[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 7]
[Revised as of January 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR800.50]

[Page 532-533]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
  CHAPTER VIII--GRAIN INSPECTION, PACKERS AND STOCKYARD ADMINISTRATION 
      (FEDERAL GRAIN INSPECTION SERVICE), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 800--GENERAL REGULATIONS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 800.50  Refusal of official services and civil penalties.

    (a) Grounds for refusal. Any or all services available to an 
applicant under the Act may be refused, either temporarily or 
indefinitely, by the Service for causes prescribed in section 10(a) of 
the Act. Such refusal by the Service may be restricted to the particular 
facility or applicant (if not a facility) found in violation or to a 
particular type of service, as the facts may warrant. Such action may be 
in addition to, or in lieu of, criminal penalties or other remedial 
action authorized by the Act.
    (b) Provision and procedure for summary refusal. The Service may, 
without first affording the applicant (hereafter in this section 
``respondent'') a hearing, refuse to provide official inspection and 
Class X or Y weighing services pending final determination of the 
proceeding whenever the Service has reason to believe there is cause, as 
prescribed in section 10 of the Act, for refusing such official services 
and considers such action to be in the best interest of the official 
services system under the Act: Provided that within 7 days after refusal 
of such service, the Service shall afford the respondent an opportunity 
for a hearing as provided under paragraph (c)(2) of this section.

[[Page 533]]

Pending final determination, the Service may terminate the temporary 
refusal if alternative managerial, staffing, financial, or operational 
arrangements satisfactory to the Service can be and are made by the 
respondent.
    (c) Procedure for other than summary refusal. Except as provided in 
paragraph (b) of this section, before the Service refuses to provide 
official services the respondent shall be (1) notified of the services 
that are to be refused, the locations at which and the time period for 
which service will be refused, and the reasons for the refusal; and (2) 
afforded an opportunity for a hearing in accordance with the provisions 
of the Rules of Practice Governing Formal Adjudicatory Proceedings 
Instituted by the Secretary Under Various Statutes (7 CFR 1.130 et 
seq.). At the discretion of the Service, prior to initiation of formal 
adjudicatory proceedings, the respondent may be given an opportunity to 
express his or her views on the action proposed by the Service in an 
informal conference before the Administrator of the Service. If, as a 
result of such an informal conference, the Service and the respondent 
enter into a consent agreement, no formal adjudicatory proceedings shall 
be initiated.
    (d) Assessment of civil penalties. Any person who has knowingly 
committed any violation of section 13 of the Act or has been convicted 
of any violation of other Federal law with respect to the handling, 
weighing, or official inspection of grain may be assessed a civil 
penalty not to exceed $75,000 for each such violation as the 
Administrator determines is appropriate to effect compliance with the 
Act. Such action may be in addition to, or in lieu of, criminal 
penalties under section 14 of the Act, or in addition to, or in lieu of, 
the refusal of official services authorized by the Act.
    (e) Provisions for civil penalty hearings. Before a civil penalty is 
assessed against any person, such person shall be afforded an 
opportunity for a hearing as provided under paragraph (c)(2) of this 
section.
    (f) Collection of civil penalties. Upon failure to pay the civil 
penalty, the Service may request the Attorney General to file civil 
action to collect the penalty in a court of appropriate jurisdiction.

[45 FR 15810, Mar. 11, 1980, as amended at 51 FR 12830, Apr. 16, 1986]