N.J. Admin. Code § 7:30-11.7

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 7:30-11.7 - Civil administrative penalty amount: matrix

(a) The Department shall assess penalties under this section, and not under N.J.A.C. 7:30-11.6, when:

1. Because of the specific circumstances of the violation, the Department determines that the penalty amount under N.J.A.C. 7:30-11.6would be too low to provide a sufficient deterrent effect as required by the Act;

2. The table in N.J.A.C. 7:30-11.6refers to the matrix in this section; or

3. The violation is not listed under N.J.A.C. 7:30-11.6.

(b) The Department shall assess a civil administrative penalty for violations described in this section on the basis of the seriousness of the violation and the conduct of the violator as set forth below, unless the violation is eligible for a minor designation and a grace period under N.J.A.C. 7:30-11.5. The Department's assessment shall begin at the midpoint of range and be adjusted in accordance with the factors in (e) below:

SERIOUSNESS OF VIOLATION

MAJOR	MODERATE	MINOR
T MAJOR C	$15,000 -$25,000	$5,000 - $15,000	$2,500 - $7,500
U DMODERATE N	$5,000 -$15,000	$2,500 - $5,000	$1,000 - $2,500
O MINOR C	$2,500 -$7,500	$1,000 - $2,500	$0 - $1,000, or as set forth in N.J.A.C. 7:30-11.6

(c) The "seriousness" of the violation shall be classified as major, moderate, or minor as follows:

1. "Major" seriousness shall include any violation that has caused, or has the potential to cause, substantial harm to human health, safety, or the environment, or seriously deviates from the applicable law. Serious deviations include, but are not limited to, those violations that are in complete contravention of the law, requirement, and/or severely impair or undermine the protection, operation, or intent of the law, requirement, or condition. Violations of "major" seriousness include, but are not limited to, direct application to, or pesticide drift onto persons or domestic animals, or damage to property; pesticide spills or runoff causing harm to fish or other aquatic life; and failure to ensure use of proper safety equipment resulting in pesticide exposure.

2. "Moderate" seriousness shall include any violation that has caused or has the potential to cause some degree of harm to human health, safety, the Act regulatory program, or the environment, or substantially deviates from the applicable law. Substantial deviation shall include, but not be limited to, violations that are in substantial contravention of the law and/or impair or undermine the protection, operation, or intent of the law. Violations of "moderate" seriousness also include, but are not limited to, pesticide drift onto non-target property; failure to notify the Department of a pesticide spill requiring Department notice; and failure to notify a person that requests pesticide application notice.

3. "Minor" seriousness shall include any violation not included in (c)1 or 2 above.

(d) The "conduct" of the violator shall be classified as major, moderate, or minor as follows:

1. "Major" conduct shall include any intentional, deliberate, purposeful, knowing, or willful act or omission by the violator;

2. "Moderate" conduct shall include any unintentional, but foreseeable act or omission by the violator; and

3. "Minor" conduct shall include any other conduct not included in (d)1 or 2 above.

(e) The Department may adjust the amount determined pursuant to (b), (c), and (d) above to assess a civil administrative penalty in an amount no greater than the maximum amount nor less than the minimum amount in the range described in (b) above, on the basis of the following factors:

1. The compliance history of the violator;

2. The nature, timing, and effectiveness of any measures taken by the violator to mitigate the effects of the violation for which the penalty is being assessed;

3. The nature, timing, and effectiveness of any measures taken by the violator to prevent future similar violations;

4. Any unusual or extraordinary costs or impacts directly or indirectly imposed on the public or the environment as a result of the violation;

5. The deterrence value of a penalty within the prescribed range; and/or

6. Other circumstances specific to the violator or the violation.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:30-11.7

Adopted by 52 N.J.R. 756(a), effective 4/6/2020