La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § V-10117

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section V-10117 - Failure to Report: Penalties

A. Failure to report any regulated material on a Tier Two Inventory form, as provided in these rules and under the authority of R.S. 30:2361-2380, may result in the levying of civil penalties up to $25,000 for each regulated hazardous material not reported and/or for each non-reported release or incident involving a regulated hazardous material.

B. The burden of proof shall be on the owner or operator of a facility to show that the failure to report a hazardous material or release was inadvertent.

C. Small businesses, as defined by these rules, which have any omission from the inventory reporting forms will receive, on first offense, a warning rather than a civil penalty.

D. Careless Handling of a Hazardous Material

1.R.S. 30:2373(D)(1). Any person who handles, stores, or otherwise maintains a hazardous material regulated by this Chapter in a negligent or unreasonable manner without regard for the hazards of the material and causes a significant impact to public health and safety as a result of a reportable release of a hazardous material shall be in violation of this Subsection.

2.R.S. 30:2373(D)(2) provides that for any person, owner, operator, or facility that violates R.S. 30:2373(D) the department may levy a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 per violation.

E. Reckless Handling of a Hazardous Material

1.R.S. 30:2373.E.(1) provides that no person shall intentionally handle, store, or otherwise maintain any hazardous material regulated by the Right-to-Know Law in a manner which endangers human life.

2.R.S. 30:2373.E.(2) provides that any person, owner, operator, or facility that willfully violates R.S. 30:2373.E may be assessed a civil penalty by the department not to exceed $25,000 per violation per day or upon first conviction shall be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both. Upon second or subsequent conviction of a violation of R.S. 30:2373.E.(1), said person, owner, operator, or facility shall be fined not less than $500 nor more than $10,000 or imprisoned with or without hard labor for not less than six months nor more than 10 years.

F. Intentional Failure to Report a Hazardous Material Release or Incident

1.R.S. 30:2373.C.(3) provides that for owners and operators who knowingly fail to report a reportable release of a hazardous material regulated by the Right-to-Know Law the department may assess a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 per violation per day.

La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § V-10117

Promulgated by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of State Police, LR 13:762 (December 1987), amended LR 14:804 (November 1988), LR 16:975 (November 1990), LR 27:864 (June 2001), LR 27:2259 (December 2001), LR 36:545 (March 2010).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2361 et seq.