Chapter 262 Oregon Laws 2001

AN ACT

HB 3634

Relating to the enforcement authority of the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries; creating new provisions; and amending ORS 517.992.

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

SECTION 1. ORS 517.992 is amended to read:

517.992. (1) In addition to any other sanction authorized by law, the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may impose a civil penalty of not less than $200 per day and not more than $50,000 per day for any violation of ORS 517.702 to 517.989 related to a chemical process mine, of any rules adopted under those provisions related to a chemical process mine, of any orders issued under those provisions related to a chemical process mine or of any conditions of a permit issued under those provisions related to a chemical process mine. A penalty may be imposed under this section without regard to whether the violation occurs on property covered by a permit issued under ORS 517.702 to 517.989.

(2)(a) In addition to any other sanction authorized by law, and subject to the limitations of paragraph (b) of this subsection, the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may impose a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 per day for any violation of ORS 517.702 to 517.951 not related to a chemical process mine, of any rules adopted under those provisions not related to a chemical process mine, of any orders issued under those provisions not related to a chemical process mine or of any conditions of a permit issued under those provisions not related to a chemical process mine.

(b) A penalty may be imposed under this subsection only if a landowner or operator fails to complete erosion stabilization as required by ORS 517.775 or board rules adopted to implement that section, if the operator has failed to comply with a final order issued under ORS 517.860 or 517.880 or if the operation is being conducted:

(A) Without a permit;

(B) Outside the permit boundary; or

(3) A civil penalty imposed under this section shall become due and payable 10 days after the order imposing the civil penalty becomes final by operation of law or on appeal. A person against whom a civil penalty is to be imposed shall be served with a notice in the form provided in ORS 183.415. Service of the notice shall be accomplished in the manner provided by ORS 183.415.

(4) The person to whom the notice provided for in subsection (3) of this section is addressed shall have 20 days from the date of service of the notice in which to make written application for a hearing. If no application for a hearing is made, the agency may make a final order imposing the penalty.

(5) Any person who makes application as provided for in subsection (4) of this section shall be entitled to a hearing. The hearing shall be conducted as a contested case hearing pursuant to the applicable provisions of ORS 183.413 to 183.470.

(6) Judicial review of an order made after a hearing under subsection (5) of this section shall be as provided in ORS 183.480 to 183.497 for judicial review of contested cases.

(7) When an order assessing a civil penalty under this section becomes final by operation of law or on appeal, and the amount of penalty is not paid within 10 days after the order becomes final, the order may be recorded with the county clerk in any county of this state. The clerk shall thereupon record the name of the person incurring the penalty and the amount of the penalty in the County Clerk Lien Record.

(8) Failure to pay a civil penalty that has become final under this section shall be grounds for revocation of any permit issued under ORS 517.702 to 517.989 to the person against whom the penalty has been assessed.

(9) Any civil penalty received by the State Treasurer under this section shall be deposited in the General Fund to the credit of the Geology and Mineral Industries Account and is continuously appropriated to the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries to the extent necessary for the administration and enforcement of the laws, rules and orders under which the penalty was assessed.

(10) A reclamation fund shall be established into which funds not used to administer subsection (9) of this section shall be deposited. This money shall be used by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries for the purpose of the reclamation of abandoned mine and drill sites.

(11) When a single incident violates statutes, rules, board orders or permit conditions administered by more than one agency, the department shall coordinate with the other agencies having civil penalty authority before imposing a civil penalty.

(12) In implementing this section, the department shall adopt rules that provide civil penalties that are commensurate with the severity of violations and allow for a written warning at least 48 hours prior to imposing a penalty when there is no immediate threat to human health, safety or the environment. The written warning may be personally served on the person incurring the penalty or may be sent by registered or certified mail. The warning shall include:

(a) A reference to the particular sections of the statute, rule, order or permit involved; and

(b) A short and plain statement of the matters asserted or charged.

(13) A civil penalty may be imposed against the board of directors and high managerial agents of a corporation if those persons engage in, authorize, solicit, request, command or knowingly tolerate the conduct for which the penalty is to be imposed. As used in this subsection, “agent” and “high managerial agent” have those meanings given in ORS 161.170.

SECTION 2. The amendments to ORS 517.992 by section 1 of this 2001 Act apply to civil penalties imposed on or after the effective date of this 2001 Act.

Approved by the Governor May 30, 2001

Filed in the office of Secretary of State May 30, 2001

Effective date January 1, 2002

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