Sec. 19a-206. (Formerly Sec. 19-79). Duties of municipal directors of health. Nuisances and sources of filth. Injunctions. Civil penalties. Authority of town director within city or borough. Availabil
Sec. 19a-206. (Formerly Sec. 19-79). Duties of municipal directors of health.
Nuisances and sources of filth. Injunctions. Civil penalties. Authority of town director within city or borough. Availability of relocation assistance. (a) Town, city and
borough directors of health or their authorized agents shall, within their respective jurisdictions, examine all nuisances and sources of filth injurious to the public health, cause
such nuisances to be abated or remediated and cause to be removed all filth which in
their judgment may endanger the health of the inhabitants. Any owner or occupant of
any property who maintains such property, whether real or personal, or any part thereof,
in a manner which violates the provisions of the Public Health Code enacted pursuant
to the authority of sections 19a-36 and 19a-37 shall be deemed to be maintaining a
nuisance or source of filth injurious to the public health. Any local director of health or
his authorized agent or a sanitarian authorized by such director may enter all places
within his jurisdiction where there is just cause to suspect any nuisance or source of
filth exists, and abate or remediate or cause to be abated or remediated such nuisance
and remove or cause to be removed such filth.
(b) When any such nuisance or source of filth is found on private property, such
director of health shall order the owner or occupant of such property, or both, to remove,
abate or remediate the same within such time as the director directs. If such order is not
complied with within the time fixed by such director: (1) Such director, or any official
of such town, city or borough authorized to institute actions on behalf of such town,
city or borough, may institute and maintain a civil action for injunctive relief in any
court of competent jurisdiction to require the abatement or remediation of such nuisance,
the removal of such filth and the restraining and prohibiting of acts which caused such
nuisance or filth, and such court shall have power to grant such injunctive relief upon
notice and hearing; (2) (A) the owner or occupant of such property, or both, shall be
subject to a civil penalty of two hundred fifty dollars per day for each day such nuisance
is maintained or such filth is allowed to remain after the time fixed by the director in
his order has expired, except that the owner or occupant of such property or any part
thereof on which a public eating place is conducted shall not be subject to the provisions
of this subdivision, but shall be subject to the provisions of subdivision (3) of this subsection, and (B) such civil penalty may be collected in a civil proceeding by the director
of health or any official of such town, city or borough authorized to institute civil actions
and shall be payable to the treasurer of such city, town or borough; and (3) the owner
or occupant of such property, or both, shall be subject to the provisions of sections 19a-36, 19a-220 and 19a-230.
(c) If the director institutes an action for injunctive relief seeking the abatement or
remediation of a nuisance or the removal of filth, the maintenance of which is of so
serious a nature as to constitute an immediate hazard to the health of persons other than
the persons maintaining such nuisance or filth, he may, upon a verified complaint stating
the facts which show such immediate hazard, apply for an ex parte injunction requiring
the abatement or remediation of such nuisance or the removal of such filth and restraining
and prohibiting the acts which caused such nuisance or filth to occur, and for a hearing
on an order to show cause why such ex parte injunction should not be continued pending
final determination on the merits of such action. If the court finds that an immediate
hazard to the health of persons other than those persons maintaining such nuisance or
source of filth exists, such ex parte injunction shall be issued, provided a hearing on its
continuance pending final judgment is ordered held within seven days thereafter and
provided further that any persons so enjoined may make a written request to the court
or judge issuing such injunction for a hearing to vacate such injunction, in which event
such hearing shall be held within three days after such request is filed.
(d) In each town, except in a town having a city or borough within its limits, the
town director of health shall have and exercise all the power for preserving the public
health and preventing the spread of diseases; and, in any town within which there exists
a city or borough, the limits of which are not coterminous with the limits of such town,
such town director of health shall exercise the powers and duties of his office only in
such part of such town as is outside the limits of such city or borough, except that when
such city or borough has not appointed a director of health, the town director of health
shall, for the purposes of this section, exercise the powers and duties of his office
throughout the town, including such city or borough, until such city or borough appoints
a director of health.
(e) When such nuisance is abated or remediated or the source of filth is removed
from private property, such abatement, remediation or removal shall be at the expense
of the owner or, where applicable, the occupant of such property, or both, and damages
and costs for such abatement, remediation or removal may be recovered against the
owner or, where applicable, the occupant, or both, by the town, city or borough in a
civil action as provided in subsection (b) of this section or in a separate civil action
brought by the director of health or any official of such city, town or borough authorized
to institute civil actions.
(f) If the order of a district department of health, formed pursuant to section 19a-241, causes the displacement of any occupant of a residential dwelling unit, the municipality in which such dwelling unit is located shall be responsible for any relocation
assistance afforded to such occupant pursuant to chapter 135. The district department
of health shall provide written notification to the occupant of the occupant's rights under
chapter 135 at the time an order causing displacement is issued. The written notification
shall include the name, address and telephone number of the person authorized by the
municipality to process applications for relocation assistance afforded pursuant to chapter 135.
(1949 Rev., S. 3850; 1959, P.A. 445; P.A. 77-465; P.A. 87-521, S. 2; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-2, S. 55; P.A. 08-137, S. 2.)
History: 1959 act added provision for director of health authorizing qualified person to act; P.A. 77-465 placed previous
provisions in Subsecs. (a) and (d) and added new provisions in Subsecs. (b), (c) and (e) clarifying general provisions re
maintaining nuisance or source of filth injurious to public health stated in Subsec. (a) and added exception in Subsec. (d)
re town health director's jurisdiction in cities or boroughs lacking health directors of their own; Sec. 19-79 transferred to
Sec. 19a-206 in 1983; P.A. 87-521 amended Subsec. (a) to provide for the delegation of duties to an authorized agent and
a sanitarian and to make technical changes; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-2 amended Subsecs. (a) to (c) and (e) to add references
to remediation, made technical changes in Subsecs. (b) and (e) and amended Subsec. (e) to subject owners or occupants
of private property to liability for remediation, where applicable; P.A. 08-137 added Subsec. (f) re relocation assistance
availability when district department of health order causes displacement of occupant of residential dwelling unit, effective
June 5, 2008.
See Sec. 21a-62 re power of local health authority to order analyses of foods and medicines or other articles for human
consumption.
See Sec. 26-192g re duties of local directors of health with regard to unauthorized taking of shellfish in contaminated
or posted areas.
Annotations to former section 19-79:
Towns not liable for acts of health officers, acting in good faith, and doing no unnecessary damage. Health officer is
not liable for error of judgment when acting in good faith. 51 C. 93-102. No distinction between nuisances and filth as to
power of health officer. Id., 98, 99. Filth and nuisances may be removed although not endangering health at time of removal.
Id., 102. Duty to prevent spread of disease. 86 C. 677. A person cannot be charged with a crime under this section until
the time allowed in an order for compliance with its terms has expired. 148 C. 439. Cited. 170 C. 387; Id., 675.
First selectmen of towns have never possessed any authority concerning matters affecting the public health. 8 CS 431.
History and purpose discussed; the nuisances referred to are confined to those injurious to public health. 24 CS 242.
Annotations to present section:
Cited. 42 CA 631.