SECTIONS 4601-4612 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 4601-4612

4601. Any person who willfully violates any provision of this
chapter or rule or regulation of the board is guilty of a misdemeanor
and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand
dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more
than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. The person is
guilty of a separate misdemeanor offense under this section for each
day in which an order for corrective action issued pursuant to
Section 4605 or 4608 is violated.

4601.1. (a) (1) In addition to any other penalty, any person who
intentionally, knowingly, or negligently violates this chapter or a
rule or regulation adopted by the board pursuant to this chapter is
subject to a civil penalty imposed by a court in an amount not to
exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each violation. For
purposes of this section, damage that occurs over multiple days that
results from a single action shall not be considered a continuing
violation. For purposes of this section, each specific act that
results in a violation of this chapter or a rule or regulation
adopted pursuant to this chapter, including an act that is repeated
on separate days, shall be considered a separate violation.
(2) The Attorney General or district attorney, upon request of the
director, shall petition the superior court to impose, assess, and
recover a civil penalty pursuant to this subdivision. In determining
the appropriate amount, the court shall consider all relevant
circumstances, including, but not limited to, persistence,
circumstances, extent and gravity of the violation, the length of the
time over which the violation occurred, whether any substantial
damage caused by the violation is susceptible to corrective action,
whether the violation was willful or caused by negligence, and, with
respect to the violator, the ability of the violator to pay any fines
or penalties, the effect on the ability to continue in business, the
corrective action, if any, taken by the violator, whether the
violator has any prior history of violations, the degree of
culpability, economic savings, if any, resulting from the violation,
and such other matters as justice may require.
(b) A civil penalty may also be administratively imposed by the
department in accordance with Section 4601.2 on any person who
intentionally, knowingly, or negligently violates this chapter or a
rule or regulation adopted by the board pursuant to this chapter in
an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each
violation of a separate provision. For purposes of this section,
damage that occurs over multiple days that results from a single
action shall not be considered a continuing violation. For purposes
of this section, each specific act that results in a violation of
this chapter or a rule or regulation adopted pursuant to this
chapter, including an act that is repeated on separate days, shall be
considered a separate violation.
(c) No person is subject to both a civil penalty imposed by the
superior court under subdivision (a) and a civil penalty
administratively imposed under subdivision (b) for the same act or
failure to act.
(d) Any money recovered by the department pursuant to this section
shall be deposited in the General Fund.

4601.2. (a) The director may issue a complaint and proposed order
to any person on whom an administrative penalty may be imposed
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 4601.1. The complaint and
order shall allege the act or failure to act that constitutes a
violation, include a citation to the provisions authorizing the civil
penalty to be imposed, and include the proposed civil penalty.
(b) In determining the amount of any administrative civil penalty,
the department shall consider all relevant circumstances, including,
but not limited to, the extent of harm caused by the violation, the
nature, persistence, circumstances, extent and gravity of the
violation, the length of time over which the violation occurred,
whether any substantial damage caused by the violation is susceptible
to corrective action, whether the violation was willful or caused by
negligence, and, with respect to the violator, the ability of the
violator to pay any fines or penalties, the effect on ability to
continue in business, the corrective action, if any, taken by the
violator, whether the violator has any prior history of violations,
the degree of culpability, economic savings, if any, resulting from
the violation, and such other matters as justice may require.
(c) The complaint shall be served by personal notice or certified
mail, and shall inform the party so served that, upon the request of
the party made within 10 days of such service, a hearing shall be
conducted before the board or an administrative law judge within 180
days from the date that the party is served. The chairperson of the
board may delegate the conduct of the hearing to a committee of the
board, which shall be composed of at least three members of the
board, or elect to utilize an administrative law judge assigned in
accordance with Section 11370.3 of the Government Code. If the
chairperson delegates the matter to a committee of the board, a
majority of the committee members shall not have a financial interest
in the forest products or range industry. The committee may exercise
any power the board may exercise.
(d) The party charged with a violation may waive a right to a
hearing, in which case the board shall not conduct a hearing, and the
order of the director shall become final.
(e) After a hearing, the board or an administrative law judge may
adopt, with or without revision, the proposed order of the director.
(f) An order setting an administrative civil penalty shall become
effective and final upon its adoption pursuant to subdivision (e),
and any payment shall be made within the time period provided by
subdivision (b) of Section 4601.3. Copies of the order shall be
served by personal service or by registered mail upon the party
served with the complaint and upon other persons who appeared at the
hearing and requested a copy.

4601.3. (a) Any party who is aggrieved by a final order issued by
the board or an administrative law judge under Section 4601.2 may
obtain review of the order in the superior court in the county in
which the violation occurred by filing a petition for a writ of
mandate with the court within 30 days from the date of service of the
order on the party. If the aggrieved party does not petition for a
writ of mandate within that 30-day period, the order of the board or
an administrative law judge is not thereafter subject to review by
any court.
(b) After the time for judicial review has expired, or where the
party has not requested a review of the order, the administrative
penalty shall be due and payable to the department within 20 days.
The department may apply to the clerk of the appropriate court in the
county in which the civil penalty was imposed for a judgment to
collect the penalty. The application, which shall include a certified
copy of the action by the board or the administrative law judge,
constitutes a sufficient showing to warrant issuance of the judgment
to collect the penalty. The court clerk shall enter the judgment in
conformity with the application. Any judgment so entered by the court
clerk shall have the same force and effect as, and is subject to the
laws relating to, a judgment in a civil action, and may be enforced
in the same manner as any other judgment of the court in which it is
entered.

4601.4. (a) The violation of any rule or regulation adopted by the
board pursuant to this chapter prescribing any procedural requirement
that does not result in, or cause, any environmental damage, and is
not a violation of Section 4571 or 4581, is an infraction punishable
pursuant to Section 4601.5.
(b) The board shall designate those rules and regulations by
section number that prescribe procedural requirements, the violation
of which does not result in, or cause, environmental damage.

4601.5. (a) Any person who violates a rule or regulation of the
board, the violation of which is an infraction as described in
Section 4601.4, shall, upon conviction of the infraction, pay a fine
in accordance with the following schedule:
(1) A fine of one hundred dollars ($100) shall be imposed for the
first conviction of an infraction.
(2) A fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) shall be imposed
for a second or subsequent conviction for the same violation within a
three-year period.
(b) The board may provide, by regulation, that certain violations
of a rule or regulation that would constitute an infraction, if
prosecuted, are correctable and not subject to prosecution, if the
violation is corrected within 10 working days from the date of the
violation.

4602.5. (a) This section provides an administrative procedure to
suspend timber operations temporarily while judicial remedies are
pursued pursuant to this article.
(b) An inspecting forest officer may issue a written timber
operations stop order if, upon reasonable cause, the officer
determines that a timber operation is being conducted or is about to
be conducted in violation of this chapter or of forest practice rules
adopted by the board pursuant to this chapter and that the violation
or threatened violation would result in imminent and substantial
harm to soil, water, or timber resources, or to fish and wildlife
habitat. A stop order shall apply only to those acts or omissions
that are the proximate cause of the violation or threatened
violation. The stop order shall be effective immediately and
throughout the next day.
(c) A supervising forest officer may, after an onsite
investigation, extend a stop order issued pursuant to subdivision (b)
for up to five days, excluding Saturday and Sunday, provided that he
or she finds that the original stop order was issued upon reasonable
cause. A stop order shall not be issued or extended for the same act
or omission more than one time.
(d) Each stop order shall identify the specific act or omission
that constitutes the violation or threatened violation, any timber
operation that is to be stopped, and any corrective or mitigative
actions that may be required.
The department may terminate the stop order if the responsible
parties enter into a written agreement with the department assuring
that the parties will resume operations in compliance with this
chapter and the rules adopted by the board and will correct the
violations. The department may require a reasonable cash deposit or
bond payable to the department as a condition of compliance with the
agreement.
(e) Notice of the issuance of a stop order or an extension of a
stop order shall be deemed to have been made to all persons working
on a timber operation when a copy of the written order is delivered
to the person in charge of operations at the time the order is issued
or, if no persons are present at that time, then by posting a copy
of the order conspicuously on the yarder or log loading equipment at
a currently active landing on the timber operations. If no persons
are present at the site of the timber operation when the order is
issued, the issuing officer shall deliver a copy of the order to the
timber operator either in person or to the operator's address of
record prior to the commencement of the next working day.
(f) As used in this section, "forest officer" means a registered
professional forester employed by the department in a civil service
classification of forester II or higher grade.
(g) Failure of the timber operator or an employee of the timber
operator, after receiving notice, to comply with a stop order is a
violation of this chapter and is punishable as provided in Section
4601; provided, however, that in all cases the timber operator, and
not another person or the employee, shall be charged with this
violation.
In determining the penalty for any timber operator found guilty of
violating a validly issued stop order, the court shall take into
consideration all relevant circumstances, including, but not limited
to, the following:
(1) The extent of harm to soil, water, or timber resources or to
fish and wildlife habitat.
(2) Corrective action, if any, taken by the defendant.
Each day or portion thereof that the violation continues shall
constitute a new and separate offense.
(h) Nothing in this section shall prevent a timber operator from
seeking an alternative writ as prescribed in Chapter 2 (commencing
with Section 1084) of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Code of Civil
Procedure, or as provided by any other provision of law.

4602.6. (a) If a timber operator believes that a forest officer
lacked reasonable cause to issue or extend a stop order pursuant to
Section 4602.5, the timber operator may present a claim to the
California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board pursuant
to Part 3 (commencing with Section 900) of Division 3.6 of Title 1 of
the Government Code for compensation and damages resulting from the
stopping of timber operations.
(b) If the board finds that the forest officer lacked reasonable
cause to issue or extend the stop order, the board shall award a sum
of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one
thousand dollars ($1,000) per day for each day the order was in
effect.

4603. The Attorney General may, on his own motion or at the request
of the board, bring an action to enforce compliance with the rules
and regulations of the board and the provisions of this chapter.

4604. (a) The department shall provide an initial inspection of the
area in which timber operations are to be conducted within 10 days
from the date of filing of the timber harvesting plan or
nonindustrial timber management plan, or a longer period as may be
mutually agreed upon by the department and the person submitting the
plan, except that the inspection need not be made pursuant to the
filing of a timber harvesting plan if the department determines that
the inspection would not add substantive information that is
necessary to enforce this chapter. The department shall provide for
inspections, as needed, as follows:
(1) During the period of commencement of timber operations.
(2) When timber operations are well under way.
(3) Following completion of timber operations.
(4) At any other times as determined to be necessary to enforce
this chapter.
(b) (1) The Department of Fish and Game, the California regional
water quality control boards, or the State Water Resources Control
Board, if accompanied by Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
personnel and after 24-hour advance notification is given to the
landowner, may enter and inspect land during normal business hours at
any time after commencement of timber harvest plan activities on the
land and before the director issues a report of satisfactory
completion of stocking pursuant to Section 4588 or at any time before
the end of the first winter period following the filing of a work
completion report pursuant to Section 4585, whichever is later. Any
member of the inspection party may utilize whatever measurement and
evaluation devices, including, but not limited to, photographic
equipment and temperature measurement devices, that are determined to
be necessary, when participating in an inspection of an area
pursuant to subdivision (a) or after commencement of timber
harvesting plan activities pursuant to this subdivision.
(2) Photographs taken during inspections shall be clearly labeled
as to time, date, and location and shall be the property of the
department and part of the inspection record. The inspection record
shall be subject to all provisions of the California Public Records
Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of
Title 1 of the Government Code).
(3) This subdivision is not a limitation upon the authority of any
agency to inspect pursuant to any other provision of law.
(c) This section shall become operative on January 1, 1991, or on
the effective date of the rules and regulations adopted by the State
Board of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Senate Bill 1566,
whichever date occurs first.

4605. The department may bring an action to enjoin the violation,
or threatened violation, of any provision of this chapter or the
rules and regulations of the board. Any such proceedings shall be in
accordance with the provisions of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
525) of Title 7 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure. If in such
a proceeding it shall appear from facts shown by affidavit or
verified complaint that any such violation has occurred or is
threatened, the court may issue a temporary restraining order
restraining and ordering the immediate discontinuance of any timber
operation in which such violation has occurred or is threatened
pending a hearing on the matter.
The court may, upon a finding that immediate and irreparable harm
is threatened to soil resources or the water of the state by virtue
of erosion, pollution, or contamination, order the defendant to take
appropriate emergency corrective action, authorize the department to
order the defendant to take such action, or authorize the department
to take emergency action to correct a violation of this chapter. Any
expenses incurred by the department in taking action in conformity
with such order shall be a lien upon the property upon which such
action was taken when notice of the lien is recorded. Such lien shall
be subject to the provisons of Section 4608.

4606. If upon a hearing to show cause why a preliminary injunction
should not be issued, or upon a hearing of any motion for a
preliminary injunction, or if the court should find in any such
action that any such defendant is violating, threatens to violate, or
has violated, any provision of this chapter or rules and regulations
of the board, the court may not only order the discontinuance of any
timber operations in which the violation has occurred, is
threatening to occur, or is occurring, but may also enjoin any
further timber operations by the defendant in this state until the
violations complained of have been corrected or until satisfactory
provisions have been approved by the court for the violations to be
corrected at a specified date. Any defendant in such proceedings may
enter into a written agreement with the department assuring that such
defendant will resume operations in compliance with the provisions
of this chapter or the rules and regulations of the board and correct
the violations on such reasonable terms and conditions as the
department may require. Upon approval by the court, any temporary
restraining order, preliminary injunction, or permanent injunction
may include or be amended to include an order that any defendant
entering into such an agreement comply with the terms of the
agreement as a condition for engaging in any timber operations
enjoined by the temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction,
or permanent injunction. The court may require a bond payable to the
department in such amount as the court deems proper to insure
correction of any such violation in accordance with the agreement or
any other provisions required by the court. The court may make any
other orders reasonable and necessary to carry out the intent of this
article.

4607. The department may take such appropriate steps as are
necessary and incur expenses to correct any violation.

4608. Prior to taking any corrective action, other than under
Section 4605, the department shall serve a written notice upon the
person responsible for the violation. The notice shall include a
statement of the corrective action to be taken, a date not less than
30 days from the date of service of the notice by which such
corrective action is to be taken, and a statement that if such
corrective action is not taken on or before the date specified the
department may take corrective action and charge such person for the
costs thereof pursuant to Section 4610. The notice shall also include
a statement that if such person disagrees for any reason with the
proposed corrective action or with the charging of such person with
the costs thereof, he may, within 10 days from the service of the
notice, request of the board a public hearing before the board.
The department may record such notice in each county wherein the
land in violation is situated, together with a statement that any and
all expenses incurred by the department in taking corrective action
pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be a lien against
the land. Upon satisfactory proof that corrective action has been
completed, the department shall record a notice to that effect.
Any expenses incurred by the department in taking such corrective
action shall be a lien upon the real property upon which such action
was taken when notice of the lien is recorded. Notice of the lien,
particularly identifying the real property upon which such action was
taken and the amount of such lien and naming the owner of such
property, shall be recorded by the department, in the office of the
county recorder of each county in which such property is situated
within one year after the first item of expenditures by the
department or within 90 days after the completion of such action,
whichever first occurs. Upon such recordation, the lien shall have
the same force, effect, and priority as a judgment lien, except that
it shall attach only to the real property described in such notice
and shall continue for 10 years from the time of the recording of
such notice, unless sooner released or otherwise discharged. The lien
may, within 10 years of the time of such recording, or within 10
years from the date of the last extension of the lien in the manner
herein provided, be extended by recording a new notice in the office
of the county recorder where the original notice is recorded, and
from the time of such recordation the lien shall be extended as to
such real property for 10 years, unless sooner released or otherwise
discharged. The department may at any time release all or any portion
of the real property subject to such lien from the lien or
subordinate it to other liens and encumbrances, if it determines that
the amount owed is sufficiently secured by a lien on other property
or that the release or subordination of such lien will not jeopardize
the collection of such amount owed. A certificate by the department
to the effect that any real property has been released from such lien
or that such lien has been subordinated to other liens and
encumbrances shall be conclusive evidence that the real property has
been released or that the lien has been subordinated as provided in
such certificate.

4609. If the corrective action is not taken on or before the date
specified in the notice served pursuant to Section 4608, the
department may take, or contract for the taking of, such corrective
action and recover the expenses of the corrective action as provided
in Section 4610. Where the person responsible makes a request for
public hearing, the board, after at least 15 days written notice,
shall hold a public hearing to hear the objections to the proposed
action. The board may, but need not, conduct the hearing in
accordance with the applicable provisions of Chapter 5 (commencing
with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. At the conclusion of the hearing, the board may make
an order specifying the action to be taken by the person responsible
to correct the violation, setting the time limits for such action,
and authorizing the taking of such action by the department if the
person responsible does not do so within the specified time.

4610. The expenses incurred by the department in taking any
corrective action pursuant to this article shall be increased by two
hundred fifty dollars ($250) or 10 percent, whichever sum is higher,
as administrative costs and shall constitute a debt of the person
responsible, and, if not paid within 10 days after written demand
therefor, may be recovered by the department in a civil action.

4611. Neither the board, the department, nor any person authorized
by the board or the department to enter upon any lands for the
purpose of taking any corrective action pursuant to this article is
liable to civil action for trespass for any acts which are necessary
to carry out the provisions of this article.

4612. The director shall report to the board and the Legislature by
January 15 of each year on the enforcement of, and the amount of
penalties and fines imposed and collected pursuant to, this article,
including, but not limited to, those penalties and fines imposed and
collected pursuant to Sections 4601, 4601.1, and 4601.5. The report
shall specifically identify the location and ownership of all
properties where persons were cited for violations requiring
corrective action by the department pursuant to Section 4607, the
nature and cost of the corrective actions, and whether all related
expenses incurred by the state have been reimbursed by the
responsible party.