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House Journal: Page 446: Tuesday, March 3, 1998

22   who caused the environmental audit to be undertaken.
23     5.  "Penalty mitigation" means the elimination or
24   mitigation of penalties imposed by the department for
25   violations of environmental laws, rules, or permit
26   conditions.
27     Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  455J.2  VIOLATIONS.
28     In order for an owner or operator to be eligible
29   for penalty mitigation under section 455J.3,
30   violations of environmental laws, rules, or permit
31   conditions must be discovered through an environmental
32   audit and not through a legally mandated monitoring or
33   sampling requirement prescribed by statute,
34   regulation, permit, judicial order, or consent
35   agreement.  An owner or operator shall report all
36   violations discovered during an environmental audit to
37   the department within thirty days from the time the
38   discovery is made.
39     Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  455J.3  PENALTY
40   MITIGATION.
41     1.  The department shall eliminate a penalty
42   imposed on an owner or operator for a violation
43   reported pursuant to section 455J.2 if the department
44   determines that the owner or operator satisfies all of
45   the following criteria:
46     a.  The owner or operator has made a good faith
47   effort to comply with applicable environmental
48   requirements.
49     b.  The owner or operator has not previously been
50   found to violate the same environmental law, rule, or

Page 2  

 1   permit condition.
 2     c.  The owner or operator remedies the violation
 3   within one hundred eighty days of the violation.  The
 4   department may grant one extension of one hundred
 5   eighty days if the remedy requires implementing a
 6   pollution prevention measure.
 7     d.  The owner or operator demonstrates all of the
 8   following:
 9     (1)  The violation has not caused actual serious
10   harm to public health, safety, or the environment.
11     (2)  The violation is not one that may present an
12   imminent and substantial endangerment to public health
13   or the environment.
14     (3)  The violation does not present a significant
15   health, safety, or environmental threat.
16     (4)  The violation does not involve criminal
17   conduct.
18     2.  The department may mitigate a penalty imposed
19   on an owner or operator for a violation reported
20   pursuant to section 455J.2 if the department
21   determines that the owner or operator satisfies all of

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URL: /DOCS/GA/77GA/Session.2/HJournal/00400/00446.html
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