(1) The State Board of Forestry shall by rule establish the amount of civil penalty that may be imposed for a particular violation. Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, no civil penalty shall exceed $5,000 per violation.
(2) In imposing a penalty authorized by this section, the State Forester may consider the following factors:
(a) The past history of the person incurring a penalty in taking all feasible steps or procedures necessary or appropriate to correct any violation.
(b) Any prior violations of statutes, rules, orders and permits pertaining to the Oregon Forest Practices Act.
(c) The gravity and magnitude of the violation.
(d) Whether the violation was repeated or continuous.
(e) Whether the cause of the violation was an unavoidable accident, negligence or an intentional act.
(f) The size and type of ownership of the operation.
(g) Any relevant rule of the board.
(h) The violator’s cooperativeness and efforts to correct the violation.
(3) The penalty imposed under this section may be remitted or mitigated upon such terms and conditions as the board determines to be proper and consistent with the public benefit. Upon the request of the person incurring the penalty, the board shall consider evidence of the economic and financial condition of the person in determining whether a penalty shall be remitted or mitigated.
(4) The board, by rule, may delegate to the State Forester upon such conditions as deemed necessary, all or part of the authority of the board provided in subsection (3) of this section to assess, remit or mitigate civil penalties.
(5) For a violation of ORS 527.745, or rules for reforestation adopted pursuant to ORS 527.745, the State Forester may impose a civil penalty in an amount equal to the estimated cost of reforesting lands pursuant to ORS 527.690. [1987 c.919 §26; 2007 c.214 §1]
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Last modified: August 7, 2008