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A municipality may establish by ordinance or resolution that any person who violates any ordinance or resolution regulating storm water discharges or facilities shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) or more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) per day for each day of violations. Each day of violation may constitute a separate violation. A municipality shall give the violator reasonable notice of the assessment of any penalty. A municipality may also recover all damages proximately caused to the municipality by such violations.
In assessing a civil penalty, the following factors may be considered:
The harm done to the public health or the environment;
Whether the civil penalty imposed will be substantial economic deterrent to the illegal activity;
The economic benefit gained by the violator;
The amount of effort put forth by the violator to remedy this violation;
Any unusual or extraordinary enforcement costs incurred by the municipality;
The amount of penalty established by ordinance or resolution for specific categories of violations; and
Any equities of the situation which outweigh the benefit of imposing any penalty or damage assessment.
The municipality may also assess damages proximately caused by the violator to the municipality which may include any reasonable expenses incurred in investigating and enforcing violations of this part, or any other actual damages caused by the violation.
The municipality shall establish a procedure for a review of the civil penalty or damage assessment by either the governing body of the municipality or by a board established to hear appeals by any person incurring a damage assessment or a civil penalty. If a petition for review of such damage assessment or civil penalty is not filed within thirty (30) days after the damage assessment or civil penalty is served in any manner authorized by law, the violator shall be deemed to have consented to the damage assessment or civil penalty and it shall become final. The alleged violator may appeal a decision of the governing body or board pursuant to title 27, chapter 8.
Whenever any damage assessment or civil penalty has become final because of a person's failure to appeal the municipality's damage assessment or civil penalty, the municipality may apply to the appropriate chancery court for a judgment and seek execution of such judgment. The court, in such proceedings, shall treat the failure to appeal such damage assessment or civil penalty as a confession of judgment.