City of West Chicago, Illinois v. NRC
United State Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
701 F.2d 632 (1983)
After Kerr-McGee closed a contaminated thorium-production site in West Chicago (plaintiff), the NRC (defendant) granted Kerr-McGee an amendment permitting demolition and on-site storage of contaminated material; the City sued when the NRC approved this without a hearing, and after a court-ordered reconsideration, the NRC accepted written submissions but denied the City's request for a formal trial-type hearing before again approving the amendment. The City appealed, arguing the NRC's informal procedure violated its own regulations, the Atomic Energy Act, due process, and NEPA.
Whether courts will defer to an agency's reasonable interpretation of its own regulations and the relevant statutes when determining whether a formal adjudicative hearing is required.