2023 Connecticut General Statutes › Title 22a - Environmental Protection › Chapter 446k - Water Pollution Control › Section 22a-449g. - Appeals.

Any person aggrieved by a decision of the commissioner after a hearing pursuant to subsection (h) of section 22a-449f may appeal from such decision to the superior court for the judicial district of New Britain within twenty days after the issuance of such decision. Such appeal shall be in accordance with chapter 54. All such appeals shall be heard by the court without a jury, and shall have precedence in the order of trial as provided in section 52-192. If an appeal is taken pursuant to this section, any portion of the ordered reimbursement or payment that is approved and not the subject of such appeal, shall be paid by the commissioner, within available appropriations and subject to the provisions of section 22a-449r, notwithstanding the pendency of the appeal.
(P.A. 88-230, S. 1, 12; P.A. 89-373, S. 8, 10; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 91-254, S. 5, 7; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; P.A. 95-220, S. 4–6; P.A. 99-215, S. 24, 29; P.A. 11-80, S. 1; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, S. 256.)
History: (Revisor's note: P.A. 88-230 authorized substitution of “judicial district of Hartford” for “judicial district of Hartford-New Britain” in public and special acts of the 1989 session, effective September 1, 1991); P.A. 90-98 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1991, to September 1, 1993; P.A. 91-254 authorized commissioner to make appeal and provided for appeals under this section to be in accordance with chapter 54 and that any uncontested portion of a reimbursement order shall be paid notwithstanding the pendency of any appeal; P.A. 93-142 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1993, to September 1, 1996, effective June 14, 1993; (Revisor's note: In 1995 a reference to clean-up “fund” was replaced editorially by the Revisors with a reference to clean-up “account” to conform section with Sec. 22a-449c as amended by P.A. 94-130); P.A. 95-220 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1996, to September 1, 1998, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 99-215 replaced “judicial district of Hartford” with “judicial district of New Britain”, effective June 29, 1999; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Commissioner of Environmental Protection” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection”, effective July 1, 2011; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1 deleted reference to the review board, added provision re payment of any portion of ordered reimbursement or payment that is approved and not the subject of appeal and made technical changes, effective June 15, 2012 (Revisor's note: An internal reference in June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, S. 256, to “section 262 of this act” was determined by the Revisors to properly refer to section 261 of said act and was therefore codified as “section 22a-449r”).
Section is plain and unambiguous and creates a mandatory duty to, within available appropriations and subject to the provisions of Sec. 22a-449r, pay approved applications that are not the subject of an appeal notwithstanding the pendency of an appeal, and the count of plaintiff's complaint which sought a writ of mandamus ordering the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection to pay the plaintiff's approved application was not barred by sovereign immunity. 209 CA 741.