Borough of Lavallette v. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection & Cibageigy Corp.

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

STEIN, J.

This case primarily concerns the validity of the administrative procedures followed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in issuing a permit that authorized Ciba-Geigy Corporation (Ciba-Geigy) to discharge an average of 5.9 million gallons per day of chemically-treated effluent into the Atlantic Ocean. On appeal, petitioners challenged the permit on several grounds, including whether DEP had made findings on the record to satisfy statutory criteria that are prerequisites to the issuance of a permit. In an unreported…