(1) In order to collect the annual fees from underground facility owners, the department may, by contract or other agreement, have the annual billing performed by the call centers.

(2) An underground facility owner may receive a bill from any call center from which the underground facility owner has received locate requests.

(3) The annual fees must be paid by the underground facility owner within 30 days of the date of a bill for those fees.

(4) Annual fees which remain unpaid for more than 90 days after billing may be referred by the department for collection of the debt.

(a) The department, in its sole discretion, may allow an underground facility owner that is billed an annual fee of less than $50 to defer the payment of the annual fee until the following year. An underground facility owner whose annual fee payment is deferred will not be referred to collection during the period of deferral.

(b) The department may not allow a deferral of payment of annual fees more than once every two years.

(5) For the 2018 and 2019 billing cycle, the amount of the annual fee to be paid by an underground facility owner is $0.10 per outgoing locate request made by each call center.