Or. Admin. R. 629-670-0214 - Civil Penalty Administrator Discretion
(1) The civil
penalty administrator shall have the discretion to combine violations for the
sake of assessing reasonable penalties, under the following circumstances:
(a) Multiple citations have been issued for
violations resulting from the same practice;
(b) Multiple citations have been issued for
violations resulting in the same damage; or
(c) Upon a finding of the State Forester that
a combination of violations is in the public interest and consistent with the
policy of the Oregon Forest Practices Act, ORS
527.630.
(2) The civil penalty administrator shall
have the discretion to find a penalty is not warranted for reforestation
violation cases, when:
(a) The party cited for
the violation was not the landowner at the time the harvesting operation
reduced stocking below the minimum standards; and
(b) Planting is completed as directed in the
repair order.
(3) The
civil penalty administrator shall have the discretion to find a penalty is not
warranted for cases where all of the following conditions exist:
(a) The violation arose
inadvertently;
(b) There was little
or no potential for damage;
(c) No
damage resulted; and
(d) The
cooperation of the operator shows there is little or no chance that the
violation will be repeated.
(4) Penalties totaling less than $100 shall
be suspended, pending no further violations within one year of issuance of the
citation.
(5) The civil penalty
administrator shall have the discretion to reduce the amount of the civil
penalty when the party assessed:
(a) Agrees
to the facts of the case;
(b)
Accepts responsibility for the violation; and
(c) Agrees to perform mitigation on the
operation unit, or within the watershed, that is equal or greater in value than
the amount by which the penalty will be reduced. Examples may include, but are
not limited to, any of the following restoration and enhancement activities:
(A) Reconstructing, relocating, or vacating
roads that, because of their location, present a higher risk to water quality
than if they had been located and designed to current forest practice rule
standards;
(B) Restoring or
enhancing upstream and downstream fish passage, including replacing crossing
structures not designed to current forest practice rule standards;
(C) Restoring or enhancing fish habitat by
placing large woody debris or other structures in or adjacent to stream
channels;
(D) Retaining conifers
adjacent to streams, to supplement current forest practice rule requirements,
consistent with forest health considerations;
(E) Restoring or enhancing habitat for
threatened and endangered species or other wildlife habitat;
(F) Restoring or enhancing the protection of
salmonid production areas. Salmonid production areas include habitat identified
through stream or other inventories as being important for spawning, rearing,
or over-wintering;
(G)
Participating in a research or monitoring program sponsored or endorsed by the
Department of Forestry or the Department of Fish and Wildlife;
(H) Participating with Watershed Councils to
conduct watershed assessments, develop action plans or implement restoration
projects;
(I) Controlling noxious
weeds or exotic species; or
(J)
Implementing strategies to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire or insect or
disease damage.
Notes
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 527.710 & 526.016
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 527.685
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