Court Opinion

ID: 994398
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2013-07-04 00:22:40.225856+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:25:53.774877
License: Public Domain

Opinion vacated by order filed 3/19/98.
UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

THOMAS L. HOPKINS, Director,
Virginia Department of
Environmental Quality,
Petitioner,

v.

CAROL M. BROWNER, Administrator,
Environmental Protection Agency;
                                                                         No. 97-1678
THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondents,

THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA;
WASHINGTON WATER AND SEWER
AUTHORITY,
Intervenors.

On Petition for Review of a Permit
issued by the Environmental Protection Agency.
(DC0021199)

Argued: January 27, 1998

Decided: March 5, 1998

Before RUSSELL,* WIDENER, and WILKINS, Circuit Judges.

_________________________________________________________________

Remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
_________________________________________________________________

* Judge Russell heard oral argument in this case but died prior to the
time the decision was filed. The decision is filed by a quorum of the
panel. 28 U.S.C. § 46(d).
COUNSEL

ARGUED: Carl Josephson, Assistant Attorney General, Richmond,
Virginia, for Petitioner. Patricia Ross McCubbin, UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondents.
Lutz Alexander Prager, Assistant Deputy Corporation Counsel,
Washington, D.C., for Intervenors. ON BRIEF: Richard Cullen,
Attorney General of Virginia, Roger L. Chaffe, Senior Assistant
Attorney General, Deborah Love Feild, Assistant Attorney General,
John R. Butcher, Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for
Petitioner. Lois J. Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General, Environment
& Natural Resources Division, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT
OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondents; Jo Anne Robin-
son, Interim Corporation Counsel, Charles L. Reischel, Deputy Cor-
poration Counsel, Washington, D.C., for Intervenors.

_________________________________________________________________

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
Local Rule 36(c).

_________________________________________________________________

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

Thomas L. Hopkins, Director of the Virginia Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality, petitions this court for review of a permit issued
by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the District of
Columbia Water & Sewer Authority (DCWSA). See 33 U.S.C.A.
§ 1369(b)(1)(F) (West Supp. 1997). Hopkins argues that the EPA
issued the permit before Virginia could exercise its statutory right to
request a public hearing and raise objections. See 33 U.S.C.A.
§ 1341(a)(2) (West 1986). We remand for a public hearing.

I.

In 1991, the EPA issued a permit allowing DCWSA to discharge
sewage into the Potomac River and its tributaries. Before this permit

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expired in 1996, DCWSA applied for a new permit. Because Virgin-
ia's water quality could be affected by the discharge at issue, the EPA
notified Virginia of the permit application pursuant to 33 U.S.C.A.
§ 1341(a)(2), which provided Virginia with 60 days in which to object
to the issuance of the permit and to request a public hearing regarding
the objection. The EPA, however, issued the permit only 15 days after
notification to Virginia. Subsequently, but still within the 60-day
period, Virginia requested a public hearing and demanded that the
EPA vacate the permit pending the outcome of that hearing. In
response, the EPA offered to hold a public hearing but refused to
vacate the 1997 permit. This petition for review followed.

II.

The EPA correctly concedes that it issued the permit prematurely,
and both parties agree that Virginia is entitled to a public hearing pur-
suant to § 1341(a)(2). We therefore remand this case to the EPA so
that such a hearing may be held as soon as is reasonably possible.
Until resolution of the issues raised in the hearing, DCWSA shall con-
tinue to comply with the terms of the 1997 permit.

REMANDED

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