(1) In determining the amount of a civil
penalty to be assessed for a violation, the Department shall calculate the
amount of the civil penalty using the following formula:
Total Civil Penalty Amount = B + 0.2 x B x (P + A + C + V),
where:
(a) B = base penalty. The
department will determine B as follows:
(A)
Base Penalty for Class I (Major) violations = $5,000
(B) Base Penalty for Class II (Moderate)
violations = $2,000
(C) Base
Penalty for Class III (Minor) violations = $200
(b) P = past occurrence of violations of any
provision of the Oregon Seed Law, or the terms or conditions of any final order
issued by the department under the Oregon Seed Law. The department will
determine P from 0 to 5 in the following manner:
0 = no prior violations or insufficient evidence on which to
base a finding;
1 = one Class I violation in the five years prior to the date
of the violation;
(C) 2 = one Class II
violation or two Class I violations in the five years prior to the date of the
violation;
(D) 3 = one Class III
violation, two Class II violations, or three Class I violations in the five
years prior to the date of the violation;
(E) 4 = two Class III violations, three Class
II violations, or four Class I violations in the five years prior to the date
of the violation; and
(F) 5 = three
or more Class III violations, four or more Class II violations, or five or more
Class I violations in the five years prior to the date of the
violation.
(c) A =
avoidability of violation. The department will determine the avoidability from
-2 to 7 in the following manner:
(A) -2 = the
person's actions determined to be violative were unavoidable;
(B) 0 = insufficient information to make any
finding;
(C) 2 = the person's
actions determined to be violative were reasonably avoidable; and
(D) 7 = the person's actions were
flagrant.
(d) C =
cooperativeness on the part of the person to assist the department in its
investigation and to the extent possible, to rectify the violation. The
department will determine C from -2 to 2 in the following manner:
(A) -2 = the person is cooperative;
(B) -1 = the person provides limited
cooperation;
(C) 0 = the person is
neither cooperative nor uncooperative;
(D) 1 = the person is generally
uncooperative; and
(E) 2 = the
person is uncooperative.
(e) V = volume of seed. The department will
determine V in the following manner:
For agricultural seed kinds whose lot size is limited to 55,000
lbs as described in OAR 603-056-0125:
1 = 1 seed lot;
2 = 2-10 seed lots;
3 = 11-50 seed lots;
4 = 51-100 lots; or
5 = >101 lots.
For agricultural, flower, or vegetable seed kinds without lot
size limits:
1 = 0-50,000 lbs;
2 = 50,001 lbs to 100,000 lbs;
3 = 100,001 lbs to 500,000 lbs;
4 = 500,001 lbs to 1,000,000 lbs; or
5 = > 1,000,000 lbs.
For agricultural, flower, and vegetable seed sold at retail:
2 = 1-10 units of sale;
3 = 11-50 units of sale;
4 = 51-100 units of sale; or
5 = >101 units of sale.
For violations described in OAR 603-056-0540(2)(b)(D), the
department will not use a volume multiplier.
