Container Life Cycle Management, LLC v. Wis. Dep't of Natural Resources
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The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the circuit court's dismissal of Petitioner's petition for judicial review of two letters issued by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on the grounds that the letters were not final agency decisions subject to judicial review, holding that the letters were not subject to judicial review.
On appeal, Petitioner argued that one of the letters adversely affected its substantial interests and was subject to judicial review regardless of whether it constituted DNR's final decision and that the letter was sufficiently final to warrant judicial review. The Supreme Court disagreed and affirmed, holding (1) the letter did not adversely affect Petitioner's substantial interests; and (2) therefore, the letter was not subject to judicial review.
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2022 WI 45 SUPREME COURT OF WISCONSIN CASE NO.: 2019AP1007 COMPLETE TITLE: Container Life Cycle Management, LLC, Petitioner-Appellant-Petitioner, v. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Respondent-Respondent. REVIEW OF DECISION OF THE COURT OF APPEALS Reported at 397 Wis. 2d 242, 959 N.W.2d 76 (2021 – unpublished) OPINION FILED: SUBMITTED ON BRIEFS: ORAL ARGUMENT: SOURCE OF APPEAL: COURT: COUNTY: JUDGE: June 23, 2022 April 6, 2022 Circuit Milwaukee Stephanie Rothstein JUSTICES: ANN WALSH BRADLEY, J., delivered the majority opinion of the Court, in which ROGGENSACK, DALLET, HAGEDORN, and KAROFSKY, JJ., joined. REBECCA GRASSL BRADLEY, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which ZIEGLER, C.J., joined. NOT PARTICIPATING: ATTORNEYS: For the petitioner-appellant-petitioner, there were briefs filed by David M. Lucey, Linda E. Benfield, Peter A. Tomasi, Anne-Louise T. Mittal, and Foley & Lardner LLP, Milwaukee. There was an oral argument by David M. Lucey. For the respondent-respondent, there was a brief filed by Gabe Johnson-Karp, assistant attorney general, with whom on the brief was Joshua L. Kaul, attorney general. There was an oral argument by Gabe Johnson-Karp. An amicus curiae brief was filed by Scott E. Rosenow and WMC Litigation Center, Madison, for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Inc. 2 2022 WI 45 NOTICE This opinion is subject to further editing and modification. The final version will appear in the bound volume of the official reports. No. 2019AP1007 (L.C. No. 2019CV313) STATE OF WISCONSIN : IN SUPREME COURT Container Life Cycle Management, LLC, Petitioner-Appellant-Petitioner, FILED v. JUN 23, 2022 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Sheila T. Reiff Clerk of Supreme Court Respondent-Respondent. ANN WALSH BRADLEY, J., delivered the majority opinion of the Court, in which ROGGENSACK, DALLET, HAGEDORN, and KAROFSKY, JJ., joined. REBECCA GRASSL BRADLEY, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which ZIEGLER, C.J., joined. REVIEW of a decision of the Court of Appeals. ¶1 Cycle ANN WALSH BRADLEY, J. Management, LLC (CLCM), Affirmed. The petitioner, Container Life seeks review of a per curiam decision of the court of appeals affirming the circuit court's dismissal of its petition for judicial review of two letters issued by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in December No. of 2018.1 issue 2019AP1007 The court of appeals determined that the letters at were not final agency decisions subject to judicial review. ¶2 CLCM argues that the December 14 letter2 adversely affects its substantial interests and is subject to judicial review regardless of whether it constitutes a "final" decision of DNR. Further, "finality" CLCM requirement contends for that judicial even review if there pursuant to is a Wis. Stat. § 227.52 (2019-20),3 the December 14 letter is sufficiently final to warrant judicial review. the December 14 letter does In response, DNR asserts that not affect CLCM's substantial interests and that CLCM's petition for judicial review is an untimely attempt to seek review of an earlier letter. ¶3 For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the December 14 letter does not adversely affect CLCM's substantial interests. As a result, the letter is not subject to judicial review and the circuit court properly dismissed CLCM's petition. ¶4 Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals. Container Life Cycle Mgmt., LLC v. DNR, No. 2019AP1007, unpublished slip op. (Wis. Ct. App. Mar. 30, 2021) (per curiam) (affirming order of the circuit court for Milwaukee County, Stephanie Rothstein, Judge). 1 Although CLCM initially sought judicial review of two letters, dated December 14 and December 26, its argument in this court focuses on the December 14 letter only. 2 All subsequent references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2019-20 version unless otherwise indicated. 3 2 No. 2019AP1007 I ¶5 CLCM is engaged in the business of refurbishing used chemical containers. receives and cleans plastic drums. At its facility industrial in containers St. such Francis, as steel it and The St. Francis facility is a source of air emissions subject to DNR's regulation. ¶6 requires Understanding a short the foray terminology it creates. factual into the background governing of this law and case the DNR regulates CLCM through the issuance of air permits under the federal Clean Air Act,4 Wisconsin's analogous air pollution statutes,5 and related DNR regulations6 regarding emissions of air contaminants from stationary sources.7 ¶7 The applicable statutes recognize two main categories of stationary sources, major sources and minor sources. A major source is one that is capable of emitting a greater amount of contaminants than the law permits, and a minor stationary source that is not a major source.8 source is a As relevant here, regulations also recognize a "synthetic minor source," which is 4 42 U.S.C. § 7401 et seq. 5 Wis. Stat. ch. 285. 6 Wis. Admin. Code chs. NR 405 (July 2016) and NR 406 (Sept. 2020). A "stationary source" is "any facility, building, structure or installation that directly or indirectly emits or may emit an air contaminant only from a fixed location." Wis. Stat. § 285.01(41). 7 8 Wis. Stat. § 285.01(24), (25). 3 No. 2019AP1007 a source that has the capability to emit more contaminants than permitted by law, but accepts permit conditions that keep its emissions below the major source level.9 ¶8 Generally, a construction permit is required to construct a new emissions source or modify an existing source.10 In areas of the country with relatively good air quality, the permitting framework centers on the prevention of significant deterioration of air quality, referred to as "PSD."11 sources are subject to PSD requirements, which Major means that specifications in a construction permit must be based on maximum pollution control achievable with the best available pollution control technology, or "BACT."12 ¶9 In 2017, both DNR and the United States Environmental Protection Agency notified CLCM of a violation of an air permit it had been issued in 2014. The source of the violation was odors and air emissions from the St. Francis facility. Seeking to remedy the violation, in February 2018, CLCM sought a permit 9 10 Wis. Admin. Code § NR 407.02(9) (Feb. 2022). See Wis. Stat. § 285.60(1)(a)1. Both regulators and those in the industry use a variety of acronyms. For ease of reference, we set forth the relevant acronyms: 11 PSD: BACT: VOC: Prevention of significant deterioration Best available control technology Volatile organic compound See Sierra Club v. Wis. 2d 614, 736 N.W.2d 918. 12 DNR, 4 2007 WI App 181, ¶2, 304 No. to install a regenerative thermal controlling odors and emissions. oxidizer as 2019AP1007 a means of DNR responded that it needed additional information. ¶10 On June 7, 2018, CLCM submitted a revised construction permit application. In addition to the regenerative thermal oxidizer, the revised application sought the installation of a new emissions source, removal of existing equipment, and the revision of existing permit emission limits. "commence construction waiver" for the CLCM requested a regenerative thermal oxidizer and new emissions source that would allow construction to begin before the permit was issued. ¶11 dated DNR responded to the revised application with a letter June 26, 2018. In the June letter, DNR denied the commence construction waiver on the basis that "the facility is a PSD major source" and stated that it "may not grant a waiver" for such a source. The June letter also stated that previous projects undertaken at CLCM's facility should have been subject to PSD permitting and that the facility required "an after-thefact PSD permit disclosed." revised to address . . . emissions Additionally, application was the June incomplete letter and not stated requested previously that that address several issues to finish the application. ¶12 Among the several issues, the June letter stated: Because the facility is a major PSD source of [volatile organic compounds (VOCs)], it is important to allocate the total VOC emissions to each emission unit to understand, for each unit, the applicability of permitting under ch. NR 405, Wis. Adm. Code. Please provide maximum theoretical and potential VOC 5 the CLCM No. 2019AP1007 emission calculations for each significant unit at the facility . . . . In addition, for the units subject to major-source review, "the facility will be expected to provide additional information in support of a BACT determination, as applicable." ¶13 The construction June permit letter also application observed indicates that the like to be a synthetic minor for VOC emissions." the "revised facility would DNR expressed concern "that the nature of the operations at the facility do not allow for practical enforceability" of the proposed limitation that would make CLCM's facility a synthetic minor source. Accordingly, DNR asked CLCM to "[p]lease explain how the facility can demonstrate compliance with this limitation." ¶14 complete Finally, the June letter indicated that it was "not a review of the . . . construction permit application request or the operation permit application submitted at the same time." However, it contained a notice of appeal rights and applicable deadlines, stating: "If you believe that you have a right to challenge this construction waiver decision, you should know that Wisconsin statutes establish time periods within which requests to review Department decisions must be filed." relevant here, the letter set forth: As "For judicial review of a decision pursuant to §§ 227.52 and 227.53, Wis. Stats., you have 30 days after the decision is mailed, or otherwise served by the Department, to file your petition with the appropriate circuit court and serve the petition on the Department . . . ." 6 No. ¶15 June CLCM letter, information neither nor DNR calculations petitioned did it requested. and for provide Rather, technical judicial all of CLCM memoranda 2019AP1007 review the an the additional submitted in of revised attempt to demonstrate that its facility was not a major source. ¶16 DNR responded to CLCM's revised calculations with a letter dated December 14, 2018. According to the December 14 letter, CLCM's DNR incomplete. still considered application to be It also explicitly stated that it disagreed with CLCM's assertions that the facility was not a major source and that it was not subject to an after-the-fact PSD permit. DNR "once more" requested that CLCM submit BACT analyses. ¶17 Additionally, the December 14 letter raised the issue of CLCM's request to be considered a synthetic minor source. It set forth: [T]he department has determined that such a permitting approach is not approvable in an after-the-fact PSD situation. In accordance with long-standing US EPA and department policy, DNR cannot issue a construction permit for existing equipment for which a facility failed to obtain a PSD permit without placing BACT or BACT-equivalent controls on the equipment in question. ¶18 The December 14 letter then listed emissions units subject to BACT review, stating that DNR "requests again that CLCM provide[] additional information for the units identified . . . as well as any other modified or new emissions units that are sources of VOC emissions, sufficient for the department to make a BACT determination for each unit." It additionally reiterated that information requested in the June 7 No. letter remained outstanding. "again requests explain how proposed it VOC that CLCM proposes cap" as 2019AP1007 DNR specifically stated that it provide to would additional demonstrate be information compliance necessary for with CLCM to to its be classified as a synthetic minor source. ¶19 As the June letter did, the December 14 letter advised that it was "not a complete review" of either the construction permit application "[a]dditional or operation information or permit application revisions of the materials may be needed as the review proceeds." and that application The December 14 letter did not contain any notice of appeal rights. ¶20 After CLCM followed up with a letter, DNR responded with another letter of its own on December 26, 2018. In the December 26 letter, DNR took the position that "a joint meeting between the department, CLCM, the City of St. Francis, and elected officials would not be a productive discussion as the department has not changed permitting obligations." its position regarding CLCM's The December 26 letter also stated that "the department has consistently indicated since June of 2018 that there was reason to believe the facility should have been permitted as a PSD major source since at least 2014" and again requested that CLCM submit the information requested in both the June and December 14 letters. ¶21 On January 11, 2019, CLCM judicial review in the circuit court. filed a petition for In the petition, CLCM requested the court to review the December 14 and December 26 8 No. "determinations" that it is subject to PSD 2019AP1007 standards and permitting requirements. ¶22 DNR moved to dismiss the petition, arguing that the December letters contain only preliminary agency decisions and are thus not subject to judicial review. It further contended that the final decision on the PSD determination was the June letter, not the December letters, and characterized CLCM's petition as an untimely challenge to the June letter. ¶23 The circuit court agreed with DNR and dismissed the petition. In reaching its conclusion, the circuit court determined that "as to the Department's designation of CLCM as a major source, clearly and definitively the Department advised the company with the June 26 letter of its determination." Additionally, the circuit court stated with regard to the June letter: "Clearly and unequivocally the Department stated its position and advised CLCM of its appeal rights and how it could proceed going forward with regard to that determination that they were a major source." "did not make a final In contrast, the December letters determination . . . that satisfies the Court that a substantial right or interest of the company here, the petitioner, has been conclusively determined." CLCM moved for reconsideration, which the circuit court denied. ¶24 CLCM appealed, and the court of appeals affirmed the circuit court, determining that "the [December] letters are not final agency decisions subject to judicial review." Container Life Cycle Mgmt., LLC v. DNR, No. 2019AP1007, unpublished slip op., ¶1 (Wis. Ct. App. Mar. 30, 2021) (per curiam). 9 After No. 2019AP1007 observing that the permitting process is ongoing, the court of appeals stated that "[e]ven assuming for the sake of argument that a PSD major source designation is immediately subject to judicial review, that designation was not made in the December letter." Id., ¶18. Instead, such a determination arose from the June letter, and "[i]f there was a time to seek judicial review of the PSD major source designation, it was when CLCM received the June letter for which judicial review is no longer available." Id., ¶¶18-19. CLCM petitioned for this court's review. II ¶25 We are asked to determine whether the December letter issued by DNR is subject to judicial review.13 administrative question of determinations appeals. decision law, is which rendered by subject we to review the judicial Whether an review independently circuit court and 14 is of court a the of Kimberly Area Sch. Dist. v. LIRC, 2005 WI App 262, ¶9, 288 Wis. 2d 542, 707 N.W.2d 872. Although CLCM raised the December 26 letter in its petition for judicial review, it did not develop an argument related to the December 26 letter at the court of appeals. Container Life Cycle Mgmt., No. 2019AP1007, at ¶12 n.2. The court of appeals determined that "given that the December 26 letter reiterates the DNR's same position from the December 14 letter, the December 26 letter suffers from the same defects and is not a final agency decision subject to judicial review." Id. Here, CLCM again argues exclusively based on the December 14 letter and we thus need not address the December 26 letter in our analysis. See Sw. Airlines Co. v. DOR, 2021 WI 54, ¶32 n.10, 397 Wis. 2d 431, 960 N.W.2d 384 (explaining that "we generally do not address undeveloped arguments"). 13 10 ¶26 Statutory In our review, interpretation we interpret likewise Wis. presents a No. 2019AP1007 Stat. § 227.52. question of law this court reviews independently of the determinations of the circuit court and court of appeals. Town of Newbold, 2021 WI 6, State ex rel. Anderson v. ¶13, 395 Wis. 2d 351, 954 N.W.2d 323. III ¶27 regarding We begin by setting forth the framework for analysis whether judicial review. an administrative decision is subject to Subsequently, we apply that framework to the facts of this case. A ¶28 Generally, the State is entitled to sovereign immunity and cannot be sued without its consent. PRN Assocs. LLC v. DOA, 2009 WI 53, ¶51, 317 Wis. 2d 656, 766 N.W.2d 559. For purposes of sovereign immunity, a suit against a state agency constitutes a suit against the State. Id. As such, "orders of administrative agencies are not reviewable unless made so by statute." Waste Mgmt. of Wis., Inc. v. DNR, 128 Wis. 2d 59, 87, 381 N.W.2d 318 (1986). nonappealable order, If an attempt is made to appeal from a the court lacks purpose, except to dismiss the action. jurisdiction for any Friends of the Earth v. Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 78 Wis. 2d 388, 404, 254 N.W.2d 299 (1977). ¶29 The applicable statute here is Wis. Stat. § 227.52, which sets forth the general rule regarding the reviewability of administrative agency decisions, as well as several exceptions. As relevant here, § 227.52 states: 11 "Administrative decisions No. 2019AP1007 which adversely affect the substantial interests of any person, whether by action or inaction, whether affirmative or negative in form, are subject to review as provided in this chapter . . . ." ¶30 The issue raised in this case implicates what it means for a decision to "adversely affect the substantial interests" of a party. This case does not represent this court's first dalliance with this phrase or its statutory predecessor. ¶31 (1973), In we Pasch v. DOR, 58 Wis. 2d 346, addressed Wis. Stat. predecessor statute to § 227.52. administrative decisions were § 227.15 206 N.W.2d 157 (1973-74), the That statute provided that reviewable if they "directly affect the legal rights, duties or privileges of any person." Id. at 351 (quoting Wis. Stat. § 227.15 (1973-74)). ¶32 Addressing commission had the "an order authority which to determination upon the merits," determined proceed to a id. at 355, the that the hearing and Pasch court concluded that such an order was not subject to judicial review. Specifically, it determined that "[t]he order of the commission finding jurisdiction in the commission to proceed to a hearing upon merits of the controversy does not directly affect the legal rights, duties or privileges of the appellant." 357. Id. at It characterized the order as "interlocutory" rather than "final" because "the substantial rights of the parties involved in the action remain undetermined retained for further action." and . . . the Id. at 354. 12 cause is ¶33 that In reaching courts "are administrative this determination, averse to review proceeding." the No. 2019AP1007 court observed interim Id. steps (citation in an omitted). Ultimately, the court set forth: The ultimate test of reviewability is not to be found in an overrefined technique, but in the need of the review to protect from the irreparable injury threatened in the exceptional case by administrative rulings which attach legal consequences to action taken in advance of other hearings and adjudications that may follow. Id. at 356 (quoting Columbia Broad. Sys. v. United States, 316 U.S. 407, 425 (1942)). ¶34 Two years subject statute. after Pasch, the legislature § 19, ch. 414, Laws of 1975. amended the In doing so, it discarded the "legal rights, duties or privileges" language and utilized verbiage that "substantial interests." ¶35 closely follows that in Pasch: Id. Subsequent cases have consequently continued to look to Pasch for guidance. See, e.g., Waste Mgmt., 128 Wis. 2d at 88-89; DNR, Sierra Club v. Wis. 2d 614, 736 N.W.2d 918. 2007 WI App 181, ¶¶13-16, 304 We do the same here, and emphasize Pasch's indication that although "finality" is a consideration in determining whether "substantial interests" are affected, it is not the sole indicator of reviewability. ¶36 are Case law additionally demonstrates that other factors taken into account in determining whether substantial interests are affected such that an agency action is reviewable. For example, we have stated that generally "[t]he legislative 13 No. declaration that decisions of administrative 2019AP1007 agencies be reviewed . . . envisions a review of a decision which must be supported by a record and be based upon findings of fact and conclusions of law." Wis.'s Env't Decade, Inc. v. Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 93 Wis. 2d 650, 658, 287 N.W.2d 737 (1980). In our review, we are guided by the overarching principle that it is the substance of the order, and not its form or label, that is the focus. Sierra Club, 304 Wis. 2d 614, ¶14. B ¶37 With this background and framework of analysis hand, we focus our review on the December 14 letter. asserts that the December 14 letter is amenable in CLCM to judicial review because it adversely affects CLCM's substantial interests in that the letter subjects CLCM to more burdensome PSD permitting requirements.14 ¶38 In contrast, DNR contends that judicial review is available for those agency decisions that conclusively determine legal rights only, and not for preliminary determinations in an ongoing permitting process. In DNR's view, the December 14 letter did not conclusively determine any of CLCM's substantial interests, and the petition for judicial review of the December CLCM additionally argues that past cases have instituted a "finality" requirement for review of administrative decisions, and that there is no basis for such a requirement in the text of Wis. Stat. § 227.52. As set forth above, existing precedent indicates that there is no such "finality" requirement and we need not address this argument further. 14 14 No. 2019AP1007 14 letter is really an untimely attempt to challenge the PSD determination made in the June letter. ¶39 We agree with DNR that the December 14 letter does not affect CLCM's substantial interests. As a result, the letter is not subject to judicial review and the circuit court properly dismissed CLCM's petition. ¶40 Like the order at issue in Pasch, the December 14 letter is unreviewable because "the substantial rights of the parties involved in the action remain undetermined and . . . the cause is retained for further action." 354. Pasch, 58 Wis. 2d at The letter itself emphasized that it "is not a complete review" of the permit applications at issue. ¶41 It application further to be advised that incomplete and information to remedy the defects. DNR considered requested CLCM's additional This is another indication of an ongoing review where the "cause is retained for further action" by the agency. by a record Rather than "a decision . . . supported and . . . based upon findings of fact and conclusions of law," Wis.'s Env't Decade, 93 Wis. 2d at 658, the letter indicates that it is seeking information to build such a record. that the Additionally, although not dispositive, we also observe December 14 letter did not contain a statement of appeal rights. ¶42 Contrary to CLCM's argument, the December 14 letter did not determine that CLCM's facility is a major source subject 15 No. to PSD permitting requirements.15 Instead, letter merely referenced the June letter: the 2019AP1007 December 14 "In a letter dated June 26, 2018, the department informed CLCM that the St. Francis facility required an after-the-fact PSD permit . . . ." Although the June letter is not a model of clarity, it was in that letter that DNR set forth: "The department has determined that . . . the facility is a PSD major source." For this reason, the federal cases cited by CLCM are inapposite. CLCM seeks support in Puerto Rican Cement Co., Inc. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 889 F.2d 292 (1st Cir. 1989), and Hawaiian Electric Co., Inc. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 723 F.2d 1440 (9th Cir. 1984). 15 In Puerto Rican Cement, the petitioner sought a "nonapplicability determination" that would allow it to avoid PSD permitting requirements for construction of a new kiln. Puerto Rican Cement, 889 F.2d at 294. EPA denied the non-applicability determination and the petitioner sought judicial review. The First Circuit concluded that EPA's denial of the nonapplicability determination was reviewable, stating that "the legal question at issue——the applicability of PSD review——is plainly separable from, and therefore collateral to, all the matters that the agency would consider in a PSD review itself." Id. at 295. Hawaiian Electric Co. also involved an EPA determination that a new PSD permit was required due to a "major modification." Hawaiian Elec. Co., 723 F.2d at 1442. The Ninth Circuit held that such a determination was subject to judicial review. It reasoned: "although the application of the major modification definition is an interim step in the PSD permitting process, it has immediate legal consequences, i.e., the requirement of PSD review." Id. CLCM contends that these two cases together "stand for the proposition that a decision regarding the applicability of PSD permitting requirements is sufficiently final to warrant judicial review." However, the December 14 letter made no decision regarding the applicability of PSD permitting requirements. CLCM's invocation of Puerto Rican Cement and Hawaiian Electric Co. is therefore unpersuasive. 16 No. ¶43 Additionally, conclusively synthetic the determine minor December that source. CLCM's 14 letter facility Conversely, it 2019AP1007 did cannot requested not be a additional information from CLCM "to explain how it proposes to demonstrate compliance with its proposed VOC cap" as is required for it to be classified as a synthetic minor source. no decision regarding whether CLCM The letter contains qualifies as a synthetic minor source, which makes sense given its request for additional information so it may make such a determination. ¶44 The fact that the December 14 letter requested additional information, leading to a possible increase in CLCM's costs, does not transform it into a reviewable decision. CLCM contends that the practical effect of the December 14 letter is to subject it to costs that it cannot recover if DNR ultimately decides that CLCM is a minor source or synthetic minor source. However, a permit is required for CLCM to do business. already notified CLCM of its "determin[ation]" that Having "the facility is a PSD major source" in the June letter, DNR advising CLCM of the next steps in the December letter resolves nothing regarding CLCM's rights. process is ongoing. Instead, it is an indication that the Thus, a letter indicating that CLCM simply must comply with the process to get a permit, which may accrue some cost to CLCM, does not adversely affect CLCM's substantial interests. ¶45 Our determination that CLCM's substantial interests are not adversely affected is based upon a review of the record and is informed by existing precedent. 17 In Pasch, the appellant No. 2019AP1007 argued that the issue should be decided before the appellant was put to the expense Wis. 2d at 357. to consider of a lengthy proceeding. Pasch, 58 In response to this argument the court declined the increased cost that may be placed on the appellant: We are mindful of the fact that much time and expense might be saved if the courts would decide at this time that the commission had exceeded its jurisdiction; however, this consideration is outweighed by the resultant delay that would accompany review of these agency determinations and the disruption of the agency's orderly process of adjudication in reaching its ultimate determination. Id.; see also State v. WERC, 65 Wis. 2d 624, 630-33, 223 N.W.2d 543 (1974); Sierra Club, 304 Wis. 2d 614, ¶16. ¶46 Further, allowing entities to challenge administrative decisions just because the decision would cause the entity to incur substantial costs would create an arbitrary and unworkable system. For example, how much money expended would be enough to secure judicial review? ¶47 Reaching the Where would such a line be drawn? conclusion that CLCM seeks would essentially allow an entity to challenge any decision in the administrative process if it caused them to incur costs. This would greatly expand the world of decisions subject to review and it is hard to imagine an administrative decision that would not be reviewable under such a standard. thus lead parties process. to to an unreasonable challenge result virtually any CLCM's argument would because step in it the would allow permitting See Brown County v. Brown Cnty. Taxpayers Ass'n, 2022 18 No. 2019AP1007 WI 13, ¶29, 400 Wis. 2d 781, 971 N.W.2d 491 (explaining that statutes must be interpreted "to avoid absurd or unreasonable results"). This would be burdensome on courts, agencies, and parties and would significantly delay permitting processes and interrupt business operations. ¶48 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co., Inc., 578 U.S. 590 (2016), cited by CLCM, does not compel a different result. In that case, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a jurisdictional determination that "water of the United States." the determination, and the certain property Id. at 596. Corps contained Hawkes challenged contended that the revised jurisdictional determination was not a final agency action. Id. at 597. ¶49 The United States Supreme Court disagreed with the Corps. Observing the principles guiding its decision as to whether an agency decision is "final" for purposes of the Administrative Procedure Act,16 it wrote, "First, the action must mark the consummation of the agency's decisionmaking process——it must not be of a merely tentative or interlocutory nature. And second, the action must be one by which rights or obligations have been flow." determined, Id. or from which legal consequences will Applying these principles, the Court determined Unlike in Wisconsin, federal courts follow a "finality" requirement when determining reviewability under the federal Administrative Procedure Act. See Bennett v. Spear, 520 U.S. 154, 175 (1997) ("The APA, by its terms, provides a right to judicial review of all 'final agency action for which there is no other adequate remedy in a court' . . . ."); 5 U.S.C. § 704. 16 19 No. 2019AP1007 that the jurisdictional determination was sufficiently final to be subject to judicial review: [W]hile no administrative or criminal proceeding can be brought for failure to conform to the approved [jurisdictional determination] itself, that final agency determination not only deprives respondents of a five-year safe harbor from liability under the Act, but warns that if they discharge pollutants onto their property without obtaining a permit from the Corps, they do so at the risk of significant criminal and civil penalties. Id. at 600. ¶50 Here, in contrast, the December 14 letter does not subject CLCM to liability as determination at issue in Hawkes. did the jurisdictional As explained above, it is not the consummation of the decisionmaking process but instead is just a step along the way. ¶51 In sum, we conclude that the December 14 letter does not adversely affect CLCM's substantial interests. As a result, the letter is not subject to judicial review and the circuit court properly dismissed CLCM's petition. ¶52 Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals. By the Court.—The decision affirmed. 20 of the court of appeals is No. ¶53 REBECCA availability of GRASSL judicial BRADLEY, review is J. 2019AP1007.rgb (dissenting). the necessary "The condition, psychologically if not logically, of a system of administrative power which purports to be legitimate, or legally valid." Louis L. Jaffe, The Right to Judicial Review I, 71 Harv. L. Rev. 401 (1958). In accordance with this principle, the legislature has afforded judicial review for "[a]dministrative decisions which adversely affect the substantial interests of any person, whether by action or inaction, whether affirmative or negative in form," subject to certain exceptions.1 (2019–20). Natural The December Resources (the 14 decision Department) to Wis. Stat. § 227.52 by the Department foreclose a of particular permitting approach "adversely affect[s]" Container Life Cycle Management, Inc.'s (CLCM) "substantial interests" by forcing CLCM to undergo a more time-consuming, expensive, and burdensome permitting process. ¶54 In reviewing CLCM's challenge, the majority applies a finality requirement despite agreeing the law does not impose one, thereby denying CLCM its statutorily available review. majority determines nothing in the December 14 The letter constitutes a reviewable agency decision, minimizing the letter as merely "a step along the way" in CLCM's permit application process.2 This is not an accurate representation; the letter Standing to bring the challenge under Wis. Stat. § 227.53(1), a separate threshold for judicial review, is not contested in this case. 1 2 Majority op., ¶50. 1 No. unequivocally decides approvable." proposed Contrary determination process a meets on the the to permitting the availability criteria of approach majority's of a Wis. 2019AP1007.rgb not decision, particular Stat. "is a permitting § 227.52. Even applying an express finality requirement, federal courts have deemed this type of determination subject to judicial review. Whether properly applying the plain terms of the statute or improperly applying the precedent developed under its prior language, CLCM is entitled to judicial review of the December 14 determination on the applicability of a permitting approach. Because the majority unlawfully denies CLCM judicial review, I dissent. I. A. ¶55 As the BACKGROUND The Department Letters majority acknowledges, multiple potential permitting options cover the contaminants at issue; they are outlined in Wis. Admin. Code chs. NR 405, 406, and 407. CLCM argues its facility should be covered by permitting requirements under chapters NR 406 and 407, which apply to natural minor and synthetic minor sources, as opposed to the more burdensome PSD permitting requirements under chapter NR 405, which apply to major sources. Accordingly, CLCM frames its case as resting on which "possible of the determines governs——one permitting of which regimes" is the "more Department costly and protracted." ¶56 CLCM's St. Francis facility was permitted as a minor source since 2015; in 2018, however, the Department told CLCM 2 No. 2019AP1007.rgb this permitting classification had been made in error. CLCM submitted a pre-construction air pollution permit application in February 2018 to install a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO) for purposes of reducing air emissions, which the Department authorized the next month under an exemption provided in Wis. Admin. Code § NR 406.04(2).3 air pollution permit On June 7, CLCM submitted a revised application in addition to a commence construction waiver request related to a different project. ¶57 The Department's applications. The letter June denied 26 letter the addressed commence both construction waiver because the Department deemed the facility a major source under Wis. Admin. Code ch. NR 405, which does not allow such waivers. decision. The letter gave notice of the right to appeal this The letter also declared the revised permit application incomplete and requested additional information. ¶58 Among four requests in the June 26 letter, the Department sought information to aid its assessment of whether the facility could be permitted as a synthetic minor source under Wis. Admin. Code ch. NR 407. That request explained: The revised construction permit application indicates the facility would like to be a synthetic minor for VOC emissions under ch. NR 407, Wis. Adm. Code. The facility is currently proposing an emission limitation equivalent to 99.5 tons per year. The department is "This section does not provide an exemption from construction permit requirements for a source that is required to obtain a permit under ch. NR 405 [governing Prevention of Significant Deterioration] or 408 [governing construction permits for direct major sources in nonattainment areas] or s. NR 446.03(2)(a) [governing mercury emission limits]." Wis. Admin. Code § NR 406.04. 3 3 No. 2019AP1007.rgb concerned that the nature of the operations at the facility do not allow for practical enforceability of this proposed limitation. Please explain how the facility can demonstrate compliance with this limitation, given that a significant portion of VOC emissions from the facility are considered fugitive. The Department expressed "concern[]" that this emissions limitation related to the synthetic minor designation could not be enforced, but requested an explanation on how the facility could comply. Logically, the framing of the Department's inquiry establishes it had not yet determined whether CLCM could obtain the synthetic minor permitting designation; the June 26 letter left that possibility open. ¶59 In response to the June 26 letter, CLCM prepared and submitted additional analyses to the Department on August 9 and September 24, 2018, to show the facility was not a major source. On October 18 and November 12, 2018, the Department met with CLCM regarding the 18-RAB-029 construction permit, during which meeting the Department suggested it could consider as a "possible permitting approach . . . a facility-wide cap on VOC emissions of 40 tons per year (TPY) . . . as a PSD-avoidance limit for the proposed capacity increase for the scrubber- controlled wash processes." CLCM submitted a revised permit application seeking on November 28, approval as a synthetic minor source. ¶60 letter In contrast to the June 26 letter, the December 14 terminated permitting approach the inquiry discussed into during whether [the the November "possible 12, 2018] meeting . . . could be considered as a PSD-avoidance limit for the proposed capacity increase for the scrubber-controlled wash 4 No. processes." 2019AP1007.rgb The letter states, "[u]pon further consideration, the department has determined that such a permitting approach is not approvable Department approach in an explained because it after-the-fact it could "cannot not issue PSD situation." approve a this The permitting construction permit for existing equipment for which a facility failed to obtain a PSD permit without placing BACT or BACT-equivalent controls on the equipment in question." The scrubber-controlled wash construction 14-RSG-142 permit BACT-equivalent 4 Department processes controls."4 and In were concluded clearly therefore other words, "[t]he modified require the BACT or Department That portion of the letter provided, in full: On November 12, 2018, DNR staff and representatives of CLCM held a meeting to discuss CLCM's application for construction permit 18-RAB-029. One possible permitting approach discussed during that meeting was whether a facility-wide cap on VOC emissions of 40 tons per year (TPY) could be considered as a PSDavoidance limit for the proposed capacity increase for the scrubber-controlled wash processes. During this meeting, DNR cautioned CLCM that such a plan was complicated by the unresolved concerns over PSD status of the 2014 project. Upon further consideration, the department has determined that such a permitting approach is not approvable in an after-the-fact PSD situation. In accordance with long-standing US EPA and department policy, DNR cannot issue a construction permit for existing equipment for which a facility failed to obtain a PSD permit without placing BACT or BACT-equivalent controls on the equipment in question. The scrubber-controlled wash processes were clearly modified by construction permit 14-RSG-142 and therefore require BACT or BACT-equivalent controls. 5 by No. concluded controls facts, CLCM to the needed conduct to its install BACT refurbishing majority's decision or BACT-equivalent business. to 2019AP1007.rgb Under foreclose these statutorily prescribed judicial review is in error. B. ¶61 Judicial Review Under Wis. Stat. § 227.52 In 1943, the legislature created Chapter 227 to govern administrative procedure and review. 1943; see also Ralph M. Hoyt, The Procedure Act, 1944 Wis. L. Rev. 214. the Act provided for judicial § 1, ch. 375, Laws of Wisconsin Administrative As relevant to this case, review of "[a]dministrative decisions in contested cases, whether affirmative or negative in form," subject (1943–44).5 to certain exceptions. Wis. Stat. § 227.15 The Act defined "[c]ontested case" as "a proceeding in which the legal rights, duties, or privileges of specific parties are required by law to be determined by decisions or orders addressed to them or disposing of their interests, after opportunity for hearing." 1945, the language Wis. Stat. § 227.01(3) (1943–44). concerning the "legal rights, duties In or privileges" was added directly to the judicial review statute under § 227.15. See § 18, ch. 511, Laws of Wis. 1945. The Department sent another letter on December 26, in which it concluded it "has not changed its position regarding CLCM's permitting obligations or the operation of the [RTO]." The Department emphasized, "With regards to the source status of the facility, the department has consistently indicated since June of 2018 that there was reason to believe the facility should have been permitted as a PSD major source since at least 2014." The Department further requested CLCM submit the required information "to keep the permitting process moving forward." Wis. Stat. § 227.15 was renumbered to Wis. Stat. § 227.52 in 1986. See 1985 Wis. Act 182, § 35. 5 6 No. ¶62 2019AP1007.rgb In Pasch v. DOR, 58 Wis. 2d 346, 353, 206 N.W.2d 157 (1973), this court interpreted Wis. Stat. § 227.15 to require finality, a conclusion it grounded in what it perceived to be a "legislative intent . . . to administrative agency." agency Pasch limit 'decisions' embraced judicial to final consequentialist review of orders of the reasoning for its atextual conclusion, emphasizing the "resultant delay that would accompany review of these agency determinations and the disruption of the agency's orderly process of adjudication in reaching its ultimate determination." Id. at 357. A finality requirement is nowhere to be found in the statutory language. ¶63 1976 brought a significant reworking of Wisconsin's Administrative "directly Procedure affect the Act. legal The legislature rights, duties replaced or the privileges" language with the requirement that an administrative decision "adversely affect" "substantial interests." of 1975. § 19, ch. 414, Laws Despite these statutory changes, Wisconsin courts have continued to apply the prior language as construed in Pasch. This case gave the court an opportunity to apply the text of the amended statute, ending our inappropriate reliance on the socalled "legislative statutory text. misinterpretation intent" The of supposedly majority the takes statutes motivating a pass, governing the prior perpetuating judicial a review grounded in the majority's concerns over the consequences of its decision rather than what the law commands. II. DISCUSSION A. Wis. Stat. § 227.52 Does Not Require Finality 7 No. ¶64 2019AP1007.rgb The majority correctly concludes Wis. Stat. § 227.52 does not require finality and accurately recites the statutory standard, which subjects administrative decisions to judicial review if they "adversely affect the substantial interests of any person[.]" finality Nevertheless, the majority imposes a de facto requirement in concluding the Department's decision does not adversely affect CLCM's substantial interests because it "did not conclusively determine that CLCM's facility cannot be a synthetic minor source."6 In so concluding, the majority smuggles into its analysis the defunct language from an earlier version of the statute and relies on faulty precedent interpreting it. ¶65 that The majority maintains "existing precedent indicates there is no . . . 'finality' requirement."7 Existing precedent (although wrong) belies the majority's assertion; the court of appeals consistently applies a finality requirement under Wis. Stat. § 227.52. See, e.g., Friends of the Black River WI Forest v. DNR, 2021 App 54, ¶9, 964 N.W.2d 342 ("Although Wis. Stat. § 227.52 does not use the term 'final,' 'case law has established that the legislative intent was to Majority op., ¶43; see also, id., ¶44 ("[A] letter indicating that CLCM simply must comply with the process to get a permit, which may accrue some cost to CLCM, does not adversely affect CLCM's substantial interests."); id., ¶47 ("CLCM's argument would thus lead to an unreasonable result because it would allow parties to challenge virtually any step in the permitting process. . . . This would be burdensome on courts, agencies, and parties and would significantly delay permitting processes and interrupt business operations."). 6 7 Id., ¶37 n.14. 8 No. 2019AP1007.rgb limit judicial review to final [decisions] of [an] agency.'"); Sierra Club v. DNR, 2007 WI App 181, ¶13, 304 Wis. 2d 614, 736 N.W.2d 918) ("Although this statute does not require that an administrative decision be 'final' in order to be subject to judicial review, case law has established that the legislative intent was to limit judicial review to 'final orders of the agency.'"); Kimberly Area Sch. Dist. v. LIRC, 2005 WI App 262, ¶13, 288 Wis. 2d 542, 707 N.W.2d 872 ("Here, the Commission's decision is not final and, therefore, it is not subject to judicial review."); Deering v. LIRC, No. 2011AP803, unpublished slip op., ¶11 (Wis. Ct. App. Mar. 15, 2012) ("While there is no express requirement in these provisions that an agency order must be final in order to be subject to judicial review, case law has established that Wis. Stat. ch. 227 limits judicial review to agency orders that are final. . . . A final order 'directly affects the legal rights, duties, or privileges of a person.'" (quoting Pasch, 58 Wis. 2d at 356)). The majority's refusal to acknowledge the decisive role finality has played in judicial review perpetuates confusion in this area of the law. ¶66 amended finality The historical backdrop against which the legislature Wis. and Stat. the § 227.52 judiciary confirms imposed exercise of judicial policymaking. the it law in never an required inappropriate The period from the 1960s to the 1970s produced "accelerated" change in administrative law. See Bernard Schwartz, Some Recent Administrative Law Trends: Delegations and Judicial Review, 1982 Wis. L. Rev. 208, 209. "By the 1960's, the administrative law issues that were crucial 9 No. 2019AP1007.rgb in 1940 seemed as though drawn from another world." also Reuel E. Schiller, Administrative Law 1945–1970, Vand. 53 and Enlarging the L. the Changing Rev. 1389 Id.; see Administrative Definition (2000). of One Polity: Pluralism, commentator suggested "a potent critique of the administrative state that emerged at the beginning of the 1960s" recognized agencies were "arbitrary, inefficient, and inevitably captured by the interests they were supposed to regulate," leading in part to "increased judicial scrutiny of administrative action." E. Schiller, Rulemaking's Promise: Reuel Administrative Law and Legal Culture in the 1960s and 1970s, 53 Admin. L. Rev. 1139, 1142 (2001). In 1971, the D.C. Circuit observed, "We stand on the threshold of a new era in the history of the long and fruitful collaboration of administrative agencies and reviewing courts." Env't Def. Fund, Inc. v. Ruckelshaus, 439 F.2d 584, 597 (D.C. Cir. 1971). ¶67 On the heels of this expanding administrative state and a corresponding increase in scrutiny over its actions, the legislature in 1976 broadened the types of decisions afforded judicial review. See § 19, ch. 414, Laws of 1975. Lucey bill vetoed the implementing these Governor changes——which the legislature overrode——because he was concerned it "enhances the rights of potential litigants against the state," "will increase litigation born[e] by against all our the state, the citizens," and expense that of "the which must burden on be our state's courts, particularly the Supreme Court, will increase." Veto Message of Governor Lucey to 1975 Assembly Bill 163, May 10 No. 28, 1976. 2019AP1007.rgb The majority assuages the former Governor's concerns— —it has no intention of shouldering that burden. Instead, the majority claims opening the door to administrative review based on "substantial costs" would be "absurd" and "would expand the world of decisions subject to review[.]"8 greatly Expanding the types of decisions subject to review, however, is precisely what the legislature accomplished via its statutory revisions. This court stymies the statute by closing the courthouse doors to litigants seeking relief from financially consequential effects of agency decisions. ¶68 Even under requirement, the reviewable. In Wis. 2d 59, 90, existing precedent Department's Waste 381 Mgmt. N.W.2d imposing December of 318 Wis., 14 a finality decision Inc. v. (1986), we is DNR, 128 concluded our interpretation of Wis. Stat. § 227.15 in Pasch and Wis. Env't Decade, Inc. v. Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 93 Wis. 2d 650, 287 N.W.2d 737 (1980), authorizes "judicial review of agency actions which are final, in the sense that they determine the further legal rights of the person seeking review." Although Waste Mgmt. applies the former statutory language, under its reasoning the December 14 letter qualifies as a reviewable decision even under the stricter "legal rights" framework. In Waste Mgmt., the Department of Natural Resources modified Waste Management's plan of operation requirements liquids, 8 and for at ground other its Omega water aspects Hills monitoring, of Id., ¶¶46–47. 11 the site. site by treatment Waste imposing of toxic Mgmt., 128 No. Wis. 2d at 83. 2019AP1007.rgb "Notwithstanding the modifications, the approval remained conditioned upon the fulfillment of the requirements." Id. We held § 227.15 "affords Waste Management the right to judicial review of the DNR's decisions to modify requirements contained in the initial approval of the plan of operation for Omega Hills." Id. at 80. We concluded the Department of Natural Resources' modifications to Waste Management's operation plan requirements determined Waste Management's "legal rights" because "[u]nless Waste Management complies with the DNR's requirements, it risks denial, suspension or revocation of its license[.]" Id. at review . . . , Waste 90. Further, Management faces "[a]bsent possible judicial 'irreparable injury' to its interest in its investment, in that it must incur the full costs requirements are standards[.]" Id. ¶69 The of compliance properly December 14 regardless imposed of under determination whether the that the [statutory] the permitting approach "is not approvable" is subject to judicial review under Pasch, Wis. Env't Decade, and Waste Mgmt. because (1) it is a "consummation of the decisionmaking process"9 with respect to whether CLCM can pursue the proposed permitting approach, forcing CLCM onto a different permitting path with higher costs, increased delays, and greater burdens; (2) it "determine[s] [CLCM's] 'legal rights' because '[u]nless [CLCM] complies with the DNR's [alternative permitting process], it risks denial, suspension, or revocation" of its legal ability to operate; and 9 Id., ¶50. 12 No. 2019AP1007.rgb (3) "[a]bsent judicial review," it will result in "irreparable injury" in the form of imposing the full and unrecoverable costs of complying with the permitting process "regardless of whether the requirements process should are have properly been imposed" approved. or See the alternative Waste Mgmt., 128 Wis. 2d at 90. B. The December 14 Decision "Adversely Affect[s]" CLCM's "Substantial Interests" ¶70 The December 14 decision "adversely affect[s]" CLCM's "substantial § 227.52. interests," As CLCM within explained the in meaning its of petition Wis. for Stat. judicial review, in the December 14 letter the Department "rescinded its proposal discussed to at accept the the location-wide November 12th cap meeting, on and VOC emissions, requested CLCM provide information required for the [D]epartment to issue a major source permit covering the location." "December Determinations represent the CLCM asserted the culmination of the agency's decision with respect to the applicability of the PSD standards and permitting requirements to the CLCM Location, and directly impacts CLCM's rights going forward with respect to which permitting and enforcement regimes the CLCM Location is subject." CLCM challenged the Department's determination that it "lacks authority under the facts of this case to issue a minor source permit to CLCM restricting emissions to less than 40 [TPY] of VOC emissions." ¶71 Multiple statements in the December 14 letter indicate the Department did not merely reiterate a previous determination or leave all decisions unresolved. 13 First, the letter itself No. 2019AP1007.rgb indicates the decision was in response to a meeting held on November 12, 2018——well after the June 26 letter. Department explained that "[u]pon further Second, the consideration," it "determined" the approach (1) "is not approvable," so (2) it "cannot issue a construction permit" for the equipment, and (3) the scrubber-controlled wash processes "therefore require BACT or BACT-equivalent controls." The language of the December 14 letter distinguishes it from the June 26 letter; unlike the Department's ongoing consideration of the issue in June, its determination in December forced CLCM to proceed with a more burdensome permitting process. course of business without CLCM could not pursue its chosen complying with this permitting decision. Even if the Department were to reverse course at some point the in future, CLCM will have incurred sunk costs, unrecoverable from the Department or otherwise. ¶72 CLCM identified specific substantial interests adversely affected by the December 14 letter, which it construed as a "determination that [its] facility must comply with the PSD permitting requirements of chapter NR 405, as opposed to the more flexible and streamlined requirements that apply to 'natural minor' and 'synthetic minor' sources under ch. NR 406 and 407[.]" BACT analyses The determination in the December 14 letter that are required under the more burdensome PSD permitting requirements is a decision independent of the final permit review on the merits; it is instead a threshold question of whether CLCM must conduct the analyses in the first place. CLCM noted this decision "substantially increases the costs and 14 No. delay associated analyses involve under with this "$50,000 permitting" permitting to because regime $100,000 or the can more" 2019AP1007.rgb required take months for a BACT and facility. Additionally, the Department's review can cost up to $80,000 and may take more than 18 months before it issues the permit. Once a company has expended the funds required for permitting, these cannot be recouped. The threat of incurring such costs renders the order triggering them judicially reviewable. See Env't Def. Fund, 439 F.2d at 592 ("A threat of economic injury has always been regarded as sufficient . . . for the purpose of finding an order final and reviewable."). The majority's evasive sidestep around perceived line-drawing problems undermines the statutory text and does not make CLCM's interests any less substantial.10 ¶73 Even requirement federal have applicability applying determined are acknowledgement courts that decisions reviewable. an express on Despite "federal courts finality PSD permitting the majority's follow a 'finality' requirement"11——and its insistence that Wisconsin courts do not12— —the majority reaches a conclusion even more restrictive than under federal law. ¶74 the In U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co., Inc., United States jurisdictional Supreme determination Court concluded regarding the an approved discharge of pollutants into "the waters of the United States" was reviewable 10 Id., ¶46. 11 Id., ¶49 n.16. 12 Id., ¶37 n.14. 15 No. because it "clearly 'mark[s] the consummation' 2019AP1007.rgb of the Army] Corps' decisionmaking process on that question." [U.S. 578 U.S. 590, 597 (2016) (quoting Bennett v. Spear, 520 U.S. 154, 178 (1997)) (emphasis added). The Court reasoned the decision was reviewable because "that final agency determination . . . warns that if [respondents] discharge pollutants onto their property without obtaining a permit from the Corps, they do so at the risk of significant criminal and civil penalties." The Court emphasized that "the arduous, expensive, and long." permitting Id. at 600. process can Id. at 601 (citing Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715, 721 (2006) (plurality op.)). that case, the assessments of respondents various be "would features have of to the submit In numerous property, respondents estimate would cost more than $100,000." which Id. at 596. ¶75 In Puerto Rican Cement Co., Inc. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 889 F.2d 292, 294–95 (1st Cir. 1989), the First Circuit Court of Appeals determined a company's challenge to a decision of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requiring the company to obtain a special kind of EPA approval was ripe for judicial review, notwithstanding the availability of a review process at the agency level. The court reasoned that "to withhold review would work considerable hardship on the Company, forcing it either to abandon its building plans, to compromise them by agreeing to emissions limitations, engage in a long, costly PSD review process." or to Id. at 295. Based on those immediate consequences of the EPA’s decision, the 16 No. 2019AP1007.rgb court rejected the idea that further proceedings before the EPA rendered judicial review premature: [T]he applicability of PSD review . . . is plainly separable from, and therefore collateral to, all the matters that the agency would consider in a PSD review itself. The collateral nature of the issue diminishes the likelihood that further agency proceedings will make it unnecessary for a court to decide the issue[.] Id. Similarly, in Hawaiian Electric Co., Inc. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 723 F.2d 1440, 1442 (9th Cir. 1984), the Ninth Circuit determined "the application of the major modification definition is an interim step in the PSD permitting process" subject to judicial review because "it has immediate legal review." consequences, i.e., the requirement of PSD Specifically, the court recognized the company had "an affirmative obligation imposed additional affirmative upon actions information" to relieve obligation. Id. at "potentially subject itself 1443. to in of it" terms that Additionally, even more and "must of take supplying agency-imposed the stringent company was affirmative obligations through the BACT provisions" leaving judicial review "the only feasible route available" to the company "to achieve modification of the requirements presently imposed on it." Id. Accordingly, the court concluded such "intermediate actions are reviewable" by the judiciary "in order to avoid forcing [the company] to comply with a ruling it believes unlawful." Id. at 1444. ¶76 The majority's citation of Hawkes in support of its conclusion that the December 14 letter "is not the consummation 17 No. 2019AP1007.rgb of the decisionmaking process but instead is just a step along the way"13 omits application of an important Hawkes, "'consummation' the qualifier. Department's of . . . [the] Under at 597 (emphasis decisionmaking added). proper determination Contrary is process question" of which permitting approach applies. U.S. a to on the that Hawkes, 578 the majority's characterization of this case, CLCM does not challenge "a step along the way" of a permitting process, but rather a threshold applicability decision. "[O]n that question" of whether CLCM can pursue the permitting approach discussed at the November 12, 2018 meeting, the Department determined the approach "is not approvable." As a result, the Department informed CLCM it would need to provide BACT analyses for that process to legally engage in CLCM's chosen associated with "substantial Electric, and course those of analyses interests." Hawkes business; all As the costs "adversely Puerto Rican illustrate, the and affect" delays CLCM's Cement, Hawaiian threshold decision concerning permitting applicability is distinct from a decision concerning the merits of the permit application; it is a fork in the road preceding any "step along the way." "an earlier judicial review might avoid Additionally, that the expense and inconvenience of further administrative proceedings" is distinct from a collateral decision imposing costly construction costs. See Sierra Club, 304 Wis. 2d 614, ¶16. 13 modifications, Id., ¶50. 18 and time-consuming substantial hurdles, permitting No. ¶77 This administrative The letters case illustrates goal-post at issue shifting are no the to risk thwart paragons of 2019AP1007.rgb of allowing judicial clarity; review. this case revolves as much around what constitutes the decision as it does whether the decision is reviewable under Wis. Stat. § 227.52. The Department argues the June 26 letter was the final decision that CLCM should have challenged, but this argument ignores the subsequent meetings and letters leaving open the possibility of a PSD-avoidance referencing only limit, the as well as "construction the notice waiver and appeal decision." CLCM argues the December letter contains a reviewable determination. The majority points to the December 14 letter's request for additional information on how CLCM "proposes to demonstrate compliance with its proposed VOC cap,"14 but in doing so reduces the letter to a notice "indicating that CLCM simply must comply with the process to get a permit[.]"15 To the extent this request for more information contradicts its decision on the scrubber-controlled wash processes, the Department shifts the goal administrative post analysis, and injects making unattainable. judicial review uncertainty illusive if not into the altogether The broad language of Wis. Stat. § 227.52 does not permit this. ¶78 The majority's erroneous application of the statute governing judicial review of agency decisions would be puzzling but for the majority's transparent revelation of the results14 Id., ¶43. 15 Id., ¶44. 19 No. 2019AP1007.rgb oriented motivations underlying its opinion: the avoidance of what or the majority result."16 deems to be an "absurd" "unreasonable The majority misapplies the absurd or unreasonable results canon of statutory construction, for at least the second time this term. "It is a misuse of the canon to invoke it as a tool for discarding the plain meaning of an unambiguous statute in favor of an interpretation" the court prefers. v. Brown Cnty. Wis. 2d 781, Taxpayers 971 Ass'n, 2022 N.W.2d 491 (Rebecca the or WI Brown County 13, Grassl ¶84, 400 Bradley, J., dissenting.). ¶79 Although absurd unreasonable results canon applies only rarely and in rather narrow circumstances, many courts cannot resist the temptation to invoke it to justify a preferred outcome. "The absurdity doctrine applies only to textual errors that may be fixed 'by changing or supplying a particular word or phrase whose inclusion obviously a technical or ministerial error.'" or omission was Schwab v. Schwab, 2021 WI 67, ¶44 n.1, 397 Wis. 2d 820, 961 N.W.2d 56 (Rebecca Grassl Bradley, J., dissenting) (quoting Antonin Scalia & Bryan A. Garner, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts 238 (2012)); see also State ex rel. Associated Indem. Corp. v. Mortensen, 224 Wis. 398, 272 N.W. 457, 458 (1937) (the absurdity canon "does not . . . justify a court in amending the statute or giving it a meaning to which its language is not susceptible merely to avoid unwise results"). 16 what the court believes are inequitable or "Just because a court dislikes the outcome Id., ¶47. 20 No. does not mean it is absurd." 2019AP1007.rgb Schwab, 397 Wis. 2d 820, ¶44 n.1 (Rebecca Grassl Bradley, J., dissenting) (citing Mellen Lumber Co. v. Indus. Comm'n of Wisconsin, 154 Wis. 114, 142 N.W. 187, 189 (1913) ("The statute in question may be inequitable, but this does not make it absurd.")). disturbs the constitutional branches of government. they deem a result allocation Setting of power among the "If courts ignored the law every time unreasonable, supplanted by the rule of judges." ¶80 Misapplication of the canon aside the the rule of law would be Id. impropriety of allowing judicial policy goals to override a statute, the majority's attempt to circumvent an ironically produce adverse agency increased the burden on opposite determinations the judicial effect. will rush system Those to the will subject courts to upon receipt of any communication that could conceivably be construed as a decision, lest the agency and court later deny review of a challenge deemed untimely. will leave regulated The majority's decision in this case entities and individuals uncertain of whether courts will dismiss early challenges as premature or reject later suits as tardy. III. CONCLUSION ¶81 agencies Recognizing over legislature in the the people 1976 power wielded by administrative and entities they regulate, expanded judicial review to the include administrative decisions which "adversely affect the substantial interests of any person[.]" legislative directive, Wis. Stat. § 227.52. Wisconsin 21 courts continue Flouting this to keep the courthouse alike. doors shut to regulated entities No. 2019AP1007.rgb and individuals The December 14 decision by the Department foreclosing a particular "substantial permitting process interests" because "adversely it affect[s]" subjects CLCM CLCM's to a more costly and time-consuming permitting process, collateral to a merits determination on the permit application itself. Federal courts recognize the impact on a party's "substantial interests" of such a threshold permitting applicability determination, even in the face of an express finality requirement omitted from our judicial review statute. ¶82 Dismissing the impact of the Department's decision on CLCM as "just a step along the way" of the permitting process, the majority misguidedly ignores the adverse effects CLCM will irreparably suffer as a result, and for which Wisconsin law affords CLCM judicial review before the damage is done. majority misinterprets purpose of sparing administrative majority Wis. the agencies "leaves Stat. courts follow Americans at § 227.52 the for burden the law. In the mercy" the of express ensuring doing of The so, the administrative agencies, which have been endowed with "a nearly freestanding coercive power" making the agencies "rulers of a sort unfamiliar in a republic, and the people must jump at their commands." Philip Hamburger, Is Administrative Law Unlawful? 335 (2014). "[T]he judiciary risks the liberty of all citizens if it abdicates its constitutional responsibility to check executive interpretations of the law." 375 Wis. 2d 1, 894 Operton v. LIRC, 2017 WI 46, ¶80, N.W.2d 426 22 (Rebecca Grassl Bradley, J., No. concurring). 2019AP1007.rgb Because the majority refuses to serve as a check on the exercise of coercive administrative agency power in this case, I dissent. ¶83 I am authorized to state that Chief Justice ANNETTE KINGSLAND ZIEGLER joins this dissent. 23 No. 1 2019AP1007.rgb
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