Use of any remedy available pursuant to this subsection shall not preclude the use of any other remedy available thereunder, except that not more than one monetary penalty may be assessed for any single violation. Any penalties or costs collected in an action brought by a political subdivision pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be payable to that political subdivision.
Acceptance by any person, partnership, or corporation of any money or other consideration of value for the construction of any well or installation or repair of a pump by anyone other than a licensed well driller of the proper class or licensed pump installer, shall be deemed prima facie evidence of the violation of this act.
Compensatory damages collected pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection shall be paid to the General Fund, except that compensatory damages shall be paid by specific order of the court to any persons who have been aggrieved by the violation. Recovery of assessments pursuant to paragraph (4) of this subsection shall be paid into the "well sealing fund" established pursuant to section 5 of P.L. 1995, c.312 (C.58:4A-4.2b).
Any amount assessed under this subsection shall fall within a range established by regulation by the department for violations of a similar type, seriousness, and duration.
In adopting rules for a uniform civil administrative penalty policy for determining the amount of a civil administrative penalty to be assessed, the department shall take into account the type, seriousness, extent and frequency of a violation, the harm to the public health or the environment resulting from the violation, the economic benefits from the violation gained by the violator, the degree of cooperation or recalcitrance of the violator in remedying the violation, any measures taken by the violator to avoid a repetition of the violation, and any other pertinent factors that the department determines measure the seriousness or frequency of the violation, or conduct of the violator.
No civil administrative penalty shall be levied pursuant to this subsection until after the violator has been notified by certified mail or personal service. The notice shall include a reference to the section of the statute, rule, regulation, or order or directive violated; a concise statement of the facts alleged to constitute a violation; a statement of the amount of the civil administrative penalties to be imposed; and a statement of the party's right to a hearing. The party shall have twenty days from the receipt of the notice within which to deliver to the commissioner a written request for a hearing. After the hearing and upon finding that a violation has occurred, the department may issue a final order assessing a penalty up to the amount of the penalty specified in the order. If no hearing is requested, the notice shall become a final order on the twenty-first day after receipt of the notice. Payment of the assessment is due when a final order is issued, or the notice becomes a final order.
Any civil action to impose a penalty pursuant to this subsection may be commenced in the Superior Court or in the municipal court and that penalty may be enforced and collected with costs in a summary proceeding pursuant to "the penalty enforcement law,"N.J.S. 2A:58-1 et seq.
N.J.S. § 58:4A-24