75-2-413. Civil penalties -- venue -- effect of action -- presumption of continuing violation under certain circumstances. - Montana Statutes

     75-2-413. Civil penalties -- venue -- effect of action -- presumption of continuing violation under certain circumstances. (1) (a) A person who violates any provision of this chapter, a rule adopted under this chapter, or any order or permit made or issued under this chapter is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each violation. Each day of each violation constitutes a separate violation. The department may institute and maintain in the name of the state any enforcement proceedings under this section. Upon request of the department, the attorney general or the county attorney of the county of violation shall petition the district court to impose, assess, and recover the civil penalty. The civil penalty is in lieu of the criminal penalty provided for in 75-2-412, except for civil penalties for violation of the operating permit program required by Subchapter V of the federal Clean Air Act.
     (b) Penalties assessed under this subsection (1) must be determined in accordance with the penalty factors in 75-1-1001.
     (2) (a) Action under subsection (1) is not a bar to enforcement of this chapter or of a rule, order, or permit made or issued under this chapter by injunction or other appropriate civil remedies.
     (b) An action under subsection (1) or to enforce this chapter or a rule, order, or permit made or issued under this chapter may be brought in the district court of any county where a violation occurs or is threatened or, if mutually agreed on by the parties in the action, in the district court of the first judicial district, Lewis and Clark County.
     (3) If the department has notified a person operating a commercial hazardous waste incinerator of a violation and if the department makes a prima facie showing that the conduct or events giving rise to the violations are likely to have continued or recurred past the date of notice, the days of violation are presumed to include the date of the notice and every day after the notice until the person establishes that continuous compliance has been achieved. This presumption may be overcome to the extent that the person operating a commercial hazardous waste incinerator can prove by a preponderance of evidence that there were intervening days when a violation did not occur, that the violation was not continuing in nature, or that the telemetering device was compromised or otherwise tampered with.
     (4) Money collected under this section must be deposited in the alternative energy revolving loan account established in 75-25-101. This subsection does not apply to money collected by an approved local air pollution control program.

     History: En. 69-3921.1 by Sec. 1, Ch. 98, L. 1975; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 308, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 69-3921.1; amd. Sec. 16, Ch. 560, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 218, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 502, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 85, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 498, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 22, Ch. 591, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 487, L. 2005.