Ohio Code 3704.06 – Prosecution by attorney general – injunction – civil penalties
(A) The attorney general, upon the request of the director of environmental protection, shall prosecute any person who violates section 3704.05 or 3704.16 of the Revised Code.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 3704.06
- Air pollution: means the presence in the ambient air of one or more air contaminants or any combination thereof in sufficient quantity and of such characteristics and duration as is or threatens to be injurious to human health or welfare, plant or animal life, or property, or as unreasonably interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property. See Ohio Code 3704.01
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: means the federal government or any agency thereof, the state or any agency thereof, any political subdivision or any agency thereof, or any public or private corporation, individual, partnership, or other entity. See Ohio Code 3704.01
- Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
(B) The attorney general, upon request of the director, shall bring an action for an injunction, a civil penalty, or any other appropriate proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction against any person violating or threatening to violate section 3704.05 or 3704.16 of the Revised Code. The court shall have jurisdiction to grant prohibitory and mandatory injunctive relief and to require payment of a civil penalty upon the showing that the person has violated this chapter or rules adopted thereunder.
(C) A person who violates section 3704.05 or 3704.16 of the Revised Code shall pay a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars for each day of each violation. This division does not apply to any requirement of this chapter regarding the prevention or abatement of odors.
(D) One-half of the moneys collected as civil penalties under division (C) of this section shall be credited to the environmental education fund created in section 3745.22 of the Revised Code. The remainder of the moneys so collected shall be credited to the air pollution control administration fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury. The air pollution control administration fund shall be administered by the director. Moneys in the air pollution control administration fund shall be used to supplement other moneys available for the administration and enforcement of this chapter and the rules adopted and terms and conditions of orders and permits issued under it, including, without limitation, the issuance of permits under it, and shall not be used to satisfy any state matching fund requirements for the receipt of any federal grant funds.
The director may expend not more than one million five hundred thousand dollars of the moneys credited to the air pollution control administration fund under this division in any fiscal year for the purposes specified in this division. The director may request authority from the controlling board to expend any moneys credited to that fund in any fiscal year in excess of that amount.
(E) Upon written complaint by any person, the director shall conduct such investigations and make such inquiries as are necessary to secure compliance with this chapter. The director, upon complaint or upon the director’s own initiative, may investigate or make inquiries into any alleged violation or act of air pollution.