§ 482-A:10 — Appeals

I. Any person aggrieved by a decision made by the department under RSA 482-A:3 may appeal to the wetlands council and to the supreme court as provided in RSA 21-O:14, including the provisions relative to requesting mediated or unmediated settlement discussions. A person aggrieved under this section shall mean the applicant and any person required to be noticed by mail in accordance with RSA 482-A:8 and RSA 482-A:9.
II. Any person subject to an order of the department under RSA 482-A:6 may appeal to the wetlands council and to the supreme court as provided in RSA 21-O:14, including the provisions relative to requesting mediated or unmediated settlement discussions.
III. An appeal from a decision of the department under RSA 482-A:3 or an appeal from an order issued by the department under RSA 482-A:6, shall be filed in accordance with the applicable provisions of RSA 21-O:14 and rules adopted by the council pursuant to RSA 541-A regarding the number of copies to be filed, the address to which the notice of appeal must be sent or delivered, and the method of delivery.
IV. A notice of appeal to the council shall contain a detailed description of the land involved in the department's decision and shall set forth fully every ground upon which it is claimed that the decision complained of is unlawful or unreasonable. Only those grounds set forth in the notice of appeal shall be considered by the council.
V. Any appeal hearing held by the council shall be an adjudicative hearing as provided in RSA 541-A and the council's rules. The hearing shall be noticed in accordance with RSA 541-A:31, III. For appeals of department decisions under RSA 482-A:3, the notice shall also be sent to all persons entitled to notice of applications under RSA 482-A:8 and RSA 482-A:9. The burden of proof shall be on the party seeking to set aside the department's decision to show that the decision is unlawful or unreasonable. On appeal of requests proposed, sponsored, or administered by the department of transportation, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that there is a public need for the requested project, and that the department of transportation has exercised appropriate engineering judgment in the project's design. All findings of the department upon all questions of fact properly before it shall be prima facie lawful and reasonable.
V-a. Any person whose rights will be directly affected by the outcome of the appeal may appear and become a party to the appeal. Any person whose rights may be directly affected by the outcome of the appeal may file a request to intervene as provided in RSA 541-A:32.
VI. [Repealed.]
VII. [Repealed.]
VIII. [Repealed.]
IX. [Repealed.]
X. [Repealed.]
XI. [Repealed.]
XII. [Repealed.]
XIII. [Repealed.]
XIV. [Repealed.]
XV. [Repealed.]
XVI. [Repealed.]
XVII. [Repealed.]
XVIII. If a permit is granted with respect to any activity proposed to be undertaken in or adjacent to a prime wetland as mapped, designated, and filed pursuant to RSA 482-A:15, the conservation commission or local governing body may appeal said decision to the wetlands council and the supreme court in the manner prescribed in this section. The filing of a request for reconsideration under paragraph VII shall automatically stay the effectiveness of the council's decision relating to said prime wetland. Said stay shall remain in force until the council has issued its decision after reconsideration.

Legislative History

1989, 339:1. 1991, 20:5. 1996, 296:45. 2004, 2:2, 3; 243:3. 2008, 171:6, 7, 16; 363:5. 2012, 246:8, 9, eff. June 18, 2012. 2013, 43:2, eff. Aug. 3, 2013. 2019, 202:7, eff. Sept. 8, 2019.