Colorado § 18-13-112 - Hazardous waste violations.

§ 18-13-112. Hazardous waste violations.

(1) No person shall abandon any vehicle containing any hazardous waste or intentionally spill hazardous waste upon a street, highway, right-of-way, or any other public property or upon any private property without the express consent of the owner or person in lawful charge of that private property.

(2) As used in this section:

(a) (I) "Abandon" means to leave a thing with the intention not to retain possession of or assert ownership or control over it. The intent need not coincide with the act of leaving.

(II) It is prima facie evidence of the necessary intent that:

(A) The vehicle has been left for more than three days unattended and unmoved; or

(B) License plates or other identifying marks have been removed from the vehicle; or

(C) The vehicle has been damaged or is deteriorated so extensively that it has value only for junk or salvage; or

(D) The owner has been notified by a law enforcement agency to remove the vehicle and it has not been removed within twenty-four hours after notification.

(b) (I) "Hazardous waste" means any waste or other material, alone, mixed with, or in combination with other wastes or materials, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical or chemical characteristics:

(A) Causes, or significantly contributes to, an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or

(B) Poses a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise improperly managed.

(II) "Hazardous waste" also means any waste or other material defined as a hazardous waste in the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the federal "Solid Waste Disposal Act" (42 U.S.C. 3251 et seq.), as amended by the federal "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976", as amended (42 U.S.C. 6905, 6912 (a), 6921-6927, 6930, 6974), as such rules and regulations are set forth in 40 C.F.R. Parts 122-124 and 260-265 on July 1, 1981.

(c) "Hazardous waste" does not include:

(I) Discharges which are point sources subject to permits under section 402 of the "Federal Water Pollution Control Act", as amended;

(II) Source, special nuclear, or byproduct material as defined by the federal "Atomic Energy Act of 1954", as amended;

(III) Agricultural waste;

(IV) Domestic sewage which includes final use for beneficial purposes, including fertilizer, soil conditioner, fuel, and livestock feed, of sludge from wastewater treatment plants if such sludge meets all applicable standards of the department;

(V) Irrigation return flows;

(VI) Inert materials deposited for construction fill or topsoil placement in connection with actual or contemplated construction at such location or for changes in land contour for agricultural purposes; or

(VII) Any waste or other materials exempted or otherwise not regulated as a hazardous waste in the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the federal "Solid Waste Disposal Act" (42 U.S.C. 3251 et seq.), as amended by the federal "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976", as amended (42 U.S.C. 6905, 6912 (a), 6921-6927, 6930, 6974), as such rules and regulations are set forth in 40 C.F.R. Parts 122-124 and 260-265 on July 1, 1981.

(d) "Inert material" means non-water-soluble and nondecomposable inert solids together with such minor amounts and types of other materials as will not significantly affect the inert nature of such solids. The term includes but is not limited to earth, sand, gravel, rock, concrete which has been in a hardened state for at least sixty days, masonry, asphalt paving fragments, and such other non-water-soluble and nondecomposable inert solids.

(e) "Vehicle" means any device which is capable of moving itself, or of being moved, from place to place upon wheels or endless tracks. The term includes but is not limited to any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer.

(3) (a) A person who violates this section by intentionally spilling hazardous waste commits a class 4 felony.

(b) A person who violates this section by abandoning a vehicle containing hazardous waste commits a class 5 felony.

Source: L. 81: Entire section added, p. 977, § 22, effective July 1. L. 92: IP(2)(b)(I) amended, p. 1258, § 15, effective August 1. L. 2023: (3) amended, (HB 23-1293), ch. 298, p. 1793, § 50, effective October 1.

Cross references: For the penalty for other hazardous waste violations, see § 25-15-310; for the penalty for causing or contributing to the occurrence of a hazardous substance incident, see § 29-22-108; for penalties for violations of the "Hazardous Materials Transportation Act of 1987", see §§ 42-20-109, 42-20-111, 42-20-204, and 42-20-305.

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For article, "Using Local Police Powers to Protect the Environment", see 24 Colo. Law. 1063 (1995).