WAC 332-18-05004   Fines, base penalties schedule.  In setting the amount of a civil penalty imposed under RCW 78.44.087, the department shall consider the following base penalty schedule:

     (1) Category I. Fines of two hundred fifty dollars may be levied for each violation of the following:

     (a) Failure to post the reclamation plan at the mine site if directed to do so by the department;

     (b) Failure to install or maintain monuments;

     (c) Failure to provide a new reclamation plan upon request;

     (d) Failure to provide requisite solid waste permits to the department;

     (e) Failure to route or provide drainage so that reclaimed surfaces are protected from erosion or mass wasting; and/or

     (f) Excavation within the reclamation setbacks.

     (2) Category II. Fines of five hundred dollars may be levied for each violation of the following:

     (a) Failure to pay annual fees;

     (b) Unauthorized sale of, or backfilling with, topsoil needed for reclamation;

     (c) Failure to revegetate a segment within the first appropriate growing season;

     (d) Surface mining outside the reclamation permit area;

     (e) Failure to protect adjacent properties from erosion or slope failure;

     (f) Failure to compact fill used for reclamation if such failure results in slope failure; and/or

     (g) Any violation of an order of the department.

     (3) Category III. Fines of one thousand dollars per day to a maximum of ten thousand dollars per day may be levied seven days per week for each violation of the following:

     (a) Surface mining without a reclamation permit;

     (b) Failure to provide performance security upon request;

     (c) Failure to remove noxious, combustible, or compactible materials from the mine site;

     (d) Failure to complete reclamation of a segment within two years after cessation of operations;

     (e) Failure to comply with an emergency order of the department; and/or

     (f) Failure to comply when more than one order of the department has been issued for the same violation.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 78.44.040, 34.05.220, 43.21C.135 and 78.44.250. 94-14-051, § 332-18-05004, filed 6/30/94, effective 8/2/94.]