Idaho Code 55-2211 – Violation — Civil Penalty — Duties of the Board and the Administrator — Other Remedies Unimpaired
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(1) The damage prevention board established in section 55-2203, Idaho Code, may hear, but may not initiate, contested cases of alleged violations of this chapter involving practices related to underground facilities as set forth in rule by the board. Persons who violate the provisions of this chapter are subject to civil penalties in accordance with this section. Complaints regarding an alleged violation of this chapter may be made by any individual and shall be made to the administrator. Complaints shall include the name and address of the complainant and the alleged violator and the violation alleged. If the alleged violation involves facility damage or a downtime event, the complaint must be submitted on such forms and contain such information as required by the board in rule. Upon review of the complaint, and any investigation conducted therewith, the administrator shall notify the person making the complaint and the alleged violator, in writing, of the administrator’s recommended course of action to the board. The administrator shall recommend that a training course adopted by the board, by rule, be successfully completed for a first violation of this chapter, except that if the complaint is for a first violation of this chapter wherein a residential homeowner or residential tenant excavating on the lot of his residency failed to provide notice as required in section 55-2205, Idaho Code, and caused damage to underground facilities, the board shall direct the administrator to deliver to the violator a written warning and educational materials to prevent a future violation. The administrator may recommend the imposition of a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for a second violation of this chapter and in addition may recommend successful completion of a training course adopted by the board, by rule, and issue a notice of intent to impose such penalty on behalf of the board. If the administrator recommends the imposition of a civil penalty, the violator may pay the fine to the board upon receipt of such notice. If, upon the expiration of twenty-one (21) days, the violator has not responded in writing to the division, the board may impose the penalty provided for in the notice. A violator shall also have the right to contest the imposition of a civil penalty to the board and the opportunity to produce evidence in his behalf. Notice of the time and place of such hearing shall be provided by the board, and such proceeding shall be governed by the provisions of chapter 52, title 67, Idaho Code.
(2) In the event the board determines that a person has violated the provisions of this chapter a subsequent time within eighteen (18) months from an earlier violation, and where facility damage has occurred, the board may impose a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each separate violation in accordance with the process described in subsection (1) of this section.
Terms Used In Idaho Code 55-2211
- Administrator: means the administrator of the division of occupational and professional licenses. See Idaho Code 55-2202
- Board: means the damage prevention board. See Idaho Code 55-2202
- Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Damage: means any impact or exposure that results in the substantial weakening of structural or lateral support of an underground facility, or the penetration, impairment, or destruction of any underground protective coating, housing, or other protective device, or the partial or complete destruction of the facility, or the severance, partial or complete, of any underground facility to the extent that the project owner or the affected underground facility owner determines that repairs are required. See Idaho Code 55-2202
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: means an individual, partnership, association, corporation, a state, a city, a county, or any subdivision or instrumentality of a state, and its employees, agents, or legal representatives. See Idaho Code 55-2202
- Property: includes both real and personal property. See Idaho Code 73-114
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories; and the words "United States" may include the District of Columbia and territories. See Idaho Code 73-114
- Underground facility: means any item buried or placed belowground for use in connection with the storage or conveyance of water (unless being delivered primarily for irrigation), stormwater, sewage, electronic, telephonic or telegraphic communications, cable television, electric energy, petroleum products, gas, gaseous vapors, hazardous liquids, or other substances and includes but is not limited to pipes, sewers, conduits, cables, valves, lines, wires, manholes, attachments, and those parts of poles or anchors belowground. See Idaho Code 55-2202
(3) All civil penalties recovered shall be deposited in the occupational licenses fund.
(4) The penalties provided in this section are in addition to any other remedy at law or equity available to any party subject to the jurisdiction of the damage prevention board established in section 55-2203, Idaho Code.
(5) Unless expressly provided herein, nothing in this chapter eliminates, alters or otherwise impairs common law, statutory or other preexisting rights and duties of persons affected by the provisions of this chapter; nor does anything in this chapter, unless expressly so provided, eliminate, alter or otherwise impair other remedies, state or federal, including those at common law, of an underground facility owner whose facility is damaged; nor do the provisions of this chapter affect any civil remedies for personal injury or property damage except as expressly provided for herein. The court in its discretion may award attorney’s fees and costs to the prevailing party.