30 U.S.C. § 195 : US Code - Section 195: Enforcement

Search 30 U.S.C. § 195 : US Code - Section 195: Enforcement

(a) Violations
It shall be unlawful for any person:
(1) to organize or participate in any scheme, arrangement,
plan, or agreement to circumvent or defeat the provisions of this
chapter or its implementing regulations, or
(2) to seek to obtain or to obtain any money or property by
means of false statements of material facts or by failing to
state material facts concerning:
(A) the value of any lease or portion thereof issued or to be
issued under this chapter;
(B) the availability of any land for leasing under this
chapter;
(C) the ability of any person to obtain leases under this
chapter; or
(D) the provisions of this chapter and its implementing
regulations.
(b) Penalty
Any person who knowingly violates the provisions of subsection
(a) of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than
$500,000, imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.
(c) Civil actions
Whenever it shall appear that any person is engaged, or is about
to engage, in any act which constitutes or will constitute a
violation of subsection (a) of this section, the Attorney General
may institute a civil action in the district court of the United
States for the judicial district in which the defendant resides or
in which the violation occurred or in which the lease or land
involved is located, for a temporary restraining order, injunction,
civil penalty of not more than $100,000 for each violation, or
other appropriate remedy, including but not limited to, a
prohibition from participation in exploration, leasing, or
development of any Federal mineral, or any combination of the
foregoing.
(d) Corporations
(1) Whenever a corporation or other entity is subject to civil or
criminal action under this section, any officer, employee, or agent
of such corporation or entity who knowingly authorized, ordered, or
carried out the proscribed activity shall be subject to the same
action.
(2) Whenever any officer, employee, or agent of a corporation or
other entity is subject to civil or criminal action under this
section for activity conducted on behalf of the corporation or
other entity, the corporation or other entity shall be subject to
the same action, unless it is shown that the officer, employee, or
agent was acting without the knowledge or consent of the
corporation or other entity.
(e) Remedies, fines, and imprisonment
The remedies, penalties, fines, and imprisonment prescribed in
this section shall be concurrent and cumulative and the exercise of
one shall not preclude the exercise of the others. Further, the
remedies, penalties, fines, and imprisonment prescribed in this
section shall be in addition to any other remedies, penalties,
fines, and imprisonment afforded by any other law or regulation.
(f) State civil actions
(1) A State may commence a civil action under subsection (c) of
this section against any person conducting activity within the
State in violation of this section. Civil actions brought by a
State shall only be brought in the United States district court for
the judicial district in which the defendant resides or in which
the violation occurred or in which the lease or land involved is
located. The district court shall have jurisdiction, without regard
to the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties, to
order appropriate remedies and penalties as described in subsection
(c) of this section.
(2) A State shall notify the Attorney General of the United
States of any civil action filed by the State under this subsection
within 30 days of filing of the action. The Attorney General of the
United States shall notify a State of any civil action arising from
activity conducted within that State filed by the Attorney General
under this subsection within 30 days of filing of the action.
(3) Any civil penalties recovered by a State under this
subsection shall be retained by the State and may be expended in
such manner and for such purposes as the State deems appropriate.
If a civil action is jointly brought by the Attorney General and a
State, by more than one State or by the Attorney General and more
than one State, any civil penalties recovered as a result of the
joint action shall be shared by the parties bringing the action in
the manner determined by the court rendering judgment in such
action.
(4) If a State has commenced a civil action against a person
conducting activity within the State in violation of this section,
the Attorney General may join in such action but may not institute
a separate action arising from the same activity under this
section. If the Attorney General has commenced a civil action
against a person conducting activity within a State in violation of
this section, that State may join in such action but may not
institute a separate action arising from the same activity under
this section.
(5) Nothing in this section shall deprive a State of jurisdiction
to enforce its own civil and criminal laws against any person who
may also be subject to civil and criminal action under this
section.