§291.28. Civil penalty. — Inbound Citations

(a) The amount of such penalty assessed under § 291.28 shall be determined by taking into account:

(1) The scientific or fair market value, whichever is greater, of the paleontological resource involved, as determined by the Authorized Officer, and

(2) The cost of response to and restoration and repair of the resource and the paleontological site involved, and

(3) Any other factors under §§ 291.37 through 291.39 considered relevant by the Authorized Officer in assessing the penalty.

(3) Any hearing conducted pursuant to this section shall be held in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 554. In any such hearing, the amount of civil penalty assessed shall be determined in accordance with §§ 291.28 through 291.33, and shall not be limited by the amount assessed by the Authorized Officer under § 291.29(a) or any offer of mitigation or remission made by the Authorized Officer.

The provisions in §§ 291.28 through 291.35 do not apply to any person with respect to any paleontological resource which was in the lawful possession of such person prior to the date of enactment of the Act.

(a) The Authorized Officer may, at his or her discretion, pay from penalties collected under §§ 291.28 through 291.36, or from appropriated funds, an amount up to half of the penalties collected to any person who furnishes information which leads to a finding of the civil violation(s) or to the criminal conviction(s).

(a) All paleontological resources with respect to which a violation under §§ 291.28 through 291.36 occurred and which are in the possession of any person, are subject to forfeiture proceedings. All forfeitures will be initiated pursuant to cooperative agreements with agencies having law enforcement authority and forfeiture regulations in place.

(b) In the case of subsequent or repeated violations by the same person, the amount of a penalty assessed under § 291.28(a) may be doubled.