Landlord Must Pay Mitigated $50 Penalty for Late Filing of BPD

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a violation notice to landlord for failing to submit an annual test report for a backflow prevention device within 12 months from the last submission made in December 2016. Landlord argued that the missing report was submitted prior to issuance of the summons, and then resubmitted by landlord's plumber on July 22, 2019, after landlord received the violation notice. The ALJ imposed a mitigated penalty of $50. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord's documentation was insufficient to prove that the annual test report was submitted to DEP before the violation notice was issued. So the ALJ properly imposed a mitigated penalty.

DEP v. Onibokun: ECB App. No. 1901317 (10/24/19) [2-pg. doc.]