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Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§6976 Judicial review

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 82— - SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER VII— - MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS › § 6976

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Lets people ask a court to review final regulations and refusals to approve requests to make, change, or cancel regulations under this chapter. Those reviews follow the usual federal review rules in sections 701–706 of title 5. Challenges to a regulation or to a denial must be filed only in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia within 90 days of the rule or denial, unless the challenge is based only on facts that arose after the 90th day. If review could have been gotten this way, the issue cannot later be raised in civil or criminal enforcement cases. For cases that required a hearing on the record, a party can ask the court to allow new evidence. If the court agrees the new evidence is important and could not reasonably have been presented earlier, the court can order the Administrator to take that evidence. The Administrator may change or add findings because of the new evidence and must file the updated findings and any recommendation with the court, along with the new evidence. Anyone interested can seek review of the Administrator’s actions about permits under section 6925 (or permits treated as issued under section 6935(d)(1)) and about authorizations under section 6926 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the federal circuit where the person lives or does business. That application must be made within 90 days of the action, or later only if the reasons for review arose after the 90th day. These reviews also follow sections 701–706 of title 5, and such matters cannot later be raised in civil or criminal enforcement proceedings if they could have been reviewed under this rule.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §6976

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Any judicial review of final regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter and the Administrator’s denial of any petition for the promulgation, amendment, or repeal of any regulation under this chapter shall be in accordance with sections 701 through 706 of title 5, except that—
(1)a petition for review of action of the Administrator in promulgating any regulation, or requirement under this chapter or denying any petition for the promulgation, amendment or repeal of any regulation under this chapter may be filed only in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and such petition shall be filed within ninety days from the date of such promulgation or denial, or after such date if such petition for review is based solely on grounds arising after such ninetieth day; action of the Administrator with respect to which review could have been obtained under this subsection shall not be subject to judicial review in civil or criminal proceedings for enforcement; and
(2)in any judicial proceeding brought under this section in which review is sought of a determination under this chapter required to be made on the record after notice and opportunity for hearing, if a party seeking review under this chapter applies to the court for leave to adduce additional evidence, and shows to the satisfaction of the court that the information is material and that there were reasonable grounds for the failure to adduce such evidence in the proceeding before the Administrator, the court may order such additional evidence (and evidence in rebuttal thereof) to be taken before the Administrator, and to be adduced upon the hearing in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as the court may deem proper; the Administrator may modify his findings as to the facts, or make new findings, by reason of the additional evidence so taken, and he shall file with the court such modified or new findings and his recommendation, if any, for the modification or setting aside of his original order, with the return of such additional evidence.
(b)Review of the Administrator’s action (1) in issuing, denying, modifying, or revoking any permit under section 6925 of this title (or in modifying or revoking any permit which is deemed to have been issued under section 6935(d)(1) 11 See References in Text note below. of this title), or (2) in granting, denying, or withdrawing authorization or interim authorization under section 6926 of this title, may be had by any interested person in the Circuit Court of Appeals of the United States for the Federal judicial district in which such person resides or transacts such business upon application by such person. Any such application shall be made within ninety days from the date of such issuance, denial, modification, revocation, grant, or withdrawal, or after such date only if such application is based solely on grounds which arose after such ninetieth day. Action of the Administrator with respect to which review could have been obtained under this subsection shall not be subject to judicial review in civil or criminal proceedings for enforcement. Such review shall be in accordance with sections 701 through 706 of title 5.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 6935(d)(1) of this title, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original a reference to section 3012(d)(1) of Pub. L. 89–272, which was renumbered section 3014(d)(1) of Pub. L. 89–272 by Pub. L. 98–616 and is classified to section 6935(d)(1) of this title.

Amendments

1984—Pub. L. 98–616 inserted “(or in modifying or revoking any permit which is deemed to have been issued under section 6935(d)(1) of this title)” and inserted “Action of the Administrator with respect to which review could have been obtained under this subsection shall not be subject to judicial review in civil or criminal proceedings for

Enforcement

.” 1980—Pub. L. 96–482, § 27(a), designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), in provision preceding par. (1), included judicial review of Administrator’s denial of any petition for promulgation, amendment, or repeal of any regulation in par. (1), included review of Administrator’s denial of any petition for promulgation, amendment, or repeal of any regulation, and substituted “District of Columbia, and” for “District of Columbia. Any”, “date of such promulgation or denial” for “date of such promulgation”, “petition for review is based” for “petition is based”, and “; action” for “. Action”, and in par. (2), substituted “proper; the” for “proper. The”, and added subsec. (b).

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

For transfer of certain

Enforcement

functions of Administrator or other official of Environmental Protection Agency under this chapter to Federal Inspector, Office of Federal Inspector for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, and subsequent transfer to Secretary of Energy, then to Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, see note set out under section 6903 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 6976

Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73