(a)
A hearing required under this chapter shall be conducted by the director in accordance with the informal hearing requirements specified in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 11400) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, but the department may initially file a hearing pursuant to, or convert a hearing to be conducted pursuant to, the formal hearing requirements specified in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. In making a decision regarding a denial, revocation, suspension, or penalty, the director shall take into consideration the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation, the violator’s past and present efforts to prevent, abate, or clean
up conditions posing a threat to the public health or safety or the environment, the violator’s ability to pay the proposed civil penalty, and the prophylactic effect that imposition of the proposed penalty will have on both the violator and on the regulated community as a whole.
(b)
For a period of up to one year, following the issuance of a final decision by either the director or an administrative law judge, if the hearing is converted to a formal hearing, that is based on a finding of a violation of this chapter or of any regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter, the department shall perform inspections at the location of the violation that are in addition to those inspections otherwise required by this chapter or by any regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter, at a frequency determined by the department.
(c)
The responding party shall reimburse the department for the
cost of the additional inspections conducted pursuant to subdivision (b), including the cost of preparing for the inspection, traveling to and from the inspection, and writing up the inspection reports, at the same amounts that are determined annually and approved for enforcement agents to be charged by the department for purposes of the enforcement of this chapter.