(a) The Office may assess separately a civil penalty for each day from the date of issuance of the notice of violation or cessation order to the date set for abatement of the violation. In determining whether to make such an assessment, the Office shall consider the factors listed in 30 CFR 845.13 and may consider the extent to which the person to whom the notice or order was issued gained any economic benefit as a result of a failure to comply. For any violation which continues for two or more days and which is assigned more than 70 points under §845.13(b), the Office shall assess a penalty for a minimum of two separate days.

(b) In addition to the civil penalty provided for in paragraph (a) of this section, whenever a violation contained in a notice of violation or cessation order has not been abated within the abatement period set in the notice or order or as subsequently extended pursuant to section 521(a) of the Act, 30 U.S.C. 1271(a), a civil penalty of not less than $2,566 will be assessed for each day during which such failure to abate continues, except that:

(1)

(i) If suspension of the abatement requirements of the notice or order is ordered in a temporary relief proceeding under section 525(c) of the Act, after a determination that the person to whom the notice or order was issued will suffer irreparable loss or damage from the application of the requirements, the period permitted for abatement shall not end until the date on which the Office of Hearings and Appeals issues a final order with respect to the violation in question; and

(ii) If the person to whom the notice or order was issued initiates review proceedings under section 526 of the Act with respect to the violation, in which the obligations to abate are suspended by the court pursuant to section 526(c) of the Act, the daily assessment of a penalty shall not be made for any period before entry of a final order by the court;

(2) Such penalty for the failure to abate the violation shall not be assessed for more than 30 days for each such violation. If the permittee has not abated the violation within the 30-day period, the Office shall take appropriate action pursuant to section 518(e), 518(f), 521(a)(4), or 521(c) of the Act within 30 days to ensure that abatement occurs or to ensure that there will not be a reoccurrence of the failure to abate.

[47 FR 35640, Aug. 16, 1982, as amended at 62 FR 63277, Nov. 28, 1997; 66 FR 58647, Nov. 21, 2001; 70 FR 70701, Nov. 22, 2005; 81 FR 44541, July 8, 2016; 82 FR 9354, Feb. 6, 2017; 83 FR 10616, Mar. 12, 2018; 84 FR 10676, Mar. 22, 2019; 85 FR 20836, Apr. 15, 2020]