45.1-361.8 - Violations; penalties. - Virginia Statutes

§ 45.1-361.8. Violations; penalties.

A. Any person who violates or refuses, fails or neglects to comply with anyregulation or order of the Board, Director, or Inspector, any condition of apermit or any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a Class 1misdemeanor.

B. In addition, any person who violates any provision of this chapter, anycondition of a permit, or any regulation or order of the Board, Director, orInspector shall, upon such finding by an appropriate circuit court, beassessed a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each day of suchviolation. All civil penalties under this section shall be recovered in acivil action brought by the Attorney General in the name of the Commonwealth.The court shall direct that all civil penalties assessed under this sectionbe paid into the treasury of the county or city wherein lies the gas, oil, orgeophysical operation determined by the court to be in violation.

C. The Board, with the consent of the gas, oil, or geophysical operator, mayprovide, in an order issued by the Board against such operator, for thepayment of civil charges for past violations in specific sums not to exceedthe limit specified in subsection B of this section. Such civil chargesshall be instead of any appropriate civil penalty which could be imposedunder this section and shall not be subject to the provision of § 2.2-514.Civil charges collected under this section shall be paid into the treasury ofthe county or city wherein lies the gas, oil, or geophysical operationsubject to the order issued by the Board.

(1982, c. 347, §§ 45.1-358, 45.1-360; 1984, c. 590; 1990, c. 92.)