The Secretary, by certified mail, shall notify the operator or any other person against whom a penalty is proposed of the violation alleged, the amount of the proposed penalty assessment, and that such person shall have 30 days to notify the Secretary of the intent to contest the proposed penalty assessment.

A person has 30 days after receipt of the proposed penalty assessment within which to notify the Secretary of the contest of the proposed penalty assessment. A person who wishes to contest a proposed penalty assessment must provide such notification regardless of whether the person has previously contested the underlying citation or order pursuant to § 2700.20. The Secretary shall immediately transmit to the Commission any notice of contest of a proposed penalty assessment.

If, within 30 days from the receipt of the proposed penalty assessment, the operator or other person fails to notify the Secretary of the contest of the proposed penalty, the Secretary's proposed penalty assessment shall be deemed to be a final order of the Commission not subject to review by any court or agency.

(a) Time to file. Within 45 days of receipt of a timely contest of a proposed penalty assessment, the Secretary shall file with the Commission a petition for assessment of penalty.

(b) Contents. The petition for assessment of penalty shall:

(1) List the alleged violations and the proposed penalties. Each violation shall be identified by the number and date of the citation or order and the section of the Act or regulations alleged to be violated. The list shall include no more than 20 citations or orders which are the subject of the petition for assessment of penalty.

(2) Include a short and plain statement of supporting reasons based on the criteria for penalty assessment set forth in section 110(i) of the Act, 30 U.S.C. 820(i).

(3) State whether the citation or order has been contested pursuant to § 2700.20 and the docket number of any contest proceeding.

(4) Advise the party against whom the petition is filed that an answer to the petition must be filed within 30 days pursuant to § 2700.29 and that the answer must be filed regardless of whether the party has already filed a notice of contest of the citation, order, or proposed penalty assessment involved.

(c) Attachments. A legible copy of each citation or order for which a penalty is sought shall be attached to the petition for assessment of penalty. If a legible copy is not available, the petition for assessment of penalty shall set forth the text of the citation or order.

A party against whom a petition for assessment of penalty is filed shall file an answer within 30 days after service of the petition for assessment of penalty. An answer shall include a short and plain statement responding to each allegation of the petition.

(a) In assessing a penalty the ALJ shall determine the amount of penalty in accordance with the six statutory criteria contained in section 110(i) of the Act, 30 U.S.C. 820(i), and incorporate such determination in a written decision. The decision shall contain findings of fact and conclusions of law on each of the statutory criteria and an order requiring that the penalty be paid.

(b) In determining the amount of penalty, neither the ALJ nor the Commission shall be bound by a penalty proposed by the Secretary or by any offer of settlement made by a party.

(a) General. A proposed penalty that has been contested before the Commission may be settled only with the approval of the Commission upon motion. A settlement motion must be accompanied by a proposed order approving settlement.

(b) Content of motion—(1) Factual support. A motion to approve a penalty settlement shall include for each violation the amount of the penalty proposed by the Secretary, the amount of the penalty agreed to in settlement, and facts in support of the penalty agreed to by the parties.

(2) Certification. The party filing a motion must certify that the opposing party has authorized the filing party to represent that the opposing party consents to the granting of the motion and the entry of the proposed order approving settlement.

(c) Content of proposed order. A proposed order approving a penalty settlement shall include for each violation the amount of the penalty proposed by the Secretary, the amount of the penalty agreed to in settlement, and facts in support of the penalty agreed to by the parties. Proposed orders shall not be submitted in PDF format.

(d) Filing of motion and proposed order prior to filing of petition. If a motion to approve settlement and proposed order is filed with the Commission before the Secretary has filed a petition for assessment of penalty, the filing party must also submit as attachments, electronic copies of the proposed penalty assessment and citations and orders at issue. If such attachments are filed, the Secretary need not file a petition for assessment of penalty.

(e) Final order. Any order by the ALJ approving a settlement shall set forth the reasons for approval and shall be supported by the record. Such order shall become the final order of the Commission 40 days after issuance unless the Commission has directed that the order be reviewed. An ALJ may correct clerical errors in an order approving settlement in accordance with the provisions of § 2700.69(c).