FILING AN APPEAL WITH THE AIR QUALITY BOARD:
The West Virginia Air Quality Board is responsible for hearing appeals
of permits and enforcement decisions issued by the West Virginia Department of Environmental
Protection’s Division of Air Quality. While citizens and regulated persons may file appeals
with the Board, it is important to note that in most cases, the Board can only accept
appeals which are filed within thirty days of the permit applicant’s receipt of
the permit or order.
In order to file an appeal with the Air Quality Board, the appellant (person
filing the appeal) should obtain a Notice of Appeal by contacting the staff or from the
Board’s website. The appeal must include a copy of the permit or order which you are appealing,
the date such permit or order was issued, and the relief being sought. (Examples of the
relief being sought could include revisions to or the revocation of the permit; or vacating
the order.)
When you file the Notice of Appeal you should
attach a detailed description of your objections, whether
factual or legal, to the permit or order. (Examples of
factual or legal objections could include the issuance of
the permit; or the conditions and requirements of the permit
or order.) You should include a statement of any facts which
are relevant to the appeal.
In addition, when filing an appeal, you must attach a
Certificate of Service which lists the names and addresses of the
parties to the appeal. Parties of an appeal include the permit holder
and the governmental agency which issued the permit or order. You
may obtain a Certificate of Service form by contacting the staff or
from the Board’s website. Once you have completed the appeal form and
compiled the required documents you may mail the original and eight
copies to the Board’s office located at 601 57th Street, SE, Charleston,
WV 25304. Please note that it is only necessary to file one copy of the
permit or order which is the subject of the appeal. The appeal may also
be filed through personal service. Please note that a copy of the appeal
must also be mailed to the permit holder (if that company or person is
not the filer of the appeal).
Once the Air Quality Board receives the appeal, it will be assigned an
appeal number which you should reference in any further correspondence with the Board.
The Board will then serve the appeal on the appropriate governmental agency and the West
Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Legal Services.
The Air Quality Board will then set your appeal for a hearing
before the members of the Board. The Board usually sets the appeal hearing
for about two months after the date that the appeal was filed. You will
receive a Notice of Hearing from the Board informing you of the date, time
and location of the hearing on your appeal. This Notice will contain a
Certificate of Service which will list the names and addresses of all parties
to the appeal. All further appeal related materials and/or documents which
you submit to the Board must also be served on all parties to the appeal.
You should use the time between filing the appeal and the hearing date to
prepare for the hearing by requesting any necessary documents and conducting
discovery. See the discussion of discovery for more information about discovery.
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