West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 47 - Water Resources, Division Of Water And Waste Management › Title 47 - LEGISLATIVE RULE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES › Series 47-56 - Assessment Of Civil Administrative Penalties › Section 47-56-7 - Civil Administrative Penalty Calculation Procedures

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
The Secretary shall calculate a civil administrative penalty
				  by taking into account the seriousness of the alleged violation, negligence or
				  good faith on the part of the violator, and any history of noncompliance by the
				  violator.
7.1. Seriousness of
				Violation. The Secretary shall take into account the seriousness of the
				violation by assigning a rating for the extent of deviation from the
				requirement of the statute, rule, order, or permit condition in accordance with
				Table A and a rating for the potential harm which may have resulted from the
				alleged violation in accordance with Table B. These "seriousness of the
				violation" ratings shall be used to determine the base penalty amount of the
				civil administrative penalty assessment through the use of Table C.
7.2. Negligence/Good Faith. The Secretary
				shall take into account the negligence or good faith which the violator
				displayed with regard to the alleged violation by assigning a rating in
				accordance with Table D. The negligence/good faith rating shall be used to
				determine the multiplying factor to be applied to the base penalty amount
				through the use of Table E.
7.3.
				"Unique" Factors. Should the violation in question involve an actual release to
				the environment or harm to human health or involve a chemical that is
				persistent or bioaccumulative, the associated civil administrative penalty may
				be multiplied by a factor of up to 2.0.
7.4. History of Noncompliance. The Secretary
				shall take into account the violator's history of noncompliance by determining
				the number of previous enforcement actions (administrative, civil, or criminal)
				which have been taken against the violator during the twenty-four (24) months
				prior to the violation. Those enforcement actions which were withdrawn,
				dismissed, or vacated shall not be included in this determination. The number
				of previous enforcement actions shall be used to determine the dollar amount to
				be added to the penalty through the use of Table F.
7.5. The civil administrative penalty shall
				be calculated by multiplying the base penalty amount (established from the
				seriousness of violation pursuant to subsection 7.1) by the multiplying factor
				(established from the negligence/good faith ratings pursuant to subsection
				7.2), multiplying by the "unique" factor, if applicable (established pursuant
				to subsection 7.3), and then adding to that product a dollar amount
				(established from the history of noncompliance pursuant to subsection 7.4)
				through the use of Table G.
7.6.
				The civil administrative penalty assessed may not exceed the maximum
				assessments prescribed by the Act. The maximum assessment for groundwater
				protection act violations shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) per
				day per violation, up to a maximum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) total
				penalty.