(a) In addition to proceeding under any other remedy available at law or in equity for a violation of any provision of this act or any rule or regulation promulgated under this act or any order or permit issued by the department, municipality or local agency pursuant to this act, the department, municipality or local agency, after notice and hearing, may assess a civil penalty against any person for that violation. In addition, the department, municipality or local agency may assess the cost of damages caused by such violation and the cost of correcting such violation. Before assessing a civil penalty or such costs, the department, municipality or local agency shall provide a violator with a notice of proposed assessment which cites the violation of this act, regulation, permit or order issued thereunder and offer to conduct an assessment hearing to evaluate the violation and the amount of the penalty or cost. The notice of proposed assessment shall contain an explanation of the right to a hearing and appeal. The department, municipality or local agency shall assign a representative to hold the assessment hearing. The assessment hearing shall not be governed by requirements for formal adjudicatory hearings and may be held at any time at the convenience of the parties. The civil penalty may be assessed whether or not the violation was willful. The civil penalty so assessed shall not be less than three hundred dollars ($300) and not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each violation. In determining the amount of the penalty, the department, municipality or local agency shall consider:

(b) If a person against whom costs or a civil penalty has been assessed after notice and hearing pursuant to subsection (a) fails to pay the assessed costs or penalty in full or to perfect an appeal de novo under subsection (c) within thirty days following assessment of the civil penalty, such failure to pay or perfect an appeal shall constitute a separate violation for which an additional civil penalty may be assessed pursuant to subsection (a). Additional violations shall be deemed to occur and additional civil penalties may be assessed pursuant to subsection (a) each time a person fails to pay or perfect an appeal under subsection (c).

(c) When the department, municipality or local agency has assessed costs or a civil penalty pursuant to subsection (a) or (b), the person assessed with the costs or civil penalty shall then have thirty days to pay the costs or penalty in full. If the person wishes to contest the penalty or the fact of the violation, the person shall have a right to an appeal de novo pursuant to section 16 of this act.¹ The person shall forward the amount of the civil penalty to the agency or entity assessing the civil penalty within the thirty-day period for placement in an escrow account with the State Treasurer or any bank in this Commonwealth, post an irrevocable letter of credit issued by a Federal or Commonwealth-chartered lending institution or post an appeal bond to the agency or entity assessing the civil penalty within such thirty days in the amount of the assessed civil penalty or other such amount as may be approved by a court of competent jurisdiction or the Environmental Hearing Board. The bond must be executed by a surety licensed to do business in this Commonwealth and in a form satisfactory to the agency or entity assessing the civil penalty. If through administrative or final judicial review of the proposed assessed penalty it is determined that no violation occurred or that the amount of the penalty is reduced, the agency or entity which assessed the civil penalty shall, within thirty days, remit the appropriate amount to the person. Failure to make the required deposit in escrow or submit an irrevocable letter of credit or a surety bond as provided in this subsection shall result in a waiver of all legal rights to appeal the violation or the amount of the penalty.

(d) In any case where the department, municipality or local agency determines that damage resulting from the violation is of a continuing nature, the department, municipality or local agency may impose a weekly assessment of not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per week for each week the violation continues unabated by the violator. The weekly assessment shall accrue indefinitely after the date of notice of the assessment to the violator.

(e) Costs and civil penalties shall be payable to the agency or entity assessing the civil penalty and shall be collectable in any manner provided by law for the collection of debts. If any person liable to pay these costs or penalty neglects or refuses to pay the same after demand, the amount of the costs or civil penalty, together with interest and any costs that may accrue, shall constitute a judgment in favor of the agency or entity assessing the costs or civil penalty upon the real property of the person from the date it has been entered and docketed on record by the prothonotary of the county where such is situated. The agency or entity assessing the cost or civil penalty may, at any time, transmit to the prothonotaries of the respective counties certified copies of all these judgments, and it shall be the duty of each prothonotary to enter and docket them and to index the same as judgments are indexed without requiring the payment of costs as a condition precedent to the entry thereof.

(f) Any municipality which fails to submit any official plan, update revision or special study thereto or has not revised or implemented its official plan as required by any rule, regulation or order of the department shall be subject to a civil penalty. The civil penalty so assessed shall be a minimum of three hundred dollars ($300) per day. The penalty shall be assessed for each day of the failure commencing on the thirtieth day after a date specified for compliance in an order by the department and shall continue until that time as the municipality submits the required official plan, update revision or special study or has commenced implementation of its official plan in accordance with a schedule approved by the department. The penalty shall be paid on the fifteenth day of each succeeding month and shall be sent to the regional office for the region of the department in which the municipality is located.