Z-602                 _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 5467

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Senators Metcalf, Kreidler, DeJarnatt, Nelson, Talmadge, Benitz, Owen, Rinehart, Lee, Amondson and Conner; by request of Puget Sound Water Quality Authority

Read first time 1/25/89 and referred to Committee on   Environment & Natural Resources.

AN ACT Relating to increasing criminal penalties for certain violations of water quality statutes; amending RCW 90.48.140; adding new sections to chapter 90.48 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  Section 20, chapter 216, Laws of 1945 as amended by section 8, chapter 155, Laws of 1973 and RCW 90.48.140 are each amended to read as follows:

          Any person ((found guilty of)) who willfully ((violating)) violates any of the provisions of this chapter, or any final written orders or directive of the department or a court in pursuance thereof, except for those violations enumerated in section 2 of this act,  shall be ((deemed)) guilty of a ((crime)) gross misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished ((by a fine of up to ten thousand dollars and costs of prosecution, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court)) as provided in RCW 9A.20.021.  Each day upon which a willful violation of the provisions of this chapter occurs may be deemed a separate and additional violation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW to read as follows:

          Any person who willfully commits any of the following shall be guilty of a class C felony and upon conviction shall be punished as provided in RCW 9A.20.021.  Each day upon which a willful violation of this section occurs may be deemed a separate and additional violation.

          (1) Omitting or falsifying any records, reports, information, plans, or specifications required by the department under this chapter;

          (2) Falsifying, tampering with, or rendering inaccurate any monitoring device or method, or tampering with any portion of a treatment or conveyance system so as to result in the discharge of untreated waste or waste not meeting permit standards;

          (3) Discharging after a permit has been revoked, or discharging in violation of a final written order or directive of the department, or discharging without a permit;

          (4) Failure to report a discharge which violates or exceeds permit conditions or limitations; and

          (5) Failure to comply with final written order or directive of the department.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW to read as follows:

          The following definitions apply to RCW 90.48.140 and section 2 of this act.

          (1) "Willful" or "willfully" shall be defined in the same manner as those terms are defined in RCW 9A.08.010.

          (2) "Final written order or directive of the department" means any department order or directive that has been fully adjudicated with all administrative and judicial remedies having been exhausted.

          (3) "Person" shall have the meaning given in RCW 9A.04.110(17).