Texas Administrative Code › Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION › Part 1 - RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS › Chapter 18 - UNDERGROUND PIPELINE DAMAGE PREVENTION › Section 18.12 - Penalty Guidelines

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Policy.
				Improved safety and environmental protection are the desired outcomes of any
				enforcement action. Encouraging operators, excavators, and other persons to
				take appropriate voluntary corrective and future protective actions once a
				violation has occurred is an effective component of the enforcement process.
				Deterrence of violations through penalty assessments is also a necessary and
				effective component of the enforcement process. A rule-based enforcement
				penalty guideline to evaluate and rank underground pipeline damage
				prevention-related violations is consistent with the central goal of the
				Commission's enforcement efforts to promote compliance. Penalty guidelines set
				forth in this section will provide a framework for more uniform and equitable
				assessment of penalties throughout the state, while also enhancing the
				integrity of the Commission's enforcement program.
(b) Only guidelines. The penalty amounts
				shown in the tables in this section are provided solely as guidelines to be
				considered by the Commission in determining the amount of administrative
				penalties for violations of the requirements of Texas Health and Safety Code,
				§
									RSA
				756.126; Texas Natural Resources Code, §
									RSA
				117.012; Texas Utilities Code, §
									RSA
				121.201; or the provisions of a rule or
				standard adopted or an order issued under any of these statutes, as they
				pertain to underground pipeline damage prevention.
(c) Commission authority. The establishment
				of these penalty guidelines shall in no way limit the Commission's authority
				and discretion to cite violations and assess administrative penalties. The
				typical penalties listed in this section are for the most common violations
				cited; however, this is neither an exclusive nor an exhaustive list of
				violations that the Commission may cite. The Commission retains full authority
				and discretion to cite violations of Texas Health and Safety Code, §
									RSA
				756.126; Texas Natural Resources Code, §
									RSA
				117.012; and Texas Utilities Code, §
									RSA
				121.201, and the provisions of a rule or
				standard adopted or an order issued under those statutes and to assess
				administrative penalties in any amount up to the statutory maximum when
				warranted by the facts in any case, regardless of inclusion in or omission from
				this section.
(d) Factors
				considered. The amount of any penalty requested, recommended, or finally
				assessed in an enforcement action will be determined on an individual
				case-by-case basis for each violation, taking into consideration the following
				factors:
(1) the person's history of previous
				violations or formal warnings, including the number of previous violations or
				formal warnings;
(2) the
				seriousness of the violation and of any pollution resulting from the
				violation;
(3) any hazard to the
				health or safety of the public;
(4)
				the degree of culpability;
(5) the
				demonstrated good faith of the person charged; and
(6) any other factor the Commission considers
				relevant, including but not limited to the number of locate requests received
				and responded to by an operator and the number of location notifications given
				by an excavator in the previous year.