Ex parte Torbert

MURDOCK, Justice.

I. Facts and Proceedings Below

Kathy K, Torbert filed a petition with the Alabama Department of Public Health (“the Department”)1 for a declaratory rul*599ing with respect' to a proposed garbage-transfer station to be built near Torbert’s residence.2 Among other relief requested, Torbert sought a declaratory ruling under Ala. Code 1975, § 41—22—11(b), regarding the meaning of the administrative regulations defining the minimum required buffer zones around a solid-waste-transfer station.3 The portion of the dispute relevant to our decision concerns the starting point for measuring…