GENERAL54539 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

l~ ~J (a) The petition shall include-- (1) A short and plain ,statement indicating the reasons why either the amount of the penalty or the fact of the violation is being contested; * * *. (43 CFR 4.1152) * * * * * * (a) The administrative law judge shall incor- porate in his decision concerning the civil penalty, findings of fact on each of the four criteria set forth in 30 CFR 723.12, and con- clusions of law. (b) If the administrative law judge finds that-- (1) A violation occurred or that the fact of violation is uncontested, he shall establish the amount of the penalty, (2) No violation occurred, he shall issue an order that the proposed assessment be returned to the petitioner. (43 CFR 4.1157) The above provisions are consistent with my construction of ~,' section 518(c) of the Act. They provide that only a" person ~~y„~' charged with a civil penalty" has standing to file a petition for review; that the purpose or scope of the pro- ceeding is limited to a review of a proposed assessment of a civil penalty; and that the sole determination to be made in the proceeding is the propriety of the civil penalty that was assessed either from the standpoint of the amount or the fact that no penalty is appropriate because there was no violation. Section 525 of the Act, 30 U.S.C. 5 1275, provides that: (a) (1) A permittee issued a notice [of viola- tion] * * * or any person having an interest which is or may be adversely affected by such notice * may apply to the Secretary for review of the notice * * * within thirty days of receipt thereof * * *. Upon receipt of such application, the Secretary shall cause such investigation to be made as he deems appropriate. Such investigation shall provide an opportunity for a public hearing, at the request of the applicant or the person having an interest which is or may be adversely affected, * * *. 5