§ 14-236-106 - Penalties.
14-236-106. Penalties.
(a) (1) A person who shall willingly and knowingly violate the provisions of this chapter shall be liable to the party aggrieved or damaged by that violation for the cost of suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee, actual damages, and additional punitive damages equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of the damages proven by the aggrieved party, to be taxed by the court where the suit is heard on an original action, by appeal, or otherwise, and recovered by a suit at law in any court of competent jurisdiction. However, the party aggrieved or damaged thereby must give twenty (20) days' written notice of any violation of this chapter to the violator.
(2) Approval by the Division of Environmental Health Protection of the Department of Health or its authorized agent of a requested variation from the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter shall not be construed as a violation of this chapter.
(b) The Division of Environmental Health Protection of the Department of Health or its authorized agent is authorized to require the property owner to take the necessary action to correct the malfunctioning individual sewage disposal system within thirty (30) working days of being notified. Failure to take corrective action shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
(c) (1) Any person, firm, corporation, or association who violates any of the provisions of this chapter or any rules and regulations promulgated under the authority of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(2) (A) Every firm, person, or corporation who violates any of the provisions of this chapter or rules, regulations, or orders issued or promulgated by the State Board of Health or who violates any condition of a license, permit, certificate, or any other type of registration issued by the board may be assessed a civil penalty by the board.
(B) (i) The penalty shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each violation.
(ii) Each day of a continuing violation may be deemed a separate violation for purposes of penalty assessments.
(3) All fines collected under subdivision (c)(1) of this section shall be deposited in the State Treasury and credited to the Public Health Fund to be used to defray costs of administering this chapter.
(4) Subject to such rules and regulations as may be implemented by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, the disbursing officer for the Department of Health is authorized to transfer all unexpended funds relative to fines collected under this section, as certified by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, to be carried forward and made available for expenditures for the same purpose for any following fiscal year.