2003 Senate Bill 46 ↩

Senate Roll Call 448: Passed

To raise the minimum civil and criminal fines for certain water pollution violations from $2,500 to $2,750 per day, and the maximum per-day fine from $25,000 to $27,500. For a catastrophic discharge, a court would have to impose a civil fine of at least $50,000 for each day the violation occurred or continued. The bill would add failure to report a discharge in a timely manner to the list of violations, and would lower the threshold of culpability that can make a person liable for civil prosecution. It would also authorize payment of up to $10,000 from the civil fines to someone who provides information that contributes to the civil prosecution or criminal conviction. Note: Civil fines require a lower burden of proof by the state, and defendants are not granted the same procedural safeguards afforded to criminal defendants.