Opinion ID: 526733
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Public Participation Rights

Text: 34 Petitioner's third challenge to the rule is that it impermissibly deprives the public of its right to participate in backfit decisions. Specifically, UCS argues that the rule and the internal procedures accompanying the rule in Chapter 0514 violate: (1) section 189(a) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2239(a), which grants public hearing rights during licensing proceedings; (2) the Administrative Procedure Act's requirement of reasoned agency decisionmaking based on public comment, 5 U.S.C. Secs. 553, 554; and (3) the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment. 35 We note at the outset that because the rule itself does not mention public participation rights, petitioner's claim necessarily rests on our review of the Commission's internal guidelines contained in Chapter 0514. In UCS I, we vacated Chapter 0514 without reaching the merits of petitioner's objections, because the procedures in the chapter were inextricably intertwined with the provisions of the final rule. 824 F.2d at 120. 36 The intervenor raises a jurisdictional objection to petitioner's challenge, arguing that Chapter 0514 establishes internal agency staff procedures, not substantive regulations, and is thus not a reviewable final rule or order. See Schweiker v. Hansen, 450 U.S. 785, 789, 101 S.Ct. 1468, 1471, 67 L.Ed.2d 685 (1981). We agree. 37 Although we vacated the portion of the Commission's manual that related to the backfit rule in UCS I, we did so on the ground that the substance of the manual, like the rule itself, was inconsistent with the Act. See, 824 F.2d at 120. The issue raised by petitioner in this case, by contrast, relates not to the substance of the manual, which tracks the requirements of the revised rule, but to the procedures established by the manual. Accordingly, we must as a threshold matter determine whether the manual, as a compendium of the Commission's procedures, is reviewable. 38 At the outset, we note that this court has jurisdiction to review all final orders of the Commission made reviewable by section 189(b) of the Act, see 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2342(4). Section 189(b) of the Act provides that [a]ny final order entered in any proceeding of the kind specified in [section 189(a) ] shall be subject to judicial review   . 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2239(b). Section 189(a), in turn, provides in relevant part: 39 In any proceeding under this chapter, for the granting, suspending, revoking, or amending of any license or construction permit,    and in any proceeding for the issuance or modification of rules and regulations dealing with the activities of licensees,    the Commission shall grant a hearing upon the request of any person whose interest may be affected by the proceeding,   . 40 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2239(a)(1) (Supp.1988). 41 Petitioner contends that the backfit procedures specified in Chapter 0514 constitute section 189(a) proceedings. We hold that this claim must fail, however, because backfit hearings do not fall within any of the specified enumerated categories of section 189(a). See San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace v. NRC, 751 F.2d 1287, 1314 (D.C.Cir.1984) ([i]f a particular form of Commission action does not fall within one of the eight categories set forth in the section, no hearing need be granted by the Commission), aff'd, 789 F.2d 26 (D.C.Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 923, 107 S.Ct. 330, 93 L.Ed.2d 302 (1986). In short, because the Commission's Chapter 0514 is not a final order establishing a proceeding under section 189(a), we have no jurisdiction to review the procedures it establishes. 42 In particular, we find that Chapter 0514 provides merely internal staff guidelines regarding the revised backfit rule; it establishes no substantive rights or obligations and is not legally enforceable. Cf. UCS v. NRC, 711 F.2d 370, 382 (D.C.Cir.1983) (agency rule was a binding norm to which licensees must conform and inherently substantive, and therefore did not fall within the APA exception for procedural rules and statements of policy, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 553(b)(A)). Thus, under settled principles of reviewability, we conclude that Chapter 0514 is not reviewable. See Schweiker v. Hansen, 450 U.S. 785, 789, 101 S.Ct. 1468, 1471, 67 L.Ed.2d 685 (1981). 43 Finally, we note in passing that our finding of unreviewability does not leave petitioner's concern for public participation entirely unanswered. Petitioner acknowledges that Chapter 0514 does not affect its right to participate in a proceeding to impose a backfit by means of a proposed rulemaking or license amendment once the process reached that stage. Additionally, under 10 C.F.R. Sec. 2.206 (request for enforcement action) and Sec. 2.802 (petition for rulemaking), petitioner and other affected persons may at any time petition the Commission to impose a backfit. See Citizens Association for Sound Energy v. NRC, 821 F.2d 725, 729 (D.C.Cir.1987). Although petitioner argues that this remedy is insufficient, claiming that the public has a right to comment in advance of a specific final decision, it fails to point to any applicable statutory support for such a claim. Accordingly, we have no basis for imposing such a procedural requirement on the Commission. See Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 435 U.S. 519, 98 S.Ct. 1197, 55 L.Ed.2d 460 (1978). 44 Because we find Chapter 0514 unreviewable, we need not address the questions whether the procedures established therein deprive the public of its hearing rights under Sec. 189(a) of the Act, or whether such a deprivation would violate the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, as petitioner claims.