[§397-9]  Review and appeal.  Any orderof the director shall be final and conclusive against the owner, user, vendor,or contractor unless the owner, user, vendor, or contractor files with thedirector a written notice of contest of the order, the abatement period statedin the order, or the penalty stated in the order within twenty days afterreceipt of such order.

The owner, user, vendor, or contractor maypetition the director for modification of the abatement requirements in anorder.  The owner, user, vendor, or contractor shall file said petition nolater than the close of the next business day following the date on whichabatement is required or under exceptional circumstances and for good causeshown at a later date.  The petition for modification may be filed after thetwenty-day period for contesting the order has expired where the initialabatement period stated in the order expires after the twenty-day period forfiling a notice of contest has run.

The director shall issue an order either affirmingor modifying the abatement requirement.  The director may issue an ordermodifying the abatement requirement upon a showing by the owner, user, vendor,or contractor of a good faith effort to comply with the abatement requirementsof an order and that abatement has not been completed because of factors beyondthe owner's, user's, vendor's, or contractor's reasonable control.

The director shall advise the appeals board ofa notice of contest upon receiving any such notice.

The appeals board shall afford an opportunityfor a hearing on any notice of contest.  Such hearings before the appeals boardshall be de novo except where rules and regulations require a prior formalhearing at the department level, the proceedings of which are required to betranscribed, in which case review before the appeals board shall be confined tothe record only.

The appeals board may affirm, modify, or vacatethe order or continue the matter upon such terms and conditions as may bedeemed necessary, or remand the case to the director with instructions forfurther proceedings or direct such other relief as may be appropriate. [L 1980,c 19, pt of §1; gen ch 1985]