(b) Administrative penalties.—
- (1) In addition to any other remedy available at law or equity, the department may assess an administrative penalty for a violation of this chapter. The penalty may be assessed whether or not the violation was willful or negligent. When determining the amount of the penalty, the department shall consider the willfulness of the violation, the damage or injury or threat of damage or injury to public health or the environment, the costs to the department for investigation and enforcement, the economic benefit of the violation to the person and other related factors. The department shall inform the person of the amount of the penalty. The administrative penalty shall not exceed $5,000 per day per violation.
- (2) Every day a violation continues shall be a separate violation.
- (3) The amount of the penalty assessed after a hearing before the Environmental Hearing Board or after waiver of the right to appeal the assessment shall be payable to the Commonwealth and collectable in any manner provided at law for collection of debts. If any person liable to pay any such penalty neglects or refuses to pay the penalty after demand, the amount of the penalty, together with interest and cost that may accrue, shall constitute a judgment in favor of the department upon the property of such person from the date it has been entered and docketed of record by the prothonotary of the county in which the property is situated. The department may at any time transmit to the prothonotaries of any county in which the person holds property certified copies of all such judgments, and it shall be the duty of each prothonotary to enter and docket the judgment of record in his or her office and to index the judgment as judgments are indexed, without requiring the payment of costs by the department.