CHAPTER 19. AGRICULTURE.

ARTICLE 14. WEST VIRGINIA COMMERCIAL FEED LAW.

§19-14-16. Deviations and Penalties.

(a) The commissioner is authorized to adopt regulations establishing permitted analytical variation and providing for reasonable deviation from the guaranteed analysis.

(b) If the analysis of a sample shows a deviation from permitted analytical variation established by the commissioner, the guarantor or other responsible person shall be penalized as established by legislative rule.

(c) Penalties for multiple deviations within a sample shall be cumulative: Provided, That in no case shall the penalty exceed the retail value of the product.

(d) Penalties paid pursuant to this section shall, where possible, be used to reimburse the purchaser of the lot of commercial feed representing the sample analyzed. If the purchaser or purchasers cannot be found, the amount of the penalty assessed shall be paid to the commissioner and deposited in the department’s fees account to be used for feed related program maintenance and educational training of the industry and consumers.

(e) If any penalty has not been paid within 90 days of notice of such penalty, a late payment penalty established by legislative rule will be added to the original penalty.

(f) If a product is found to be adulterated, the guarantor or other responsible party shall be penalized as established by legislative rules.