Montana Code 75-10-714. Administrative penalties
75-10-714. Administrative penalties. (1) In lieu of proceeding under 75-10-711(5), the department may assess penalties of not more than $1,000 a day for each violation against a person liable under 75-10-715(1) for a release or threat of release who has failed or refused to comply with an order issued by the department pursuant to 75-10-711(4) or against a person who has failed or refused to comply with an order issued by the department pursuant to 75-10-707(5).
Terms Used In Montana Code 75-10-714
- Department: means the department of environmental quality provided for in 2-15-3501. See Montana Code 75-10-701
- Fund: means the environmental quality protection fund established in 75-10-704. See Montana Code 75-10-701
- Person: means an individual, trust, firm, joint-stock company, joint venture, consortium, commercial entity, partnership, association, corporation, commission, state or state agency, political subdivision of the state, interstate body, or the federal government, including a federal agency. See Montana Code 75-10-701
- Release: means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing of a hazardous or deleterious substance directly into the environment (including the abandonment or discarding of barrels, containers, and other closed receptacles containing any hazardous or deleterious substance), but excludes releases confined to the indoor workplace environment, the use of pesticides as defined in 80-8-102 when they are applied in accordance with approved federal and state labels, and the use of commercial fertilizers, as defined in 80-10-101, when applied as part of accepted agricultural practice. See Montana Code 75-10-701
(2)In determining the amount of any penalty assessed pursuant to this section, the department shall take into account the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the noncompliance and, with respect to the person liable under 75-10-715(1):
(a)the person’s ability to pay;
(b)any prior history of violations;
(c)the degree of culpability;
(d)the economic benefit or savings, if any, resulting from the noncompliance; and
(e)any other matters that justice may require.
(3)An administrative penalty may not be collected pursuant to this section unless the person charged with the noncompliance is given notice and opportunity for a hearing with respect to the noncompliance. The hearing is before the board of environmental review. A hearing may be requested by submitting a written request stating the reason for the request within 30 days after receipt of the notice of penalty assessment.
(4)The contested case provisions of the Montana Administrative Procedure Act, Title 2, chapter 4, part 6, apply to a hearing held under this section.
(5)Administrative penalties collected under this section must be deposited in the environmental quality protection fund established in 75-10-704.