New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 6 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION › Chapter IV - QUALITY SERVICES › Subchapter G - Program Fees › Part 481 - Program Fees: In General › Section 481.11 - Reasonable cause

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) The following
				  exemplify grounds for reasonable cause, where clearly established by the person
				  requesting a redetermination of a penalty, consideration of a late challenge, or
				  reconsideration of a determination made in the challenge process when a timely
				  response was not made:
(1) The death or serious
				  illness of the person owing the regulatory fee or a responsible officer, employee
				  or other representative of such person which precluded timely payment of the fees
				  owed or timely challenge to the fees owed provided that the fee is paid within a
				  justifiable period of time after the death, illness or absence. A justifiable
				  period of time is that period which is substantiated by the person or the
				  person's representative as a reasonable period of time for paying the fee owed.
Example:It was established that illness incapacitated the
					 owner and sole stockholder of a small business concern during the period when a
					 regulatory fee was owed and penalty was accruing. The owner further established
					 that no other person had access to sufficient information which would have
					 resulted in fee payment. The fee was paid with interest due within a justifiable
					 time after the owner returned to work. This constitutes reasonable cause for
					 failure to pay the fee.
(2)
				  The destruction of the person's or the person's representative's place of
				  business or business records by a fire or other documented casualty, which
				  precluded timely payment of a regulatory fee owed or timely challenge to a fee
				  owed provided that the fee is paid within a justifiable period which is
				  substantiated by the person or the person's representative as a reasonable period
				  of time for paying the fee owed based on the facts and circumstances of each
				  case.
Example:The place of business, together with the business
					 records and the regulatory fee bill were destroyed by a documented casualty at
					 the period of time when the fee was due and penalty was accruing. The fee was
					 paid within a justifiable period of time after the casualty took place. This
					 constitutes reasonable cause for failure to pay the fee due.
(3) The fee bill was sent to an incorrect
				  address, delaying the time when the bill was received by the person who owes the
				  fee which precluded timely payment of the fee owed or timely challenge to the fee
				  owed. The fee was paid within a justifiable period of time from when the bill was
				  received and the person can prove that the incorrect address was not a result of
				  the person's failure to notify the department of a change of address.
Example:A fee bill was normally sent to a subsidiary of a
					 company. The subsidiary was closed and it took one month for the post office to
					 forward the bill to the parent company. The parent company paid the bill within a
					 justifiable period of time from when the bill was received. This constitutes
					 reasonable cause for failure to pay the fee due provided that the parent company
					 can prove that it notified the department of the address change.
(4) Any other cause for delinquency
				  which would appear to a person of ordinary prudence and intelligence as a
				  reasonable cause for delay and which clearly indicates an absence of willful
				  neglect may be determined to be reasonable cause. Ignorance of law, however, will
				  not be considered as a basis for reasonable cause. Reasonable cause may be
				  determined to exist only where the person owing the fee acted in good faith. A
				  criminal conviction or commissioner's order, in which a person has been found to
				  violate the ECL, its regulations or permits, is evidence of the lack of good
				  faith.