Source: http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/40/86.1115-87
Timestamp: 2014-07-24 21:10:44
Document Index: 165817402

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 86', '§ 86', '§ 86', '§ 86', '§ 86', 'art 930', '§ 1', '§ 86', '§ 86', '§ 86', '§ 86', '§ 86', '§ 86', '§ 86', '§ 86', '§ 86']

40 CFR 86.1115-87 - Hearing procedures for nonconformance determinations and penalties. | LII / Legal Information Institute
CFR › Title 40 › Chapter I › Subchapter C › Part 86 › Subpart L › Section 86.1115-87 40 CFR 86.1115-87 - Hearing procedures for nonconformance determinations and penalties.
§ 86.1115-87
Hearing procedures for nonconformance determinations and penalties.
The procedures prescribed by this section shall apply whenever a manufacturer requests a hearing pursuant to § 86.087-30(e)(6)(i), § 86.087-30(e)(7), or § 86.1113-87(f).
Manufacturer means a manufacturer contesting a compliance level or penalty determination sent to the manufacturer.
Party means the Agency and the manufacturer.
Presiding Officer shall mean an Administrative Law Judge appointed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 3105 (see also 5 CFR part 930 as amended).
Environmental Appeals Board shall mean the Board within the Agency described in § 1.25 of this title. The Administrator delegates authority to the Environmental Appeals Board to issue final decisions in appeals filed under this subpart. Appeals directed to the Administrator, rather than to the Environmental Appeals Board, will not be considered. This delegation of authority to the Environmental Appeals Board does not preclude the Environmental Appeals Board from referring an appeal or a motion filed under this subpart to the Administrator for decision when the Environmental Appeals Board, in its discretion, deems it appropriate to do so. When an appeal or motion is referred to the Administrator, all parties shall be so notified and the rules in this part referring to the Environmental Appeals Board shall be interpreted as referring to the Administrator.
A manufacturer may request a hearing pursuant to § 86.1113-87(f) if it disagrees with the Administrator's determination of compliance level or penalty calculation or both, or pursuant to § 86.085-30(e)(6)(i) or § 86.085-30(e)(7) if it disagrees with the Administrator's proposed suspension or voiding of a certificate of conformity. Requests for such a hearing shall be filed no later than 15 days:
After receipt of the Administrator's notification of NCP, if the compliance level is in the allowable range of non-conformity, or
After completion of the Production Compliance Audit, if the compliance level exceeds the upper limit, or
After receipt of the Administrator's notification of a proposed suspension or voiding of a certificate of conformity if the hearing is requested pursuant to §§ 86.085-30(e)(6)(i) or 86.085-30(e)(7), unless otherwise specified by the Administrator. The manufacturer shall simultaneously serve two copies of this request upon the Director of the Manufacturers Operations Division and file two copies with the Hearing Clerk. Failure of the manufacturer to request a hearing within the time provided constitutes a waiver of the right to a hearing. Subsequent to the expiration of the period for requesting a hearing as of right, the Administrator may, in his discretion and for good cause shown, grant the manufacturer a hearing to contest the compliance level or penalty calculation.
A statement as to which vehicle or engine subclasses or configurations are to be the subject of the hearing;
A concise statement of the issues to be raised by the manufacturer at the hearing for each vehicle or engine subclass or configuration for which the manufacturer has requested the hearing. Provided, however, That in the case of a hearing requested under § 86.1113-87(f), the hearing shall be restricted to the following issues:
Whether the compliance level was determined in accordance with the procedures in § 86.1112-87(a); or
Whether the penalty was calculated in accordance with the procedures in § 86.1113-87(a).
A statement specifying reasons why the manufacturer believes it will prevail on the merits on each of the issues so raised; and
A summary of the evidence which supports the manufacturer's position on each of the issues so raised.
In the case of a hearing requested under § 86.1113-87(f) when it clearly appears from the data and other information contained in the request for a hearing that there is no genuine and substantial question of fact with respect to the issues specified in § 86.1115-87(c)(2)(ii), the Administrator will enter an order denying the request for a hearing, and reaffirming the original compliance level determination or penalty calculation.
Any order issued under paragraph (d)(1) of this section shall have the force and effect of a final decision of the Administrator, as issued pursuant to paragraph (v)(4) of this section.
If the Administrator determines that a genuine and substantial question of fact does exist with respect to any of the issues referred to in paragraph (d)(1) of this section, he shall grant the request for a hearing and publish a notice of public hearing in accordance with paragraph (h) of this section.
An original and two copies of all documents or papers required or permitted to be filed pursuant to this section shall be filed with the Hearing Clerk. Filing shall be deemed timely if mailed, as determined by the postmark to the Hearing Clerk within the time allowed by this section. If filing is to be accomplished by mailing, the documents shall be sent to the address set forth in the notice of public hearing as described in paragraph (h) of this section.
To the maximum extent possible, testimony shall be presented in written form. Copies of written testimony shall be served upon all parties as soon as practicable prior to the start of the hearing. A certificate of service shall be provided on or accompany each document or paper filed with the Hearing Clerk. Documents to be served upon the Director of the Manufacturers Operations Division shall be sent by registered mail to: Director, Manufacturers Operations Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EN-340F), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. Service by registered mail is complete upon mailing.
In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by this section, except as otherwise provided, the day of the act or event from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included. Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal legal holidays shall be included in computing any such period allowed for the filing of any document or paper, except that when such a period expires on a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal legal holiday, such period shall be extended to include the next following business day.
The Administrator of the Presiding Officer in his discretion may consolidate two or more proceedings to be held under this section for the purpose of resolving one or more issues whenever it appears that such consolidation will expedite or simplify consideration of such issues. Consolidation shall not affect the right of any party to raise issues that could have been raised if consolidation had not occurred.
If a vehicle or engine is determined to be in nonconformity during certification testing under subpart A of this part, then the manufacturer may wait to challenge the determination until after production compliance auditing and calculation of his penalty and may consolidate challenges to the determination of nonconformity and the compliance level determination or the penalty calculation, without losing any rights he would otherwise have had.
If a vehicle or engine is determined to be in nonconformity during selective enforcement auditing under subpart K of this part, then the manufacturer must wait to challenge the determination until after the compliance level determination and the penalty calculation, and must consolidate challenges to the determination of nonconformity and the compliance level determination or the calculation of the penalty.
Notice of public hearing under this section shall be given by publication in the Federal Register and by such other means as the Administrator finds appropriate to provide notice to the public. To the extent possible, hearings under this section shall be scheduled to commence within 30 days of receipt of the application in paragraph (c) of this section.
Persons not parties to the proceeding wishing to file briefs may do so by leave of the Presiding Officer granted on motion. A motion for leave shall identify the interest of the applicant and shall state the reasons why the proposed amicus brief is desirable.
The Presiding Officer shall have the duty to conduct a fair and impartial hearing in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 554, 556 and 557 and to take all necessary action to avoid delay in the disposition of the proceedings and to maintain order. He shall have all power consistent with Agency rules and with the Administrative Procedure Act necessary to this end, including the following:
To rule upon offers of proof and exclude irrelevant or repetitious material;
To require the submission of direct testimony in written form with or without affidavit whenever, in the opinion of the Presiding Officer, oral testimony is not necessary for full and true disclosure of the facts;
To require the filing of briefs on any matter on which he is required to rule;
To require any party or any witness, during the course of the hearing, to state his position on any issue;
To make decisions or recommend decisions to resolve the disputed issues on the record of the hearing;
At the discretion of the Presiding Officer, conferences may be held prior to or during any hearing. The Presiding Officer shall direct the Hearing Clerk to notify all parties of the time and location of such conference. At the discretion of the Presiding Officer, persons other than parties may attend. At a conference the Presiding Officer may:
Oral direct and cross-examination of a witness where necessary as prescribed in paragraph (p) of this section; and
Oral argument, if appropriate.
At a prehearing conference or within some reasonable time set by the Presiding Officer prior to the hearing, each party shall make available to the other parties the names of the expert and other witnesses the party expects to call, together with a brief summary of their expected testimony and list of all documents and exhibits which the party expects to introduce into evidence. Thereafter, witnesses, documents, or exhibits may be added and summaries of expected testimony amended upon motion by a party.
The Presiding Officer may upon motion by a party or other person, and for good cause shown, by order
Restrict or defer disclosure by a party of the name of a witness or a narrative summary of the expected testimony of a witness, and
Prescribe other appropriate measures to protect a witness. Any party affected by any such action shall have an adequate opportunity, once he learns the name of a witness and obtains the narrative summary of this expected testimony, to prepare for the presentation of this case.
Except as provided by paragraph (m)(1) of this section, further discovery under this paragraph shall be permitted only upon determination by the Presiding Officer:
That such information has significant probative value. The Presiding Officer shall be guided by the procedures set forth in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, where practicable, and the precedents thereunder, except that no discovery shall be undertaken except upon order of the Presiding Officer or upon agreement of the parties.
The proposed time and place where it will be taken. If the Presiding Officer determines the motion should be granted, he shall issue an order for the taking of such discovery together with the conditions and terms thereof.
Failure to comply with an order issued pursuant to this paragraph may lead to the inference that the information to be discovered would be adverse to the person or party from whom the information was sought.
Protective orders, in camera proceedings.
Upon motion by a party or by the person from whom discovery is sought, and upon a showing by the movant that the disclosure of the information to be discovered, or a particular part thereof (other than emission data), would result in methods or processes entitled to protection as trade secrets of the person being divulged, the Presiding Officer may enter a protective order with respect to such material. Any protective order shall contain such terms governing the treatment of the information as may be appropriate under the circumstances to prevent disclosure outside the hearing, provided that the order shall state that the material shall be filed separately from other evidence and exhibits in the hearing. Disclosure shall be limited to parties to the hearing, their counsel and relevant technical consultants, and authorized representatives of the United States concerned with carrying out the Act. Except in the case of the government, disclosure may be limited to counsel for parties who shall not disclose such information to the parties themselves. Except in the case of the government, disclosure to a party or his counsel shall be conditioned on execution of a sworn statement that no disclosure of the information will be made to persons not entitled to receive it under the terms of the protective order. (No such provision is necessary where government employees are concerned because disclosure by them is subject to the terms of 18 U.S.C. 1905.)
Attendance at any in camera proceeding may be limited to the Presiding Officer, representatives of the Agency, and the person or party seeking the protective order.
Any party, subject to the terms and conditions of any protective order issued pursuant to paragraph (n)(1) of this section, that desires to make use of any in camera documents or testimony in the presentation of his case shall apply to the Presiding Officer by motion for permission to do so, and shall state the justification for the motion. The Presiding Officer, in granting any such motion, shall enter an order protecting the rights of the affected persons and parties as far as is practicable, and preventing unnecessary disclosure of such information and testimony concerning such information.
In the submittal of proposed findings, briefs, or other papers, counsel for all parties shall make a good faith attempt to refrain from disclosing the specific details of in camera documents and testimony. This shall not preclude references in such proposed findings, briefs, or other papers to such documents or testimony. This shall not preclude references in such proposed findings, briefs, or other papers marked “confidential,” which shall become part of the in camera record.
All motions, except those made orally during the course of the hearing, shall be in writing and shall state with particularity the grounds therefore, shall set forth the relief or order sought, and shall be filed with the Hearing Clerk and served upon all parties.
Within such time as may be fixed by the Environmental Appeals Board or the Presiding Officer, as appropriate, any party may serve and file an answer to the motion. The movant shall, if requested by the Environmental Appeals Board or the Presiding Officer, as appropriate, serve and file reply papers, within the time set by the request.
The official transcripts and exhibits, together with all papers and requests filed in the proceeding, shall constitute the record. Immaterial or irrelevent parts of an admissible document shall be segregated and excluded so far as practicable. Documents or parts thereof subject to a protective order under paragraph (n) of this section shall be segregated. Evidence may be received at the hearing even though inadmissible under the rules of evidence applicable to judicial proceedings. The weight to be given evidence shall be determined by its reliability and probative value.
The Presiding Officer shall allow the parties to examine and cross-examine a witness to the extent that such examination and cross-examination is necessary for a full and true disclosure of the facts.
Hearings shall be stenographically reported and transcribed and the original transcripts shall be part of the record. Copies of the records shall be filed with the Hearing Clerk and made available during Agency business hours for public inspection. Any person who wants a copy of the record of the hearing or any part thereof, except as provided in paragraph (n) of this section, shall be entitled to the same upon payment of the cost thereof.
Proposed findings, conclusions.
Within 30 days of the close of the reception of evidence, or within such longer time as may be fixed by the Presiding Officer, any party may submit for the consideration of the Presiding Officer proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law, and a proposed order, together with reasons therefore and briefs in support thereof. Such proposals shall be in writing, shall be served upon all parties, and shall contain adequate references to the record and authorities relied upon.
The record shall show the Presiding Officer's ruling on the proposed findings and conclusions except when his order disposing of the proceeding otherwise informs the parties of the action taken by him.
Unless extended by the Environmental Appeals Board, the Presiding Officer shall issue and file with the Hearing Clerk his decision within 30 days after the period for filing proposed findings has expired, as provided for in paragraph (c) of this section.
The Presiding Officer's decision shall become the decision of the Environmental Appeals Board (i) 10 days after issuance thereof, if no notice of intention to appeal as described in paragraph (t) of this section is filed, unless in the interim the Environmental Appeals Board shall have taken action to review or stay the effective date of the decision; or (ii) 5 days after expiration of the period allowed by paragraph (t)(1) of this section for perfection of an appeal, if a notice of intention to appeal is filed but the appeal is not perfected, unless within that 5 day period the Environmental Appeals Board shall have taken action to review or stay the effective date of the decision;
The Presiding Officer's decision shall include a statement of findings and conclusions, as well as the reasons or basis therefore, upon all the material issues of fact or law presented on the record and an appropriate rule or order. Such decision shall be supported by substantial evidence and based upon a consideration of the whole record.
At any time prior to the issuance of his decision, the Presiding Officer may reopen the proceeding for the reception of further evidence. Except for the correction of clerical errors, the jurisdiction of the Presiding Officer is terminated upon the issuance of his decision.
Any party to a proceeding may appeal the Presiding Officer's decision to the Environmental Appeals Board, Provided, That within 10 days after issuance of the Presiding Officer's decision such party files a notice of intention to appeal and an appeal brief within 20 days of such decision.
When an appeal is taken from the decision of the Presiding Officer, any party may file a brief with respect to such appeal. The brief shall be filed within the same time limits as the appellant's brief.
Any brief filed pursuant to this paragraph shall contain in the order indicated, the following:
A specification of the issues intended to be appealed;
The argument, presenting clearly the points of fact and law relied upon in support of the position taken on each issue, with specific page references to the record and legal or other material relied upon; and
A proposed order for the Environmental Appeals Board's consideration if different from the order contained in the Presiding Officer's decision.
No brief in excess of 15 pages shall be filed without leave of the Environmental Appeals Board.
Oral argument will be allowed only in the discretion of the Environmental Appeals Board.
If, after the expiration of the period for taking an appeal as provided for by paragraph (t) of this section, no notice of intention to appeal the decision of the Presiding Officer has been filed, or if filed, not perfected, the Hearing Clerk shall so notify the Environmental Appeals Board.
The Environmental Appeals Board, upon receipt of notice from the Hearing Clerk that no notice of intention to appeal has been filed, or if filed, not perfected pursuant to paragraph (t)(1) of this section, may, on its own motion, within 14 days after notice from the Hearing Clerk, review the decision of the Presiding Officer. Notice of the intention of the Environmental Appeals Board to review the decision of the Presiding Officer shall be given to all parties and shall set forth the scope of such review and the issues which shall be considered and shall make provisions for filing of briefs.
Decision of appeal or review.
Upon appeal from or review of the Presiding Officer's the Environmental Appeals Board shall consider such parts of the record as are cited or as may be necessary to resolve the issues presented and in addition shall, to the extent necessary or desirable, exercise all the powers which it could have exercised if it had presided at the hearing.
In rendering its decision, the Environmental Appeals Board shall adopt, modify, or set aside the findings, conclusions, and order contained in the decision of the Presiding Officer and shall set forth in its decision a statement of the reasons or bases for this action.
In those cases where the Environmental Appeals Board determines that it should have further information or additional views of the parties as to the form and content of the rule or order to be issued, the Environmental Appeals Board, in its discretion, may without final action pending the receipt of such additional information or views, or may remand the case to the Presiding Officer.
Any decision rendered under this paragraph which completed disposition of a case shall be a final decision of the Environmental Appeals Board.
Any party may file with the Environmental Appeals Board a petition for reconsideration of such decision setting forth the relief desired and the grounds in support thereof. This petition must be filed within 20 days of the issuance of the Environmental Appeals Board's decision, and must be confined to new questions raised by the decision or final order and which the petitioner had no opportunity to argue before the Presiding Officer or the Environmental Appeals Board, unless otherwise specified by the Environmental Appeals Board. Subsequent to the expiration of the period for petitioning for reconsideration, the Environmental Appeals Board may, in its discretion and for good cause shown, grant the manufacturer a hearing to contest the compliance level or the penalty calculation even though such issues may have been raised in the previous proceeding. Any party desiring to oppose such a petition, shall file an answer thereto within 10 days after the filing of the petition. The filing of a petition for reconsideration shall not operate to stay the effective date of the decision or order or to toll the running of any statutory time period affecting such decision or order unless specifically so ordered by the Environmental Appeals Board.
Accelerated decision, dismissal.
The Presiding Officer, upon motion of any party or sua sponte, may at any time render an accelerated decision in favor of the Agency or the manufacturer as to all or any part of the proceeding, without further hearing or upon such limited additional evidence such as affidavits as he may require, or dismiss any party with prejudice, for any of the following reasons:
The lack of any genuine issue of material fact, causing a party to be entitled to judgment as a matter of law; or
Such other and further reasons as are just, including specifically, failure to obey a procedural order of the Presiding Officer.
If under this paragraph an accelerated decision is issued as to all the issues and claims joined in the proceeding, the decision shall be treated for the purposes of these procedures as the decision of the Presiding Officer, as provided in paragraph (s) of this section.
If under this paragraph, judgment is rendered on less than all issues or claims in the proceeding, the Presiding Officer shall determine what material facts exist without substantial controversy and what material facts are actually and in good faith controverted. He shall thereupon issue an order specifying the facts which appear without substantial controversy, and the issues and claims upon which the hearing will proceed.
If, after the expiration of the period for taking an appeal as provided by paragraph (t) of this section, no appeal has been taken from the Presiding Officer's decision, and after the expiration of the period for review by the Environmental Appeals Board on its own motion as provided for by paragraph (u) of this section, the Environmental Appeals Board does not move to review such decision, the hearing will be deemed to have ended at the expiration of all periods allowed for such appeal and review.
If an appeal of the Presiding Officer's decision is taken pursuant to paragraph (t) of this section, or if, in the absence of such appeal the Environmental Appeals Board moves to review the decision of the Presiding Officer pursuant to paragraph (u) of this section, the hearing will be deemed to have ended upon issuance of a final decision by the Environmental Appeals Board.
The Administrator hereby designates the General Counsel of the Environmental Protection Agency as the officer upon whom any copies for judicial review shall be served. Such officer shall be responsible for filing in the court the record on which the order of the Environmental Appeals Board is based.
[50 FR 35388, Aug. 30, 1985, as amended at 50 FR 53467, Dec. 31, 1985; 55 FR 46630, Nov. 5, 1990; 57 FR 5333, Feb. 13, 1992]