Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 104 Part 4.djvu/803

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PUBLIC LAW 101-608—NOV. 16, 1990 104 STAT. 3119 "(ID the Consumer Price Index for the month of June preceding the date on which the maximum authorized penalty was last adjusted.". (b) FEDERAL HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES ACT.— Section 5 of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1264) is amended by adding at the end the following: "(c)(1) Any person who knowingly violates section 4 shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each such violation. Subject to paragraph (2), a violation of subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), (f), (g), (i), Cj). and (k) of section 4 shall constitute a separate offense with respect to each substance involved, except that the maximum civil penalty shall not exceed $1,250,000 for any related series of violations. A violation of section 4(e) shall constitute a separate violation with respect to each failure or refusal to allow or perform an act required by section 4(e); and, if such violation is a continuing one, each day of such violation shall constitute a separate offense, except that the maximum civil penalty shall not exceed $1,250,000 for any related series of violations. "(2) The second sentence of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not apply to violations of subsection (a) or (c) of section 4— "(A) if the person who violated such subsection is not the manufacturer, importer, or private labeler or a distributor of the substances involved; and "(B) if such person did not have either (i) actual knowledge that such person's distribution or sale of the substance violated such subsection, or (ii) notice from the Commission that such distribution or sale would be a violation of such subsection. "(3) In determining the amount of any penalty to be sought upon commencing an action seeking to assess a penalty for a violation of section 4, the Commission shall consider the nature of the substance, the severity of the risk of injury, the occurrence or absence of injury, the amount of the substance distributed, and the appropriateness of such penalty in relation to the size of the business of the person charged. "(4) Any civil penalty under this subsection may be compromised by the Commission. In determining the amount of such penalty or whether it should be remitted or mitigated, and in what amount, the Commission shall consider the appropriateness of such penalty to the size of the business of the persons charged, the nature of the substance involved, the severity of the risk of injury, the occurrence or absence of injury, and the amount of the substance distributed. The amount of such penalty when finally determined, or the amount agreed on compromise, may be deducted from any sums owing by the United States to the person charged. "(5) As used in the first sentence of paragraph (1), the term 'knowingly' means (A) having actual knowledge, or (B) the presumed having of knowledge deemed to be possessed by a reasonable person who acts in the circumstances, including knowledge obtainable upon the exercise of due care to ascertain the truth of representations. "(6)(A) The maximum penalty amounts authorized in paragraph (1) shall be adjusted for inflation as provided in this paragraph. "(B) Not later than December 1, 1994, and December 1 of each fifth calendar year thereafter, the Commission shall prescribe and publish in the Federal Register a schedule of maximum authorized penalties that shall apply for violations that occur after January 1 of the year immediately following such publication. Federal Register, publication.