AB 1842, as amended, Levine. Water: pollution: fines.
Existing law imposes a maximum civil penalty of $25,000 on a person who discharges various pollutants or other designated materials into the waters of the state.
This bill would impose an additional civil penalty of not more than $10 for each gallon or pound ofbegin delete pollutingend delete material discharged. The bill would require that the civil penalty be reduced for every gallon or pound of the illegally discharged material that is recovered and properly disposed of by the responsible party.
The Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act establishes various civil penalties for conduct in connection with the intentional or negligent discharging of oil into waters of the state. Existing law requires civil and
criminal penalties provided in the act to bebegin delete separateend deletebegin insert separate from,end insert and in addition to, and to not supersede or limit, any and all other remedies, civil or criminal.
This bill would prohibit a person from being subject to both a civil penalty described above and a civil penalty imposed pursuant to the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act for the same act or failure to act.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 5650.1 of the Fish and Game Code is
2amended to read:
(a) A person who violates Section 5650 is subject to
4a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars
5($25,000) for each violation.
6(b) The civil penalty imposed for each separate violation
7pursuant to this section is separate, and in addition to, any other
8civil penalty imposed for a separate violation pursuant to this
9section or any other provision of law, except as provided in
10subdivision (j).
11(c) In determining the amount of a civil penalty imposed
12pursuant to this section, the court shall take into consideration all
13relevant circumstances, including, but not limited to, the
nature,
14circumstance, extent, and gravity of the violation. In making this
15determination, the court shall consider the degree of toxicity and
16volume of the discharge, the extent of harm caused by the violation,
17whether the effects of the violation may be reversed or mitigated,
18and with respect to the defendant, the ability to pay, the effect of
19any civil penalty on the ability to continue in business, any
20voluntary cleanup efforts undertaken, any prior history of
21violations, the gravity of the behavior, the economic benefit, if
22any, resulting from the violation, and any other matters the court
23determines justice may require.
24(d) Every civil action brought under this section shall be brought
25by the Attorney General upon complaint by the department, or by
26
the district attorney or city attorney in the name of the people of
27the State of California, and any actions relating to the same
28violation may be joined or consolidated.
29(e) In a civil action brought pursuant to this chapter in which a
30temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, or permanent
31injunction is sought, it is not necessary to allege or prove at any
32stage of the proceeding that irreparable damage will occur if the
P3 1temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, or permanent
2injunction is not issued, or that the remedy at law is inadequate.
3(f) After the party seeking the injunction has met its burden of
4proof, the court shall determine whether to issue a temporary
5restraining order, preliminary injunction, or permanent injunction
6without
requiring the defendant to prove that it will suffer grave
7or irreparable harm. The court shall make the determination
8whether to issue a temporary restraining order, preliminary
9injunction, or permanent injunction by taking into consideration,
10among other things, the nature, circumstance, extent, and gravity
11of the violation, the quantity and characteristics of the substance
12or material involved, the extent of environmental harm caused by
13the violation, measures taken by the defendant to remedy the
14violation, the relative likelihood that the material or substance
15involved may pass into waters of the state, and the harm likely to
16be caused to the defendant.
17(g) The court, to the maximum extent possible, shall tailor a
18temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, or permanent
19injunction narrowly to address the violation in a manner that
will
20otherwise allow the defendant to continue business operations in
21a lawful manner.
22(h) All civil penalties collected pursuant to this section shall not
23be considered fines or forfeitures as defined in Section 13003 and
24shall be apportioned in the following manner:
25(1) Fifty percent shall be distributed to the county treasurer of
26the county in which the action is prosecuted. Amounts paid to the
27county treasurer shall be deposited in the county fish and wildlife
28propagation fund established pursuant to Section 13100.
29(2) Fifty percent shall be distributed to the department for
30deposit in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. These funds may
31be expended to cover the costs of legal actions or for any other
32law
enforcement purpose consistent with Section 9 of Article XVI
33of the California Constitution.
34(i) Except as provided in subdivision (j), in addition to any other
35penalty provided by law, a person who violates Section 5650 is
36subject to a civil penalty of not more than ten dollars ($10) for
37each gallon or pound ofbegin delete pollutingend delete material discharged. The total
38amount of the civil penalty shall be reduced for every gallon or
39pound of the illegally discharged material that is recovered and
40properly disposed of by the responsible party.
P4 1(j) A person shall not be subject to a civil penalty imposed under
2this section and to a civil penalty imposed pursuant to Article 9
3(commencing with Section 8670.57) of Chapter 7.4
of Division 1
4of Title 2 of the Government Code for the same act or failure to
5act.
Section 8670.61 of the Government Code is amended
7to read:
The civil and criminal penalties provided in this
9chapter and Division 7.8 (commencing with Section 8750) of the
10Public Resources Code shall bebegin delete separateend deletebegin insert separate from,end insert and in
11addition to, and do not supersede or limit, any and all other
12remedies, civil or criminal, except as provided in subdivision (j)
13of Section 5650.1 of the Fish and Game Code.
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