New York Laws
Title 27 - Enforcement of Article 27 and Article 71
71-2703 - Violations of Title 3 or 7 of Article 27 of This Chapter.

1. Civil and administrative sanctions. a. Any person who violates any
of the provisions of, or who fails to perform any duty imposed by title
3 or 7 of article 27 of this chapter or any rule or regulation
promulgated pursuant thereto, or any term or condition of any
certificate or permit issued pursuant thereto, or any final
determination or order of the commissioner made pursuant to this title
shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed seven thousand five
hundred dollars for each such violation and an additional penalty of not
more than one thousand five hundred dollars for each day during which
such violation continues, to be assessed by the commissioner after an
opportunity to be heard pursuant to the provisions of section 71-1709 of
this article, or by the court in any action or proceeding pursuant to
section 71-2727 of this title, and, in addition thereto, such person may
by similar process be enjoined from continuing such violation and any
permit or certificate issued to such person may be revoked or suspended
or a pending renewal application denied.

b. i. Any person who violates any of the provisions of, or who fails
to perform any duty imposed by, title 3 or 7 of article 27 of this
chapter, or any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto, or any
term or condition of any certificate or permit issued pursuant thereto
and thereby causes the release of solid waste into the environment,
shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed eleven thousand two
hundred fifty dollars for each such violation and an additional penalty
of not more than eleven thousand two hundred fifty dollars for each day
during which such violation continues, to be assessed by the
commissioner after an opportunity to be heard pursuant to the provisions
of section 71-1709 of this article, or by the court in any action or
proceeding pursuant to section 71-2727 of this title, and, in addition
thereto, such person may by similar process be enjoined from continuing
such violation and any permit or certificate issued to such person may
be revoked or suspended or a pending renewal application denied.

ii. Any person who violates any of the provisions of, or who fails to
perform any duty imposed by, title 3 or 7 of article 27 of this chapter,
or any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto, or any term or
condition of any certificate or permit issued pursuant thereto and
thereby causes the release of more than ten cubic yards of solid waste
into the environment, shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed
twenty-two thousand five hundred dollars for each such violation and an
additional penalty of not more than twenty-two thousand five hundred
dollars for each day during which such violation continues, to be
assessed by the commissioner after an opportunity to be heard pursuant
to the provisions of section 71-1709 of this article, or by the court in
any action or proceeding pursuant to section 71-2727 of this title, and,
in addition thereto, such person may by similar process be enjoined from
continuing such violation and any permit or certificate issued to such
person may be revoked or suspended or a pending renewal application
denied.

c. The court in any action or proceeding pursuant to section 71-2727
of this chapter may exercise all powers exercisable by the commissioner.

2. Criminal sanctions. a. Any person who, having any of the culpable
mental states defined in section 15.05 of the penal law, shall violate
any of the provisions of or who fails to perform any duty imposed by
title 3 or 7 of article 27 of this chapter, or any rules and regulations
promulgated pursuant thereto, or any final determination or order of the
commissioner made pursuant to this title shall be guilty of a violation
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less
than one thousand five hundred dollars nor more than fifteen thousand

dollars per day of violation or by imprisonment for not more than
fifteen days or by both such fine and imprisonment.

b. i. Any person who shall violate paragraph a of this subdivision and
thereby causes or attempts to cause the release of more than ten cubic
yards of solid waste into the environment shall be guilty of a class B
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of
not less than three thousand seven hundred fifty dollars per day nor
more than twenty-two thousand five hundred dollars per day of violation,
or by imprisonment for a term in accordance with the penal law, or by
both such fine and imprisonment.

ii. Any person who shall violate paragraph a of this subdivision and
thereby causes or attempts to cause the release of more than ten cubic
yards of solid waste into the environment, after having been convicted
of a violation of this subdivision within the preceding five years,
shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be punished by a fine of not less than three thousand seven
hundred fifty dollars per day nor more than thirty-seven thousand five
hundred dollars per day of violation, or by imprisonment for a term in
accordance with the penal law, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

c. i. Any person who shall violate paragraph a of this subdivision and
thereby causes or attempts to cause the release of more than seventy
cubic yards of solid waste into the environment shall be guilty of a
class A misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a
fine of not less than three thousand seven hundred fifty dollars per day
nor more than thirty-seven thousand five hundred dollars per day of
violation, or by imprisonment for a term in accordance with the penal
law, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

ii. Any person who shall violate paragraph a of this subdivision and
thereby causes or attempts to cause the release of more than seventy
cubic yards of solid waste into the environment, after having been
convicted of a violation of this subdivision within the preceding five
years, shall be guilty of a class E felony and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be punished by a fine of not less than seven thousand five hundred
dollars per day nor more than seventy-five thousand dollars per day of
violation, or by imprisonment for a term in accordance with the penal
law, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

3. Additional sanctions. Any person who violates any of the provisions
of, or who fails to perform any duty imposed by title 7 of article 27,
with regard to the construction and operation of facilities for the
disposal of construction and demolition debris or any rule or regulation
promulgated pursuant thereto, or any term or condition of any
certificate or permit issued pursuant thereto or any final determination
or order of the commissioner made pursuant to this title shall be liable
for a civil penalty not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars and each day
of such deposition shall constitute a separate violation and said civil
penalty is in addition to any other fines or penalties which may be
applied pursuant to this title.

4. Definition. As used in this section, the following term shall have
the following meaning "release" means any pumping, pouring, emitting,
emptying, discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling or placing of
a substance.

5. Penalty assessment criteria. In determining the amount of any fine,
penalty or sentence imposed pursuant to this section, the commissioner
or the court shall take into consideration any evidence introduced by a
party regarding the economic impact of a penalty on a business, the
compliance history of a violator, good faith efforts of a violator to
comply, any economic benefit obtained from noncompliance, the amount of
risk or damage to public health or the environment caused by a violator,

whether the violation was procedural in nature, or such other factors as
justice may require.