LAC 51:XII.705. Culpability of the Owner and/or Operator [formerly section 3.1 of paragraph III of appendix B]

A. Pursuant to §505.B and D of the "Civil Penalty Assessment Rule" (Chapter 5 of this Part), the following penalty assessment levels shall apply towards the culpability (the level of blame for the occurrence and/or continuance of a violation including factors such as attitude as well as the nature and extent of the efforts to comply) of the owner and/or operator for the particular violation for which a seriousness penalty is assessed. 1. Culpability determined to be deliberate or intentional (a willful action or lack of action) shall be assessed at 100 percent of one-half of the maximum daily penalty amount. 2. Culpability determined to be recklessness (wanton disregard of the consequences but proceeded with risk in mind) shall be assessed at 65 percent of one-half of the maximum daily penalty amount. 3. Culpability determined to be negligence (failure to prevent the violation due to indifference, lack of reasonable care, lack of diligence, etc.) shall be assessed at 35 percent of one-half of the maximum daily penalty amount. 4. Culpability determined to be non-existent (those cases where the operator and/or owner has acted reasonably, but the violation occurred anyway) shall be assessed at 0 percent of one-half of the maximum daily penalty amount, i.e., $0.