178.20—Right to submit objections and requests for a hearing.
(a)
On or before the 60th day after the date of publication in the Federal Register of an order under part 180 of this chapter establishing, modifying, or revoking a regulation, or denying all or any portion of a petition, a person adversely affected by such order or petition denial may submit, in accordance with § 178.25, one or more written objections to the order (or to the action that is the subject of the order).
(b)
A person may include with any such objection a written request for an evidentiary hearing on such objection in accordance with § 178.27
(c)
A person who submits objections need not request a hearing. For instance, if the person's objections are of a purely legal or policy nature, a hearing request would be inappropriate; the purpose of an evidentiary hearing is to resolve factual disputes. The Administrator will rule on the objections, whether or not a hearing is requested.
(d)
As a matter of discretion, the Administrator may order a hearing on an objection even though no person has requested a hearing.