2013 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 22a - Environmental Protection
Chapter 445 - Hazardous Waste
Section 22a-131a - Penalties. Terms defined.

(a) Any person who (1) wilfully fails to prepare a manifest required in accordance with the provisions of the State Hazardous Waste Program promulgated under subsection (c) of section 22a-449 or any regulation adopted pursuant to said subsection, (2) knowingly makes any false material statement or representation on any application, label, manifest, record, report, permit or other document required in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of section 22a-449 or said regulations, including any such statement or representation for used oil that is regulated under said subsection, or (3) wilfully fails to maintain or knowingly destroys, alters or conceals any record required to be maintained in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of section 22a-449 or said regulations, including any record for used oil that is regulated under said subsection, shall be fined not more than fifty thousand dollars for each day of such violation or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. A subsequent conviction for any such violation shall be a class D felony, except that such conviction shall carry a fine of not more than fifty thousand dollars per day.

(b) Any person who knowingly transports or causes to be transported any hazardous waste to a facility which does not have a permit required under subsection (c) of section 22a-449 or any regulation adopted pursuant to said subsection, or who knowingly treats, stores or disposes of any hazardous wastes without a permit required under said subsection or said regulations, or who knowingly violates any material condition or requirement of such permit or an order issued by the commissioner regarding treatment, storage or disposal of hazardous waste, shall be guilty of a class D felony, except that such person shall be fined not more than fifty thousand dollars for each day of violation. A subsequent conviction for any such violation shall be a class C felony, except that such conviction shall carry a fine of not more than one hundred thousand dollars per day.

(c) Any person who knowingly stores, treats, disposes, recycles, transports or causes to be transported or otherwise handles any used oil that is regulated under subsection (c) of section 22a-449 but not identified or listed as hazardous waste in violation of any condition or requirement of a permit under said subsection or under any regulation adopted pursuant to said subsection shall be fined not more than fifty thousand dollars for each day of violation or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. A subsequent conviction for any such violation shall be a class D felony, except that such conviction shall carry a fine of not more than one hundred thousand dollars per day.

(d) Any person, who in the commission of a violation for which a penalty would be imposed under subsection (a), (b) or (c) of this section, who knowingly places another person, by commission of such violation, in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury, shall be fined not more than two hundred fifty thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than fifteen years, or both, and when the violator is an organization, the fine shall be not more than one million dollars. This subsection shall not be construed as a limitation on the amount of fines that may be imposed in accordance with subsection (a), (b) or (c) of this section. As used in this section, “organization” means any legal entity, other than the state or any of its political subdivisions, established for any purpose, and includes a corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, joint stock company, foundation, institution, trust, society, union or any other association of persons.

(e) Any fine imposed pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the General Fund.

(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 22a-115, for the purposes of this section, the terms “treatment”, “storage”, “disposal”, “facility”, “hazardous waste” and “used oil” have the same meaning as provided in the State Hazardous Waste Program promulgated under subsection (c) of section 22a-449 and the regulations adopted pursuant to said subsection.

(P.A. 81-443, S. 3, 7; P.A. 84-535, S. 4; P.A. 85-590, S. 1; P.A. 95-208, S. 7, 13; P.A. 00-19, S. 1; P.A. 08-186, S. 3; P.A. 13-258, S. 89.)

History: P.A. 84-535 added Subsec. (d) requiring that the fines imposed be credited to the emergency spill response fund; P.A. 85-590 amended Subsec. (a) to make wilful failure to prepare manifest and wilful failure to maintain records subject to penalties provided; P.A. 95-208 amended Subsec. (d) to require that any fine imposed pursuant to section be deposited in General Fund, rather than deposited in General Fund and credited to Emergency Spill Response Fund, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 00-19 changed references from federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 to Sec. 22a-449(c) in Subsecs. (a) and (b), added provisions in Subsec. (a) re used oil, added provision in Subsec. (b) re order issued by the commissioner, increased criminal penalties in Subsecs. (a), (b) and (d), adding new penalty for subsequent convictions in Subsec. (b), inserted new Subsec. (c) re violations involving regulated used oil, redesignated former Subsecs. (c) and (d) as Subsecs. (d) and (e), and amended Subsec. (d) by deleting provisions re violation indicating extreme indifference to human life and adding references to Subsec. (c); P.A. 08-186 added Subsec. (f) defining “treatment”, “storage”, “disposal”, “facility”, “hazardous waste” and “used oil”; P.A. 13-258 amended Subsecs. (a), (b) and (c) to substitute provisions re class D felony for provisions re imprisonment of not more than 5 years, amended Subsec. (b) to substitute provision re class C felony for provision re imprisonment of not more than 10 years, and made technical changes.