4.12.1430    CIVIL PENALTIES - ENFORCEMENT FOR NURSERY

(1)�Whenever the department has reason to believe that a violation of Title 80, chapter 7, MCA, or any adopted rule thereunder has occurred and the department finds it in the public interest to assess a civil penalty, it may initiate a civil penalty action pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act.

(2)�Each violation shall be considered a separate offense and is subject to a separate penalty not to exceed $1,000.�A repeat violation shall be considered a first violation if it occurred two or more years after the previous violation.

(3)�The penalty matrixes set forth in this rule establish the basic penalty value for each offense.�Factors dealing with the violation may cause the matrix penalty to increase or decrease.�Examples of such factors would be the firm's history of compliance or noncompliance, or the extent of the harm to agriculture or environment.

History: 80-1-102, MCA; IMP, 80-7-135, MCA; NEW, 1994 MAR p. 24, Eff. 1/14/94.