Barnet Hydro Co. v. Public Service Board

Plaintiffs, small power producéis, appeal from the Washington Superior Court’s dismissal of their declaratory judgment action, which seeks to prohibit the Public Service Board (PSB) from taking any action against small power producers in connection with PSB Rule 4.104(6). On appeal, plaintiffs claim that the superior court’s refusal to exercise jurisdiction is error because the court, and not the PSB, has exclusive jurisdiction to determine the validity of administrative rules. We affirm.

Small power producers own hydroelectric and biomass electric generation facilities in Vermont. The…