71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2001 Regular Session
Enrolled
House Bill 3634
Sponsored by Representative CLOSE (at the request of Oregon
Concrete and Aggregate Producers Association)
CHAPTER ................
AN ACT
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
(C) Outside a permit condition regarding boundaries, setbacks,
buffers or the placement of surface mining refuse.
(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
Enrolled House Bill 3634 (HB 3634-INTRO) Page 1
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.
Enrolled House Bill 3634 (HB 3634-INTRO) Page 2
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. + }
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Passed by House April 25, 2001
...........................................................
Chief Clerk of House
...........................................................
Speaker of House
Passed by Senate May 11, 2001
...........................................................
President of Senate
Enrolled House Bill 3634 (HB 3634-INTRO) Page 3
Received by Governor:
......M.,............., 2001
Approved:
......M.,............., 2001
...........................................................
Governor
Filed in Office of Secretary of State:
......M.,............., 2001
...........................................................
Secretary of State
Enrolled House Bill 3634 (HB 3634-INTRO) Page 4