                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PENALTIES, INJUNCTIONS AND OTHER LEGAL ACTIONS (§ 62.1-44.15:63)

A. Any person who has violated or failed, neglected, or refused to obey any
regulation or order of the Board, any order, notice, or requirement of the VESCP
authority, any condition of a land-disturbance approval, or any provision of
this article or associated regulation shall, upon a finding of an appropriate
court, be assessed a civil penalty. If a locality serving as a VESCP authority
has adopted a uniform schedule of civil penalties as permitted by subsection G
of &#xA7; 62.1-44.15:54, such assessment shall be in accordance with the
schedule. The VESCP authority or the Board may issue a summons for collection of
the civil penalty. In any trial for a scheduled violation, it shall be the
burden of the Board or the VESCP authority to show the liability of the violator
by a preponderance of the evidence. Any civil penalties assessed by a court
shall be paid into the treasury of the locality wherein the land lies and are to
be used solely for stormwater management capital projects, including (i) new
stormwater best management practices; (ii) stormwater best management practice
maintenance, inspection, or retrofitting; (iii) stream restoration; (iv)
low-impact development projects; (v) buffer restoration; (vi) pond retrofitting;
and (vii) wetlands restoration. Where the violator is the locality itself, or
its agent, or where the Board is issuing the summons, the court shall direct the
penalty to be paid into the state treasury and deposited by the State Treasurer
into the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund established pursuant to &#xA7;
62.1-44.15:29.1.

B. The VESCP authority, the Board, or the owner of property that has sustained
damage or which is in imminent danger of being damaged may apply to the circuit
court in any jurisdiction wherein the land lies or other appropriate court to
enjoin a violation or a threatened violation under &#xA7; 62.1-44.15:55 or
62.1-44.15:58 without the necessity of showing that an adequate remedy at law
does not exist; however, an owner of property shall not apply for injunctive
relief unless (i) he has notified in writing the person who has violated the
VESCP, the Board, and the VESCP authority that a violation of the VESCP has
caused, or creates a probability of causing, damage to his property, and (ii)
neither the person who has violated the VESCP, the Board, nor the VESCP
authority has taken corrective action within 15 days to eliminate the conditions
that have caused, or create the probability of causing, damage to his property.

C. In addition to any civil penalties provided under this article, any person
who violates any provision of this article may be liable to the VESCP authority
or the Board, as appropriate, in a civil action for damages.

D. Without limiting the remedies that may be obtained in this section, any
person violating or failing, neglecting, or refusing to obey any injunction,
mandamus, or other remedy obtained pursuant to this section shall be subject, in
the discretion of the court, to a civil penalty not to exceed $2,000 for each
violation. A civil action for such violation or failure may be brought by the
VESCP authority wherein the land lies or the Board. Any civil penalties assessed
by a court shall be paid into the treasury of the locality wherein the land lies
and used pursuant to requirements of subsection A. Where the violator is the
locality itself, or its agent, or where the penalties are assessed as the result
of an enforcement action brought by the Board, the court shall direct the
penalty to be paid into the state treasury and deposited by the State Treasurer
into the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund (&#xA7; 62.1-44.15:29.1).

E. With the consent of any person who has violated or failed, neglected, or
refused to obey any regulation or order of the Board, any order, notice, or
requirement of the VESCP authority, any condition of a land-disturbance
approval, or any provision of this article or associated regulations, the Board,
the Director, or VESCP authority may provide, in an order issued by the Board or
VESCP authority against such person, for the payment of civil charges for
violations in specific sums, not to exceed the limit specified in subsection D.
Such civil charges shall be instead of any appropriate civil penalty that could
be imposed under subsection A or D.

F. Upon request of a VESCP authority, the attorney for the Commonwealth shall
take legal action to enforce the provisions of this article. Upon request of the
Board, the Attorney General shall take appropriate legal action on behalf of the
Board to enforce the provisions of this article.

HISTORY: 1973, c. 486, § 21-89.11; 1988, cc. 694, 891, § 10.1-569; 1992, c.
298; 1993, c. 925; 1995, c. 832; 1996, c. 518; 2012, cc. 785, 819; 2013, cc.
756, 793; 2016, cc. 68, 758.