Opinion

City of Cookeville, Tennessee v. Tennessee Water Quality Control Board

Court
Court of Appeals of Tennessee
Filed
Nov 16, 2004
Status
Published
On the bench
Judge Alan E. Highers
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 29.5%

The opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT NASHVILLE

AUGUST 3, 2004 Session

CITY OF COOKEVILLE, TENNESSEE v. TENNESSEE WATER

QUALITY CONTROL BOARD, ET AL.

Direct Appeal from the Chancery Court for Davidson County

No. 02-3694-III Ellen Hobbs Lyle, Chancellor

No. M2003-02476-COA-R3-CV - Filed November 16, 2004

This appeal concerns the rule-making authority of the Tennessee Department of Environment and

Conservation under the Tennessee Uniform Administrative Procedures Act. The City of Cookeville,

seeking to expand its treatment works facility, obtained a permit from the Tennessee Department of

Environment and Conservation which placed nitrogen limits on the City’s effluent emissions into

Pigeon Roost Creek in Putnam County, Tennessee. The city filed a declaratory judgment action with

the Chancery Court of Davidson County asking the court to find as follows: (1) the section 303(d)

list created by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, which listed Pigeon

Roost Creek as organically enriched, amounted to an improperly promulgated rule in violation of

the Tennessee Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, and (2) the organic enrichment criteria

contained in the section 303(d) list amounted to an improperly promulgated Water Quality Standard,

which in turn constitutes an improperly promulgated rule, that the Tennessee Department of

Environment and Conservation used to impose restrictions on the city’s permit. The parties each

filed motions for summary judgment with the chancery court. The chancellor granted the city’s

motion, finding that the section 303(d) list containing the organic enrichment criteria amounted to

improperly promulgated rules as a matter of law. The state appealed the chancellor’s ruling to this

Court and, for the reasons contained herein, we dismiss this case as non-justiciable.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3; Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Chancery Court Dismissed

ALAN E. HIGHERS, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which DAVID R. FARMER , J., and HOLLY

M. KIRBY , J., joined.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General, Elizabeth

P. McCarter, Senior Counsel, Nashville, TN, for Appellants

William L. Penny, John Knox Walkup, Andrew J. Pulliam, Nashville, TN, for Appellee

OPINION

Factual History and Procedural Background

The City of Cookeville, Tennessee, (the “City”) operates a publicly owned treatment works

facility (the “Facility”) which encompasses a sewage treatment plant. The City treats the wastewater

coming into the Facility through biological and chemical treatment processes. The City discharges

the treated wastewater effluent into the Pigeon Roost Creek located in Putnam County, Tennessee.

The federal Clean Water Act (the “CWA”), codified at 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., requires

each state to develop Water Quality Standards for the water bodies within their respective borders.

See 33 U.S.C. § 1313 (2003). The CWA also requires each state to compile a list identifying those

water bodies within the state “for which effluent limitations required [under the applicable Water

Quality Standards] are not stringent enough to implement any water quality standard applicable to

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such waters.”1 33 U.S.C. § 1313(d) (2003). The list compiled by each state is referred to as a section

303(d) list.

In 1977, the Tennessee General Assembly promulgated the Tennessee Water Quality Control

Act (“Water Quality Act”), codified at section 69-3-101 et seq. of the Tennessee Code. Tenn. Code

Ann. § 69-3-101 (2003). The Water Quality Act provides for the establishment of the Tennessee

Water Quality Control Board (the “Board”). Tenn. Code Ann. § 69-3-104(a)(1) (2003). The Board

is composed of ten (10) members, and the Commissioner2 of the Tennessee Department of

1

One commentator has explained the interaction between the individual states and federal government as

follows:

The water quality standards provisions of section 303 of the Clean W ater

Act establish one of the basic mechanisms by which the federal government can

require that restrictions be placed on the discharge of pollutants into the nation’s

waters. Under this scheme, states establish water quality standards that specify both

the specific uses to be made of each body of water within their borders and the

maximum concentrations of pollutants that are allowable in view of such uses.

States may tailor limitations on polluters to ensure that water quality standards are

not violated.

The states’ water quality standards, however, are subject to review by the

federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine whether the standards

meet the minimum requirements of the Clean W ater Act. EPA in 1975 first

promulgated regulations defining the minimum requirements with which states must

comply. In 1982 EPA proposed major revisions to these requirements. . . .

....

A state must submit any revised or new standard to the Administrator of EPA, who

determines whether the standard “meets the requirements of this chapter.” If the

Administrator under this criterion approves the standard, section 303(c)(3) provides

that the new or revised standard “shall thereafter be the water quality standard for

the applicable waters of that State.” If, however, the Administrator determines that

the standard does not meet the requirements of the chapter, he must notify the

Governor of the state submitting the standard and advise the Governor of the

necessary changes. The Administrator may promulgate the necessary changes as

federal standards applicable to the water body within the state if the state does not

make the required changes. Section 303(c)(4)(B) also authorizes the Administrator

to promulgate a federal water quality standard independently of any state

submission if the Administrator “determines that a revised or new standard is

necessary to meet the requirements of this chapter.”

Jeffrey M. Gaba, Federal Supervision of State Water Quality Standards Under the Clean Water Act, 36 Vand. L. Rev.

1167, 1168–72 (1983).

2

“‘Commissioner’ means the commissioner of environment and conservation or the commissioner’s duly

authorized representative and, in the event of the commissioner’s absence or a vacancy in the office of commissioner,

the deputy commissioner.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 69-3-103(11) (2003). In addition to serving as chairman of the Board,

the Commissioner also has certain statutorily defined duties in carrying out the mandates of the W ater Quality Act. Tenn.

Code Ann. § 69-3-107 (2003). At the time this litigation commenced in December of 2002, Mr. Milton H. Hamilton,

Jr. served as Commissioner of Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. In January 2003, the Governor

appointed Betsy L. Child to take over as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

(continued...)

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Environment and Conservation (“TDEC”) is to serve as chairman of the Board. Tenn. Code Ann.

§ 69-3-104(a)(1)(A) (2003). The Water Quality Act provides that “[t]he board has and shall exercise

the power, duty, and responsibility to establish and adopt standards of quality for all waters of the

state.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 69-3-105(a)(1) (2003). In carrying out this mandate, the Board classifies

all the water bodies within the state and sets water quality standards based on those classifications.3

Tenn. Code Ann. § 69-3-105(a)(2)–(4) (2003).

In September of 1998, TDEC published its final draft of the 1998 303(d) list. Pigeon Roost

Creek was included on the list as an impaired water body due to “Organic enrichment/DO.” Also

in 1998, the City sought to expand the Facility. The Water Quality Act requires that anyone planning

to expand a treatment works facility which discharges into a water body within the State of

Tennessee must apply for a permit.4 Tenn. Code Ann. § 69-3-108(b)(2), (c) (2003). The City, in

an effort to comply with the Water Quality Act, filed a request for a new National Pollutant

Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) Permit (“Draft Permit”) with TDEC. TDEC issued the

City a Draft Permit, but the Draft Permit required the City to monitor the nitrogen levels of its

emissions due to the organically enriched waters in Pigeon Roost Creek.5 At the time that the City

2

(...continued)

Official W ebsite of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, available at

http://www.state.tn.us/environment/bio.php (last visited October 8, 2004). Commissioner Child replaced Mr. Hamilton

in this litigation following the change.

3

The W ater Quality Act provides:

The board has and shall exercise the power, duty, and responsibility to adopt,

modify, repeal, promulgate after due notice and enforce rules and regulations that

the board deems necessary for the proper administration of this part, the prevention,

control, and abatement of pollution, or the modification of classifications and the

upgrading of the standards of quality in accordance with subsection (a).

Tenn. Code Ann. § 69-3-105(b) (2003).

4

The W ater Quality Act provides:

The board has and shall exercise the power, duty, and responsibility to adopt,

modify, repeal, and promulgate all necessary rules and regulations for the purpose

of establishing and administering a comprehensive permit program that will enable

the department of environment and conservation to be designated by the United

States environmental protection agency as authorized to issue permits under the

national pollutant discharge elimination system established by § 402 of the Federal

W ater Pollution Control Act, P.L. 92-500.

Tenn. Code Ann. 69-3-105(h)(1) (2003).

5

The W ater Quality Act directs the Commissioner of TDEC to issue permits according to the following:

The commissioner may grant permits authorizing the discharges or activities

described in subsection (b) including, but not limited to, land application of

wastewater, but in granting such permits shall impose such conditions, including

effluent standards and conditions and terms of periodic review, as are necessary to

accomplish the purposes of this part, and as are not inconsistent with the regulations

promulgated by the board thereunder. Under no circumstances shall the

(continued...)

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was issued the 1998 Draft Permit, the Board had not promulgated any Water Quality Standards

regarding organic enrichment. The Draft Permit was reviewed by the federal Environmental

Protection Agency (“EPA”) pursuant to the EPA/Tennessee Memorandum Agreement. The EPA

issued a letter on December 16, 1999, stating that it had reviewed the Draft Permit issued to the City

and concluded that “[b]ased on 40 C.F.R. Section 122.44(d), since nitrogen may cause or contribute

to a water quality excursion at the increased loading, this parameter should be limited in the permit.”

(Exhibit 7 to Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment). On July 12, 2000, TDEC issued another

NPDES Permit (“Modified Permit”) to the City which contained a numeric discharge limit for

nitrogen.6

On August 7, 2000, the City filed an administrative appeal with the Board contesting the

terms and conditions in the Permit, specifically the nitrogen limits and placement of Pigeon Roost

Creek on the section 303(d) list.7 The City also filed a Petition for Declaratory Order with the

Board, pursuant to section 4-5-223 of the Tennessee Code,8 seeking a ruling that the section 303(d)

list must be promulgated as a “rule” pursuant to the Tennessee Uniform Administrative Procedures

Act (“UAPA”), codified at section 4-5-101 et seq. of the Tennessee Code. The City alleged that

TDEC, by promulgating and implementing the section 303(d) list containing organic enrichment

criteria for Pigeon Roost Creek, usurped the authority expressly delegated to the Board by the

legislature. On November 4, 2002, the Board declined to issue a declaratory order.

5

(...continued)

commissioner issue a permit for an activity which would cause a condition of

pollution either by itself or in combination with others.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 69-3-108(e) (2003).

6

Under the W ater Quality Act, the Commissioner has the power to modify a permit for cause. Tenn. Code Ann.

§ 69-3-108(f) (2003). The letter notifying the City of the Modified Permit provided as follows:

In accordance with the provisions of the Tennessee W ater Quality Control Act . .

. the enclosed NPDES Permit is hereby modified by the Division of W ater Pollution

Control. The continuance and/or reissuance of this NPDES Permit is contingent

upon your meeting the conditions and requirements as stated therein. The

modification was necessary to correct an error in the permit that was issued on June

30, 2000.

Since this modification occurred within thirty days of the previous reissuance of this

permit, you have the right to appeal any of the provisions established in the NPDES

Permit, in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 69-3-110 and the

General Regulations of the Tennessee W ater Quality Control Board.

The Modified Permit was set to expire on June 30, 2002.

7

At the time the State filed the instant appeal to this Court, the appeal before the Board was still pending.

8

“Any affected person may petition an agency for a declaratory order as to the validity or applicability of a

statute, rule or order within the primary jurisdiction of the agency.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-5-223(a) (2003). The agency

may either convene a contested case hearing and issue a declaratory order, or it may refuse to issue a declaratory order.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-5-223(a)(1)–(2) (2003). If the agency declines to issue a declaratory order, the person may apply

for a declaratory judgment pursuant to section 4-5-225. Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-5-223(a)(2) (2003).

-5-

On December 10, 2002, the City filed a complaint against the Board and the Commissioner

of TDEC (collectively the “State”) in the Chancery Court of Davidson County, asking the court for

declaratory relief pursuant to section 4-5-225 of the Tennessee Code.9 The City sought a declaratory

judgment as to the following: (1) the 1998 section 303(d) list used by TDEC in making permit

decisions falls within the definition of a “rule” under section 4-5-102(10) of the Tennessee Code,

therefore, the Board must promulgate the list under the UAPA, and (2) that the criteria for organic

enrichment developed by TDEC and utilized in its permitting decisions amounts to a water quality

criteria, which also qualifies as a “rule” under section 4-5-102(10) of the Tennessee Code and must

be promulgated by the Board under the UAPA.

The City filed a Motion for Summary Judgment with the chancery court on April 15, 2003,

asking the court to find that the 1998 section 303(d) list and organic enrichment requirements were

void as a matter of law. On May 16, 2003, the State filed a Motion to Dismiss the City’s complaint,

alleging that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the issues were pending resolution

in an administrative proceeding below. On June 2, 2003, the State filed a response to the City’s

Motion for Summary Judgment which also contained the State’s Cross-Motion for Summary

Judgment. On June 6, 2003, the chancellor issued an Order denying the State’s Motion to Dismiss,

finding that the City satisfied the requirements of section 4-5-225 of the Tennessee Code. The

chancellor conducted a hearing on the summary judgment motions on July 11, 2003, and she issued

her ruling on July 16, 2003, granting summary judgment to the City. The chancellor ruled that

TDEC used the 1998 section 303(d) list of impaired water streams and the organic enrichment

criteria as a “rule” under section 4-5-102(10) of the Tennessee Code in violation of the UAPA.

The State filed a Notice of Appeal to this Court appealing only that portion of the

Chancellor’s order pertaining to the validity of the section 303(d) list of impaired streams. The State

asks us to entertain the following issues:

9

Section 4-5-225 provides:

(a) The legal validity or applicability of a statute, rule or order of an agency to

specified circumstances may be determined in a suit for a declaratory judgment in

the chancery court of Davidson County, unless otherwise specifically provided by

statute, if the court finds that the statute, rule or order, or its threatened application,

interferes with or impairs, or threatens to interfere with or impair, the legal rights

of the complainant. The agency shall be made a party to the suit.

(b) A declaratory judgment shall not be rendered concerning the validity or

applicability of a statute, rule or order unless the complainant has petitioned the

agency for a declaratory order and the agency has refused to issue a declaratory

order.

(c) In passing on the legal validity of a rule or order, the court shall declare the rule

or order invalid only if it finds that it violates constitutional provisions, exceeds the

statutory authority of the agency, was adopted without compliance with the

rulemaking procedures provided for in this chapter or otherwise violates state or

federal law.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-5-225(a)–(c) (2003).

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I. Whether the trial court erred in finding that TDEC was using the section 303(d) list of

impaired streams as a “rule” in violation of the UAPA; and

II. Whether the trial court erred in finding that TDEC used the section 303(d) list as a water

quality standard to impose NPDES permit requirements on dischargers such as the City of

Cookeville?

For the reasons set forth below, we decline to entertain the issues presented by the State because

this case has become moot. In addition, to address the issues raised by the State would amount to

this Court issuing an advisory opinion, which we decline to do.

Dismissal of Appeal on Non-Justiciability Grounds

On appeal, the State’s brief directs our attention to the fact that the Board subsequently

promulgated an emergency rule regarding nutrient criterion for Tennessee’s water bodies as a result

of the chancellor’s ruling.10 The new regulation was adopted into the Board’s Water Quality

Standards in September of 2003 and codified at Tenn. Comp. R. & Reg. 1200-4-3-.03(3)(i). 11 We

have determined that the promulgation of this new Water Quality Standard governing the organic

enrichment of Tennessee’s waters has a direct bearing on whether this case is justiciable, therefore

we will consider this additional fact on appeal.12

10

The Board enacted the emergency rule on July 22, 2003, to address the chancery court’s ruling that organic

enrichment resulting from excessive nutrients cannot be addressed in NPDES permits issued by TDEC absent a water

quality standard rule adopted by the Board under the UAPA. (Appellant’s Br. at 3; Exhibit 1). The State’s brief stated

that “[a]lthough the State appellants disagree with the Chancery Court’s ruling with respect to organic enrichment, the

issue has not been appealed in anticipation of a mootness defense being raised by virtue of the Board’s formal adoption

of the nutrient criterion.”

11

The City took issue with the inclusion of this new information on appeal and filed a M otion to Consider Post-

Judgment Facts Under Tenn. R. App. P. 14 with this Court on July 21, 2004. The City asked this Court to consider the

ruling by the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) issued on M arch 9, 2004, after the present appeal was filed in this Court.

The ALJ granted the City’s motion for partial summary judgment stating that “the reason for the nitrogen limit in the

City’s permit was Pigeon Roost Creek’s inclusion on the 303(d) list.” (Order Granting Petitioner’s Motion for Partial

Summary Judgment). The ALJ went on to find the following:

That argument, as to whether the State can retroactively apply Emergency

or Permanent Rules to pending applications, need not be decided, here.

....

[T]he nitrogen limits set forth in the NPDES permit/ “application” issued

to the City is void and of no effect.

The State filed a response arguing that it brought the new rule to this Court’s attention to explain why the State did not

appeal the chancery court’s ruling on the organic enrichment issue. Accordingly, the City argues that the chancellor’s

ruling on that issue stands, and, therefore, the previous organic enrichment criteria applied to the City in the Permit is

no longer in effect and cannot be applied retroactively. The ALJ’s opinion also references the fact that the City has a

renewal permit application still pending before the Board.

12

Rule 14 provides as follows:

(a) Power to Consider Post-Judgment Facts. The Supreme Court, Court of Appeals,

(continued...)

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In granting the City’s motion for summary judgment, the chancellor’s order contained the

following statement:

[T]he Court finds and concludes that the undisputed facts presented

to the Court show that the Defendants are using both the State’s 1998

303(d) list of impaired water streams (“303(d) list”) and organic

enrichment criteria set forth in the 303(d) list as a Rule as that term

is defined in Tennessee Code Annotated 4-5-102(10).

The State filed a Notice of Appeal to this Court stating that it was appealing “only that portion of the

Order addressing the State’s 303(d) list of impaired streams.”13

This Court must be utilized in a manner that ensures our decisions will have a direct bearing

on the parties before the Court, and we have stated as much:

In general terms, the justiciability doctrine requires that cases

must involve presently existing rights, live issues that are within a

court’s power to resolve, and parties who have a legally cognizable

interest in the judicial resolution of the issues. Thus, courts will

decline to provide judicial relief in cases that do not involve genuine

existing controversies requiring the adjudication of present rights.

State ex rel. Lewis v. State, 208 Tenn. 534, 347 S.W.2d 47, 48 (1961);

Ford Consumer Fin. Co. v. Clay, 984 S.W.2d 615, 616 (Tenn. Ct.

App. 1998), and will likewise decline to render declaratory judgments

to decide theoretical questions or render advisory opinions. State v.

12

(...continued)

and Court of Criminal Appeals on its motion or on motion of a party may consider

facts concerning the action that occurred after judgment. Consideration of such

facts lies in the discretion of the appellate court. While neither controlling nor fully

measuring the court’s discretion, consideration generally will extend only to those

facts, capable of ready demonstration, affecting the positions of the parties or the

subject matter of the action such as mootness, bankruptcy, divorce, death, other

judgments or proceedings, relief from the judgment requested or granted in the trial

court, and other similar matters. Nothing in this rule shall be construed as a

substitute for or limitation on relief from the judgment available under the

Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure or the Post-Conviction Procedure Act.

Tenn. R. App. P. 14(a) (2003)(emphasis added). W e denied the City’s motion to supplement the record with the ALJ’s

opinion because the ruling of the ALJ is merely a legal conclusion, and it does not constitute a post-judgment “fact.”

13

Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 13(b) provides that ‘[r]eview generally will extend to only those

issues presented for review.” Tenn. R. App. P. 13(b) (2003). The Advisory Commission Comment to Rule 13(b)

provides that “this subdivision provides that review will typically extend only to those issues set forth in the briefs.”

Tenn. R. App. P. 13(b) cmt. (2003). Accordingly, we consider only that portion of the chancellor’s ruling presented

for review by the State.

-8-

Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., 18 S.W.3d 186, 193 (Tenn.

2000).

Charter Lakeside Behavioral Health Sys. v. Tenn. Health Facilities Comm’n, No. M1998-00985-

COA-R3-CV, 2001 Tenn. App. LEXIS 58, at *14 (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 30, 2001). “It is, of course,

well settled that when the issues sought to be presented by an appeal have been rendered moot

pending the appeal the appeal will be dismissed.” State v. Thomas, 585 S.W.2d 606, 607 (Tenn.

1979) (citations omitted); see also Dockery v. Dockery, 559 S.W.2d 952, 954 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1977).

“A moot case is one that has lost its character as a present, live controversy.” McIntyre v.

Traughber, 884 S.W.2d 134, 137 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1994) (citing McCanless v. Klein, 188 S.W.2d

745, 747 (Tenn. 1945)). “Cases must be justiciable not only when they are first filed but must also

remain justiciable throughout the entire course of the litigation, including the appeal.” Id. “A case

will generally be considered moot if it no longer serves as a means to provide relief to the prevailing

party.” Id. (citations omitted).

Based on our review of the record, the chancery court’s holding that the 1998 section 303(d)

list amounted to an improperly promulgated rule is inextricably intertwined with the fact that the list

cited the Pigeon Roost Creek as “organically enriched.” The City’s complaint for declaratory relief

hinged on the fact that the 1998 section 303(d) list stated that Pigeon Roost Creek was “organically

enriched.” The State concedes that at the time the limits were placed in the City’s Modified Permit

the Board had not promulgated any regulations addressing organic enrichment of water bodies within

this state. The State argues, however, that the section 303(d) list is not a rule but only an

interpretation of already promulgated Water Quality Standards.14

The City argues that this case is not moot because there is the potential that a new section

303(d) list may be used to impose another limit on future permits the City may seek. We note that

we can only address the facts as they existed at the time this case was tried below. We agree with

the City in that the State’s failure to appeal the chancery court’s ruling regarding the organic

enrichment limitations placed in the Modified Permit effectively prevents the State from

14

In arguing that the section 303(d) list is not a “rule” under the UAPA, the State’s brief contained the

following argument:

But a discharger such as Cookeville is not required to comply with the 303(d) list

and, by corollary, it cannot be in violation of the list. Instead, a discharger must

comply with the water quality standards promulgated by the Board, and those

standards are the predicate for establishing conditions in NPDES permits such as

the one issued to Cookeville.

....

In sum, the 303(d) list of impaired streams is an interpretive tool used by

TDEC to implement the Board’s promulgated water quality standards.

During oral argument, the State asserted that the list itself is not the cause of the limits placed in the City’s Modified

Permit, but is in fact the W ater Quality Standards themselves - W ater Quality Standards, which we note, did not exist

at the time the limitations were placed in the City’s Modified Permit.

-9-

retroactively applying the criteria from the 1998 section 303(d) list.15 The City itself stated during

oral argument that the nitrogen limits placed in the Modified Permit have been removed. In addition,

the Modified Permit issued by the State that is at issue in this case expired on June 30, 2002. The

state’s decision not to appeal the organic enrichment criteria as they existed at the time the City filed

its complaint demonstrates that the State intends to apply the newly promulgated organic enrichment

Water Quality Standard to all permit applications submitted after the standard was adopted.

Therefore, in light of events occurring after this appeal was filed, the question of whether the 1998

section 303(d) list was an improperly promulgated “rule” has become moot. A decision by this

Court holding that the 1998 section 303(d) list used in issuing the prior permit to the City did or did

not constitute a “rule” under the UAPA would have no effect on the permit at issue, which no longer

contains nitrogen limitations and has already expired. In essence, we are left with the issue of

whether a future section 303(d) list would constitute a “rule” which must be promulgated by the

Board, and not TDEC, in order to be in compliance with the UAPA. Addressing that issue would

amount to this Court issuing an advisory opinion, which we decline to do.

Conclusion

For the foregoing reasons, this case stands dismissed. Costs of this appeal are taxed against

the Appellants, the Tennessee Water Quality Control Board and Betsy L. Child, in her capacity as

Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, for which execution

may issue if necessary.

___________________________________

ALAN E. HIGHERS, JUDGE

15

W e are not asked to, nor could we, address whether the City may impose limitations on a future permit issued

to the City using W ater Quality Standards that were promulgated by the Board after this case was tried. On appeal, we

are only asked to consider whether the 1998 section 303(d) list, which contained organic enrichment criteria, was an

improperly promulgated rule under the UAPA.

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