Pacific Legal Foundation v. Costle

Decision Date09 August 1978
Docket Number77-3008,Nos. 77-2909,s. 77-2909
Citation586 F.2d 650
Parties, 8 Envtl. L. Rep. 20,731 PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION, a nonprofit California Corporation, John B. Kilroy, Sr., and City of Torrance, a Municipal Corporation, Petitioners, v. Douglas M. COSTLE, in his official capacity as Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and United States Environmental Protection Agency, Respondents. The CITY OF LOS ANGELES, a Municipal Corporation, Petitioner, v. Douglas M. COSTLE, in his official capacity as Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and United States Environmental Protection Agency, Respondents.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Robert K. Best (argued), Sacramento, Cal., Frederick N. Merkin, Deputy City Atty. (argued), Los Angeles, Cal., for petitioners.

Anthony O. Garvin (argued), Appellate Section Lands & Nat'l Resources Div., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., for respondents.

Petition to Review an Action of the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Before MERRILL and SNEED, Circuit Judges, and EAST, * District Judge.

SNEED, Circuit Judge:

This case presents a challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) action in extending the terms of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit applicable to the Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Plant in Los Angeles for an additional two and one-half years. Petitioner City of Los Angeles argues that the State of California, not the EPA, has jurisdiction over the discharges in question and that the joint permitting procedure used by the state and the EPA is not authorized by the statute. Petitioner Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) initially questions EPA authority to extend the expiration date of an NPDES permit. PLF also argues that the extension process was procedurally inadequate because no hearing was held and that the Administrator's action in extending the permit was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and otherwise not in accordance with law. We have carefully considered these challenges, but must reject most of them. We do, however, remand this proceeding to the Administrator for an adjudicatory hearing as required by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. §§ 554, 556 and 557, with respect to EPA's extension of the NPDES permit.

I.

Background.

A. Statutory Framework.

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., (FWPCA) provide that the discharge of any pollutant shall be unlawful except as in compliance with the specific requirements of the act. Section 301, 33 U.S.C. § 1311. The statute also specifically provides that obtaining an NPDES permit authorizes such discharge. Section 402, 33 U.S.C. § 1342. The FWPCA further allows the states to assume responsibility for granting NPDES permits for discharges into navigable waters within the state's jurisdiction. Section 402(b).

These NPDES permits can only be obtained if the resulting discharge will meet other applicable requirements of the FWPCA. One of these requirements is that publicly-owned treatment works achieve effluent limitations based upon secondary treatment by July 1, 1977. Section 301(b)(1)(B). Ocean discharges are further required to be in compliance with guidelines developed by the EPA after consideration of a wide range of environmental, health, esthetic, recreational and economic values. Section 403, 33 U.S.C. § 1343. Disposal of sewage sludge which would result in any pollutant from such sewage sludge entering the navigable waters is also prohibited except pursuant to a permit. Section 405(a), 33 U.S.C. § 1345.

B. Physical Setting.

Sewage from Los Angeles is processed at the Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Plant and the resulting products are discharged into the Pacific Ocean. Most of the sewage receives only primary treatment; the resulting effluent is discharged into the ocean through an outfall extending five miles into the Pacific. About one-third of the sewage is given additional secondary treatment and the resulting sludge is discharged through a seven mile long outfall. A third outfall of one mile is used only in emergencies.

C. Administrative Action.

On March 26, 1973, the EPA and the California State Water Resources Control Board entered into an understanding which gave the state primary responsibility for administering the NPDES program in California, but allowed the EPA to retain jurisdiction over discharges beyond the limits of the three-mile territorial sea. See p. 655 (slip op. p. 2596) Infra. The initial NPDES permit for the Hyperion plant was jointly issued by the EPA and the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region (CRWQCB). This permit, issued after a public hearing, authorized discharges from the one and five mile outfalls on the condition that effluent limitations based on full secondary treatment be attained by October 1, 1979. On August 18, 1975, a new permit was jointly issued which authorized discharges from all three outfalls. The 1974 permit was explicitly rescinded at this time. The new permit retained the compliance schedules designed to achieve full secondary treatment of wastewater and added a compliance schedule designed to eliminate all ocean discharge of sewage sludge within thirty months after concept approval of a plan for alternate disposal of the sludge. Conditional approval of the use of the Palos Verdes landfill as an alternate disposal site was given by the EPA on October 11, 1975.

During the next two years the CRWQCB, apparently acting alone, amended the compliance schedule contained in the 1975 permit three times. The first change was to insert definite dates in the sludge-out compliance schedule, with elimination of sludge discharge into the ocean required by April 1, 1978. After the city missed the first interim deadlines in early 1976, the compliance schedule was again amended by the state to delay final elimination of sludge discharge until April 1, 1980. The final change, made in late 1976, merely extended one of the interim dates in the compliance schedule, while retaining April 1980 as the ultimate sludge-out date.

On July 29, 1976, the EPA notified the City of Los Angeles that the NPDES permit for Hyperion would expire on February 1, 1977 and that a new permit would have to be obtained if discharges were to continue past that date. On July 30, 1976, the city submitted an application for a new permit to the CRWQCB. A duplicate copy of this application was sent to the EPA. However, on January 24, 1977, after a public hearing, the EPA and the CRWQCB jointly changed the expiration date of the existing permit from February 1, 1977 to June 30, 1977. The stated reason for the extension was that adequate review time for a new permit was not available. The record also indicates that both agencies were aware of action in Congress which might extend the compliance dates applicable to this project. The extension was seen as a way of avoiding issuing a new permit that might be quickly outdated by changes in the underlying law.

Prior to the extension of the permit expiration date to June 30, 1977, petitioner PLF had written to the Regional Administrator of the EPA protesting the secondary treatment and sludge-out requirements in the Hyperion permit. This letter asserted that the EPA was misinterpreting the requirements of the FWPCA and that a proper interpretation required that ocean discharge limitations be imposed only after a complete environmental, economic, and social assessment of the factors involved. This letter did not include any specific objection to the proposed extension of the permit, but instead objected generally to the existing permit conditions. The EPA responded to this letter after the January 24, 1977 extension had been granted, saying that it still held to its interpretation of the FWPCA and therefore would not change any of the permit conditions.

By the end of April 1977 the EPA had decided to extend the existing permit until December 17, 1979. The City of Los Angeles was notified of this proposal and a general public notice was published in the Los Angeles Times. PLF, because it had not specifically requested to be on the mailing list for notice of proposed action regarding the Hyperion plant, did not receive individual notice of this proposal. No written objections to the extension were filed nor was a public hearing requested. On May 23, 1977, at a public hearing, the CRWQCB officially extended the expiration date of its permit until December 17, 1979. The EPA permit was officially extended on June 2, 1977 with no further public notice or hearing. Petitioner Kilroy requested an adjudicatory hearing on the permit extension on June 13, 1977. The EPA denied this request because it found that no factual questions suitable to resolution at an adjudicatory hearing were presented by the request. The legal questions raised by Kilroy regarding the proper interpretation of the FWPCA were certified to the EPA General Counsel. EPA's legal position was set forth in a memo from the General Counsel issued on October 18, 1977.

On August 18, 1977, a petition for review of the Administrator's action was filed in this court by PLF and Mr. Kilroy. A similar petition was filed by the City of Los Angeles on August 31, 1977. These petitions were consolidated by order of this court on December 23, 1977. That order also stayed the terms, conditions and requirements of the permit pending final disposition of these consolidated cases.

II.

Appellate Court Jurisdiction.

A. Modification or Issuance.

We are faced initially with the question of whether we have jurisdiction to hear this case. Section 509(b)(1)(F) of the FWPCA, 33 U.S.C. § 1369(b)(1)(F), provides that "review of the Administrator's action in Issuing or denying any permit under section 402 may be had by any...

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