48:9-33 Penalties for violation of natural gas pipelines safety.

1. a. Any person who is determined by the Board of Public Utilities, after notice and opportunity to be heard, to have violated the provisions of any law, rule, regulation, or order relating to natural gas pipeline safety shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $200,000 for each violation for each day that the violation persists, except that the maximum civil penalty shall not exceed $2,000,000 for any related series of violations.

b. Any civil penalty imposed pursuant to subsection a. of this section may be compromised by the board. In determining the amount of the penalty, or the amount agreed upon in compromise, the board shall consider the nature, circumstances, and gravity of the violation; the degree of the violator's culpability; any history of prior violations; the prospective effect of the penalty on the ability of the violator to conduct business; any good faith on the part of the violator in attempting to achieve compliance; the violator's ability to pay the penalty; and any other factors justice may require. The amount of the penalty, when finally determined, or the amount agreed upon in compromise, may be deducted from any sums owing by the State to the person charged, or may be recovered in a summary proceeding instituted by the board in Superior Court pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).

c. Whenever it shall appear to the board that a person has violated, intends to violate, or will violate any provision of any law, rule, regulation, or order relating to natural gas pipeline safety, the board may institute a civil action in Superior Court for injunctive relief or for any other appropriate relief under the circumstances, and the court may proceed on the action in a summary manner.

L.1989, c.80, s.1; amended 1994, c.118, s.20; 2007, c.118, s.2; 2019, c.4, s.2.