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IT. THE BOARD SHOULD GRANT INTERIM TEMPORARY RELIEF PENDING A <br />DECISION ON THIS APPEAL <br />Section 523(c) of SMCRA provides that the Secretary may <br />grant a request for temporary relief if: <br />(1) a hearing has been held in the locality of the permit <br />area on the request for temporary relief in which all parties <br />were given an opportunity to be heard; <br />(2) the applicant shows that there is a substantial <br />likelihood that the findings of the Secretary will be favorable <br />to him; and <br />(3) such relief will not adversely affect the health or <br />safety of the public or cause significant, imminent environmental <br />harm to land, air, or water resources. <br />In the present matter, ALJ Child has denied the motion for <br />temporary relief after holding a hearing, and OSM has conceded <br />that there is no threat of harm to the public or the environment <br />raised by this matter. <br />The Board has recently announced the standard for meeting <br />the "likelihood of success on the merits" criterion for temporary <br />relief, as follows: <br />where the balance of hardship to the par- <br />ties from not granting temporary relief <br />tips decidedly in favor of the applicant, <br />we find that in order to justify temporary <br />relief it is not necessary that the appli- <br />cant's right to prevail on the merits of <br />the controversy be free from doubt where he <br />"has raised questions going to the merits <br />so serious, substantial, difficult and <br />doubtful, as to make them fair ground for <br />litigation and thus for more deliberative <br />investigation." {citations omitted}. <br />-4- <br />