(1) �Whenever the department has reason to believe that a violation of Title 80, chapter 7, part 9, MCA, or any adopted rule thereunder has occurred, it may initiate a civil penalty action pursuant to the Montana 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 three or more years after the previous violation.

(3) �The penalty matrix set forth in this rule establishes the basic penalty value for each offense. Factors dealing with the violation may causes the matrix penalty to increase or decrease. Examples of such factors would be the person's history of compliance or noncompliance or the extent of the person's actions to sell forage or designate or imply forage as being certified when it does not meet state certification requirements.

(4) �Penalty matrix:

Type of violation:	1st Offense	2nd Offense	3rd Offense
(a) �Violate any lawful order, stop sale, use or removal order; or condemnation action;	$250	$500	$1,000
(b) �to certify or sell or advertise as certified, as noxious weed seed free any forage as free from noxious weed seed within the state, unless forage is identified under a department approved process of certification;	$250	$500	$1,000
(c) �to transport into, offer for sale,�sell or use forage as noxious weed seed free, from another state, province, or country, unless the forage meets state certification standards or is allowed by an agreement between the department and another government agency;	$250	$500	$1,000
(d) �for a public utility or a local, county, state or federal agency to use forage products that have not been certified which may include but are not limited to: mulches, bedding materials and erosion control barriers;	$250	$500	$1,000
(e) �for public utilities, local, county, state or federal agencies to use seed for reclamation purposes that is not free of noxious weed seeds and certified according to Title 80, chapter 5, MCA;	�$250	$500�	$1,000
(f) �to improperly pay any application or certification fee or refuse to pay for any inspection fees or department approved identification markers;	$250	$500	$1,000
(g) �for an agent to falsify��a certificate of inspection;	�$250	$500	$1,000
(h) �for an agent to improperly deposit, collect or use any certificate or inspection fees or fail to document and submit any required records to the department;	$250	$500	$1,000
(i) �to transport certified forage in a restricted area without a transportation certificate or identification markers;	$250	$500�	$1,000
(j) �to falsify or alter a transportation certificate;	$250	$500	$1,000
(k) �for an agent to violate any provisions of a contract with the department.	$250	$500	$1,000

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