La. Admin. Code tit. 56 § I-533

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section I-533 - Enforcement Actions

A. Provisions addressing enforcement of this Chapter appear in R.S. 38:3097.3, as follows:

1. Whoever knowingly and willingly violates a provision of this Chapter, or a rule, regulation or order of the director or a board hereunder, shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 a day for each day of violation and for each act of violation if a penalty for the violation is not otherwise provided in this Chapter.

a. The place of suit to recover this penalty shall be selected by the director or board, as may be appropriate, in the district court of the parish in which any one of the defendants resides, or in the district court of the parish where the violation took place.

b. Suit shall be at the discretion of the director or board as may be appropriate and shall be instituted and conducted in his or its name by the attorney general or by the district attorney of the district under the direction of the attorney general.

2. Whoever knowingly and willfully aids or abets a person in the violation of a provision of this Chapter, or in any rule, regulation or order made hereunder shall be subject to the same penalties provided herein for the principal violator.

B. Falsification of Documents. Falsification of documents to evade regulations, as well as penalties for said falsifications, appears in R.S. 38:3095 as follows.

1. No person shall, for the purpose of evading this Chapter or any rule, regulation or order made thereunder:

a. make, or cause to be made, any false entry or statement of fact in any report required to be made by this Chapter, or by any rule, regulation or order made hereunder; or

b. make, or cause to be made, any false entry in an account, record or memorandum kept by any person in connection with the provisions of this Chapter or of any rule, regulations or order made thereunder; or

c. remove out of the jurisdiction of the state or destroy or mutilate, alter, or by any other means, falsify any book, record, or of the paper pertaining to the matters regulated by this Chapter, or by any rule, regulation or order made thereunder.

2. Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than six months or both.

3. The penalty provision for falsification of documents required under the provisions of this Chapter are therefore criminal in nature and will be enforced through the district attorney having jurisdiction where said violation occurs. It should also be noted that utilization of the United States Mail in the falsification of documents constitutes a violation of Title 18 of the United States Code (Mail Fraud), and such violations will be referred to the appropriate United States attorney.

C. Appeals. An alleged violator may appeal any order of the department by requesting a hearing. The hearing request must be made to the department, in writing within 30 calendar days of the original order and must be sent by "Certified Mail/Return Receipt Requested". After receiving the request, the department will arrange a hearing to determine what other remedial action will serve to effect compliance with the rules and regulations.

La. Admin. Code tit. 56, § I-533

Promulgated by the Department of Transportation and Development, Office of Public Works, LR 1:249 (May 1975), amended LR 11:964 (October 1985), repromulgated by the Department of Transportation and Development, Office of Public Works, LR 31:942 (April 2005), amended by the Department of Natural Resources, Office of Conservation, LR 37:3531 (December 2011).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 38:2091-R.S. 38:3097.