(a) Any person who shall engage in bituminous coal mining without a permit as required by this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) and not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) for each offense, or to undergo imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not more than one year, or both, and a further fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) for each day the offense is continued; and in addition thereto shall be liable for the payment of damages to the owner of any structure set forth in section 4¹ of this act for any injury to said structure as a result of subsidence caused by said bituminous coal mining in an amount as determined by law in a civil proceeding.

(b) Any operator who violates any provision of this act, any rule or regulation of the department, any order of the department, or any condition of any permit issued pursuant to this act with the exception of those cases covered by subsection (a) is guilty of a summary offense and, upon conviction, such person or municipality shall be subject to a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) for each separate offense, and, in default of the payment of such fine, a person shall be imprisoned for a period of ninety days.

(c) Any operator who wilfully or negligently violates any provision of this act, any rule or regulation of the department, any order of the department, or any condition of any permit issued pursuant to the act is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree and, upon conviction, shall be subject to a fine of not less than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) nor more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) for each separate offense or to imprisonment for a period of not more than two years, or both.

(d) Each day of continued violation of any provision of this act or of any rule or regulation of the department, or of any order of the department issued pursuant to this act shall constitute a separate offense.

(e) All summary proceedings under the provisions of this act may be brought before any district justice of the county where the offense occurred, or in the county where the public is affected, and to that end jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon said district justices, subject to appeal by either party in the manner provided by law. In the case of any appeal for any such conviction in the manner provided by law for appeals from summary conviction, it shall be the duty of the district attorney of the county to represent the interests of the Commonwealth.

(f) In addition to proceeding under any other remedy available at law or in equity for a violation of a provision of this act, rule, regulation, order of the department, or a condition of any permit issued pursuant to this act, the department may assess a civil penalty upon an operator for such violation. Such a penalty may be assessed whether or not the violation was willful. The civil penalty so assessed shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) per day for each violation. In determining the amount of the civil penalty the department shall consider the willfulness of the violation, damage or injury, cost of repairing the injury and other relevant factors. If the violation leads to the issue of a cessation order, a civil penalty shall be assessed. If the violation involves the failure to correct, within the period prescribed for its correction, a violation for which a cessation order, other abatement order or notice of violation has been issued, a civil penalty of not less than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) shall be assessed for each day the violation continues beyond the period prescribed for its correction: Provided, however, That correction of a violation within the period prescribed for its correction shall not preclude assessment of a penalty for the violation. Upon the issuance of a notice or order charging that a violation of the act has occurred, the department shall inform the operator within a period of time to be prescribed by rules and regulations of the proposed amount of said penalty. The operator charged with the penalty shall then have thirty days to pay the proposed penalty in full or, if the operator wishes to contest either the amount of the penalty or the fact of the violation, the operator shall forward the proposed amount to the department for placement in an escrow account with the State Treasurer or any Pennsylvania bank, or post an appeal bond in the amount of the proposed penalty, such bond shall be executed by a surety licensed to do business in the Commonwealth and be satisfactory to the department. If through administrative or judicial review of the proposed penalty, it is determined that no violation occurred, or that the amount of the penalty should be reduced, the department shall within thirty days remit the appropriate amount to the operator, with any interest accumulated by the escrow deposit. Failure to forward the money or the appeal bond to the department within thirty days shall result in a waiver of all legal rights to contest the violation or the amount of the penalty. The amount assessed after administrative hearing or waiver of administrative hearing shall be payable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and shall be collectible in any manner provided at law for the collection of debts. If any person liable to pay any such penalty neglects or refuses to pay the same after demand, the amount, together with interest and any costs that may accrue, shall constitute a judgment in favor of the Commonwealth upon the property of such person from the date it has been entered and docketed of record by the prothonotary of the county where such is situated. The department may, at any time, transmit to the prothonotaries of the respective counties certified copies of all such judgments, and it shall be the duty of each prothonotary to enter and docket the same of record in his office, and to index it as judgments are indexed, without requiring the payment of costs and fees as a condition precedent to the entry thereof. Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, there shall be a statute of limitations of five years upon actions brought by the Commonwealth pursuant to this section.

(g) For purposes of this act, the term “person” shall be construed to include any natural person, partnership, association or corporation or any agency, instrumentality or entity of Federal or State Government. Whenever used in any clause prescribing and imposing a penalty, or imposing a fine or imprisonment, or both, the term “person” shall also include the members of an association and the directors, officers or agents of a corporation and the term “municipality” shall be construed to include any county, city, borough, town, township, school district, institution or any authority created by one or more of the foregoing.