Any civil penalty may be compromised by the state corporation commission. In determining the amount of the penalty or the amount agreed in compromise, the appropriateness of the penalty to the size of the business, the gravity of the violation, and the good faith of the person charged in attempting to achieve compliance shall be considered. The amount of the penalty, when finally determined, or the amount agreed upon in compromise, may be deducted from any sums owing by the state of Kansas to the person charged or may be recovered in a civil action in the appropriate district court. In lieu of all or part of the civil penalty, the commission may consider and approve, before or at hearing, a requirement, negotiated with commission staff, that the person charged make payment to or expenditures for a project that is related to natural gas pipeline safety or underground utility damage prevention and benefits the industry or community as a whole.