701.037. Violations, notice of, contents, prosecuting attorney to institute proceedings, when--emergency situation, when.

MISSOURI STATUTES AND CODES

701.037. Violations, notice of, contents, prosecuting attorney to institute proceedings, when--emergency situation, when.

Violations, notice of, contents, prosecuting attorney to instituteproceedings, when--emergency situation, when.

701.037. 1. Whenever the director determines that there arereasonable grounds to believe that there has been violation of anyprovision of sections 701.025 to 701.059 or the rules promulgated undersections 701.025 to 701.059, the director shall give notice of such allegedviolation to the person responsible, as herein provided. The notice shall:

(1) Be in writing;

(2) Include a statement of the reasons for the issuance of thenotice;

(3) Allow reasonable time as determined by the director for theperformance of any act it requires;

(4) Be served upon the owner, operator or contractor, as the case mayrequire, provided that such notice or order shall be deemed to have beenproperly served upon such person when a copy thereof has been sent byregistered or certified mail to the person's last known address, as listedin the local property tax records concerning such property, or when suchperson has been served with such notice by any other method authorized bythe laws of this state;

(5) Contain an outline of remedial action which is required to effectcompliance with sections 701.025 to 701.059 and the rules promulgated undersections 701.025 to 701.059.

2. Existing systems, as defined in section 701.025, shall not beinspected, unless the director determines that there are reasonable groundsto believe that there has been a violation of any provision of sections701.025 to 701.059.

3. If an aggrieved person files a written request for a hearingwithin ten days of the date of receipt of a notice, a hearing shall be heldwithin twenty days from the date of the receipt of the notice, before thedepartment director, to review the appropriateness of the remedial action.The director shall issue a written decision within thirty calendar days ofthe date of the hearing. Any final decision of the director may beappealed to the administrative hearing commission in the manner provided inchapter 621, RSMo, or may at the option of the aggrieved person be appealedto the circuit court of the county wherein the offense is alleged to haveoccurred for a trial de novo on the merits. Any decision of theadministrative hearing commission may be appealed as provided in sections536.100 to 536.140, RSMo.

4. Any city or county that has adopted the state standard, or thedepartment, may require a property owner to abate a nuisance or repair amalfunctioning on-site sewage disposal system on the owner's property notlater than the thirtieth day from which the owner receives notificationfrom the city, county or department of the malfunctioning system or a finalwritten order from the director, if a hearing or hearings were heldpursuant to subsections 2 and 3 of this section. If weather conditionsprevent the abatement of the nuisance or repair of the system within thethirty-day period or if the owner is unable, after reasonable effort, toobtain the services of a contractor or repair service within the thirty-dayperiod, the abatement of the nuisance or repair of the system shall bemade, weather permitting, no later than sixty days after notification.Such extension for abatement or repair shall be subject to approval by thecity, county or department. The department may assess an administrativepenalty on the property owner of no more than fifty dollars per day foreach day that the on-site sewage disposal system remains unrepaired beyondthe last day permitted by this section for the abatement or repair. Alladministrative penalties collected by the department under the provisionsof this section shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit ofthe general revenue fund.

5. The prosecuting attorney of the county in which any noncomplianceor violation of sections 701.025 to 701.059 or any rule promulgated undersections 701.025 to 701.059 is occurring shall, at the request of the city,county or department, institute appropriate proceedings for correction incases of noncompliance with or violation of the provisions of sections701.025 to 701.059 and any rules promulgated under sections 701.025 to701.059.

6. When it is determined by the department that an emergency existswhich requires immediate action to protect the health and welfare of thepublic, the department is authorized to seek a temporary restraining orderand injunction. Such action shall be brought at the request of thedirector of the department by the prosecuting attorney of the county inwhich the violation occurred. When such conditions are corrected and thehealth of the people of the state of Missouri is no longer threatened, thedepartment shall request that such temporary restraining order andinjunction be dissolved. For the purposes of this subsection, an"emergency" means any set of circumstances that constitute an imminenthealth hazard or the threat of an imminent health hazard as defined insection 701.025.