Code of Maine Rules › 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › 144 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES - GENERAL › Chapter 220 - Rules Relating to Radiation Protection › Part B - ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS, PROCEDURES, AND CIVIL PENALTIES › Section 144-220-B-7 - Adjustment Factors

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A. After
				  considering all relevant circumstances, adjustments to the civil penalty values
				  may be made for the factors described below:
(1) Prompt identification and reporting.
				  Reduction of up to 50 percent of the base civil penalty may be given when a
				  licensee identifies the violation and promptly reports the violation to the
				  Agency. In weighing this factor, consideration will be given to, among other
				  things, the length of time the violation existed prior to discovery, the
				  opportunity available to discover the violation, the ease of discovery and the
				  promptness and completeness of any required report. No consideration will be
				  given to this factor if the licensee does not take immediate action to correct
				  the problem upon discovery.
(2)
				  Corrective action to prevent recurrence. Recognizing that corrective action is
				  always required to meet regulatory requirements, the promptness and extent to
				  which the licensee takes corrective action, including actions to prevent
				  recurrence, may be considered in modifying the civil penalty to be assessed.
				  Unusually prompt and extensive correction action may result in reducing the
				  proposed civil penalty as much as 50 percent of the base value shown in Table
				  1A. The civil penalty may be increased as much as 50 percent of the base value
				  if initiation of corrective action is not prompt or if the corrective action is
				  only minimally acceptable. In weighing this factor, consideration will be given
				  to, among other things, the timeliness of the corrective action, degree of
				  licensee initiative, and comprehensiveness of the corrective action - such as
				  whether the action is focused narrowly to the specific violation or broadly to
				  the general area of concern.
(3)
				  Past Performance. Reduction by as much as 100 percent of the base civil penalty
				  shown in Table 1 may be given for prior good performance in the general area of
				  concern. On the other hand, the base civil penalty may be increased as much as
				  100 percent for prior poor performance in the general area of concern. In
				  weighing this factor, consideration will be given to, among other things, the
				  effectiveness of previous corrective action for similar problems, overall
				  performance such as prior enforcement history including Severity Level IV and V
				  violations in the area of concern. For example, failure to implement previous
				  corrective action for prior similar problems may result in an increase in the
				  civil penalty.
(4) Prior notice of
				  similar events. The base civil penalty may be increased as much as 50 percent
				  for cases where the licensee had prior knowledge of a problem as a result of a
				  licensee audit, or specific NRC or industry notification, and had failed to
				  take effective preventive steps.
(5) Multiple occurrences. The base civil
				  penalty may be increased as much as 50 percent where multiple examples of a
				  particular violation are identified during the inspection period.