§ 36.24.050. Civil penalties and costs.

A.

Civil penalties. Any person violating or causing the violation of any provision of this chapter or any permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) for each violation. When taking civil penalty action on violations of this chapter or permits issued pursuant to this chapter, the agricultural commissioner shall use the following provisions to determine the violation class and the penalty amount.

1.

The agricultural commissioner shall designate violations as "Class A," "Class B," or "Class C" using the following definitions:

a.

A Class A or serious violation is one (1) of the following:

(1)

A violation of a provision of this chapter or a requirement of a permit issued pursuant to this chapter that caused adverse effects on property, the public, or the environment.

(2)

A violation of a provision of this chapter or a requirement of a permit issued pursuant to this chapter designed to mitigate the risk of adverse effects on property, the public, or the environment, and the agricultural commissioner determines that one (1) or more of the following aggravating circumstances support elevation to Class A:

(a)

The violator has a history of violations;

(b)

The violator failed to cooperate in the investigation of the incident or allow a lawful inspection of the site; or

b.

A Class B or moderate violation is a violation of a provision of this chapter or a requirement of a permit issued pursuant to this chapter designed to mitigate the risk of adverse effects on property, the public, or the environment, and is not designated as Class A.

c.

A Class C or minor violation is a violation of a provision of this chapter or a requirement of a permit issued pursuant to this chapter that is not designed to mitigate the risk of adverse effects on property, the public, or the environment.

2.

The penalty range for each class of violation is:

a.

Class A: Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00).

b.

Class B: Five hundred dollars ($500.00) to fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00).

c.

Class C: Fifty dollars ($50.00) to five hundred dollars ($500.00).

3.

When determining the penalty amount within the penalty range, the agricultural commissioner shall use relevant facts, including the severity of actual or potential effects of the violation and the violator's compliance history, and include those relevant facts in the notice of proposed action.

B.

Costs. Any person violating or causing the violation of any provision of this chapter or any permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall be liable to the county for the costs, including attorney's fees, incurred by the county, its agents, and agencies as a direct result of the violation(s).

(Ord. No. 6219 , § II(Exh. B), 12-19-2017)