Connecticut General Statutes 22a-178 – Orders to correct violations. Hearings. Modification and extension. Orders to owners. Joint and several liability. Filing of certified copy or notice on land records. Orders to investigate
(a) If the commissioner finds that any person has violated any provision of this chapter, or any regulation, order, or permit adopted or issued thereunder, he may issue a written order against the person alleged to be committing such violation and shall cause a true copy thereof to be served upon such person by certified mail with return receipt requested or by a state marshal or indifferent person, and the original thereof, with a return of such service endorsed thereon, shall be filed with the commissioner. Such order shall specify the nature of the violation and specify a reasonable period of time within which such person shall take such measures as will correct or remedy any such violation.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 22a-178
- Air pollution: means the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more air pollutants or any combination thereof in such quantities and of such characteristics and duration as to be, or be likely to be, injurious to public welfare, to the health of human, plant or animal life, or to property, or as unreasonably to interfere with the enjoyment of life and property. See Connecticut General Statutes 22a-170
- Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- commissioner: means the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection or any member of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection or any local air pollution control official or agency authorized by him, acting singly or jointly, to whom he assigns any function arising under the provisions of this chapter or of any regulations adopted hereunder. See Connecticut General Statutes 22a-170
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- person: includes any individual, firm, partnership, association, syndicate, company, trust, corporation, limited liability company, municipality, agency or political or administrative subdivision of the state, and any other legal entity. See Connecticut General Statutes 22a-170
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
- Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
(b) If the commissioner finds that (1) a violation of a regulation or the terms or conditions of a permit issued pursuant to section 22a-174 exists and (2) the person alleged to be committing such violation has received written notification of two violations in the preceding one-year period, the commissioner shall require an emission test of the air contaminant source at the expense of the source. If the results of such test indicate noncompliance with a regulation or the terms or conditions of a permit, the commissioner shall issue an order requiring pollution abatement.
(c) Unless such person files a written answer thereto within thirty days after the date of service and requests a hearing thereon before the commissioner, an order issued pursuant to this section shall be final and not subject to appeal to the commissioner. Upon receipt of such request, the commissioner shall grant a hearing as soon thereafter as is practicable. The testimony at the hearing shall be under oath and recorded stenographically or by a sound-recording device, but the parties shall not be bound by the strict rules of evidence in courts of law at such hearing. True copies of the transcript and of any other record made of or at such hearing shall be furnished to the respondent at his request and at his expense.
(d) After the hearing, the commissioner shall consider all the evidence and affirm, modify or revoke the order in his discretion. By agreement of the commissioner and the person or persons subject to the order, the commissioner may, after the hearing or at any time after the issuance of the order, modify such order or extend the time for compliance set forth in the order, and any such modification or extension by agreement shall be deemed to be a revision of the order and shall not constitute a new order. There shall be no hearing subsequent to, or any appeal from, any modification or extension by agreement.
(e) Whenever the commissioner issues an order to any person to correct a violation and such person is not the owner of the land at which the violation occurred or exists, the commissioner may issue an order to the owner of such land to correct such violation. Such an order shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner at his last-known post-office address, with a notice that such order shall be filed on the land records in which the land is located. Any owner to whom such an order is issued shall have all the rights and privileges provided by this chapter and section 4-183 and shall be subject to section 22a-182a.
(f) If the commissioner issues an order under this chapter to two or more persons, including a landowner and the person causing the pollution or creating or maintaining the potential air pollution source, each such person shall be jointly and severally liable.
(g) When an order issued by the commissioner to any person pursuant to this chapter becomes final, except for an order to create or use emission reduction credits, the commissioner shall cause a certified copy or notice of the final order to be filed on the land records in the town where the subject property is located, and such certified copy or notice shall constitute a notice to the owner’s heirs, successors and assigns. When the order has been fully complied with or revoked, the commissioner shall issue a notice showing such compliance or revocation, which the commissioner shall cause to be recorded on the land records in the town wherein the order was previously recorded.
(h) If the commissioner has reasonable cause to believe, based on department investigation, test data or other credible information, that any person has violated or is about to violate any provision of this chapter, or any regulation, order, or permit adopted or issued thereunder, he may issue an order to such person to investigate, by monitoring, production of records, or any other means, the source of air pollution. Such order may also require that if the investigation determines there is or has been a violation of any provision of this chapter, or any regulation, order, or permit adopted or issued thereunder, the respondent shall correct such violation. An order issued under this subsection shall be subject to subsections (a) to (f), inclusive, of this section.