Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 80. AGRICULTURE

CHAPTER 15. MONTANA AGRICULTURAL CHEMICAL GROUND WATER PROTECTION ACT

Part 4. Enforcement

Compliance Orders

80-15-403. Compliance orders. (1) In furtherance of 80-15-402, the department may issue a compliance order to a person who violates a standard, an interim numerical standard, or any other requirement established pursuant to this chapter. The department shall coordinate its proposed actions pursuant to this section with proposed actions of the department of environmental quality pursuant to 75-5-613, if any. Issuance of a compliance order under this chapter precludes the department from taking other enforcement actions for the same violation under Title 80, chapter 8 or 10.

(2) (a) The department may issue a compliance order to a person who violates any requirement established pursuant to this chapter. This subsection does not apply:

(i) to commercial wood treatment facilities; or

(ii) when agricultural chemicals have caused or are likely to cause contamination of a public water supply system, as defined in 75-6-102.

(b) The provisions of this subsection (2) are not intended to void or affect indemnity or liability agreements between the person who owns, leases, or has possession or control of the site and the person who sold the site, who is the lessor, or who has relinquished possession or control of the site.

(3) When issuing a compliance order, the department may require a person who has violated a provision of 80-15-402 to conduct monitoring to assist in determining the presence or level of concentration of an agricultural chemical in ground water and the effectiveness of cleanup efforts. The department shall specify criteria in the compliance order for determining the duration of monitoring.

(4) A compliance order must specify the requirement violated and must set a time for compliance. In establishing a time for compliance, the department shall take into account the seriousness of the violation and any good faith efforts that the person has made to comply with the requirement that has been violated. A compliance order issued under this section must be served either personally by a person qualified to perform service under the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure or by certified mail.

History: En. Sec. 18, Ch. 668, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 189, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 192, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 345, Ch. 418, L. 1995.