Opinion ID: 727280
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Isleta Pueblo's Standards and Vagueness

Text: 61 Albuquerque asserts that the Isleta Pueblo's standards were so vague as to deprive Albuquerque of due process. We will not declare a regulation unconstitutionally vague if it puts the regulated party on notice as to what conduct is required. See Komjathy v. National Transp. Safety Bd., 832 F.2d 1294, 1297 (D.C.Cir.1987), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1057, 108 S.Ct. 2825, 100 L.Ed.2d 926 (1988); Brock v. L.R. Willson & Sons, Inc., 773 F.2d 1377, 1387 (D.C.Cir.1985). There is a strong presumption that regulations are not unconstitutionally vague if the regulated party has the means of obtaining clarification either by making inquiry or through an administrative process. Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, 455 U.S. 489, 498, 102 S.Ct. 1186, 1193, 71 L.Ed.2d 362 (1982). 62 Albuquerque complains that the Isleta Pueblo standards use unconstitutionally vague narrative terms, such as  'objectionable ... floating materials,' '[c]ontaminants [which] ... impart unpalatable flavor to fish,' 'nutrients [which] produce objectionable algal densities,' 'waters [which are] ... virtually free of pathogens,' and 'turbidity [which] causes an unaesthetic and substantial visible contrast.'  Appellant's Br. at 48-49 (alterations, emphasis, and omissions in original). Albuquerque appears to misunderstand the process established by the EPA under the Clean Water Act. The EPA regulations allow water quality standards, such as the Isleta Pueblo standards, to be narrative descriptions. 40 C.F.R. § 131.11 (1995). These standards, however, do not require any particular conduct by Albuquerque; instead, Albuquerque is on notice that its revised NPDES permit may contain the specific standards which must be satisfied. Plaintiff's claim of vagueness is without merit because an administrative procedure is in place through which it will have notice of the specific enforceable standards that it must meet.