42850-42855
PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE
SECTION 42850-42855
42850. (a) Any person who negligently violates any provision of this chapter, or any permit, rule, regulation, standard, or requirement issued or adopted pursuant to this chapter, is liable for a civil penalty of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) or more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), for each violation of a separate provision or, for continuing violations, for each day that the violation continues. (b) Liability under this section may be imposed in a civil action or liability may be imposed administratively pursuant to this article. (c) Upon request of a city, county, or city and county, that city, county, or city and county may be designated, in writing, by the board, to exercise the enforcement authority granted to the board under this chapter. Any city, county, or city and county so designated shall follow the same procedures set forth for the board under this article. This designation shall not limit the authority of the board to take action it deems necessary or proper to ensure to enforcement of this chapter. 42850.1. (a) Any person who intentionally violates any provision of this chapter, or any permit, rule, regulation, standard, or requirement issued or adopted pursuant to this chapter, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each day of violation, by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. (b) (1) Any person who intentionally violates any provision of this chapter, or any permit, rule, regulation, standard, or requirement issued or adopted pursuant to this chapter, is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), for each violation of a separate provision or, for continuing violations, for each day that the violation continues. (2) Liability under this subdivision may be imposed in a civil action or may be imposed administratively pursuant to this article. 42851. (a) The board may issue a complaint to any person on whom civil liability may be imposed pursuant to this article. The complaint shall allege the acts or failures to act that constitute a basis for liability and the amount of the proposed civil liability. The complaint shall be served by personal service or certified mail and shall inform the party so served that a hearing shall be conducted within 60 days after the party has been served, unless the party waives the right to a hearing. (b) If the party waives the right to a hearing, the board shall issue an order setting liability in the amount proposed in the complaint unless the board and the party have entered into a settlement agreement, in which case the board shall issue an order setting liability in the amount specified in the settlement agreement. If the party has waived the right to a hearing or if the board and the party have entered into a settlement agreement, the order shall not be subject to review by any court or agency. 42852. (a) Any hearing required under this section shall be conducted by an independent hearing officer according to the procedures specified in Sections 11507 to 11517, inclusive, of the Government Code, except as otherwise specified in this section. In making a determination, the hearing officer shall take into consideration the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation, the violator's past and present efforts to prevent, abate, or clean up conditions posing a threat to the public health or safety or the environment, the violator's ability to pay the proposed civil penalty, and the prophylactic effect that imposition of the proposed penalty will have on both the violator and on the regulated community as a whole. (b) After conducting any hearing required under this section, the hearing officer shall, within 30 days after the case is submitted, issue a decision, including an order setting the amount of civil penalty to be imposed, if any. 42853. Orders setting civil liability issued under this section shall become effective and final upon issuance thereof, and payment shall be made within 30 days of issuance. Copies of these orders shall be served by personal service or by certified mail upon the party served with the complaint and upon other persons who appeared at the hearing and requested a copy. 42854. (a) Within 30 days after service of a copy of a decision issued by the hearing officer, any person so served may file with the superior court a petition for writ of mandate for review of the decision. Any person who fails to file the petition within the 30-day period may not challenge the reasonableness or validity of a decision or order of the hearing officer in any judicial proceedings brought to enforce the decision or order or for other remedies. (b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, Section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure governs any proceedings conducted pursuant to this subdivision. In all proceedings pursuant to this subdivision, the court shall uphold the decision of the hearing officer if the decision is based upon substantial evidence in the whole record. (c) The filing of a petition for writ of mandate does not stay any corrective action required pursuant to this chapter or the accrual of any penalties assessed pursuant to this chapter. (d) This section does not prohibit the court from granting any appropriate relief within its jurisdiction. 42855. All penalties collected under Section 42850 shall be deposited in the California Tire Recycling Management Fund created pursuant to Section 42885 if the attorney who brought the action represented the board, or shall be retained by a city, county, or city and county designated pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 42850, if the attorney who brought the action represents the city, county, or city and county. The moneys retained by the city, county, or city and county shall be expended on enforcement and cleanup required under this chapter, including, but not limited to, the prosecution of enforcement actions.