COMDTINST 16200.3A
16 OCT 1992
8.
CIVIL PENALTY POLICY.
a.
General. Civil penalty action is one tool to achieve
compliance with laws and regulations the Coast Guard is
empowered to enforce. In some instances, both immediate
corrective actions of responsible parties followed by the
initiation of civil penalty cases should be sought. The
monetary penalty assessed by the hearing officer should
be meaningful, timely, consistent with the facts of the
case and governing statute, and supportive of field
enforcement efforts. Penalties for a given violation, in
similar circumstances, should be consistent nationwide.
b.
Multiple Potential Parties. All incidents must be
examined carefully for circumstances where separate civil
penalty cases can and should be brought at the same time
against liable parties. Select the party who can most
effectively bring about compliance or a remedy. If this
can be achieved with equal effectiveness by two or more
parties, select those parties whose failure to comply
requires the greatest degree of correction.
c.
Recommended Penalties. For each civil penalty case,
appropriate program managers should recommend to the
hearing officer a definite penalty amount, not exceeding
the statutory maximum, based upon the available
information and applicable factors specified by law or
regulation. Hearing officers are to make decisions,
where appropriate finding the existence of a violation
and, if so, assessing a penalty based on the penalty case
record and in accordance with the applicable statutory
standards.
(1)
The tables in the enclosures to this instruction,
while not all inclusive, provide program specific
guidance concerning penalty amounts for district
program managers to use in making recommendations to
the hearing officer. In cases involving major
violations as defined by section D.3 of reference
(a) and in situations involving recurring minor
violations by the same party, significant penalty
sanctions should be sought (tending toward the
statutory maximum) to discourage future
noncompliance.
(2)
If the statute does not specify factors to be
considered when recommending penalty amounts,
the program manager will make a recommendation based
upon factors such as circumstances, gravity,
culpability, history of similar violations, and
demonstrated good faith. It is expected, and
normal, that some cases will have very strong
aggravating or mitigating circumstances,
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