(a) Any person or operator who violates any of this part or regulations adopted pursuant thereto, or who fails to perform the duties imposed by these provisions or fails or refuses to obtain a permit as provided herein, or who violates any determination or order promulgated pursuant to this part, is liable to a civil penalty of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each day during which such violation continues, and in addition, may be enjoined from continuing such violation as hereinafter provided. Such penalties shall be recoverable in an action brought in the name of the state of Tennessee by the attorney general in the circuit court of Davidson County or in the circuit court having jurisdiction of the defendant, and all sums recovered shall be placed in the state treasury and credited to the Tennessee surface mining reclamation fund.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class B misdemeanorup to 6 monthsup to $500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 59-8-222

  • Board: means the Tennessee board of water quality, oil, and gas, established by §. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of environment and conservation or the commissioner's designees. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • 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.
  • Operation: means all of the premises, facilities, and equipment and the use thereof in the process of removing and exploring for minerals from a designated surface mine area. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
  • Operator: means any person, partnership or corporation engaged in surface mining who removes or intends to remove more than two hundred fifty (250) tons of any mineral from the earth by surface mining within twelve (12) successive calendar months. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
  • Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation or any other association of individuals. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
  • Provisions of this part: means the rules, regulations and orders issued by the commissioner pursuant to this part as well as the words of the sections themselves. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
  • Reclamation: means the process of backfilling, grading and shaping of the disturbed land in the affected area, constructing water control facilities, the taking of measures to control current or future air, water or soil pollution, and the planting of vegetation, and other measures. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Surface mining: means all or any part of the process followed in the production of minerals from a natural mineral deposit by the open pit or open cut method, auger method, highwall mining method which requires a new cut or removal of overburden, or any other mining process in which the strata or overburden is removed or displaced in order to recover the mineral. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
(b) It shall be the duty of the district attorneys general in the various circuits throughout the state, or the attorney general, upon the request of the commissioner, to bring an action for the recovery of the penalties herein provided for and to bring an action for a restraining order, temporary or permanent injunction, against any operator or other person violating or threatening to violate any of the provisions of this part or violating or threatening to violate any order or determination promulgated pursuant to this part.
(c) Any person who willfully and knowingly unlawfully falsifies any records, information, plans, specifications, or other data required by the board or the commissioner or who willfully fails, neglects, or refuses to comply with any of the provisions of this part is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor; provided, that no process by warrant, presentment or indictment shall be issued except upon application of the board or commissioner or such application for process authorized by them.
(d) Nothing in this part shall abrogate the right of any person who is materially or personally damaged or injured by the operation of a surface mine to seek remedies against the responsible person in the courts.
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