§ 71-1933 — Violations; criminal liability

§ 71-1933. Violations; criminal liability.\n 1. Any person who, having any of the culpable mental states defined in\nsection 15.05 of the penal law, shall violate any of the provisions of\ntitles 1 through 5, 9 through 11 and 19 of article 17 or the rules,\nregulations, orders or determinations of the commissioner promulgated\nthereto, or the terms of any permit issued thereunder, shall be guilty\nof a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a\nfine of not less than three thousand seven hundred fifty dollars nor\nmore than thirty-seven thousand five hundred dollars per day of\nviolation or by imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or by\nboth such fine and imprisonment. If the conviction is for an offense\ncommitted after a first conviction of such person under this\nsubdivision, punishment shall be by a fine of not more than seventy-five\nthousand dollars per day of violation, or by imprisonment for not more\nthan two years, or by both.\n 2. No prosecution under this section shall be instituted until after\nfinal disposition of an appeal or review, if any, provided by section\n17-0909 or its predecessor, section 1244 of the Public Health Law.\n 3. Any person who with criminal negligence, as defined in section\n15.05 of the penal law,\n a. violates\n i. any provision of title 7 or 8 of article 17 of this chapter, or\n ii. the rules or regulations promulgated thereunder, or\n iii. any term of any permit issued thereunder, or\n iv. any requirement imposed in a pretreatment program approved\npursuant to section 402(a)(3) or 402(b)(8) of the Federal Water\nPollution Control Act (33 USC § 1342(a)(3) or § 1342(b)(8)) or approved\npursuant to title 7 or 8 of article 17 of this chapter, or\n v. any final administrative orders issued pursuant to this article\nwhere an opportunity for a hearing is provided, or\n b. introduces into a sewer system or publicly owned treatment works\nany pollutant or hazardous substance\n i. when such person knew that such introduction was likely to cause\npersonal injury or property damage, except if that introduction was in\ncompliance with all applicable federal, state or local requirements or\npermits, or\n ii. which causes the treatment works to violate any term of any permit\nissued under title 7 or 8 of article 17 of this chapter or the rules or\nregulations promulgated thereunder except if that introduction was in\ncompliance with all applicable federal, state or local requirements or\npermits; shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.\n 4. Any person who knowingly, as defined in section 15.05 of the penal\nlaw,\n a. violates\n i. any provision of title 7 or 8 of article 17 of this chapter, or\n ii. the rules or regulations promulgated thereunder, or\n iii. any term of any permit issued thereunder, or\n iv. any requirement imposed in a pretreatment program approved\npursuant to section 402(a)(3) or 402(b)(8) of the Federal Water\nPollution Control Act (33 USC § 1342(a)(3) or § 1342(b)(8)) or approved\npursuant to title 7 or 8 of article 17 of this chapter, or\n v. any final administrative orders issued pursuant to this article\nwhere an opportunity for a hearing was provided, or\n b. introduces into a sewer system or publicly owned treatment works\nany pollutant or hazardous substance\n i. when such person knew that such introduction was likely to cause\npersonal injury, except if that introduction was in compliance with all\napplicable federal, state or local requirements or permits, or\n ii. which causes the treatment works to violate any term of any permit\nissued under title 7 or 8 of article 17 of this chapter or the rules or\nregulations promulgated thereunder except if that introduction was in\ncompliance with all applicable federal, state or local requirements or\npermits; shall be guilty of a class E felony.\n 5. Any person who intentionally, as defined in section 15.05 of the\npenal law,\n a. violates\n i. any provision of title 7 or 8 of article 17 of this chapter, or\n ii. the rules or regulations promulgated thereunder, or\n iii. any term of any permit issued thereunder, or\n iv. any final administrative orders issued pursuant to this article\nwhere an opportunity for a hearing was provided, and\n b. knows at that time that he thereby places another person who is not\na participant in the crime in imminent danger of death or serious bodily\ninjury shall be guilty of a class C felony.\n c. for the purpose of paragraphs a and b of this subdivision:\n in determining whether a defendant who is an individual knew that his\nconduct placed another person in imminent danger of death or serious\nbodily injury\n (a) the person is responsible only for actual awareness or actual\nbelief that he possessed; and\n (b) knowledge possessed by a person other than the defendant but not\nby the defendant himself may not be attributed to the defendant.\n 6. For purposes of subdivisions three, four and five of this section,\na single operational upset which leads to simultaneous violations of\nmore than one pollutant parameter shall be treated as a single\nviolation.\n 7. Any person who, with intent to deceive, makes any false material\nstatement, representation, or certification in any application, record,\nreport, plan or other document filed or required to be maintained\npursuant to title 7 or 8 of article 17 of this chapter or who\nintentionally falsifies, tampers with, or renders inaccurate any\nmonitoring device or method required to be maintained pursuant to title\n7 or 8 or article 17 of this chapter shall be guilty of a class E\nfelony.\n 8. a. When a person is convicted of a crime under the provisions of\nthis section, the sentence of the court shall be as follows:\n i. A fine, as set forth in paragraph b of this subdivision;\n ii. A sentence of imprisonment, as set forth in paragraph c of this\nsubdivision; or\n iii. Any combination of such fine or imprisonment.\n b. Fines. A sentence to pay a fine shall be a sentence to pay an\namount fixed by the court, not exceeding:\n i. $750,000 for a class C felony committed by an organization as\ndefined in section 71-1932 of this title;\n ii. $375,000 for a class C felony;\n iii. $75,000 per day of continuing violation for a class E felony\ndefined under subdivision four of this section but in no event less than\n$7,500; and $15,000 for a class E felony defined under subdivision seven\nof this section;\n iv. $37,500 per day of continuing violation for a class A misdemeanor\nbut in no event less than $3,750.\n c. Imprisonment. A sentence of imprisonment shall be a sentence of\nimprisonment authorized by article seventy of the penal law.\n 9. All prosecutions under this section shall be instituted by the\ndepartment or the commissioner and shall be conducted by the Attorney\nGeneral in the name of the people of the state of New York.\n 10. In the prosecution of any criminal proceeding under this section\nby the Attorney General and, in any proceeding before a grand jury in\nconnection therewith, the Attorney General shall exercise all the powers\nand perform all the duties which the District Attorney would otherwise\nbe authorized or required to exercise or perform, and in such a\nproceeding the District Attorney shall exercise such powers and perform\nsuch duties as are requested of him by the Attorney General.\n