum feasible control of new sources.' " 430 U.S., at 138, 97 S.Ct., at 980 (citation omitted). In this case, of course, Congress has not only indicated that the environmental goal at stake is extremely important, but it has also explicitly disallowed exceptions. Under such circumstances, it would be especially inappropriate to defer to the Agency's decision to create exceptions.
Part III establishes that FDF variances are not an alternative way of complying with the statutory command to set rules of general applicability. They do not implement the Clean Water Act's technology-based requirements; instead, like § 301(c) and (g) modifications, they are case-by-case departures from such requirements. In fact, in the past, EPA itself has referred to FDF variances as "exception[s] to [a] general rule of applicability." Brief for EPA 47 in NRDC v. EPA, 537 F.2d 642 (CA2 1976).
FDF variances not only take the same form as §§ 301(c) and (g) modifications, but they also serve closely analogous functions. As I have discussed, the purpose of exceptions is to soften the harshness of general rules. See supra, at 159. A § 301(c) modification, for example, relieves a firm of its obligation to meet an applicable rule when compliance with that rule would place the firm in a serious hardship. See EPA v. National Crushed Stone Assn., 449 U.S., at 78, 101 S.Ct., at 304; S.Rep. No. 95-370, p. 41 (1977), 1977 Leg.Hist. 674 (Sen. Muskie); Brief for EPA 32-33. FDF variances also temper—albeit in a slightly different way—the effects of the nationwide, categorical standards. They relieve a firm of its obligation to comply with a rule that would impose on that firm a disproportionate share of the regulatory burden. See Tr. of Oral Arg. 14.21 In fact, EPA itself has characterized FDF variances as " 'safety valves' in regulatory schemes of general applicability." Brief for EPA 44 in NRDC v. EPA, 537 F.2d 642 (CA2 1976); see also Hearings on Possible Amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act before the Subcommittee on Water Resources of the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation, 98th Cong., 1st Sess., 2706, 2741 (1983) (EPA Administrator Ruckelshaus describing FDF variances as "safety valves"); NRDC v. EPA, 537 F.2d, at 646 ("[T]he 'variance' clause was assertedly adopted as an administrative safety valve"). Thus, FDF variances are exceptions that provide the type of flexibility that § 301(l ) sought to ban.22
The Court accepts EPA's present characterization that FDF variances are a hybrid: "more like" a revision permitted by § 307 than like a §§ 301(c) and (g) modification. Ante, at 126. But a requirement that, by definition, applies to only one discharger cannot be considered "more like" a rule of general applicability than like an exception to such a rule. Clearly, it is an exception.23
The Court's error is to overlook the distinction between general rules and exceptions. Instead, it focuses on the differences between the grounds for exceptions provided by §§ 301(c) and (g) on the one hand, and by the FDF provisions on the other. Thus, the Court makes its cuts along an entirely different and irrelevant—axis. For EPA to prevail, the Court must show that Congress found that exceptions based on economic capability or water-quality factors were especially undesirable. If this were true, then exceptions based on other factors would be less undesirable, and it would make sense to decide the cases on the basis of the extent to which the factors taken into account in granting FDF variances differ from §§ 301(c) and (g) factors. The Court's position, however, is inconsistent with the clear purpose of § 301(l ). As I have shown, there is absolutely no reason to believe that this provision was designed to ban § 301(c) and (g) modifications because there was something particularly pernicious about such exceptions. See supra, at 143. Rather, the congressional concern was that exceptions would weaken the standards for the control of toxic pollutants. This concern defines the relevant criterion: whether something is a general rule or an exception to such a rule. Sections 301(c) and (g) modifications are at one end of the axis not because they are based on economic or waterquality factors, but because they are exceptions to general rules. Section 307(b) revisions are at the other end of the axis not because they are based on factors taken into account in setting the standards, but because they are rules of general applicability. Of course, FDF variances, which are nothing but exceptions to general rules, are at the same end of the axis as §§ 301(c) and (g) modifications.
For the foregoing reasons, it is apparent that § 301(l ) prohibits FDF variances from the pretreatment standards for toxic pollutants. I therefore dissent.
I join Parts I, II, and III of Justice MARSHALL's dissent. They accurately demonstrate that the Court's interpretation of § 301(l ) of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1311(l ), is inconsistent with the language of the statute and its legislative history. In my opinion, this alone is sufficient grounds for affirming the judgment of the Court of Appeals. I express no view as to Part IV of the dissent because I think it is not necessary to the disposition of these cases.
See E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. v. Train, 430 U.S. 112, 121, 97 S.Ct. 965, 971, 51 L.Ed.2d 204 (1977). BAT standards are set on the basis of categories and classes of sources under rules promulgated by the EPA under § 304(b), 33 U.S.C. § 1314(b). Although the statute indicated that BPT standards be established for point sources, rather than categories of sources, we held in Du Pont that the EPA could also set BPT limitations on the basis of classes and categories, as long as allowance was made for variations in individual plants through a variance procedure. 430 U.S., at 128, 97 S.Ct., at 975.
The factors relating to the assessment of BAT standards, set out in § 304(b)(2)(B) of the Act, include the age of equipment and facilities involved, the process employed, the engineering aspects of the application of various types of control techniques, the cost of achieving effluent reduction, and non-water quality environmental impacts. 33 U.S.C. § 1314(b)(2)(B).
"(a) Definition. The term 'Requester' means an Industrial User or a [publicly owned treatment work] or other interested person seeking a variance from the limits specified in a categorical Pretreatment Standard.
"(c) Criteria— (1) General Criteria. A request for a variance based upon fundamentally different factors shall be approved only if:
33 U.S.C. §§ 1311(c) and (g). Those provisions explain in relevant part:
"(g)(1) The Administrator, with the concurrence of the State, shall modify the requirements of [§ 301's effluent limitations] with respect to the discharge of any pollutant (other than pollutants identified pursuant to section 1314(a)(4) of this title, toxic pollutants subject to section 1317(a) of this title, and the thermal component of discharges) from any point source upon a showing by the owner or operator of such a point source satisfactory to the Administrator that—
NRDC acknowledges the limited availability of FDF variances. Brief for NRDC in Opposition 7-8. By 1977, only 50 of 4,000 major industrial dischargers covered by BPT limits had applied for FDF variances, and only two variances had been granted. Id., at 12. By 1984, a total of four FDF variances had been granted to direct dischargers, and none had been granted to an indirect discharger. EPA estimates that in the entire country approximately 40 FDF variance requests filed by indirect dischargers are still pending. Brief for EPA 36, n. 28.
In the Court of Appeals, NRDC also argued that EPA had neither statutory nor inherent authority to issue FDF variances from either BAT or pretreatment standards even when toxic pollutants were not involved. The court below did not reach this argument, National Assn. of Metal Finishers v. EPA, 719 F.2d 624, 643-645 (CA3 1983), and we need not address it. For present purposes, we assume, without deciding, that EPA would have authority under the Act to issue the FDF variances in question here absent the provisions of § 301(l ).
Citations to the legislative history (Leg.Hist.), are to Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, A Legislative History of the Clean Water Act of 1977, prepared by the Environmental Policy Division of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress (Comm.Print 1978).
In view of § 301(l ), the ban on toxic waste waivers in § 301(g) was unnecessary. But there can be no doubt that § 301(l ) forbade §§ 301(c) and (g) modifications for toxic materials, and the presence of a similar ban in § 301(g) lends little support for the notion that § 301(l ) forbids FDF variances.
There is other evidence that both this Court's decision in Du Pont and an earlier decision of the Fourth Circuit approving variances that took all statutory factors into account in Appalachian Power Co. v. Train, 545 F.2d 1351 (1976), were brought to the attention of Congress during the debates on the 1977 amendments. Referring to a Library of Congress report, Representative Clausen, ranking minority member of the Subcommittee on Water Resources, stated during the House debate on the Report to the final 1977 amendments that "full understanding of [the 1972 Conference Clean Water Act amendments] can only be achieved by having an understanding of the case law interpreting the public law." 123 Cong.Rec. 28976 (1977), Leg.Hist. 374. The Library of Congress report Senator Clausen referred to specifically discussed both Du Pont and Appalachian Power. See Case Law Under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (Committee Print compiled for the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation by the Library of Congress), Ser. 95-35, at pp. 20, 28 (1977).
NRDC suggests that eliminating FDF variances would not overrule Du Pont, because the rationale for Du Pont's holding applied only to BPT standards. Since BPT standards were due to be phased out, NRDC suggests, Congress had no reason to address Du Pont's requirements of FDF waivers. Even if we were to accept NRDC's narrow reading of Du Pont—and we recognize that the Du Pont opinion arguably applies to BAT standards as well, 430 U.S., at 128, 97 S.Ct., at 975; Brief for Petitioner EPA 20-21—this argument ignores that the BPT regulations at issue in Du Pont contained a variance clause, and applied to pollutants that Congress declared toxic in the 1977 amendments. See, e.g., 40 CFR §§ 415.62 and 415.172 (1976). Moreover, BPT standards remain in effect even today. For many industries—as a result of a consent decree authored in relevant part by NRDC—EPA is required to promulgate BPT level pretreatment standards as an interim measure pending development of potentially more technology-forcing BAT standards. See NRDC v. Train, 8 ERC, at 2128, 6 Env.L.Rep., at 20588. The electroplating pretreatment standards unsuccessfully challenged in the consolidated lawsuit below were one such regulation.
See, e.g. S.Rep. No. 95-370, p. 44 (1978), Leg.Hist. 677; Sen. Muskie, 123 Cong.Rec. 39183 (1977), Leg.Hist. 458; Rep. Roberts, 123 Cong.Rec. 38959-38961 (1977), Leg.Hist. 305.
"No discharger . . . may be excused from the Act's requirement to meet . . . a pretreatment standard through this variance clause. A discharger may instead receive an individualized definition of such a . . . standard where the nationally prescribed limit is shown to be more or less stringent than appropriate for the discharger under the Act." 44 Fed.Reg. 32854, 32893 (1979).
In the aftermath of the decision by the Court of Appeals below, EPA announced that it would entertain petitions for amended rulemaking by certain indirect dischargers previously eligible for FDF variances, explaining that in such cases "it may be appropriate to issue specific categorical standards for such facilities, treating them as a separate subcategory with more, or less, stringent standards as appropriate." 48 Fed.Reg. 52396 (1983).
EPA was directed by § 304(g) of the Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1314(g), to publish promptly guidelines for the establishment of pretreatment standards and categories. As with the statutory deadlines for the setting of guidelines for direct dischargers, 33 U.S.C. § 1314(c), the time limits proved beyond the Agency's capability. As a result of lawsuits brought by NRDC, EPA has been placed under court-ordered deadlines for promulgating effluent limitations. See n. 4, supra.
The FDF variances at issue here are available only for sources fundamentally different in a way which would have required EPA to place them initially in a separate category had their situation been considered. EPA v. National Crushed Stone Assn., 449 U.S. 64, 77-78, 101 S.Ct. 295, 303-304, 66 L.Ed.2d 268 (1980). Particularly in light of the limited availability of FDF variances, see n. 12, supra, and the requirement that such variances are permissible only when standards were originally set after considering a range of facilities which did not include those similar to the source covered by the requested variance, we harbor no fear that the variance scheme will lead to the breakdown of the categorical approach taken by Congress, so long as the EPA, as it is required, grants variances only for sources fundamentally different. 40 CFR § 403.13(b) (1984). This does not allow EPA to single out for different treatment the least or most efficient plants legitimately within a category that was drawn after considering the relevant range of factors.
In the aftermath of Du Pont, Congress well may have chosen to allow the FDF variance procedure in order to ensure that the Act's pretreatment standards were not overturned. This Court has previously upheld regulations in part because of a provision for an exception or variance helped assure the parties of due process. See United States v. Allegheny-Ludlum Steel Corp., 406 U.S. 742, 755, 92 S.Ct. 1941, 1949, 32 L.Ed.2d 453 (1972); FPC v. Texaco, Inc., 377 U.S. 33, 40-41, 84 S.Ct. 1105, 1109-1110, 12 L.Ed.2d 112 (1964); United States v. Storer Broadcasting Co., 351 U.S. 192, 205, 76 S.Ct. 763, 771, 100 L.Ed. 1081 (1956). Other courts have found that the FDF variance procedure is critical to EPA's promulgation of treatment requirements of existing sources. See, e.g., Kennecott Copper Corp. v. EPA, 612 F.2d 1232, 1243-1244 (CA10 1979) (upholding regulations challenged for failure to take the statutory factors into account across the industry, since FDF variance procedures were available to apply those factors to fundamentally different plants); Weyerhaeuser Co. v. Costle, 197 U.S.App.D.C. 309, 338-339, 590 F.2d 1011, 1040-1041 (C.A.D.C.1978) (upholding the promulgation of industrywide effluent limitations because the "crucial" variance mechanism provided the necessary flexibility).
Following the Third Circuit's decision, EPA revised its FDF regulation to comply with that decision. See 49 Fed.Reg. 5132 (1984); 40 CFR § 403.13(b)(2) (1984) ("A fundamentally different factors variance is not available for any toxic pollutant controlled in a categorical Pretreatment Standard"). The Agency explicitly stated that it was adopting this change directly as a result of the Third Circuit's decision. 49 Fed.Reg. 5132 (1984). No suggestion of mootness has been made by any of the parties, and EPA's position before this Court is consistent with the view that it desires to reinstate its prior regulation. Given all of these circumstances, the revision of the regulation does not render this case moot. See Maher v. Roe, 432 U.S. 464, 468-469, n. 4, 97 S.Ct. 2376, 2379-2380, n. 4, 53 L.Ed.2d 484 (1977).
Under the Court's decision, the Third Circuit will not have to consider this question on remand.
"The Administrator may modify the requirements of subsection (b)(2)(A) . . . with respect to any point source for which a permit application is filed after July 1, 1977, upon a showing by the owner or operator of such point source satisfactory to the Administrator that such modified requirements (1) will represent the maximum use of technology within the economic capability of the owner or operator; and (2) will result in reasonable further progress toward the elimination of the discharge of pollutants." 86 Stat. 845, 33 U.S.C. § 1311(c).
"(1) The Administrator, with the concurrence of the State, shall modify the requirements of subsection (b)(2)(A) of this section with respect to the discharge of any pollutant (other than pollutants identified pursuant to section 304(a)(4) of this Act, toxic pollutants subject to section 307(a) of this Act, and the thermal component of discharges) from any point source upon a showing by the owner or operator of such a point source satisfactory to the administrator that—
"(C) such modification will not interfere with the attainment or maintenance of that water quality which shall assure protection of public water supplies, and the protection and propagation of a balanced population of shellfish, fish, and wildlife, and allow recreational activities, in and on the water and such modification will not result in the discharge of pollutants in quantities which may reasonably be anticipated to pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment . . ." 91 Stat. 1583, 33 U.S.C. § 1311(g).
Citations to the 1977 legislative history are to Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, A Legislative History of the Clean Water Act of 1977, prepared by the Environmental Policy Division of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress (Comm.Print 1978).
The argument that the Conference Committee was unaware of the effect of its changes is particularly unpersuasive in this context because many of the conferees were familiar with the intricacies of the Clean Water Act. Indeed, 7 of the 26 conferees had been members of the Conference Committee at the time of the 1972 amendments to the Clean Water Act; another 7 conferees had served on the Committees that considered the 1972 amendments.
In fact, Du Pont dealt with one situation in which effluent standards were to be set for categories of dischargers: the new source standards of § 306. There, the Court held not only that variances were not mandated, but that they would be impermissible. Du Pont, 430 U.S., at 138, 97 S.Ct., at 980; see infra, at 160-161.
The Court also finds it noteworthy that, under the provisions of a consent decree, EPA is currently promulgating BPT-level standards that apply to toxics. The Court suggests that prohibiting FDF variances for those standards would be inconsistent with Du Pont. See ante, at 128-129, n. 18. What is relevant for the purposes of Du Pont, however, is not whether the standards in question are set by reference to BPT or BAT levels, but whether the statute calls for individualized or categorical standards. The pretreatment standards—for both toxics and nontoxics—are in the latter category, § 307(b), and the Du Pont variance requirement is therefore of no relevance to such standards.
The case explicitly acknowledged the continued validity of our long line of precedents holding that administrative constructions inconsistent with congressional intent cannot stand. 467 U.S., at 843, n. 9, 104 S.Ct., at 2782, n. 9.
Citations to the 1972 legislative history are to Senate Committee on Public Works, A Legislative History of the Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, prepared by the Environmental Policy Division of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress (Comm.Print 1973).
The same principle holds true—albeit to a lesser degree for pretreatment standards set by reference to BPT levels.
Also, EPA's argument on this score has no logical bounds. If FDF variances are a permissible alternative to the notice-and-comment procedure for "revisions" envisioned by § 307(b)(2), it must also be acceptable to set the standards in the first place through case-by-case determinations. See § 307(b)(2) (same procedures to be used in setting and revising standards). And, of course, there would be no reason for this theory to be confined solely to pretreatment standards. The argument that Congress was willing to tolerate case-by-case determinations of all of the water standards is so ludicrous as to hardly merit a reply. See supra, at 154-155.
In fact, following the decision of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in this case, EPA indicated that it would entertain petitions for amended rulemaking by certain indirect dischargers who were previously eligible for FDF variances. The aim of such rulemaking would be to identify a new subcategory of dischargers and to set an appropriate standard for that subcategory. 48 Fed.Reg. 52396 (1983). By proceeding in this manner—consistent with the requirements of § 307(b)(2)—EPA promotes the environmental protection and technology-forcing goals that Congress found so important.
Commentators have identified two categories of exceptions that are relevant in these cases: hardship exceptions and fairness exceptions. See, e.g., Aman, Administrative Equity: An Analysis of Exceptions to Administrative Rules, 1982 Duke L.J. 277, 293-294; Shapiro, Administrative Discretion: The Next Stage, 92 Yale L.J. 1487, 1504 (1983); Schuck, When the Exception Becomes the Rule: Regulatory Equity and the Formulation of Energy Policy Through an Exceptions Process, 1984 Duke L.J. 163, 283-289. Under this classification, a § 301(c) modification is a hardship exception and an FDF variance is a fairness exception. A § 301(g) modification is a different type of fairness exception. It seeks to ensure that a firm not be forced to comply with the categorical standards when no environmental benefit would accrue from such compliance. See Aman, supra, at 311-312.
This classification of exceptions is reflected in several statutes. For example, the Department of Energy Organization Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7194(a); the Natural Gas Policy Act, 15 U.S.C. § 3412(c); and the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, 42 U.S.C. § 6393(a)(4), all provide for exceptions based on "special hardship, inequity, or unfair distribution of burdens." Of course, a "special hardship" exception is analogous to a § 301(c) modification; an "inequity or unfair distribution of burdens" exception is analogous to an FDF variance. Thus, the structure of these statutes supports the proposition that an FDF variance is an exception to a general rule. Cf. Overstreet v. North Shore Corp., 318 U.S. 125, 128, 63 S.Ct. 494, 496, 87 L.Ed. 656 (1943) (determining scope of phrase "engaged in interstate commerce" under the Fair Labor Standards Act by reference to use of that term in the Federal Employers' Liability Act).
It is also relevant that, in the legislative history of § 301(l ), the terms "modification," "variance," and "waiver" are often used interchangeably to describe exceptions to rules of general applicability. For example, during its Senate testimony, EPA used the term "variance" to describe statutory "modifications." Hearings on Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1977 before the Subcommittee on Environmental Pollution, 95th Cong., 1st Sess. (1977); see 1977 Leg.Hist. 1102, 1124, 1419. Similarly, both Senator Muskie and Representative Roberts equated the terms "modification" and "waiver." 123 Cong.Rec. 39183 (1977), 1977 Leg.Hist. 458 (Sen. Muskie); 123 Cong.Rec. 38952 (1977), 1977 Leg.Hist. 305 (Rep. Roberts); see also S.Rep. No. 95-370, p. 44, 1977 Leg.Hist. 677.
Moreover, prior to the enactment of § 301(l ), EPA repeatedly referred to the FDF variances as "modifications." See 43 Fed.Reg. 27738 (1978) ("provision for case-by-case modifications of the categorical pretreatment standards)"; Brief for EPA 40-41, 44-45, in NRDC v. EPA, 537 F.2d 642 (CA2 1976) ("a procedure for modification of the limits"; "a limited modification of the regulations"; a "modification procedure").
EPA argues that an FDF variance is equivalent to a subcategory containing only one discharger, and that the Act does not proscribe such subcategories. There is no merit to this argument. FDF requirements are set individually not because the applicant is in a unique position, but because the FDF procedures provide no mechanism for EPA to ascertain whether there are other dischargers in the same position as the applicant. See supra, at 156-158.
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