Encl. (1) to COMDTINST 16200.3A
7.
e.
(cont'd) must be examined when it applies, but
generally the factors include: nature, circumstances,
gravity, culpability, history of prior offenses,
demonstrated good faith, and economic impact of the
penalty on the violator. Also, some statutes require
minimum civil penalties for violations, and those are
indicated in the table.
f.
Special Statutory Considerations for FWPCA Violations.
The FWPCA has special considerations for penalty
assessment which apply to pollution prevention and
contingency preparedness violations, as well as
discharge violations. These considerations are detailed
in paragraph 8.c below, and should be addressed for all
FWPCA violations.
8.
Table of Recommended Penalties for Discharges Under the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA).
a.
Discharge Categories. Table 1-C is the table of
recommended penalties for oil and hazardous material
discharges under the FWPCA. It contains four penalty
categories for use in deciding appropriate
recommendations for discharge violations. The criteria
presented are not intended to be complete or binding.
It is not necessary or expected to use every item
listed; several of the considerations shown may not be
in evidence. The district (m) officer is encouraged to
briefly explain why a case falls within the category
chosen when it is not obvious from the file,
particularly for category "D."
b.
Deterrence. Deterring discharge violations is one of
the primary enforcement goals of the Marine
Environmental Protection program. To that end,
subsequent discharge violations of the same category by
the same party in any 12 month period should be
considered for maximum penalties as indicated in Table
1-C, with due regard for statutory considerations for
assessments. See Table 1-C for category descriptions.
c.
Statutory Considerations. Section 311(b)(8) of the
FWPCA includes several criteria that must be considered
when a penalty is assessed. They include: seriousness
of the violation(s), economic benefit to the violator,
if any, resulting from the violation, degree of
culpability, any other penalty for the same incident,
any history of prior violations, the nature, extent, and
success of violators' efforts to minimize or mitigate
the discharge, economic impact of the penalty on the
violator, and any other pertinent matters. Section 5. B
of reference (a) provides guidance on some of these
criteria.
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