Any person convicted of violating any provision of this act or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder shall be subject to a penalty of not less than $100.00 nor more than $500.00 to be enforced by summary proceedings under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L. 1999, c. 274(C.2A:58-10 et seq.). Upon receiving any information of a violation of any part of this act other than a violation involving a weighed or measured deficiency or the rules and regulations issued thereunder, the secretary, or any assistant designated by him for such purpose, is empowered to hold hearings, formal or informal, upon said violation and upon finding the violation to have been committed, to assess a penalty against the person alleged to have committed such violation, in an amount not to exceed the maximum limit set forth in this section as the secretary deems proper under the circumstances. In the event the violator makes satisfactory settlement, no further prosecution shall be had upon that violation. Payment of a penalty, in the form of a settlement, shall be deemed equivalent to a conviction for a violation of this act. Violations not settled in this manner may be referred to the court of competent jurisdiction. Nothing in this act shall be construed as requiring the State board or its authorized agent to report for prosecution or for the institution of seizure proceedings as a result of minor violations of "The New Jersey Agricultural Liming Materials Act," P.L. 1968, c.392 (C.4:9-21.1 et seq.) when it believes that the public interest will best be served by a suitable written warning.
N.J.S. § 4:9-21.10