2023 Rhode Island General Laws › Title 23 - Health and Safety › Chapter 23-19.1 - Hazardous Waste Management › Section 23-19.1-18. - Criminal penalties — Payment of restoration costs.

§ 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.