GENERAL AUTHORITY OF THE DEPARTMENT.

To accomplish the limited purposes of this chapter, the department may:

(1) with proper notice to all parties affected, adopt rules and regulations consistent with the provisions of this chapter and issue orders necessary to implement and enforce this chapter;

(2) conduct research necessary for the discharge of its duties under this chapter;

(3) collect and make available to the public information relating to the inventory and classification of quarries, including maps and other technical data;

(4) apply for, accept, receive, and administer grants, gifts, loans, or other funds from any source; and

(5) hold public hearings, take written sworn testimony, hear witnesses upon oath, and consider reports in regard to the classifications of pits within the definitions of hazardous proximity to a public road and unacceptable unsafe location, issuing rules and orders in relation thereto.