Any person or stationary source who knowingly makes any false material statement, representation or certification in any record, report, or other document filed, maintained, or used for the purpose of compliance with this article, or destroys, alters, or conceals any such record, report, or other document filed, maintained, or used for the purpose of compliance with this article, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for each day of violation, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both the fine and the imprisonment.
If the conviction is for a violation committed after a first conviction under this section, the person or stationary source shall be punished by a fine of not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) or more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per day of violation, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for one, two, or three years or in a county jail for not more than one year, or both the fine and imprisonment.
Furthermore, if the violation results in, or significantly contributes to, an emergency, including a fire, to which the county or city is required to respond, the person or stationary source shall also be assessed the full cost of the county or city emergency response, as well as the cost of cleaning up and disposing of the acutely hazardous materials.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 195. (AB 109) Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018