Schedule of civil penalties — violations

1. The commission shall establish, by rule, a schedule or range of civil penalties which may be administratively assessed. The schedule shall provide procedures and criteria for the administrative assessment of penalties of not more than ten thousand dollars for violations of this chapter or rules, permits or orders adopted or issued under this chapter. In adopting a schedule or range of penalties and in proposing or assessing a penalty, the commission and director shall consider among other relevant factors the following: a. The costs saved or likely to be saved by noncompliance by the violator. b. The gravity of the violation. c. The degree of culpability of the violator. d. The maximum penalty authorized for that violation under this chapter. 2. Penalties may be administratively assessed only after an opportunity for a contested case hearing which may be combined with a hearing on the merits of the alleged violation. Violations not fitting within the schedule, or violations which the commission determines should be referred to the attorney general for legal action shall not be governed by the schedule established under subsection 1. 3. When the commission establishes a schedule for violations, the commission shall provide, by rule, a procedure for the screening of alleged violations to determine which cases may be appropriate for the administrative assessment of penalties. However, the screening procedure shall not limit the discretion of the department to refer any case to the attorney general for legal action. 4. A penalty shall be paid within thirty days of the date the order assessing the penalty becomes final. When a person against whom a civil penalty is assessed under this section seeks timely judicial review of an order imposing the penalty as provided under chapter 17A, the order is not final for the purposes of this section until all judicial review processes are completed. Additional judicial review may not be sought after the order becomes final. A person who fails to timely pay a civil penalty assessed by a final order of the department shall pay, in addition, interest at the rate of one and one-half percent of the unpaid balance of the assessed penalty for each month or part of a month that the penalty remains unpaid. The attorney general shall institute, at the request of the department, summary proceedings to recover the penalty and any accrued interest. 5. a. Except as provided in paragraph “b”, all civil penalties assessed by the department and interest on the civil penalties shall be deposited in the general fund of the state. b. Civil penalties assessed and collected by or on behalf of the department and interest on the civil penalties as provided in sections 459.602, 459.603, 459.604, 459A.502, and 459B.402 shall be credited to the Iowa nutrient research fund created in section 466B.46. 6. This section does not require the commission or the director to pursue an administrative remedy before seeking a remedy in the courts of this state.