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Alaska Statutes.

Title 27. Mining

Chapter 21. Alaska Surface Coal Mining Control and Reclamation Act

Section 250. Penalties.

AS 27.21.250. Penalties.

(a) The commissioner may assess a civil penalty against a person if the person or the person's operation violates a condition of a permit or a provision of this chapter. If as a result of the violation the commissioner issues a cessation order under AS 27.21.240 , the commissioner shall assess a civil penalty. The civil penalty may not exceed $5,000 for a violation. The commissioner may consider each day of a continuing violation as a separate violation for the purposes of this subsection. In determining whether to assess and the amount of a civil penalty, the commissioner shall consider the person's history of previous violations at the site of the operation, the seriousness of the violation, including the irreparable harm done to the environment and the hazard created to the health or safety of the public, the person's negligence, and the good faith of the person in attempting to achieve rapid compliance after receiving notification of the violation.

(b) Within 30 days after issuing a notice or order under AS 27.21.240 to a person, the commissioner shall inform the person of the amount of the penalty. The person notified of the penalty then has 30 days in which to pay the penalty in full or to contest either the amount of the penalty or the fact of the violation. If the person wishes to contest either the amount of the penalty or the fact of the violation, the person may submit to the commissioner a bond equal to the penalty amount at the time the person files an application for review. The bond shall be conditioned for the satisfaction of the penalty in full if the commissioner's determination of an occurrence of a violation and the assessment of a penalty are affirmed. An application for review is effective when the bond is approved by the commissioner. If the bond is not approved, the person charged with the penalty shall forward the proposed amount to the commissioner within 10 days of the disapproval of the bond for placement in an escrow account in order to make the petition effective.

(c) The commissioner shall assess a civil penalty under (a) of this section only after the person charged with a violation has been given an opportunity for a public hearing. If a public hearing is held, the commissioner shall make findings of fact and shall issue a written decision relating to the occurrence of the violation and the amount of the civil penalty that is warranted. The written decision may order the person to pay the penalty. The commissioner may consolidate a hearing under this section with other proceedings under AS 27.21.240 . AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) applies to a hearing under this subsection except as provided by regulations adopted under this chapter. If the person notified of a penalty does not request a public hearing, the commissioner may assess the penalty and order its payment only after the commissioner has determined that the person committed the violation and has determined the amount of the penalty that is warranted.

(d) A civil penalty owed under this section may be recovered in a civil action brought by the attorney general at the request of the commissioner.

(e) A person other than a corporation who wilfully and knowingly violates a condition of a permit, an order issued under AS 27.21.240 , or an order incorporated in a final decision under this chapter, except an order incorporated in a decision issued under (c) of this section, is guilty of a class C felony.

(f) If a corporation violates a condition of a permit, an order issued under AS 27.21.240 , or an order incorporated in a final decision issued by the commissioner under this chapter, except an order incorporated in a decision issued under (c) of this section, a director, officer, or agent of the corporation who wilfully and knowingly authorized, ordered, or carried out the violation is subject to a civil penalty under (a) - (d) of this section and is guilty of a class C felony.

(g) A person who knowingly makes a false statement, representation, or certification, or knowingly fails to make a required statement, representation, or certification in an application, record, report, plan, or other document filed or required to be maintained under this chapter is guilty of a class C felony.

(h) A person who fails to correct a violation for which a notice of violation or a cessation order has been issued under AS 27.21.240 within the period or subsequent extension permitted for its correction shall be assessed a civil penalty of $750 for each day the failure or violation continues. The period for correction continues until

(1) the entry of a final order by the commissioner in a review proceeding initiated by the alleged violator in which the commissioner orders, after an expedited hearing, the suspension of the abatement requirements of the notice or order after determining that the alleged violator will suffer irreparable loss or damage from the application of those requirements; or

(2) the entry of an order of the court in a review proceeding under AS 44.62 initiated by the alleged violator in which the court orders the suspension of the abatement requirements of the notice or order.

(i) A person who, except as permitted by law, wilfully resists, prevents, impedes, or interferes with the commissioner in the performance of duties under this chapter is guilty of a class C felony.