§ 38 §349 — Penalties

Maine § 38 §349

• Jurisdiction: Maine
• Title 38: WATERS AND NAVIGATION
• Ch. 2: DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Text

1.
Criminal penalties.
Except as otherwise specifically provided, a person who intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or with criminal negligence violates a law administered by the department, including, without limitation, a violation of the terms or conditions of an order, rule, license, permit, approval or decision of the board or commissioner, or who disposes of more than 500 pounds or more than 100 cubic feet of litter for a commercial purpose, in violation of Title 17, section 2264‑A, commits a Class E crime. Notwithstanding Title 17‑A, section 1704, subsection 5 and section 1705, subsection 5, the fine for a violation of this subsection may not be less than $2,500 and not more than $25,000 for each day of the violation, except that the minimum amount for knowing violations is $5,000 for each day of violation.
2.
Civil penalties.
Except as otherwise specifically provided, a person who violates a law administered by the department, including, without limitation, a violation of the terms or conditions of an order, rule, license, permit, approval or decision of the board or commissioner, or who disposes of more than 500 pounds or more than 100 cubic feet of litter for a commercial purpose, in violation of Title 17, section 2264‑A, is subject to a civil penalty, payable to the State, of not less than $100 and not more than $10,000 for each day of that violation or, if the violation relates to hazardous waste, of not more than $25,000 for each day of the violation. This penalty is recoverable in a civil action.
2-A.
Supplemental environmental projects.
In settling a civil enforcement action for any violation of any of the provisions of the laws administered by the department, including, without limitation, a violation of the terms or conditions of any order, rule, license, permit, approval or decision of the board or commissioner, the parties may agree to a supplemental environmental project that mitigates up to 100% of the assessed penalty. "Supplemental environmental project" means an environmentally beneficial project primarily benefiting public health or the environment that a violator is not otherwise required or likely to perform.
3.
Falsification and tampering.
A person may not knowingly:
4.
Violations.
5.
Considerations.
In setting a penalty, the court shall consider, but shall not be limited to, the following:
6.
Maximum penalties.
The maximum civil penalty may exceed $10,000 for each day of that violation, but may not exceed $25,000 for each day of the violation, when it can be shown that there has been a previous violation of the same law by the same party within the 5 preceding years, and the maximum criminal penalty may exceed $25,000 for each day of violation, but may not exceed twice the amounts in subsection 1, when it can be shown that there has been a previous violation of the same law by the same party.
7.
Notification.
The commissioner shall notify all newspapers of general circulation in the State of all administrative consent agreements, court-ordered consent decrees and adjudicated violations involving laws administered by the department.
8.
Economic benefit.
If the economic benefit resulting from the violation exceeds the applicable penalties under subsection 2, the maximum civil penalties may be increased for each day of the violation. The maximum civil penalty may not exceed an amount equal to twice the economic benefit resulting from the violation. The court shall consider as economic benefit, without limitation, the costs avoided or enhanced value accrued at the time of the violation by the violator not complying with the applicable legal requirements.
9.
Unavoidable malfunctions.
The following considerations apply to violations resulting from unavoidable malfunctions.

Legislative History

PL 1977, c. 300, §9 (NEW). PL 1977, c. 510, §§89-91 (AMD). PL 1979, c. 127, §207 (AMD). PL 1979, c. 663, §226 (AMD). PL 1979, c. 699, §§1,2 (AMD). PL 1981, c. 470, §A162 (AMD). PL 1983, c. 566, §9 (AMD). PL 1983, c. 785, §8 (AMD). PL 1983, c. 796, §§18,19 (AMD). PL 1985, c. 162, §§2,3 (AMD). PL 1985, c. 485, §§1,2 (AMD). PL 1985, c. 746, §12 (AMD). PL 1987, c. 402, §A195 (AMD). PL 1987, c. 491, §3 (AMD). PL 1987, c. 517, §3 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 110 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 282, §§2-5 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 820, §§9,10 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 890, §§A40,B7-9 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 483, §1 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 232, §1 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 349, §71 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 235, §1 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 570, §1 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 794, §§A7-9 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 245, §6 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 452, §§W2-4 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 452, §X2 (AFF). RR 2009, c. 2, §116 (COR). PL 2017, c. 376, §1 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 113, Pt. C, §§115, 116 (AMD).