Opinion ID: 413378
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Waiver of Issues

Text: 152 Upon the issuance of a noncompliance notice, the owner or operator of a source must either calculate the amount of the penalty due and submit that calculation with the supporting data, or submit a petition contending that the source is not in violation, is entitled to an exemption, or both. If the source owner or operator opts to submit a petition, he must, according to EPA regulation 40 C.F.R. Sec. 66.13(a)(2) (1981), present both grounds in the petition if he wishes to preserve a claim to an exemption in the event that the source is found to be in violation, or the claim will be deemed waived. The petition may be amended (1) within forty-five days; (2) upon consent of the Administrator; or (3) after forty-five days if based on new and unforeseeable conditions. 40 C.F.R. Sec. 66.13(c) (1981). Petitioners argue that these provisions exceed EPA's statutory authority under the Clean Air Act. 153 EPA has the power to control its own procedures, so long as it does so consistently with its statutory mandate and the ultimate constitutional guarantees of due process. This regulation is well within the statutory mandate and is a reasonable means for EPA to ensure that the hearing process is orderly and swift. Under section 120(b)(5), EPA must act on petitions within ninety days. EPA could not be expected to meet the deadline if petitioners could amend petitions at will once they are submitted. 154 With regard to the constitutional guarantees, the regulation does not, in the abstract, violate due process, although a refusal by the Administrator to consent to a particular amendment might. The regulation does not foreclose amendments in the event of new and unforeseen circumstances. Moreover, the petition may always be amended with the consent of the Administrator. In affirming this regulation, we follow the holding of the Supreme Court in Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining, 452 U.S. 264, 304, 101 S.Ct. 2352, 2374, 69 L.Ed.2d 1 (1981), that the proper place to raise the issue whether a particular denial of an effort to raise an issue abridged due process is in the context of the particular case.