No. 23-1059

Peter Williams v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al.

Lower Court: District of Columbia
Docketed: 2024-03-27
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived Experienced Counsel
Tags: administrative-petition administrative-procedure administrative-procedure-act clean-air-act due-process environmental-protection-agency epa-action petition-for-review standing statutory-interpretation timeliness
Key Terms:
Environmental AdministrativeLaw SocialSecurity Privacy JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2024-05-23
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether Williams could have petitioned for review using non-record rebuttal evidence within 60 days of EPA's initial action

Question Presented (from Petition)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED Petitioner Williams applied to enter a new Clean Air Act (the “Act”) program distributing allocations annually. Although his application applied expressly as an individual with the dba New Era Group, the logo to his letterhead shows “New Era Group, Inc.” and his email address was at neweragroupinc.com. Notwithstanding express statements in his application’s body that he applied as an individual, EPA denied his application as an ineligible corporation in a letter that EPA loosely summarized in a Federal Register notice on April 5, 2022, announcing approvals for the new program beginning October 1, 2022. Through counsel, by letter on April 20, 2022, he sought reconsideration, including new evidence of the individual nature of his application. Contrary to 5 U.S.C. § 555, EPA has yet to act on—or even formally respond to—Williams’ administrative petition for reconsideration. Two more petitions were filed to correct EPA’s error, without a response. Williams timely petitioned for review when EPA issued new annual allocations for the next year without resolving his pending administrative petition. Petitions for review must be filed within 60 days of EPA’s publishing actions in the Federal Register, 42 U.S.C. § 7607(b)(1). In § 7607(d), the Act exempts most major EPA action from 5 U.S.C. §§ 553-557 and 706 of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), but not the program here, to which the APA still applies. The questions presented are: 1. Whether Williams could have petitioned for review using non-record rebuttal evidence within 60 days of EPA’s initial action. 2. Whether the Act required Williams to petition for review within 60 days of EPA’s initial action.

Docket Entries

2024-07-22
Rehearing DENIED.
2024-07-17
Supplemental Brief of Peter Williams submitted.
2024-07-17
2024-06-27
DISTRIBUTED.
2024-06-24
Petition of Peter Williams for rehearing submitted.
2024-06-24
2024-05-28
Petition DENIED.
2024-05-07
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/23/2024.
2024-04-10
Waiver of right of respondent Environmental Protection Agency to respond filed.
2024-03-25
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due April 26, 2024)
2024-01-11
Application (23A631) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until March 24, 2024.
2024-01-05
Application (23A631) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from January 24, 2024 to March 24, 2024, submitted to The Chief Justice.

Attorneys

Environmental Protection Agency
Elizabeth B. PrelogarSolicitor General, Respondent
Elizabeth B. PrelogarSolicitor General, Respondent
Peter Williams
Lawrence J. JosephLaw Office of Lawrence J. Joseph, Petitioner
Lawrence J. JosephLaw Office of Lawrence J. Joseph, Petitioner