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Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2005 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 10.1-1455 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 10.1-1455. Penalties and enforcement.
A. Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, any
condition of a permit or certification, or any regulation or order of the Board
shall, upon such finding by an appropriate circuit court, be assessed a civil
penalty of not more than $25,000 $32,500 for each day of such violation.
All civil penalties under this section shall be recovered in a civil action
brought by the Attorney General in the name of the Commonwealth. Such civil
penalties shall be paid into the state treasury and deposited by the State
Treasurer into the Virginia Environmental Emergency Response Fund pursuant to
Chapter 25 (§ 10.1-2500 et seq.) of this title.
B. In addition to the penalties provided above, any person who
knowingly transports any hazardous waste to an unpermitted facility; who
knowingly transports, treats, stores, or disposes of hazardous waste without a
permit or in violation of a permit; or who knowingly makes any false statement
or representation in any application, disclosure statement, label, manifest,
record, report, permit, or other document filed, maintained, or used for
purposes of hazardous waste program compliance shall be guilty of a felony
punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than
five years and a fine of not more than $25,000 $32,500 for each violation,
either or both. The provisions of this subsection shall be deemed to constitute
a lesser included offense of the violation set forth under subsection I.
Each day of violation of each requirement shall constitute a separate offense.
C. The Board is authorized to issue orders to require any
person to comply with the provisions of any law administered by the Board, the
Director or the Department, any condition of a permit or certification, or any
regulations promulgated by the Board or to comply with any case decision, as
defined in § 2.2-4001, of the Board or Director. Any such order shall be issued
only after a hearing in accordance with § 2.2-4020 with at least
thirty 30 days' notice to the affected person of the time, place and
purpose thereof. Such order shall become effective not less than fifteen
15 days after mailing a copy thereof by certified mail to the last known
address of such person. The provisions of this section shall not affect the
authority of the Board to issue separate orders and regulations to meet any
emergency as provided in § 10.1-1402.
D. Any person willfully violating or refusing, failing or neglecting to comply with any regulation or order of the Board or the Director, any condition of a permit or certification or any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor unless a different penalty is specified.
Any person violating or failing, neglecting, or refusing to obey any lawful regulation or order of the Board or the Director, any condition of a permit or certification or any provision of this chapter may be compelled in a proceeding instituted in an appropriate court by the Board or the Director to obey such regulation, permit, certification, order or provision of this chapter and to comply therewith by injunction, mandamus, or other appropriate remedy.
E. Without limiting the remedies which may be obtained in this
section, any person violating or failing, neglecting or refusing to obey any
injunction, mandamus or other remedy obtained pursuant to this section shall be
subject, in the discretion of the court, to a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000
$32,500 for each violation. Such civil penalties shall be paid into
the state treasury and deposited by the State Treasurer into the Virginia
Environmental Emergency Response Fund pursuant to Chapter 25 of this title.
Each day of violation of each requirement shall constitute a separate offense.
Such civil penalties may, in the discretion of the court assessing them, be
directed to be paid into the treasury of the county, city or town in which the
violation occurred, to be used to abate environmental pollution in such manner
as the court may, by order, direct, except that where the owner in violation is
the county, city or town itself, or its agent, the court shall direct the
penalty to be paid into the state treasury and deposited by the State Treasurer
into the Virginia Environmental Emergency Response Fund pursuant to Chapter 25
of this title.
F. With the consent of any person who has violated or failed, neglected or refused to obey any regulation or order of the Board or the Director, any condition of a permit or any provision of this chapter, the Board may provide, in an order issued by the Board against such person, for the payment of civil charges for past violations in specific sums, not to exceed the limits specified in this section. Such civil charges shall be instead of any appropriate civil penalty which could be imposed under this section. Such civil charges shall be paid into the state treasury and deposited by the State Treasurer into the Virginia Environmental Emergency Response Fund pursuant to Chapter 25 of this title.
G. In addition to all other available remedies, the Board may
issue administrative orders for the violation of (i) any law or regulation
administered by the Board; (ii) any condition of a permit or certificate issued
pursuant to this chapter; or (iii) any case decision or order of the Board.
Issuance of an administrative order shall be a case decision as defined in §
2.2-4001. Orders issued pursuant to this subsection may include civil penalties
of up to $25,000 $32,500 per violation and may compel the taking
of corrective actions or the cessation of any activity upon which the order is
based. Orders issued pursuant to this subsection shall become effective five
days after having been delivered to the affected persons or mailed by certified
mail to the last known address of such persons. Should the Board find that any
person is adversely affecting the public health, safety or welfare, or the
environment, the Board shall, after a reasonable attempt to give notice, issue,
without a hearing, an emergency administrative order directing the person to
cease the activity immediately and undertake any needed corrective action, and
shall within ten 10 days hold a hearing, after reasonable notice
as to the time and place thereof to the person, to affirm, modify, amend or
cancel the emergency administrative order. If the Board finds that a person who
has been issued an administrative order or an emergency administrative order is
not complying with the order's terms, the Board may utilize the enforcement and
penalty provisions of this article to secure compliance.
H. In addition to all other available remedies, the Department and generators of recycling residues shall have standing to seek enforcement by injunction of conditions which are specified by applicants in order to receive the priority treatment of their permit applications pursuant to § 10.1-1408.1.
I. Any person who knowingly transports, treats, stores,
disposes of, or exports any hazardous waste in violation of this chapter or in
violation of the regulations promulgated by the Board and who knows at the time
that he thereby places another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily
injury, shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a felony punishable by a term of
imprisonment of not less than two years nor more than fifteen 15
years and a fine of not more than $250,000, either or both. A defendant that is
not an individual shall, upon conviction of violating this section, be subject
to a fine not exceeding the greater of one $1 million dollars
or an amount that is three times the economic benefit realized by the defendant
as a result of the offense. The maximum penalty shall be doubled with respect
to both fine and imprisonment for any subsequent conviction of the same person.
J. Criminal prosecutions under this chapter shall be commenced within three years after discovery of the offense, notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute.
K. The Board shall be entitled to an award of reasonable attorneys' fees and costs in any action brought by the Board under this section in which it substantially prevails on the merits of the case, unless special circumstances would make an award unjust.