Summit Hydropower Partnership v. Commissioner of Environmental Protection

The principal issue in this appeal is whether the proceedings before an administrative agency, wherein the agency denied the plaintiffs request for state water quality certification for a proposed hydroelectric facility, constituted a “contested case” under General Statutes § 4-166 (2). The plaintiff, Summit Hydropower Partnership, filed an administrative appeal in the Superior Court from a decision of the named defendant,1 the commissioner of environmental protection (commissioner), denying its request for water quality certification. The commissioner based his denial on his determination…