Section 5. Civil penalties.
For a violation of a provision of this act, a regulation or order of the Department of Environmental Resources or a term or condition of a permit issued by the department, the department may assess a civil penalty upon a person or municipality. A penalty may be assessed whether or not the violation was willful or negligent. In determining the amount of the penalty, the department shall consider the willfulness of the violation; damage to air, water, land or other natural resources of this Commonwealth or their uses; cost of restoration and abatement; savings resulting to the person in consequence of the violation; and other relevant factors. When the department proposes to assess a civil penalty, it shall inform the person or municipality of the proposed amount of the penalty. The person or municipality charged with the penalty shall then have 30 days to pay the proposed penalty in full or, if the person or municipality wishes to contest either the amount of the penalty or the fact of the violation, the person or municipality must, within the 30-day period, file an appeal of the action with the Environmental Hearing Board. Failure to appeal within 30 days shall result in a waiver of all legal rights to contest the violation or the amount of the penalty. The maximum civil penalty which may be assessed under this section is $25,000 per offense. Each violation for each separate day shall constitute a separate and distinct offense under this section.
Compiler's Note: The Department of Environmental Resources,
referred to in this section, was abolished by Act 18 of
1995. Its functions were transferred to the Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources and the Department of
Environmental Protection.