New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 7A - FRESHWATER WETLANDS PROTECTION ACT RULES › Subchapter 22 - ENFORCEMENT › Section 7:7A-22.8 - Civil administrative penalties for violations other than failure to obtain a permit prior to conducting regulated activities

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) For violations other than failure to
				obtain a permit prior to conducting regulated activities, the Department shall
				use the procedures in this section to determine the amount of the penalty,
				except if the violation type is listed at N.J.A.C. 7:7A-22.9, 22.10, or 22.11,
				in which case the penalty amount shall be determined under whichever of those
				sections applies.
(b) Each
				violation of
N.J.S.A. 13:9B-1
et seq.
				or
58:10A-1
et seq., or any regulation, rule, letter of
				interpretation, permit, agreement, transition area waiver, order, settlement,
				exemption letter, or mitigation proposal adopted or issued by the Department
				pursuant thereto, shall constitute an additional, separate, and distinct
				violation.
(c) Where any
				requirement of
N.J.S.A. 13:9B-1
et seq. or
58:10A-1
et seq., or any regulation,
				rule, permit, condition, or order adopted or issued by the Department pursuant
				thereto, may pertain to more than one act, condition, or occurrence, the
				failure to comply with such requirement as it pertains to each such act,
				condition, or occurrence shall constitute an additional, separate, and distinct
				violation.
(d) To assess a civil
				administrative penalty pursuant to this section, the Department shall use the
				two factors described at (e) and (f) below, seriousness and conduct, to
				determine the amount of the base daily civil administrative penalty. The
				applicable daily penalty amount is determined using the base daily penalty
				matrix in the table below, based on the seriousness of the violation determined
				pursuant to (e) below and the conduct of the violator determined pursuant to
				(f) below.
Table 22.8
Base Daily Penalty Matrix
SERIOUSNESS
MAJOR
MODERATE
MINOR
MAJOR
$ 25,000
$ 15,000
$ 10,000
CONDUCT
MODERATE
$ 15,000
$ 7,500
$ 5,000
MINOR
$ 10,000
$ 5,000
$ 1,000
(e)
				The seriousness of the violation shall be classified as major, moderate, or
				minor as follows:
1. Major seriousness shall
				apply to any violation which has caused or has the potential to cause serious
				harm to human health, safety, property, the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act
				regulatory program, or the environment, or seriously deviates from the
				applicable law and/or condition. "Serious deviations" include, but are not
				limited to, those violations that are in complete contravention of the
				applicable law, requirement, and/or condition, and/or that severely impair or
				undermine the protection, operation, or intent of the law, requirement, or
				condition. Violations of major seriousness include, but are not limited to:
i. Any activity that negatively affects water
				quality;
ii. Clearing, grading, or
				filling of freshwater wetlands;
iii. Clearing, grading, or filling of
				transition areas when done in conjunction with such activities in freshwater
				wetlands;
iv. Clearing, grading,
				filling, or disturbance of freshwater wetlands and/or transition areas in
				excess of that authorized by a permit or plan;
v. Failure to timely record a conservation
				restriction or easement, and the property has been sold or
				transferred;
vi. Failure to report
				the presence of a historic resource during construction and/or the destruction
				of a historic resource without Department approval;
vii. Failure to comply with a historic
				resource or mitigation requirement; and
viii. Failure of an applicant or permittee to
				provide information upon request to determine compliance with any applicable
				law and/or condition;