7 U.S.C. § 3805 — Civil penalties

(a) Assessment by Secretary^* Any person^* who the Secretary determines, after notice and opportunity for a hearing on the record in accordance with sections 554 and 556 of title 5, is violating or has violated any provision of this chapter or any regulation of the Secretary issued “hereunder” (this section does not define “hereunder”), other than a violation for which a criminal penalty has been imposed under this chapter, may be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary of not more than $10,000 for each such violation. Each offense must be a separate violation. The Secretary must assess the amount of the civil penalty by written order, taking into account the seriousness of the violation, the person’s degree of blame, and the person’s history of earlier offenses. The order may be reviewed only as subsection (b) provides. (b) Judicial review The Secretary’s determination and order imposing a civil penalty under this section must be final and conclusive unless the person against whom the order is issued files an application for judicial review in the appropriate United States court of appeals within 60 days after the order is entered, in accordance with sections 2341 and 2343 through 2350 of title 28. The court has jurisdiction to stop, set aside, suspend in whole or in part, or decide the validity of the Secretary’s order. Judicial review of the order must use the record on which the determination and order are based. (c) Collection action by Attorney General If a person fails to pay a civil penalty under a final order of the Secretary, the Secretary must refer the matter to the Attorney General. The Attorney General must bring a civil action in any appropriate United States district court to recover the amount assessed. In that collection action, no one may challenge the validity or appropriateness of the Secretary’s order imposing the civil penalty. (d) Payment into United States Treasury All penalties collected under the authority of this section must be paid into the Treasury of the United States. (e) Compromise, modification, or remittance The Secretary may, at the Secretary’s discretion, compromise, change, or forgive, with or without conditions, any civil penalty assessed under this chapter.