Created in 1970, the Pollution Control Hearings Board hears and decides appeals on a wide variety of environmental permits and enforcement actions of the following agencies:
- Air pollution control boards
- Local conservation districts
- Local health departments
- Washington State Department of Agriculture
- Washington State Department of Ecology
- Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Washington State Department of Natural Resources
Other entities as described in Chapter 43.21B.110 of the Revised Code of Washington
Case Management System
File and track cases in the online Case Management System. This online database is free and provides information on all the cases active today as well as information about previous cases.
Rulemaking
To see recent and historical decisions made by the board, visit the Case Management System. The board currently does not have any procedural rule changes underway.
Confidentiality
All filings are public record and may be disclosed by the Environmental and Land Use Hearings Office (ELUHO) in response to a public records request. To keep certain confidential documents from being disclosed, assert that the filing falls within one of the statutory exemptions of the Public Records Act.
Include a cover sheet with clear, prominent markings indicating the basis for the exemption and ELUHO will notify the party asserting confidentiality if the documents are public records. Marking the content does not obligate ELUHO to redact, withhold, or otherwise exempt the documents from public disclosure. ELUHO’s notification allows the party to seek a court order barring disclosure pursuant to court protection of public records.
Disclaimer
This website discusses some of the most common rules and issues faced during an appeal before the board. While the information provided here may be used to help prepare a case for a hearing, it is not legal advice. A person or organization is not required to be a lawyer or represented by one. A pro se petitioner is a party representing itself or a citizen group before the board. All people who appear before the board, pro se participants and lawyers alike, must conduct themselves professionally in board proceedings and follow the board rules. A citizen group may appoint one spokesperson to represent the group at the board proceedings. Please review the board rules and other resources on this website for additional information.
Board staff may answer some questions about procedural rules but cannot act as a person’s lawyer or give legal advice. For questions about what decisions should be made or what strategies should be followed, or for help filling out forms or creating legal documents, contact a lawyer. Proceedings before the board are formal and quasi-judicial in nature—in other words, they are a lot like a regular court trial in front of a judge.