97 STAT. 534 PUBLIC LAW 98-89 —AUG. 26, 1983 Notification of manufacturer by Secretary. Publication in Federal Register. or relates to a trade secret only if the Secretary decides that the information is necessary to carry out this chapter. (f) If, through testing, inspection, investigation, or examination of reports, the Secretary decides that a recreational vessel or asso- ciated equipment to which this chapter applies contains a defect related to safety or fails to comply with an applicable regulation prescribed under this chapter and notification under this chapter is appropriate, the Secretary shall notify the recreational vessel manu- facturer of the defect or failure. The notice shall contain the find- ings of the Secretary and shall include a S3niopsis of the information on which they are based. The manufacturer may then provide the notification required by this chapter to the persons designated in this chapter or dispute the Secretary's decision. If disputed, the Secretary shall provide the manufacturer with an opportunity to present views and establish that there is no such defect or failure. When the Secretary considers it to be in the public interest, the Secretary may publish notice of the proceeding in the Federal Register and provide interested persons, including the National Boating Safety Advisory Council, with an opportunity to comment. If, after presentation by the manufacturer, the Secretary decides that the recreational vessel or associated equipment contains a defect related to safety or fails to comply with an applicable regula- tion, the Secretary may direct the manufacturer to provide the notifications specified in this chapter. (g) The Secretary may prescribe regulations to carry out this section, including the establishment of procedures that require deal- ers and distributors to assist manufacturers in obtaining informa- tion required by this section. A regulation prescribed under this subsection does not relieve a manufacturer of any obligation imposed by this section. § 4311. Penalties and iiyunetions (a) A person willfully operating a recreational vessel in violation of this chapter or a regulation prescribed under this chapter shall be fined not more than $5,000, imprisoned for not more than one year, or both. (b) A person violating section 4307(a)(1) of this title is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of not more than $2,000, except that the maximum civil penalty may be not more than $100,000 for a related series of violations. When a corporation violates section 4307(a)(l), any director, officer, or execu- tive employee of the corporation who knowingly and willfully or- dered, or knowingly and willfully authorized, a violation is individ- ually liable to the Government for the penalty, in addition to the corporation. However, the director, officer, or executive employee is not liable individually under this subsection if the director, officer, or executive employee can demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that— (1) the order or authorization was issued on the basis of a decision, in exercising reasonable and prudent judgment, that the nonconformity with standards and regulations constituting the violation would not cause or constitute a substantial risk of personal injury to the public; and (2) at the time of the order or authorization, the director, officer, or executive employee advised the Secretary in writing of acting under this clause and clause (1) of this subsection.
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