Colorado § 25-15-310 - Criminal offenses - penalties.

§ 25-15-310. Criminal offenses - penalties.

(1) On or after the date specified in section 25-15-102 (3), no person shall:

(a) Transport or cause to be transported any hazardous waste identified or listed pursuant to this article to a facility which does not have a permit under this article or the federal act;

(b) Treat, store, or dispose of any hazardous waste identified or listed pursuant to this article either without having obtained a permit as required by this article or the federal act or in knowing violation of any material condition or requirement of a permit or interim status requirement;

(c) Omit any material information or make any false material statement or representation in any application, label, manifest, record, report, permit, or other document filed, maintained, or used for purposes of compliance with this article or with the federal act or regulations promulgated under this article or the federal act;

(d) Destroy, alter, or conceal any record required to be maintained or fail to file any record required to be filed under regulations promulgated by the commission under this part 3 or pursuant to the federal act; or

(e) Treat, store, or dispose of any hazardous waste identified or listed pursuant to this article in violation of any material condition or requirement of a permit or interim status requirement.

(2) Except as provided in section 18-13-112, 29-22-108, or 42-20-113, C.R.S., any person acting with criminal negligence as defined in section 18-1-501 (3), C.R.S., who violates any of the provisions of paragraph (a), (c), (d), or (e) of subsection (1) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars for each day of violation. If such conviction is for a violation committed after a previous conviction under this subsection (2), the maximum fine shall be doubled.

(3) Any person who knowingly, as defined in section 18-1-501 (6), C.R.S., violates any of the provisions of paragraph (a), (b), (c), or (d) of subsection (1) of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty thousand dollars for each day of violation, or by imprisonment not to exceed four years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. If said conviction is for a violation committed after a previous conviction of such person under this subsection (3), the maximum punishment shall be doubled with respect to both fine and imprisonment.

(4) (a) (Deleted by amendment, L. 92, p. 1252, § 12, effective August 1, 1992.)

(b) Any generator who otherwise stores waste on-site in compliance with the requirements of 6 CCR 1007-3, section 262.34 (a), as those requirements exist on July 1, 1988, but who knowingly exceeds the ninety-day storage period or any extension thereof is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as provided in subsection (2) of this section.

(5) The court shall consider the factors contained in paragraphs (a) to (i) of this subsection (5) in determining the amount of any criminal sanction to be imposed pursuant to this article. The factors contained in paragraphs (f), (g), and (h) of this subsection (5) shall be mitigating factors and may be applied, together with other factors, to reduce or eliminate sanctions or penalties. Such factors are:

(a) The seriousness of the violation;

(b) Whether the violation was intentional, reckless, or negligent;

(c) The impact upon or the threat to the public health or the environment as a result of the violation;

(d) The degree, if any, of recalcitrance or recidivism upon the part of the violator;

(e) The economic benefit realized by the violator as a result of the violation;

(f) The voluntary and complete disclosure by the violator of such violation in a timely fashion after discovery and prior to the department's knowledge of the violation, provided that all reports required pursuant to state environmental law have been submitted as and when otherwise required;

(g) Full and prompt cooperation by the violator following disclosure of a violation, including, when appropriate, entering into in good faith and implementing a legally enforceable agreement to undertake compliance and remedial efforts;

(h) The existence of a regularized and comprehensive environmental compliance program or an environmental audit program that was adopted in a timely and good-faith manner and that includes sufficient measures to identify and prevent future noncompliance; and

(i) Any other aggravating or mitigating circumstances.

Source: L. 81: Entire article R&RE, p. 1358, § 1, effective July 1. L. 83: Entire section amended, p. 1104, § 25, effective November 2, 1984; (2) amended, p. 2055, § 34, effective November 2, 1984. L. 88: (1)(a), (1)(b), and (2) amended, (1)(e) and (4) added, and (3) R&RE, pp. 1048, 1049, §§ 1-3, effective July 1. L. 92: IP(1), (1)(c), (1)(d), (2), (3), and (4)(a) amended and (5) added, p. 1252, § 12, effective August 1. L. 94: (2) amended, p. 1641, § 62, effective May 31. L. 96: (2) amended, p. 1473, § 23, effective June 1.

Editor's note: (1) Although the act repealing and reenacting this article was effective July 1, 1981, this section was not effective until November 2, 1984. (See § 25-15-102 (3).)

(2) Amendments to this section by Senate Bill 83-282 and Senate Bill 83-414 were harmonized.

Cross references: For the penalty for abandonment of a vehicle containing hazardous waste or the intentional spilling of hazardous waste on streets or highways, see § 18-13-112; for the penalty for causing or contributing to the occurrence of a hazardous substance incident, see § 29-22-108; for the 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

Exclusive authority for enforcement of § 25-15-301 et seq. is the department of health, and attorney general has no authority to bring suit for violations except upon request of the department. Harris v. Jefferson County Court, 808 P.2d 364 (Colo. App. 1991).

50 U.S.C. §§ 1512a and 1521 preempt this state's enforcement of its regulations prohibiting the storage of any hazardous waste restricted from land disposal against the United States' storage of chemical weapons at an army weapons depot. Colo. Dept. of Pub. Health & Env. v. United States, 693 F.3d 1214 (10th Cir. 2012).

Applied in People v. Inman, 950 P.2d 640 (Colo. App. 1997).