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compensate the Plaintiffs for the diminution in value to their property they had suffered as a <br />result of Basin's operation, the Plaintiffs stood to gain a significant advantage by seeing the <br />administrative process through. It is true that Basin has requested a hearing on the merits of the <br />NOV, and the Board has determined that there will be a hearing on the NOV on April 2~, 2001, <br />but it is entirely possible that the Plaintiffs will prevail at the hearing and that the Boazd will find <br />that Basin caused damage to the Plaintiffs property. Because there is still a significant remedy <br />available to the Plaintiffs at the agency level, nameiy the ability to participate in and prevail at <br />the Board hearing on the NOV on Apri125, 2001, the Plaintiffs should not be allowed to <br />prematurely seek judicial review without exhausting that remedy. Because they have not <br />exhausted their administrative remedies, this matter is not yet ripe forjudicial review. Therefore, <br />the Court does not have jurisdiction over the matter and should dismiss the Complaint for <br />Judicial Review and deny the Plaintiffs' Application for Temporary Relief. <br />II. EVEN IF THIS COURT ASSERTS JURISDICTION OVER THIS CASE, THE <br />PLAINTIFFS' APPLICATION FOR TEMPORARY RELIEF SHOULD BE DENIED <br />BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT MET THE THRESHOLD REQUIREMENT FOR <br />OBTAINING SUCH RELIEF UNDER THE STATUTE <br />A moving party may obtain temporary relief in a case forjudicial review under the <br />Ce!erado Sarface Coal Mining Reclamation .Act only upon a shnw~nv ;hnr rhrre is ?. "cttbctanria.l <br />likelihood" that the movant will prevail on the merits of the underlying judicial review action. <br />y 34-33-] 28(3)(b). In this case, Plaintiffs do not have a substantial likelihood of prevailing on <br />the merits of the judicial review action because they seek review of an agency's interpretation of <br />its own statute, and therefore beaz a heavy burden of proof against the countervailing legal <br />doctrine which allows great deference to an agency's interpretation of its own statute. <br />10 <br />