NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1979 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 252

SENATE BILL 135

 

 

AN ACT TO AMEND THE MINING ACT OF 1971 TO PROVIDE FOR CHANGING THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF MINING PERMIT SUSPENSION AND REVOCATIONS AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF CIVIL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE MINING ACT.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  G.S. 74-58, as the same appears in 1975 Replacement Volume 2C of the General Statutes is hereby amended by deleting from line 16 the number "60" and inserting instead the number "30".

Sec. 2.  G.S. 74-64, as the same appears in 1975 Replacement Volume 2C of the General Statutes is hereby rewritten to read as follows:

"§ 74-64.  Penalties for violations. — (a) Civil penalties.

(1)        A civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) may be assessed by the Department against any person who fails to secure a valid operating permit prior to engaging in mining, as required by G.S. 74-50. No civil penalty shall be assessed until the operator has been given notice of the violation pursuant to G.S. 74-60. Each day of a continuing violation shall constitute a separate violation and a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) per day may be assessed for each day the violation continues.

(2)        The department shall determine the amount of the civil penalty to be assessed pursuant to G.S. 74-64(a)(1) and shall give notice to the operator of the assessment of the civil penalty pursuant to G.S. 74-60. Said notice shall set forth in detail the violation or violations for which the civil penalty has been assessed. The operator may appeal the assessment of any civil penalty assessed pursuant to this section in accordance with the procedures set forth in G.S. 74-61.

(3)        If payment of any civil penalty assessed pursuant to this section is not received by the department within 30 days following notice to the operator of the assessment of the civil penalty, or within 30 days following the denial of any appeal by the operator pursuant to G.S. 74-61 and 62, the department shall refer the matter to the Attorney General for the institution of a civil action in the name of the State in the superior court of the county in which the violation is alleged to have occurred to recover the amount of the penalty.

(4)        All funds collected pursuant to this section shall be placed in the special fund created pursuant to G.S. 74-59 and shall be used to carry out the purposes of this Article.

(5)        In addition to other remedies, the department may request the Attorney General to institute any appropriate action or proceedings to prevent, restrain, correct or abate any violation of this Article or any rules and regulations promulgated hereunder.

(b)        Criminal penalties. In addition to other penalties provided by this Article, any operator who engages in mining in willful violation of the provisions of this Article or of any rules and regulations promulgated hereunder or who willfully misrepresents any fact in any action taken pursuant to this Article or willfully gives false information in any application or report required by this Article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each offense. Each day of continued violation after written notification shall be considered a separate offense."

Sec. 3.  G.S. 74-61, as the same appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to Volume 2C of the General Statutes is amended by deleting the period following the word "plan" on line 4 of the presently existing section and adding the following: "or assessing a civil penalty pursuant to G.S. 74-64."

Sec. 4.  This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 2nd day of April, 1979.