Seacoast Anti-Pollution League v. Costle
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
572 F.2d 872 (1978)
PSCO sought both a discharge permit and a section 316 exemption from EPA thermal-discharge standards for a proposed nuclear plant; after an ALJ-conducted public hearing led the regional EPA administrator to deny the exemption, EPA Administrator Costle (defendant) granted it on appeal after receiving additional technical input and denying Seacoast's (plaintiff) request for a further hearing, and Seacoast petitioned for review arguing this violated the APA's formal-hearing requirements.
Whether the Administrative Procedure Act's requirements for formal adjudicative hearings apply to public hearings that an agency holds to decide whether to issue permits or grant exemptions from statutory standards.