(a) A county that establishes a program pursuant to Section 25550 shall, prior to establishing a fee structure pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 25553, consult with the district attorney for that county to develop policies to be followed by the district attorney in making decisions concerning prosecution of violations discovered pursuant to this chapter. These policies shall include, but are not limited to, consideration of the following:
(1) Whether the violation is a knowing, willful, negligent, or inadvertent violation.
(2) Whether the violator agrees to the schedule of compliance specified by the county.
(3) Whether the violation was discovered during an onsite consultation carried out pursuant to this chapter.
(b) Schedules for compliance referred to in subdivision (a) shall not be subject to negotiation between the county and the violator.
(c) A county may take enforcement action, or refer for enforcement action, a violation subject to the policies adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) if the violation involves an imminent or substantial endangerment to public health and safety or the environment. If a county refers a violator for enforcement action to the appropriate state or local agency pursuant to this subdivision, the county shall include any recommendations for cleanup or abatement of the violation and information on whether the violator has voluntarily attempted to comply with the statute or regulation.
(Added by Stats. 1987, Ch. 1432, Sec. 1.)