Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 12, December 1, 2024
(1) If
the Director determines that a violation described under OAR
345-029-0503 has occurred, the
Director may issue a Pre-Enforcement Notice upon the responsible party. The
Pre-Enforcement Notice must be served upon the responsible party by personal
service or by first class, certified or registered mail and must include:
(a) A description of the alleged violation,
including a reference to the statute, administrative rule, order, or permit
term or condition determined by the Director to have been violated and the
classification of the violation under OAR
345-029-0530;
(b) A statement of the facts upon which the
Director based their determination, including the date or dates on which the
violation is alleged to have occurred, or the date an ongoing violation was
alleged to have begun;
(c) A
description of evidence supporting any mitigating or aggravating factors,
including, but not limited to:
(A) Whether the
responsible party voluntarily reported the conditions or circumstances related
to the alleged violation in accordance with OAR
345-029-0510;
(B) The performance of the responsible party
in taking necessary or appropriate action to correct the conditions or
circumstances that led to the violation and to prevent the violation from
recurring;
(C) A history of similar
or related violations by the responsible party and the responsible party's
efforts in taking all feasible steps or procedures necessary or appropriate to
correct or prevent any violation;
(D) Any known or potential adverse impact of
the violation on public health and safety;
(E) Whether the violation was willful or the
result of reckless behavior;
(d) A statement explaining what additional
information the Director requires to determine appropriate enforcement and
corrective actions;
(e) The date by
which the responsible party must respond to the Pre-Enforcement Notice under
section (2) of this rule and a description of the potential consequences of not
responding. The date must be at least 30 days after the date of issuance of the
Notice;
(f) A statement explaining
that the responsible party is entitled to the opportunity to present
information regarding the alleged violation and any proposed corrective action
at an enforcement conference under OAR
345-029-0550 before the Director
issues a Notice of Enforcement Action under OAR
345-029-0555; and
(g) An explanation that the Pre-Enforcement
Notice does not entitle the responsible party to a contested case
hearing.
(2) The
responsible party must provide, to the Director, a written response to the
Pre-Enforcement Notice by the date specified under section (1)(e) of this rule.
The response must include:
(a) A statement of
any facts relevant to the Director's determination that the violation has
occurred;
(b) A description of any
corrective actions taken or proposed to be taken to mitigate the impacts of the
alleged violation and any corrective actions the responsible party proposes to
take to minimize the possibility of recurrence;
(c) The date by which the responsible party
expects to achieve full compliance with all applicable laws and
rules;
(d) Any additional
information requested by the Director in the Pre-Enforcement Notice;
(e) If the responsible party cannot provide
all the information required under subsection (a) to (d) of this section, the
date by which the responsible party will submit all additional required
information;
(f) A statement that
the responsible party does or does not request an enforcement conference under
OAR 345-029-0550 to present
information regarding the alleged violation and discuss any proposed corrective
action at an enforcement conference under OAR
345-029-0550.
(3) The Director must amend or
withdraw the Pre-Enforcement Notice, as appropriate, within 30 days of
receiving information that the Director finds sufficient to demonstrate that
the violation alleged in the Pre-Enforcement Notice did not occur.
