Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2076.2 – Criminal penalties for violation of the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2076.2
- Circumstantial evidence: All evidence except eyewitness testimony.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Department: means the Department of Environmental Quality. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Discharge: means the placing, releasing, spilling, percolating, draining, pumping, leaking, seeping, emitting, or other escaping of pollutants into the air, waters, subsurface water, or ground as the result of a prior act or omission; or the placing of pollutants into pits, drums, barrels, or similar containers under conditions and circumstances that leaking, seeping, draining, or escaping of the pollutants can be reasonably anticipated. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Person: means any individual, municipality, public or private corporation, partnership, firm, the United States Government, and any agent or subdivision thereof or any other juridical person, which shall include, but not be limited to, trusts, joint stock companies, associations, the state of Louisiana, political subdivisions of the state of Louisiana, commissions, and interstate bodies. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Pollutant: means those elements or compounds defined or identified as hazardous, toxic, or noxious, or as hazardous, solid, or radioactive wastes under this Subtitle and regulations, or by the secretary, consistent with applicable laws and regulations. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Secretary: means the secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Treatment works: means any plant or other works which accomplishes the treating, stabilizing, or holding of wastes. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2073
- Violation: means a failure to comply with the requirements of this Subtitle, the rules issued under this Subtitle, and conditions of permits under this Subtitle. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
A. Negligent violations.
(1) Any person who negligently violates any provision of the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or any order issued by the secretary under the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or any permit condition or limitation implementing any of such provisions in a permit issued under the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System by the secretary, or any requirement imposed in a pretreatment program approved under the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System; or
(2) Any person who negligently introduces into public sewer systems or into publicly owned treatment works any pollutant or hazardous substance which such person knew or reasonably should have known could cause personal injury or property damage or, other than in compliance with all applicable federal, state, or local requirements or permits, which causes such treatment works to violate any effluent limitation or condition in any permit issued to the treatment works under the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System by the department;
(3) Shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not less than two thousand five hundred dollars nor more than twenty-five thousand dollars per day of violation or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. If a conviction of a person is for a violation committed after a first conviction of such person under this Subsection, he shall be subject to a fine of not more than fifty thousand dollars per day of violation, or imprisonment for not more than two years, with or without hard labor, or both.
B. Knowing violations.
(1) Any person who knowingly violates any provision of the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System or any permit condition or limitation implementing any of such provisions in a permit issued under the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System or any requirement imposed in a pretreatment program approved under the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System; or
(2) Any person who knowingly introduces into public sewer systems or into a publicly owned treatment works any pollutant or hazardous substance which such person knew or reasonably should have known could cause personal injury or property damage, or other than in compliance with all applicable federal, state, or local requirements or permits, which causes such treatment work to violate any effluent limitation or condition in a permit issued to the treatment works under the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System;
(3) Shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not less than five thousand dollars nor more than fifty thousand dollars per day of violation, or imprisonment for not more than three years, with or without hard labor, or both. If a conviction of a person is for a violation committed after a first conviction of such person under this Subsection, he shall be subject to a fine of not more than one hundred thousand dollars per day of violation, or imprisonment for not more than six years, with or without hard labor, or both.
C. Knowing endangerment.
(1) Any person who knowingly violates any provision of the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System or any order issued by the secretary under the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System or any permit condition or limitation implementing any of such provisions in a permit issued under the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System by the secretary, and who knows at that time that he thereby places another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury, shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than two hundred fifty thousand dollars or imprisonment for not more than fifteen years, with or without hard labor, or both. A juridical person shall, upon conviction of violating this Paragraph, be subject to a fine of not more than one million dollars. If a conviction of a person is for a violation committed after a first conviction of such person under this Paragraph, he shall be subject to a fine of up to five hundred thousand dollars or imprisonment for up to thirty years at hard labor, or both.
(2) For the purpose of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection:
(a) In determining whether a defendant who is an individual knew that his conduct placed another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury, the following shall apply:
(i) The person is responsible only for actual awareness or actual belief that he possessed; and
(ii) Knowledge possessed by a person other than the defendant but not by the defendant himself may not be attributed to the defendant.
(iii) In proving the defendant’s possession of actual knowledge, circumstantial evidence may be used, including evidence that the defendant took affirmative steps to shield himself from relevant information. The knowledge necessary for culpability of a natural person is actual knowledge which may be established by direct or circumstantial evidence, but not constructive or vicarious knowledge. Knowledge that the defendant should have had, could have had, or would have had under various circumstances does not suffice if he did not actually have the requisite knowledge about the danger at the time he acted.
(b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution that the conduct charged was consented to by the person endangered and that the danger and conduct charged were reasonable foreseeable hazards of:
(i) An occupation, a business, or a profession; or
(ii) Medical treatment or medical or scientific experimentation conducted by professionally approved methods and such other person had been made aware of the risks involved prior to giving consent; and
(iii) Such defense may be established under this Subparagraph by a preponderance of the evidence.
(c) The term “organization” means a legal entity, other than a government, established or organized for any purpose, and such term includes a corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, joint stock company, foundation, institution, trust, society, union, or any other association of persons.
(d) The term “serious bodily injury” means bodily injury which involves a substantial risk of death, unconsciousness, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.
D. False Statements. Any person who knowingly makes any false material statement, representation, or certification in any application, record, report, plan, or other document filed or required to be maintained under the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System or who knowingly falsifies, tampers with, or renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required to be maintained under the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisonment for not more than two years, with or without hard labor, or both. If a conviction of a person is for a violation committed after a first conviction of such person under this Subsection, he shall be subject to a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars per day of violation, or imprisonment for not more than four years, with or without hard labor, or both.
E. Treatment of single operational upset. For purposes of this Section, a single operational upset which leads to simultaneous violations of more than one pollutant parameter shall be treated as a single violation.
F. Responsible corporate officer as “person”. For the purposes of this Section, the term “person” means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, state, municipality, commission, political subdivision of a state, any interstate body, or any responsible corporate officer.
G. Hazardous substance defined. For the purpose of this Section, the term “hazardous substance” means any of the following:
(1) Any substance designated pursuant to Section 311(b)(2)(A) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1321(b)(2)(A)).
(2) Any element, compound, mixture, solution, or substance designated pursuant to Section 102 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. § 9602).
(3) Any hazardous waste having the characteristics identified under or listed pursuant to Section 3001 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. § 6921), but not including any waste the regulation of which under the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq.) has been suspended by Act of Congress.
(4) Any toxic pollutant listed under Section 307(a) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317(a)).
(5) Any imminently hazardous chemical substance or mixture with respect to which the administrator has taken action pursuant to Section 7 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. § 2606).
H. Notice to district attorney. Upon a determination that a criminal violation may have occurred under this Section, notification shall be given to the district attorney in whose jurisdiction such possible violation has occurred. The secretary shall provide the district attorney with any and all information necessary to evaluate the alleged violation for criminal prosecution. The criminal prosecution of such violations shall be at the direction of the district attorney. The secretary shall cooperate fully with the district attorney.
I. Negligently defined. For purposes of this Section, the term “negligently” has the meaning specified under La. Rev. Stat. 14:12 with respect to the definition of criminal negligence.
Acts 1993, No. 268, §1; Acts 2005, No. 299, §1.