Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-110

§470aaa–6 Civil Penalties

Title 16 › CHAPTER 1C — PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION › § 470aaa–6

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

People who break rules or permit terms about paleontological resources can be fined after they are given notice and a chance for a hearing. Each violation is a separate offense. The Secretary sets the penalty using rules and must consider the greater of the scientific or fair market value of the resource, the cost to respond, restore, and repair the site, and other relevant factors. A second or later violation may be doubled, but no single penalty may exceed twice the cleanup/repair cost plus twice the resource value. You can ask a federal court to review the order within 30 days. If you do not pay within 30 days after the order is final and no review was filed, or within 30 days after a court upholds it, the Secretary may ask the Attorney General to sue to collect the penalty plus interest at the currently prevailing rates. Collection suits cannot re‑decide the penalty, and late payers must also pay attorneys’ fees and collection costs. Hearings follow the rules in section 554 of title 5. Penalties collected go to the Secretary without further appropriation and may only be used to protect, restore, monitor, or study the resources and sites, to provide public education about them, or to pay rewards under section 470aaa–7.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §470aaa–6

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

(1)Hearing

A person who violates any prohibition contained in an applicable regulation or permit issued under this chapter may be assessed a penalty by the Secretary after the person is given notice and opportunity for a hearing with respect to the violation. Each violation shall be considered a separate offense for purposes of this section.

(2)Amount of penalty

The amount of such penalty assessed under paragraph (1) shall be determined under regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter, taking into account the following factors:

(A)The scientific or fair market value, whichever is greater, of the paleontological resource involved, as determined by the Secretary.

(B)The cost of response, restoration, and repair of the resource and the paleontological site involved.

(C)Any other factors considered relevant by the Secretary assessing the penalty.

(3)Multiple offenses

In the case of a second or subsequent violation by the same person, the amount of a penalty assessed under paragraph (2) may be doubled.

(4)Limitation

The amount of any penalty assessed under this subsection for any 1 violation shall not exceed an amount equal to double the cost of response, restoration, and repair of resources and paleontological site damage plus double the scientific or fair market value of resources destroyed or not recovered.

(b)Petition for judicial review; collection of unpaid assessments

(1)Judicial review

Any person against whom an order is issued assessing a penalty under subsection (a) may file a petition for judicial review of the order in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or in the district in which the violation is alleged to have occurred within the 30-day period beginning on the date the order making the assessment was issued. Upon notice of such filing, the Secretary shall promptly file such a certified copy of the record on which the order was issued. The court shall hear the action on the record made before the Secretary and shall sustain the action if it is supported by substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole.

(2)Failure to pay

If any person fails to pay a penalty under this section within 30 days—

(A)after the order making assessment has become final and the person has not filed a petition for judicial review of the order in accordance with paragraph (1); or

(B)after a court in an action brought in paragraph (1) has entered a final judgment upholding the assessment of the penalty, the Secretary may request the Attorney General to institute a civil action in a district court of the United States for any district in which the person if found, resides, or transacts business, to collect the penalty (plus interest at currently prevailing rates from the date of the final order or the date of the final judgment, as the case may be). The district court shall have jurisdiction to hear and decide any such action. In such action, the validity, amount, and appropriateness of such penalty shall not be subject to review. Any person who fails to pay on a timely basis the amount of an assessment of a civil penalty as described in the first sentence of this paragraph shall be required to pay, in addition to such amount and interest, attorneys fees and costs for collection proceedings.

(c)Hearings

Hearings held during proceedings instituted under subsection (a) shall be conducted in accordance with section 554 of title 5.

(d)Use of recovered amounts

Penalties collected under this section shall be available to the Secretary and without further appropriation may be used only as follows:

(1)To protect, restore, or repair the paleontological resources and sites which were the subject of the action, and to protect, monitor, and study the resources and sites.

(2)To provide educational materials to the public about paleontological resources and sites.

(3)To provide for the payment of rewards as provided in section 470aaa–7 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 470aaa–6

Title 16, Conservation

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110