2023 Connecticut General Statutes › Title 22a - Environmental Protection › Chapter 439 - Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. State Policy › Section 22a-18. - Powers of court.

(a) The court may grant temporary and permanent equitable relief, or may impose such conditions on the defendant as are required to protect the public trust in the air, water and other natural resources of the state from unreasonable pollution, impairment or destruction.
(b) If administrative, licensing or other such proceedings are required or available to determine the legality of the defendant's conduct, the court in its discretion may remand the parties to such proceedings. In so remanding the parties the court may grant temporary equitable relief where necessary for the protection of the public trust in the air, water and other natural resources of the state from unreasonable pollution, impairment or destruction and the court shall retain jurisdiction of the action pending completion of administrative action for the purpose of determining whether adequate consideration by the agency has been given to the protection of the public trust in the air, water or other natural resources of the state from unreasonable pollution, impairment or destruction and whether the agency's decision is supported by competent material and substantial evidence on the whole record.
(c) If the agency's consideration has not been adequate, and notwithstanding that the agency's decision is supported by competent material and substantial evidence on the whole record, the court shall adjudicate the impact of the defendant's conduct on the public trust in the air, water or other natural resources of the state in accordance with sections 22a-14 to 22a-20, inclusive.
(d) Where, as to any administrative, licensing or other proceeding, judicial review thereof is available, the court originally taking jurisdiction shall maintain jurisdiction for purposes of judicial review.
(e) The court may award any person, partnership, corporation, association, organization or other legal entity which maintains an action under section 22a-16 or intervenes as a party in an action for judicial review under section 22a-19, and obtains declaratory or equitable relief against the defendant, its costs, including reasonable costs for witnesses, and a reasonable attorney's fee.
(1971, P.A. 96, S. 5; P.A. 90-222, S. 4.)
History: P.A. 90-222 added Subsec. (e) re award of costs and attorney's fee.
Cited. 170 C. 47; 175 C. 483; 184 C. 51; 192 C. 591; 204 C. 38; Id., 212; 212 C. 710; Id., 727; 215 C. 474; 218 C. 580; 220 C. 54; 222 C. 98; 226 C. 205; Id., 579; 227 C. 175; 234 C. 488; 237 C. 135; 239 C. 786. Environmental Protection Act does not embody the exhaustion of administrative remedies doctrine as a subject matter jurisdictional limit on court's entertainment of an action under it. 260 C. 506. Subsec. (a) does not give a trial court independent authority to enter an injunction in an administrative appeal involving an intervention under Sec. 22a-19; Subsecs. (b) to (d) do not apply to proceedings with interventions and do not apply to or enlarge the powers of a trial court hearing an action in which intervenor has raised environmental claims pursuant to Sec. 22a-19, but rather only apply to independent actions brought under Sec. 22a-16. 318 C. 431.
Cited. 30 CA 204; 41 CA 89; Id., 120.
Cited. 35 CS 145.
Subsec. (e):
Trial court properly concluded that as used in Subsec., “person” does not include public entities such as commissioner among those entities who may recover costs and reasonable attorney's fees. 286 C. 687.