United States Steel Corp. v. Wyoming Environment Quality Council

575 P.2d 749, 1978 Wyo. LEXIS 270
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 2, 1978
Docket4792
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 575 P.2d 749 (United States Steel Corp. v. Wyoming Environment Quality Council) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States Steel Corp. v. Wyoming Environment Quality Council, 575 P.2d 749, 1978 Wyo. LEXIS 270 (Wyo. 1978).

Opinions

ROSE, Justice.

This appeal concerns an attempted amendment or repeal of the Wyoming Environmental Quality Council’s water turbidity standard,1 and a denial of appellant-[750]*750United States Steel’s request for a variance from this standard. On May 1,1975, appellant filed before the E.Q.C. a petition to amend or repeal the turbidity standard, and an application for a variance. Public notice of a hearing to be held on appellant’s petition was given.2 On July 30, 1975, the hearing was held. Prior thereto, appellant was informed that the hearing would not be conducted as a contested case and, as a result, at the hearing appellant was denied the right to cross-examine witnesses or submit briefs, and witnesses were not sworn. Subsequently, the E.Q.C. issued a resolution denying appellant’s petition and application for a variance. Appellant filed a petition for review of this decision. The district court dismissed the petition for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction with respect to the turbidity standard, and entered summary judgment in favor of the E.Q.C. with respect to its denial of a variance. We will affirm this disposition.

The following questions are now before this court for resolution:

1. Whether the district court had jurisdiction to review the denial of appellant’s petition.
2. Whether the E.Q.C. followed its own rules of procedure in denying the petition.
3. Whether § 35-502.45(o), W.S.1957, 1975 Cum.Supp., prohibiting water quality variances, is constitutionally infirm.

SUBJECT-MATTER JURISDICTION

We begin with the principle that the right of judicial review of administrative decisions is entirely statutory, and that orders of an administrative agency are not reviewable unless made so by statute. City of Milwaukee v. Public Service Commission, 11 Wis.2d 111, 104 N.W.2d 167, 174. See, 4 Davis, Administrative Law Treatise, §§ 28.-18, 28.19. As stated in Klein v. Fair Employment Practices Commission, 31 Ill.App.3d 473, 334 N.E.2d 370, 374:

“Each statute must be carefully examined to discover the legislature’s intent to restrict judicial review of administrative action. (Heikkila v. Barber (1953), 345 U.S. 229, 73 S.Ct. 603, 97 L.Ed. 972.) While it is often said that barring constitutional impediments the legislature can preclude judicial review (See Mount St. Mary’s Hosp. v. Catherwood (1970), 26 N.Y.2d 493, 511, 518-519, 311 N.Y.S.2d 863, 260 N.E.2d 508 (Fuld, C. J., Concurring)), such intent must be made specifically manifest, and persuasive reason must exist to believe such was the legislative purpose. (Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner (1967), 387 U.S. 136, 87 S.Ct. 1507, 18 L.Ed.2d 681.) Only upon a showing of clear and convincing evidence of contrary legislative intent should the courts restrict access to judicial review. Rusk v. Cort (1962), 369 U.S. 367, 82 S.Ct. 787, 7 L.Ed.2d 809.”

The applicable statute is found in the Wyoming Administrative Procedure [751]*751Act, § 9-276.32(a), W.S.1957, 1975 Cum. Supp., which provides in pertinent part:

“(a) Subject to the requirement that administrative remedies be exhausted and in the absence of any statutory or common-law provision precluding or limiting judicial review, any person aggrieved or adversely affected in fact by a final decision of an agency in a contested case, or by other agency action or inaction, or any person affected in fact by a rule adopted by an agency, is entitled to judicial review . . . .” [Emphasis supplied]

Since we are dealing with a petition to amend or repeal an administrative rule, we must refer to § 9-276.24, W.S.1957, 1975 Cum.Supp., which provides:

“Any interested person may petition an agency requesting the promulgation, amendment or repeal of any rule and may accompany his petition with relevant data, views and arguments. Each agency may prescribe by rule the form of such petition and the procedure for their [its] submission, consideration and disposition. Upon submission of such a petition, the agency as soon as practicable either shall deny the petition in writing (stating its reasons for the denials) or initiate rule-making proceedings in accordance with section 3 [§ 9-276.21], The action of the agency in denying a petition shall be final and not subject to review.” [Emphasis supplied]

Appellant apparently concedes that if the E.Q.C. simply denied its petition it would not be entitled to judicial review under this statute. Appellant, however, contends that the E.Q.C. did not simply deny its petition; rather, the E.Q.C. initiated rule-making proceedings which are reviewable. To bolster its argument, appellant points to the public notice which says that the purpose of hearing was “to hear a petition from the U.S. Steel Corporation to amend the Wyoming Water Quality turbidity standards.”

What appellant fails to recognize is that in order to initiate rule-making proceedings, there must be compliance with § 9-276.21, W.S.1957, 1975 Cum.Supp., which provides in pertinent part:

“(a) Notice; hearing — Prior to an agency’s adoption, amendment, or repeal of all rules . . . the agency shall:
“(1) Give at least 20 days notice of its intended action. ...” [Emphasis supplied]

The public notice herein gave no indication of the E.Q.C.’s “intended action” — it merely stated there was to be a hearing to consider appellant’s petition pursuant to § 9-276.24, supra. It appears, then, that the E.Q.C. was merely seeking information on which to base a decision to grant or deny appellant’s petition. If the petition had been granted, then — and only then — rule-making proceedings would be initiated pursuant to § 9-276.21, supra. The denial of appellant’s petition, after such an informational hearing was not, therefore, subject to judicial review — except as hereinafter noted — and the district court correctly dismissed appellant’s appeal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.

REVIEW OF PROCEDURES

Appellant contends it is entitled to judicial review as to the regularity of the procedures used, regardless of the applicability of § 9-276.24, supra. Appellant complains specifically of the E.Q.C.’s failure to conduct the hearing in this case as it would in a contested case, with all the trial-type rights associated with such a hearing.

This court indicated in Board of Trustees of School District No. 3 v. District Boundary Board, Wyo., 489 P.2d 413, 417, that

“ . . .

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
575 P.2d 749, 1978 Wyo. LEXIS 270, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-steel-corp-v-wyoming-environment-quality-council-wyo-1978.