(a) Any person who commits any of the following acts, shall, upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16, 24, or 36 months:
(1) Except as provided by Section 7724.1, knowingly fails to follow the direction or order of the secretary or the commission arising from a rail accident or release of a hazardous or potentially hazardous commodity from a railcar.
(2) Knowingly causes, or aids or abets in, the discharge or spill of, a hazardous or potentially hazardous commodity from a railcar, unless the discharge is authorized by the United States, the state, or another agency with appropriate jurisdiction.
(3) Knowingly fails to comply with the regulations adopted pursuant to Section 7712, and that failure results in a rail accident or release of hazardous material or creates a significant risk of accident or release of hazardous material.
(b) The court shall also impose upon a person convicted of violating subdivision (a), a fine not to exceed five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for each violation. For purposes of this subdivision, each day or partial day that a violation occurs is a separate violation.
(c) The court shall also impose upon a person convicted of violating paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), a fine equal to twice the cost of abating, repairing, and responding to the cost associated with the illegal discharge of a hazardous or potentially hazardous commodity from a railcar as a result of a rail accident.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 562. (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