A. Any person who violates or refuses, fails or neglects to comply with any regulation or order of the Board, Director, or Inspector, any condition of a permit or any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

B. In addition, any person who violates any provision of this chapter, any condition of a permit, or any regulation or order of the Board, Director, or Inspector shall, upon such finding by an appropriate circuit court, be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $ 10,000 for each day of such violation. All civil penalties under this section shall be recovered in a civil action brought by the Attorney General in the name of the Commonwealth. The court shall direct that all civil penalties assessed under this section be paid into the treasury of the county or city wherein lies the gas, oil, or geophysical operation determined by the court to be in violation.

C. The Board, with the consent of the gas, oil, or geophysical operator, may provide, in an order issued by the Board against such operator, for the payment of civil charges for past violations in specific sums not to exceed the limit specified in subsection B of this section. Such civil charges shall be instead of any appropriate civil penalty which could be imposed under this section and shall not be subject to the provision of § 2.2-514. Civil charges collected under this section shall be paid into the treasury of the county or city wherein lies the gas, oil, or geophysical operation subject to the order issued by the Board.

History

1982, c. 347, §§ 45.1-358, 45.1-360; 1984, c. 590; 1990, c. 92.