A. Any person having an interest that is or may be adversely affected may commence a civil action in superior court against a control officer alleging that the control officer has failed to act in a timely manner as provided in section 49-480, subsection B and section 49-426, subsection C. No action may be commenced before sixty days after the plaintiff has given notice to the control officer. The court has jurisdiction to require the control officer to act without additional delay.

Terms Used In Arizona Laws 49-497.02

  • Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • 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.
  • Commence: means , as applied to construction of a source:

    (a) For purposes other than title IV of the clean air act, that the owner or operator has obtained all necessary preconstruction approval or permits required by federal law and this chapter and has done either of the following:

    (i) Begun or caused to begin a continuous program of physical on-site construction of the source to be completed within a reasonable time. See Arizona Laws 49-401.01

  • Control officer: means the executive head of the department authorized or designated to enforce air pollution regulations, or the executive head of an air pollution control district established pursuant to section 49-473. See Arizona Laws 49-471
  • 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.
  • Hearing board: means any county air pollution hearing board established pursuant to this article. See Arizona Laws 49-471
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Person: includes any public or private corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society of persons, the federal government and any of its departments or agencies, the state and any of its agencies, departments or political subdivisions, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 49-471
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.

B. Except as provided in subsections C and D of this section, a person whose legal rights, duties or privileges were determined by an appealable agency action, or any person who will be adversely affected by an appealable agency action, may commence a civil action in superior court against the control officer alleging that the action was not supported by substantial evidence, is contrary to law, is arbitrary and capricious, or is an abuse of discretion. Review of the appealable agency action may be obtained without first obtaining a review by a hearing board or administrative law judge. The appeal in superior court shall be governed by the Arizona rules of procedure for special actions.

C. This section does not apply to a decision or action that must be appealed to the hearing board under Section 49-476.01, 49-480.02, 49-482, 49-490 or 49-511 or to a final administrative decision obtained by an administrative appeal under Section 49-471.15. Judicial review of those decisions or actions shall be as provided under Section 49-497.01 rather than under subsection B of this section.

D. An action pursuant to subsection B of this section shall not be commenced before sixty days after the plaintiff has given notice to the control officer.

E. A sixty day notice under this section shall be filed with the control officer within thirty days of service of notice of the appealable agency action. The notice of appeal shall identify the party, the party’s address, the action being appealed and shall contain a concise statement of the reasons for the appeal.

F. Under this section, service of notice of an appealable agency action shall be effected by personal delivery or certified mail, return receipt requested, or by any other method reasonably calculated to effect actual notice to the party to the action to the party’s last address of record with the control officer.

G. An appeal may be taken to the court of appeals from the order of the superior court as in other civil cases. Proceedings under this section shall be given precedence and brought to trial ahead of other litigation concerning private interests and other matters that do not affect public health and welfare.

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