Opinion ID: 2382431
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Formosa's due process rights were violated.

Text: Before a party can be deprived of life, liberty, or property, it has the right to notice and a hearing in a meaningful time and a meaningful manner. Fuentes v. Shevin, 407 U.S. 67, 80, 92 S.Ct. 1983, 1994, 32 L.Ed.2d 556 (1972). The due process requirements of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution dictate that result as do Art. I, sections 7-9 of the Delaware Constitution. However, certain extraordinary circumstances may justify a deprivation before a hearing, when: The seizure has been directly necessary to secure an important governmental or general public interest. Second, there has been a special need for very prompt action. Third, the state has kept strict control over its monopoly of legitimate force: the person initiating the seizure has been a government official responsible for determining, under the standards of a narrowly drawn statute, that it was necessary and justified in the particular instance. Fuentes v. Shevin, 407 U.S. at 90-91, 92 S.Ct. at 1999-2000; see also Calero-Toledo v. Pearson Yacht Leasing Co., 416 U.S. 663, 678, 94 S.Ct. 2080, 2089 [40 L.Ed.2d 452] (1974). Applying those standards to this record, we are satisfied that the Secretary's pre-hearing revocation was justified as arising from an extraordinary situation. First, the public interests secured by the Secretary's action were the safety and welfare of the citizens living or working in or near the Formosa plant. This is entirely consistent with the findings, policy and purpose of the Act expressly stated in 7 Del.C. § 6001(a)(5-7), (b)(1) and (2), and (c)(1) and (2). (See n. 4, supra. ) Second, there was a special need for very prompt action. Formosa's long record of flouting environmental regulations, the two recent severe VCM emissions and the chronic dysfunction of the emission monitoring system were significant factors justifying the Secretary's conclusion that Formosa could not be relied on to operate the plant in a safe and environmentally sound manner. A catastrophe need not happen before a State official can take reasonable emergency action to thwart a reasonably apparent imminent threat to the public. Third, the State has kept strict control over its monopoly of legitimate force. Unlike Fuentes, where the deprivation occurred at the request of a private party, the revocation of these permits was a government-initiated action for the benefit of the public pursuant to a clear statutory and regulatory framework. Fuentes requires that this determination be made under the standards of a narrowly-drawn statutory predicate. Given the very specific regulations issued by the Secretary to effectuate the policy and purposes of the Act [7 Del.C. § 6010(a)], his duty of enforcement [7 Del.C. § 6005(a), supra ], his powers to grant or deny permits [7 Del.C. § 6003], and the detailed conditions and limitations placed by him upon Formosa's permits issued pursuant to well-defined regulations, we consider the Secretary's actions under these facts and circumstances to be entirely justified and constitutionally supportable. Here, the standards upon which the Secretary acted are as specific, perhaps even more so, than other statutes which have withstood due process challenges based on a pre-hearing deprivation. Hodel v. Virginia Surface Min. & Reclam. Ass'n., 452 U.S. 264, 301, 101 S.Ct. 2352, 2373, 69 L.Ed.2d 1 (1981); Ewing v. Mytinger & Casselberry, Inc., 339 U.S. 594, 595-96, 70 S.Ct. 870, 871, 94 L.Ed. 1088 (1950); Fahey v. Mallonee, 332 U.S. 245, 250, n. 1, 67 S.Ct. 1552, 1554, n. 1, 91 L.Ed. 2030 (1947); see also Air East, Inc. v. National Transportation Safety Board, 512 F.2d 1227, 1232 (3rd Cir.1975), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 863, 96 S.Ct. 122, 46 L.Ed.2d 92 (1975). Thus, we are satisfied that the Secretary's action was consistent with both United States and Delaware constitutional principles. U.S. Const. amendments V and XIV, § 1; Del. Const. Art. I, §§ 7-9.