WA / PROCEDURES /

Appeals against orders of the state board

The state board is empowered to grant consent to certain activities related to the discharge and disposal of sewage and trade effluent. When consent is sought under the Act, an application is made in this regard, and the state board, after reviewing parameters and obtaining information it deems fit for the purpose may grant its consent. The state board is also empowered to refuse a consent for an activity, impose conditions on the grant of consent and withdraw consent that was previously given on reviewing the conditions under which the consent was valid.

The procedure for appeal against the orders made by the state board in this regard have been laid out in the Act, under Section 28.

Any person aggrieved by an order made by the state board may prefer an appeal to the appellate authority (constituted by the state government). Such an order may be regarding:

• Rejecting an application for the grant of consent
• Imposing certain conditions, on the compliance of which consent is given
• Withdrawing consent previously given under the Act on review by the state board
• Reviewing and hence altering any conditions imposed after the grant of consent

Consent is sought from the state board for the following activities:

• Establishing (or taking any steps to establish)

- any industry, operation or process, or
- any treatment and disposal system, or
- an extension or addition to treatment or disposal system,

which is likely to discharge sewage or trade effluent into a stream, well, sewer or on land

• Bringing into use any new or altered outlets or the discharge of sewage

• Beginning to make any new discharge of sewage

• Continuing to discharge sewage or trade effluent into a stream, well, sewer or on land, which was being carried out before the commencement of this Act.

Procedure to prefer appeal

A person aggrieved by an order made by the state board (as described above) may prefer an appeal within thirty days from the date on which the order is communicated to him, to an appellate authority constituted by the state government.
The appellate authority may entertain the appeal after the expiry of this period if the authority is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time.

The appellate authority consists of a single person or three persons, as the state government may deem fit, to be constituted by it.

The form and manner in which an appeal is preferred, the fees payable for such appeal and the procedure to be followed by the appellate authority are prescribed by the state government (in the rules issued by notification in the official gazette).

On receipt of the appeal preferred, the appellate authority shall dispose of the appeal as expeditiously as possible, after giving the appellant and the state board an opportunity of being heard.

• If the appellate authority determines that any condition imposed on the grant of consent was unreasonable, then it may direct that either the condition shall be treated as annulled or that it be substituted by such condition as appears to it to be reasonable

• If the appellate authority determines that the variation of any condition was unreasonable, then it may direct that either the condition be treated as continuing in force unvaried or that it be varied in such manner as appears to it to be reasonable.

No civil court has the jurisdiction to entertain any suit or proceeding in when an appellate authority constituted under the Act is empowered by or under the Act to deal with.