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Pacific Legal ~~ J Foundation PACIFIC LEGAL ~~ J FOUNDATION January 10, 2020 Administrator Andrew R. Wheeler VIA CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Administration Mail Code 1101A 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20460 Re: Petition for Rule Making for Procedures to Govern Clean Water Act Compliance Orders Dear Administrator Wheeler: Section 309( a) of the Clean Water Act authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to issue compliance orders against landowners and other persons for a variety of alleged violations of the Act. Such orders can impose crushing liability, yet under EPA' s existing regulations, the orders' recipients are entitled to no notice of their impending issuance, nor any opportunity to contest the bases for such orders. The enclosed Petition for Rule Making to Establish Notice- and- Hearing Procedures for Compliance Orders Issued Under Section 309( a) of the Clean Water Act- submitted on behalf of Pacific Legal Foundation as well as Michael and Chantell Sackett, the successful petitioners in Sackettv. EPA, 566 U.S. 120 ( 2012)- would remedy this " due process deficit" in EPA's enforcement practice. The proposed rule would guarantee that persons potentially subject to a compliance order would have the opportunity to defend themselves before the unleashing of such immense coercive and penal power. In addition to honoring the due process rights of compliance order targets, the proposed rule would satisfy the President' s recent order that all such objects of agency enforcement be given an opportunity to be heard " regarding the agency' s proposed legal and factual determinations." Promoting the Rule of Law Through Transparency and Fairness in Civil Administrative Enforcement and Adjudication." Exec. Order No. 13892, 84 Fed. Reg. 55,239, 55,239, 55,241 ( Oct. 15, 2019). 930 G Street • Sacramento, CA 95814 • plf@pacificlegal. org • 916. 419. 7111 • pacificlegal.org Administrator Andrew R. Wheeler January 10, 2020 Page 2 Pacific Legal Foundation and the Sacketts therefore request EPA's serious consideration and swift adoption of the proposed rule. Sincerely, r~ Damien M. Schiff Senior Attorney cc: Ms. Susan Bodine, Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Mr. Matthew Z. Leopold, EPA General Counsel BEFORE THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY PETITION FOR RULE MAKING TO ESTABLISH NOTICE- AND-HEARING PROCEDURES FOR COMPLIANCE ORDERS ISSUED UNDER SECTION 309( a) OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT DAMIEN M. SCHIFF ANTHONY L. FRANÇOIS Pacific Legal Foundation 930 G Street Sacramento, California 95814 Telephone: (916) 419-7111 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Attorneys for Petitioners Pacific Legal Foundation and Michael and Chantell Sackett TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ......................................................................ii I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................5 A. Background on Petitioners .........................................................5 B. The Need for Rule Making .........................................................7 II. THE PROPOSED RULE ................................................................13 III. CONCLUSION ............................................................................... 17 i TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases Camp v. Pitts, 411 U.S. 138 (1973) ......................................................................... 4, 11 Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe, 401 U.S. 402 (1971) ............................................................................. 11 Connecticut v. Doehr, 501 U.S. 1 (1991) ................................................................................. 10 Costle v. Pac. Legal Found., 445 U.S. 198 (1980) ............................................................................... 6 Crook v. Yeutter, 932 F.2d 973 (9th Cir. 1991), 1991 WL 78145 ................................... 12 Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319 (1976) ......................................................................... 3, 10 Metro. Water Dist. v. United States, 628 F. Supp. 1018 (S.D. Cal. 1986) ..................................................... 12 Nat’l Org. for Women v. Soc. Sec. Admin., 736 F.2d 727 (D.C. Cir. 1984) ............................................................. 12 Porter v. Califano, 592 F.2d 770 (5th Cir. 1979) ............................................................... 11 Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715 (2006) ...................................................................... 6-8, 17 Sackett v. EPA, 566 U.S. 120 (2012) .............................................. 1-3, 6-9, 11, 14, 16-17 Sackett v. EPA, 622 F.3d 1139 ( 9th Cir. 2010), rev’d on other grounds, 566 U.S. 120 (2012) ............................................................................... 9 U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs v. Hawkes Co., 136 S. Ct. 1807 (2016) .......................................................... 6, 14, 17-18 ii Statutes 5 U.S.C. § 553(e) ........................................................................................ 1 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(F) .............................................................................4, 11 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251-1388 ............................................................................. 1 33 U.S.C. § 1311(a) ....................................................................................7 33 U.S.C. § 1319(a) ....................................................................1, 8, 10, 13 33 U.S.C. § 1319( a)(1) .............................................................................. 10 33 U.S.C. § 1319( a)(4) .............................................................................. 10 33 U.S.C. § 1319(a)-(g) .............................................................................. 8 33 U.S.C. § 1321(e)(1)(B) .....................................................................5, 17 33 U.S.C. § 1361( a) .................................................................................... 1 33 U.S.C. § 1362( 7) .................................................................................... 7 33 U.S.C. § 1362(12)(A) .............................................................................7 33 U.S.C. § 1364( a) .............................................................................. 5, 17 Regulations 40 C.F.R. pt. 22 .................................................................................... 5, 14 40 C.F.R. pts. 22-24 ........................................................................... 10, 16 40 C.F.R. § 19.4 ......................................................................................... 9 40 C.F.R. § 22.14 ..................................................................................... 14 40 C.F.R. § 22.31 ..................................................................................... 14 Other Authorities Adler, Jonathan H., Wetlands, Property Rights, and the Due Process Deficit in Environmental Law, 2012 Cato Sup. Ct. Rev. 139 ................................................. 3, 6, 10, 17 Blevins, Ethan W., Life in the Law’s Shadow: Due Process in the World of Rule by Threat, 27 Geo. Mason U. Civ. Rts. L.J. 1 (2016) .......................................... 8-9 iii Broderick, Gregory T., From Migratory Birds to Migratory Molecules: The Continuing Battle Over the Scope of Federal Jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act, 30 Colum. J. Envtl. L. 473 (2005) ......................................................... 6 Burling, James S., Final Agency Actions and Judicial Review: United States Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co., 17 Federalist Soc’y Rev. 28 (2016) .................................. 6 EPA, Enforcement Annual Results Numbers at a Glance for Fiscal Year 2017, at https://bit.ly/2tpwsEt last visited Jan. 8, 2020) .................................................................... 16 EPA, Office of Inspector Gen., Gold King Mine Release: Inspector General Response to Congressional Requests June 12, 2017) .................................................................................... 18 Exec. Order No. 13892, 84 Fed. Reg. 55,239 (Oct. 19, 2019) .................... 1 Ferlo, Albert & Lindley, Tom, Practical Impacts of the Sackett Decision, 42 Envtl. L. 1009 ( 2012) .................................... 4, 15 Glaze, Jr., Richard E., A Detailed Look at the Effects of Sackett v. EPA on Administrative Enforcement Orders, 42 Envtl. L. Rep. News & Analysis 11030 (2012) ..................... 4, 15-16 Johnston, Craig N., Sackett: The Road Forward, 42 Envtl. L. 993 ( 2012) ................................................................... 8, 13 Osler, Tori, Note & Comment, Environmental Protection Agency’s Enforcement Mechanisms after Sackett v. EPA, 50 Idaho L. Rev. 65 (2014) ............................................ 3-4, 8, 14-15, 17 Polk, Alexandria A., Comment, The Clean Water Act and Evolving Due Process: The Emergence of Contemporary Enforcement Procedures, 65 Okla. L. Rev. 717 ( 2013) ......................... 9 Rabkin, Jeremy A., Against the EPA, Absurdity Is No Defense, 37 Harv. J.L. & Pub. Pol’y 41 (2014) .............................. 14 Safranek, David A., Comment, Sackett v. EPA: Does It Signal the End of Coercive CERCLA Enforcement?, 74 La. L. Rev. 1263 (2014) .................................................................. 16 iv Sater, Jonathan D., Note, Sackett v. EPA: The Murky Confluence of Due Process and Administrative
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