1. What administrative agency would likely have jurisdiction under this statute?
2. When Congress passes a law such as the one described above, what is this type of statute called?
Assume that the appropriate administrative agency studies the issues presented in the pollution control law and proposes a rule that all wood-burning ovens used in a commercial establishment must be either replaced by gas ovens or retrofitted with a certain pollution control device that will cost $15,200 per hood. Although a similar, lower-cost device is available, the agency does not view cost as a barrier to implementation when proposing the rule. The proposed rule also requires the hoods to be installed within five years.
3. What options does MLRG have for effecting a change in the proposed rule so that it includes the lower-cost device as an option?
Assume that the agency publishes a revised final rule that includes an amendment allowing the use of the lower-cost device but also includes an added provision that shortens the implementation deadline from the original five years to one year.
4. Is the administrative agency required to publish the amended rule again and allow a second comment period before it finalizes the rule? What rule would govern this analysis?
5. Assume that the administrative agency is not required to republish and allow an additional comment period. What are MLRG’s options for challenging the rule at this point?
6. What standards will a court use to judge the validity of the final rule?
Main Line Restaurant Group (MLRG) is a company that owns and operates a national chain of Italian-themed restaurants. Each of its restaurants is equipped with a series of hoods that ventilate smoke from a wood-burning pizza oven to the outside via a roof vent.
Last year, as part of a broader air pollution control law, Congress passed a statute that authorized the appropriate administrative agency to implement rules intended to decrease the amount of pollution caused by debris in the air from commercial use of wood-burning ovens.
