A.  The commissioner shall have authority to perform any and all acts necessary to carry out the purposes and requirements of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended, relating to this state’s participation in the underground injection control program established under that act with respect to the storage and sequestration of carbon dioxide.  To that end, the commissioner is authorized and empowered to adopt, modify, repeal, and enforce procedural, interpretive, and administrative rules in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.

B.  Whenever the commissioner or an authorized representative of the commissioner determines that a violation of any requirement of this Chapter has occurred or is about to occur, the commissioner or his authorized representative shall either issue an order requiring compliance within a specified time period or shall commence a civil action for appropriate relief, including a temporary or permanent injunction.

C.  Any compliance order issued under this Chapter shall state with reasonable specificity the nature of the violation and specify a time for compliance and, in the event of noncompliance, assess a civil penalty, if any, which the commissioner determines is reasonable, taking into account the seriousness of the violation and any good faith efforts to comply with the applicable requirements.

D.(1)  Except as otherwise provided by law, any person to whom a compliance order is issued and who fails to take corrective action within the time specified in the order or any person found by the commissioner to be in violation of any requirement of this Section may be liable for a civil penalty to be assessed by the commissioner or court, of not more than five thousand dollars a day for each day of violation and for each act of violation.  The commissioner in order to enforce the provisions of this Section may suspend or revoke any permit, compliance order, license, or variance that has been issued to said person in accordance with law.

(2)  No penalty shall be assessed until the person charged has been given notice and an opportunity for a hearing on such charge.  In determining whether or not a civil penalty is to be assessed and in determining the amount of the penalty, or the amount agreed upon in compromise, the gravity of the violation and the demonstrated good faith of the person charged in attempting to achieve rapid compliance, after notification of a violation, shall be considered.

E.  The commissioner, or attorney general if requested by the commissioner, shall have charge of and shall prosecute all civil cases arising out of violation of any provision of this Section including the recovery of penalties.

F.  Except as otherwise provided herein, the commissioner may settle or resolve as he may deem advantageous to the state any suits, disputes, or claims for any penalty under any provisions of this Section or the regulations or permit license terms and conditions applicable thereto.

Acts 2009, No. 517, §2.