Fines shall be imposed and collected by the Board pursuant to
Section 253.04 (2) and Chapter 120, F.S.
Nothing in this rule chapter shall be construed to preclude the Board from
bringing suits or taking action as is otherwise lawfully authorized against any
person or the agent of any person who has been found to have damaged state land
or products thereof; provided, however, that any administrative fines imposed
pursuant to this rule chapter shall be in lieu of monetary damages authorized
pursuant to Section 253.04, F.S., for the same offense.
(1) Before any fine can be imposed, the
Secretary of the Department or the appropriate Director of District Management
shall issue a notice of violation to suspected and known violators giving
notice of the violation and specifying the violator's rights under Chapter 120,
F.S. Such notice shall be served on the violator by actual delivery; by service
of process in accordance with Florida Rules of Civil Procedure; or by certified
mail, return receipt requested; and shall identify the provision of law or rule
alleged to have been violated. The notice of violation shall include a brief
statement of the facts constituting the alleged violation and the basis for the
claim that the land affected by the alleged violation is owned by the
state.
(2) The notice shall demand
that the violation cease immediately, and that the violator take reasonable
corrective measures within 20 days. The notice shall state that if a violation
is not stopped immediately and corrected within 20 days or at a later time
agreed to by the Department and the violator, a fine shall be considered
imposed.
(3) Upon imposition of a
fine, the Secretary of the Department shall issue a certified letter to the
violator demanding payment to the Internal Improvement Trust Fund within 15
days of receipt. If payment is not received by the Department within such 15
day period or at a later time agreed to by the Department and the violator, the
fine shall become a lien upon the real and personal property of the violator,
enforceable by the Department as a statutory lien pursuant to Chapter 85,
F.S.
(4) Unless a request for an
administrative hearing pursuant to Section
120.57, F.S., is filed (received
by the Department's clerk) within 20 days after service of the notice, the
notice of violation, and the allegations contained therein, shall become
binding and final, and the right to an administrative hearing shall be deemed
waived.
(5) Upon notice of
violation, if any person or agent of any person ceases the activity alleged to
be in violation of this rule and Chapter 253, F.S.; makes application to the
Department for the required form of consent to use the state land at issue; and
agrees to remove any structure or fill in violation, or to restore any
excavation or dredging in violation; then the Secretary of the Department shall
have the authority to fix, impose and collect a fine not to exceed $2, 500 per
offense.
