(a) The commissioner shall exercise the authority and power to:

(1) Administer and enforce this chapter and all rules and regulations and orders promulgated under this chapter;

(2) Conduct or obtain investigations, research, experiments, training programs and demonstrations, and collect and disseminate information relating to the safe construction, operation, or maintenance of dams and reservoirs;

(3) Adopt, after giving public notice and affording an opportunity to all interested persons to appear and offer evidence at a public hearing in connection therewith, general rules and regulations that the commissioner deems necessary to accomplish the purpose of this chapter. Such rules and regulations, which shall have the force and effect of law, shall be of uniform application as far as practicable, but they may take proper account of differences in topography, geology, soil conditions, climate, hydrology, and use of the reservoir and the lands lying in the floodplain downstream from the dam;

(4) Assess civil penalties for violation of any provision of this chapter or any rule, regulation, standard adopted or order issued by the commissioner pursuant to this chapter;

(5) Issue orders requiring the adoption by an owner of remedial measures necessary for the safety of life or public or private property or for carrying out this chapter or rules and regulations issued under this chapter;

(6) Examine and approve or disapprove applications for certificates of approval for the construction, enlargement, repair, alteration, maintenance, or operation of a dam or reservoir;

(7) Establish standards for the safe construction, enlargement, repair, alteration, maintenance, or operation of a dam or reservoir. Such standards shall be issued in the form of regulations as described in subdivision (a)(3);

(8) Make such investigations or inspections as the commissioner may deem necessary to determine the condition of a dam or reservoir to ensure compliance with any provisions of this chapter, including the right to enter at any time upon an area affected for such purposes and the right of ingress and egress across intervening properties;

(9) Order the suspension or revocation, or both, of any certificate of approval for any act for failure to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter or with any rules, regulations or orders adopted pursuant to this chapter, or with any of the conditions contained in or attached to the certificate of approval;

(10) Order the immediate cessation of any act that is started or continued without a certificate of approval as required by this chapter;

(11) Institute and prosecute all court actions as may be necessary to obtain the enforcement of any order issued by the commissioner in carrying out this chapter; and

(12) Hear appeals from orders issued, penalties assessed, or certificates suspended or revoked pursuant to this chapter, and administer oaths, issue subpoenas, and compel attendance of witnesses and production of data in connection with appeals hearings. All appeals hearings shall be in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.

(b) The commissioner shall not impose legal duties, obligations or liabilities incident to the ownership or operation of a dam upon the state or any local government that does not own or operate such dam.