(a) After the department staff receives evidence of a possible violation, the department shall issue a written notice of probable violation (NOPV) to the party alleged to have committed the violation.
(b) The department staff shall send information regarding the NOPV by certified mail to the party alleged to have committed the violation.
(c) The NOPV shall include the following:
(1) A description of the probable violation and reference to the rule or statute regarded as violated;
(2) The date and location of the probable violation;
(3) A statement notifying the party or parties involved that civil penalties might be imposed pursuant to RSA 374:7-a, in the event of unfavorable judgment;
(4) The amount of the civil penalty;
(5) A description of factors relied upon by department staff in making its determination, such as the size of the business of the utility, gravity of the violation, history of prior violations, degree of culpability of the respondent, how quickly the respondent took action to rectify the situation, cooperativeness of respondent, history of prior violations, effect of penalty on the utility, and any other identifiable factors which would tend to either aggravate or mitigate the violation;
(6) Statutory rights of the respondent as enumerated in RSA 374:7-a; and
(7) Procedures for resolving the complaint.
(d) The operator shall respond in writing to the department within 30 days of its receipt of the violation notice referred to in (a) above.