<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<section article="gen" article_name="Environment" number="4-313.1" title_number="4" title_name="Water Management" subtitle_number="3" subtitle_name="Watershed Sediment and Waste Control">
  <level label="a">
    <level label="1">
      <text>The Department shall impose an administrative civil penalty on a person who owns or operates a sewage treatment plant that is in violation of § 4-302.1(b)(1), (c), or (d) of this subtitle.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The person accused of the violation shall have the right to a hearing but may waive that right in writing.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>The penalty imposed under this subsection shall be:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>$5 for each pound of phosphorus discharged monthly in violation of § 4-302.1(b)(1) of this subtitle; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>$2 for each pound of nitrogen discharged monthly in violation of § 4-302.1(c) or (d) of this subtitle.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <level label="1">
      <text>Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a penalty imposed under this section may not be:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Waived;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Reduced; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Used to assist the penalized person in upgrading a sewage treatment plant.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>A penalty imposed under this section may be waived if the phosphorus or nitrogen discharged in violation of § 4-302.1 of this subtitle is due to an act of God or, if it could not reasonably have been anticipated by the owner or operator of the sewage treatment plant, a power outage or a massive leakage of any pollutant that contaminates the wastewater being treated.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>The Department shall deposit the penalties collected under this section in the Maryland Clean Water Fund created under § 9-320 of this article.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>The Department shall collect the penalties required to be imposed under subsection (a) of this section on a monthly basis beginning on:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>February 15, 1989 for violations of § 4-302.1(b)(1) of this subtitle; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>November 15, 1991 for violations of § 4-302.1(c) or (d) of this subtitle.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <text>The penalties required to be imposed under this section are in addition to any other penalties provided by law.</text>
  </level>
</section>
