(a) Blasting shall be conducted in accordance with the rules and laws established to regulate blasting.
(b) If the Department of Environmental Protection establishes after an inspection that a blast at a surface coal mine operation as defined by the provisions of subdivision (2), subsection (a), section thirteen-a of this article was not in compliance with the regulations governing blasting parameters and resulted in property damage to a protected structure, as defined in section twenty-two-a of this article, other than water wells, the following penalties shall be imposed for each permit area or contiguous permit areas where the blasting was out of compliance:
(1) For the first offense, the operator shall be assessed a penalty of not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000.