Section 69-4-522 - Duties of department - rulemaking(1) The department shall: (a) assess civil penalties pursuant to 69-4-524 and 69-4-525;(b) maintain incident reports;(c) collect fees from underground facility owners in accordance with rules adopted pursuant to 69-4-502(4)(a) and subsection (2)(c) of this section;(d) collect fines for failures to file incident reports in accordance with 69-4-529;(e) award grants in accordance with 69-4-528; and(f) conduct mediation and contested cases regarding disputed civil penalties in accordance with 69-4-526.(2) The department shall adopt rules to implement this part. Rules must provide for the: (a) assessment and collection of civil penalties provided for in 69-4-524 and 69-4-525;(b) reporting and collection of incident reports pursuant to 69-4-529;(c) collection of annual fees of up to $0.10 per outgoing locate request issued to each individual underground facility owner by a notification center. The fee must be based on the number of outgoing locate requests that an underground facility owner received in the previous 12-month period.(d) procedures, including but not limited to application and filing requirements for mediation and the review of disputed penalties; and(e) procedures for grant funding authorized in 69-4-528. The rules for grant funding must include but are not limited to: (i) eligibility requirements for notification centers applying for grants;(ii) criteria for awarding grants; and(iii) reporting procedures for grant recipients.(3) Rules must be adopted pursuant to the Montana Administrative Procedure Act.(4) The department may take into account and rely on findings made by a notification center or other nonprofit entities to assist in making determinations necessary for the assessment of a civil penalty.Added by Laws 2017, Ch. 326,Sec. 3, eff. 7/1/2017, and applicable to incidents and events occurring on or after 10/1/2017.