§ 23-19.1-18. Criminal penalties — Payment of restoration costs.
(a) Unless otherwise specified, any person who shall refuse to obey or who shall knowingly violate, or reasonably should know that he or she is violating, the provisions of an order issued by the director under the provisions of this chapter or any rules or regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter, or who shall cause the refusal or violation, shall be guilty of a felony.
(b) Any person who shall tamper with, destroy, or in any other way detrimentally affect a well which has been installed by any person pursuant to an order or rules and regulations issued by the department of environmental management or any other state agency, for the purpose of testing ground water contamination, shall be guilty of a felony.
(c) Disposal of hazardous wastes at landfills which cannot be located, designed, constructed, or operated to prevent the endangerment of all underground drinking water sources beyond the facility boundary; or the endangerment of an aquifer which has been designated by any federal or Rhode Island state agency as a sole source aquifer; or contamination by discharge by any surface or subsurface means causing a violation of any rule or regulation or standard of any federal or Rhode Island agency; or disposal of hazardous wastes at facilities other than hazardous waste disposal facilities permitted by the department of environmental management is prohibited, and any person who knowingly disposes, or who reasonably should know that he or she is disposing or causing the disposal of, hazardous wastes in Rhode Island at other than hazardous waste disposal facilities holding valid permits issued by the department of environmental management shall be deemed guilty of a felony.
(d) Operation of a hazardous waste disposal facility in Rhode Island without a valid permit issued by the department of environmental management is prohibited, and any person who knowingly operates a hazardous waste disposal facility in Rhode Island, or who reasonably should know that he or she is operating or causing the operation of this facility without a valid permit shall be guilty of a felony.
(e) Transportation of hazardous wastes in Rhode Island without a valid permit issued by the department of environmental management is prohibited, and any person who knowingly transports hazardous wastes in Rhode Island without a valid permit issued by the department of environmental management, or who reasonably should know that he or she is transporting or causing to be transported hazardous wastes without a permit, shall be guilty of a felony.
(f) Treatment of hazardous wastes in Rhode Island without a valid permit issued by the department of environmental management, or storage of hazardous wastes in Rhode Island without a valid permit issued by the department of environmental management is prohibited and any person who knowingly stores or treats hazardous wastes in Rhode Island without a valid permit issued by the department of environmental management, or other authorization of the department of environmental management, or who reasonably should know that he or she is storing or treating or causing to be treated or stored without a permit, shall be guilty of a felony.
(g) The transporting, causing to be transported, or accepting of hazardous waste for treatment, storage, or disposal from a transporter without a manifest required by the department of environmental management and completed in accordance with department of environmental management regulations is prohibited. Any person who transports, causes to be transported, or accepts hazardous waste for treatment, storage, or disposal and fails to prepare a manifest for the hazardous waste or knowingly alters or falsifies the information on the manifest shall be deemed guilty of a felony.
(h) Any person who knowingly makes a false statement, representation, or certification in any application, record, report, plan, permit, or other document filed, maintained, and used for the purposes of program compliance under this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a felony.
(i) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than five (5) years or by a fine of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or both. In the case of a continuing violation, each day’s continuance of the violation shall be a separate and distinct offense.
(j) In addition to the provisions of this section, after a judgment of conviction and hearing in accordance with § 23-19.1-18.1, the court may order the defendant to pay the cost of restoring to its original state the area where hazardous wastes were unlawfully stored, treated, or disposed.
History of Section.P.L. 1978, ch. 229, § 1; G.L. 1956, § 23-46.2-18; P.L. 1979, ch. 39, § 1; G.L. 1956, § 23-19.1-18; P.L. 1979, ch. 265, § 1; P.L. 1980, ch. 255, § 4; P.L. 1982, ch. 337, § 1; P.L. 1983, ch. 69, § 1; P.L. 1984, ch. 283, § 1; P.L. 1984, ch. 330, § 1; P.L. 1985, ch. 298, § 1; P.L. 1989, ch. 542, § 50; P.L. 2007, ch. 187, § 1; P.L. 2007, ch. 213, § 1.
Structure Rhode Island General Laws
Chapter 23-19.1 - Hazardous Waste Management
Section 23-19.1-1. - Short title.
Section 23-19.1-2. - Legislative findings.
Section 23-19.1-3. - Declaration of purpose.
Section 23-19.1-4. - Definitions.
Section 23-19.1-5. - Applicability of chapter.
Section 23-19.1-6. - Powers and duties of the director.
Section 23-19.1-7. - Manifest required.
Section 23-19.1-8. - Records — Reports — Monitoring.
Section 23-19.1-9. - Generation of wastes.
Section 23-19.1-10. - Permits — Issuance — Renewal — Revocation — Exempted activities.
Section 23-19.1-10.1. - Criteria for permits.
Section 23-19.1-10.2. - Criteria for licenses.
Section 23-19.1-10.3. - Emergency and temporary permits.
Section 23-19.1-11. - Permits — Variances.
Section 23-19.1-11.1. - Ground water resources.
Section 23-19.1-12. - Inspections — Penalty for hindering entry.
Section 23-19.1-13. - Employment of experts and consultants to investigate permit applications.
Section 23-19.1-14. - Permit fees — Expenses of investigation and hearing.
Section 23-19.1-15. - Proceedings for enforcement.
Section 23-19.1-16. - Emergency powers.
Section 23-19.1-17. - Civil penalty for violations.
Section 23-19.1-17.1. - Seizure and forfeiture of property used to violate chapter.
Section 23-19.1-17.2. - Sampling and disposition of hazardous waste.
Section 23-19.1-18. - Criminal penalties — Payment of restoration costs.
Section 23-19.1-18.1. - Determination of restoration costs — Judgment — Other relief not precluded.
Section 23-19.1-18.2. - Limitation of prosecutions.
Section 23-19.1-18.3. - Prohibiting business due to conviction of certain acts.
Section 23-19.1-19. - Interstate cooperation.
Section 23-19.1-20. - Liberal construction — Severability.
Section 23-19.1-21. - Applicability of chapter — No effect on public utilities and carriers.
Section 23-19.1-22. - Liability for unauthorized transportation, storage, or disposal.
Section 23-19.1-23. - Environmental response fund.
Section 23-19.1-24. - Administration of the fund.
Section 23-19.1-25. - Bonds authorized — Maturity — Certification and execution.
Section 23-19.1-26. - Depositing bond proceeds in environmental response fund.
Section 23-19.1-27. - Temporary notes.
Section 23-19.1-28. - Advances from general fund in anticipation of the issue of notes or bonds.
Section 23-19.1-29. - Bonds and notes tax exempt general obligation of state.
Section 23-19.1-31. - Investment of receipts pending expenditures.
Section 23-19.1-32. - Amortization.
Section 23-19.1-33. - Notice of hazardous waste disposal violation.
Section 23-19.1-34. - Hazardous waste haulers — Drivers license and certificate required.
Section 23-19.1-35. - Denial or revocation of hazardous waste material driver’s certificate.
Section 23-19.1-36. - Suspension of transporters permit upon violation of § 23-19.1-33.