58.—(1) (a) Where, on application by any person to the appropriate court, that court is satisfied that another person is holding, recovering or disposing of, or has held, recovered or disposed of, waste, in a manner that is causing, or has caused, environmental pollution F280[or section 34 or 39(1) to be contravened], that court may make an order requiring that other person to do one or more of the following, that is to say:

(i) to discontinue the said holding, recovery or disposal of waste within a specified period, or

(ii) to mitigate or remedy any effects of the said holding, recovery or disposal of waste in a specified manner and within a specified period.

(b) In this subsection, “appropriate court”, in relation to an application under paragraph (a) means—

(i) in case the estimated cost of complying with the order to which the application relates does not exceed F281[€15,000], the District Court,

(ii) in case the estimated cost aforesaid does not exceed F282[€75,000], the Circuit Court, and

(iii) in any case, the High Court.

(c) (i) If, in relation to an application under this section to the District Court, that court becomes of opinion during the hearing of the application that the estimated cost aforesaid will exceed F281[€15,000], it may, if it so thinks fit, transfer the application to the Circuit Court or the High Court, whichever it considers appropriate having regard to the estimated cost aforesaid.

(ii) If, in relation to an application under this section to the Circuit Court, that court becomes of opinion during the hearing of the application that the estimated cost aforesaid will exceed F282[€75,000], it may, if it so thinks fit, transfer the application to the High Court.

(iii) This paragraph is without prejudice to the jurisdiction of a court (being either the District Court or the Circuit Court) to determine an application under this section in relation to which it was, at the time of the making of the application, the appropriate court.

(2) (a) An application for an order under this section shall be brought in a summary manner and the court when considering the matter may make such interim or interlocutory order as it considers appropriate.

(b) Where an application is transferred under paragraph (c) of subsection (1), the court to which it was transferred shall be deemed to have made any order made under this subsection by the court from which it is so transferred in the proceedings in relation to the application.

(3) (a) An order shall not be made by a court under this section unless the person named in the order has been given an opportunity of being heard by the court in the proceedings relating to the application for the order.

(b) The court concerned may make such order as to the costs of the parties to or persons heard by the court in proceedings relating to an application for an order under this section as it considers appropriate.

(4) (a) Where a person does not comply with an order under subsection (1), a local authority, as respects its functional area, or the Agency, may take any steps specified in the order to mitigate or remedy any effects of the activity concerned.

(b) The amount of any expenditure incurred by a local authority or the Agency in relation to steps taken by it under paragraph (a) shall be a simple contract debt owed by the person in respect of whom the order under subsection (1) was made to the authority or the Agency, as the case may be, and may be recovered by it from the person as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(5) (a) An application under subsection (1) to the District Court shall be made to the judge of the District Court for the District Court district in which the activity concerned takes place.

(b) An application under subsection (1) to the Circuit Court shall be made to the judge of the Circuit Court for the circuit in which the activity concerned takes place.

(6) An application under subsection (1)may be made whether or not there has been a prosecution for an offence under this Act in relation to the activity concerned and shall not prejudice the initiation of a prosecution for an offence under this Act in relation to the activity concerned.

(7) Without prejudice to any powers of the court concerned to enforce an order under subsection (1), a person who fails to comply with an order under that subsection shall be guilty of an offence.