Establishes certain crimes relating to the disposal, possession and acceptance of solid waste and hazardous materials, including the crimes of criminal disposal, scheme to defraud by disposal of solid waste, criminal possession of solid waste, criminal acceptance of solid waste or construction and demolition material, and criminal acceptance of solid waste containing a hazardous and acutely hazardous substance; establishes crimes relating to sand mining including scheme to defraud by sand mining, criminal sand mining and criminal disposal incident to sand mining.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8672--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
October 23, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. STERN, RAMOS, GRIFFIN, JACOBSON, ORTIZ, ENGLE-
BRIGHT, DeSTEFANO, McDONOUGH, STECK, MONTESANO, D'URSO, GOTTFRIED,
BURKE, GALEF, THIELE, SIMON, MIKULIN, SMITH, EPSTEIN, COLTON, LAVINE,
DARLING, JEAN-PIERRE, M. L. MILLER, PALUMBO, LiPETRI, FITZPATRICK,
GARBARINO, RA -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. LENTOL -- read once
and referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation -- recom-
mitted to the Committee on Environmental Conservation in accordance
with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the penal law and the environmental conservation law, in
relation to the disposal, possession and acceptance of solid waste and
hazardous materials and to establishing crimes related to sand mining
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding seven new sections
2 145.71, 145.72, 145.73, 145.74, 145.75, 145.76 and 145.77 to read as
3 follows:
4 § 145.71 Criminal disposal in the fourth degree.
5 A person is guilty of criminal disposal in the fourth degree when:
6 1. with intent to dispose of solid waste as defined in article twen-
7 ty-seven of the environmental conservation law on the property of anoth-
8 er, he or she disposes solid waste on such property; or
9 2. with intent to dispose of construction and demolition material on
10 the property of another, he or she disposes such material on such prop-
11 erty.
12 Criminal disposal in the fourth degree is a class A misdemeanor.
13 § 145.72 Criminal disposal in the third degree.
14 A person is guilty of criminal disposal in the third degree when:
15 1. with intent to dispose of solid waste on the property of another,
16 he or she disposes of either ten cubic yards or more, or twenty thousand
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10865-06-0
A. 8672--A 2
1 pounds or more, of solid waste as defined in article twenty-seven of the
2 environmental conservation law on such property; or
3 2. with intent to dispose of construction and demolition material on
4 the property of another, he or she disposes of either ten cubic yards or
5 more, or twenty thousand pounds or more of such material on such proper-
6 ty.
7 Criminal disposal in the third degree is a class E felony.
8 § 145.73 Criminal disposal in the second degree.
9 A person is guilty of criminal disposal in the second degree when:
10 1. with intent to dispose of solid waste as defined in article twen-
11 ty-seven of the environmental conservation law on the property of anoth-
12 er, he or she disposes of either seventy cubic yards or more or one
13 hundred forty thousand pounds or more of solid waste on such property;
14 or
15 2. with intent to dispose of construction and demolition material on
16 the property of another, he or she disposes of either seventy cubic
17 yards or more or one hundred forty thousand pounds or more of such mate-
18 rial on such property.
19 Criminal disposal in the second degree is a class D felony.
20 § 145.74 Criminal disposal in the first degree.
21 A person is guilty of criminal disposal in the first degree when:
22 1. with intent to dispose of a hazardous substance as defined in arti-
23 cle thirty-seven of the environmental conservation law on the property
24 of another, he or she disposes of a hazardous substance on such proper-
25 ty; or
26 2. he or she recklessly disposes of an acutely hazardous substance as
27 defined by the department of environmental conservation on the property
28 of another.
29 Criminal disposal in the first degree is a class C felony.
30 § 145.75 Aggravated criminal disposal.
31 A person is guilty of aggravated criminal disposal when, with intent
32 to dispose of an acutely hazardous substance as defined in article thir-
33 ty-seven of the environmental conservation law on the property of anoth-
34 er, he or she disposes of an acutely hazardous substance on such proper-
35 ty.
36 Aggravated criminal disposal is a class B felony.
37 § 145.76 Presumptions.
38 1. For the purposes of this article, it shall be a rebuttable presump-
39 tion that the presence of a hazardous or acutely hazardous substance as
40 defined in article thirty-seven of the environmental conservation law in
41 any material released into the environment is evidence of the knowing
42 release of such substance by any person who caused or attempted to cause
43 the release of such substance.
44 2. For the purposes of this article, the possession of an aggregate
45 amount of ten or more cubic yards or twenty thousand pounds of material
46 containing a hazardous or acutely hazardous substance as defined in
47 article thirty-seven of the environmental conservation law without the
48 documentation required by section 27-0305 of the environmental conserva-
49 tion law is presumptive evidence that the defendant knowingly possessed
50 such substance.
51 § 145.77 Enhanced penalties.
52 1. When a person is convicted of a crime defined in sections 145.71,
53 145.72, 145.73, 145.74, 145.80, 145.81, 145.85, 145.86 or 145.87, and
54 such conduct resulted in the contamination of groundwater, whether or
55 not such contamination resulted in injury to any person or further
A. 8672--A 3
1 damage to property, such crime shall be deemed to be one category higher
2 than the offense the defendant committed.
3 2. When a person is convicted of a crime defined in section 145.75,
4 notwithstanding any other provision of law:
5 (a) the maximum term of the indeterminate sentence must be at least
6 six years if the defendant is sentenced pursuant to section 70.00 of
7 this chapter;
8 (b) the maximum term of the indeterminate sentence must be at least
9 four years if the defendant is sentenced pursuant to section 70.05 of
10 this chapter; and
11 (c) the maximum term of the indeterminate sentence must be at least
12 ten years if the defendant is sentenced pursuant to section 70.06 of
13 this chapter.
14 § 2. Section 145.13 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 45 of the
15 laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
16 § 145.13 Definitions.
17 1. (a) For the purposes of sections 145.00, 145.05, 145.10 [and],
18 145.12, 145.71, 145.72, 145.73, 145.74 and 145.75 of this article[:],
19 "[Property] property of another" shall include all property in which
20 another person has an ownership interest, whether or not a person who
21 damages such property, or any other person, may also have an interest in
22 such property.
23 (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subdivision, for purposes of
24 sections 145.71, 145.72, 145.73, 145.74 and 145.75 of this article,
25 "property of another" shall not include any landfills, recycling, and/or
26 transfer stations that are permitted or registered with the department
27 of environmental conservation to receive solid waste, hazardous waste,
28 or acutely hazardous waste.
29 2. For the purposes of sections 145.71, 145.72, 145.73, 145.81 and
30 145.85 of this article, "construction and demolition material" shall
31 mean materials resulting from the alteration, construction, destruction,
32 rehabilitation, or repair of any man-made structure, including houses,
33 buildings, industrial or commercial facilities and roadways.
34 § 3. The penal law is amended by adding two new sections 190.66 and
35 190.68 to read as follows:
36 § 190.66 Scheme to defraud by disposal of solid waste.
37 1. A person is guilty of a scheme to defraud by disposal of solid
38 waste when he or she engages in a systematic ongoing course of conduct
39 with intent to defraud more than one person by disposing solid waste as
40 defined in article twenty-seven of the environmental conservation law on
41 such person's property under false or fraudulent pretenses, representa-
42 tions or promises, and so damages the property of one or more of such
43 persons.
44 2. In any prosecution under this section, it shall be necessary to
45 prove the identity of at least one person on whose property the defend-
46 ant disposed of solid waste pursuant to subdivision one of this section,
47 but it shall not be necessary to prove the identity of any other victim
48 or intended victim.
49 Scheme to defraud by disposal of solid waste is a class E felony.
50 § 190.68 Scheme to defraud by sand mining.
51 A person is guilty of scheme to defraud by sand mining when he or she
52 engages in a scheme constituting an ongoing course of conduct with
53 intent to defraud more than one person by extracting naturally-occurring
54 sand from property belonging to such other persons under false or frau-
55 dulent pretenses, representations or promises, and so removes such sand
56 from such property.
A. 8672--A 4
1 It is necessary to prove the identity of at least one person from
2 whose property the defendant fraudulently extracted sand, but it is not
3 necessary to prove the identity of any other victim.
4 Scheme to defraud by sand mining is a class E felony.
5 § 4. The penal law is amended by adding five new sections 145.80,
6 145.81, 145.85, 145.86 and 145.87 to read as follows:
7 § 145.80 Criminal possession of solid waste in the second degree.
8 A person is guilty of criminal possession of solid waste in the second
9 degree when he or she knowingly and unlawfully possesses solid waste as
10 defined in article twenty-seven of the environmental conservation law
11 outside of the city of New York, with the intent to dispose of such
12 solid waste in contravention of the environmental conservation law or
13 applicable regulations.
14 Criminal possession of solid waste in the second degree is a class A
15 misdemeanor.
16 § 145.81 Criminal possession of solid waste in the first degree.
17 A person is guilty of criminal possession of solid waste in the first
18 degree when he or she commits the crime of criminal possession of solid
19 waste in the second degree or criminal acceptance of solid waste or
20 construction and demolition material, and has previously been convicted
21 of any crime in section 145.71, 145.72, 145.73, 145.74, 145.75, 145.80,
22 145.81, 145.85, 145.86, 145.87 or 190.66 of this part.
23 Criminal possession of solid waste in the first degree is a class D
24 felony.
25 § 145.85 Criminal acceptance of solid waste or construction and demoli-
26 tion material.
27 A person is guilty of criminal acceptance of solid waste or
28 construction and demolition material when, knowing that he or she does
29 not possess a permit or registration as required by the department of
30 environmental conservation to receive or store solid waste as defined in
31 article twenty-seven of the environmental conservation law or
32 construction and demolition material, he or she solicits, accepts or
33 agrees to accept solid waste or construction and demolition material
34 from another person. For purposes of this section, a proprietor, direc-
35 tor, manager, agent, or employee of a corporation, partnership, or other
36 business entity shall be presumed to be operating knowingly if such
37 proprietor, director, manager, agent, or employee of a corporation,
38 partnership, or other business entity fails to possess a permit or
39 registration as required by the department of environmental conserva-
40 tion, and knows or reasonably should have known that such permit or
41 registration is required for acceptance of such material.
42 Criminal acceptance of solid waste or construction and demolition
43 material is a class A misdemeanor.
44 § 145.86 Criminal acceptance of solid waste containing a hazardous
45 substance.
46 1. A person is guilty of criminal acceptance of solid waste containing
47 a hazardous substance when he or she solicits, accepts or agrees to
48 accept solid waste containing a hazardous substance as defined by the
49 department of environmental conservation and thereby causes such
50 substance to be released into the environment.
51 2. In any prosecution for criminal acceptance of solid waste contain-
52 ing a hazardous substance, it is no defense that the defendant has been
53 issued a permit or registration to operate a solid waste facility by the
54 department of environmental conservation.
55 Criminal acceptance of solid waste containing a hazardous substance is
56 a class D felony.
A. 8672--A 5
1 § 145.87 Criminal acceptance of solid waste containing an acutely
2 hazardous substance.
3 1. A person is guilty of criminal acceptance of solid waste containing
4 an acutely hazardous substance when he or she solicits, accepts or
5 agrees to accept solid waste containing an acutely hazardous substance
6 as defined in article thirty-seven of the environmental conservation law
7 and thereby causes such substance to be released into the environment.
8 2. In any prosecution for criminal acceptance of solid waste contain-
9 ing an acutely hazardous substance, it is no defense that the defendant
10 has been issued a permit or registration to operate a solid waste facil-
11 ity by the department of environmental conservation.
12 Criminal acceptance of solid waste containing an acutely hazardous
13 substance is a class C felony.
14 § 6. Section 105.10 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 489 of the
15 laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
16 § 105.10 Conspiracy in the fourth degree.
17 A person is guilty of conspiracy in the fourth degree when, with
18 intent that conduct constituting:
19 1. a class B or class C felony be performed, he or she agrees with one
20 or more persons to engage in or cause the performance of such conduct;
21 or
22 2. a felony be performed, he or she, being over eighteen years of age,
23 agrees with one or more persons under sixteen years of age to engage in
24 or cause the performance of such conduct; or
25 3. the felony of money laundering in the third degree as defined in
26 section 470.10 of this chapter, be performed, he or she agrees with one
27 or more persons to engage in or cause the performance of such
28 conduct[.]; or
29 4. a felony related to criminal disposal as defined in section 145.72,
30 145.73, 145.74 or 145.75 of this part be performed, he or she agrees
31 with one or more persons to engage in or cause the performance of such
32 conduct.
33 Conspiracy in the fourth degree is a class E felony.
34 § 7. Section 27-0305 of the environmental conservation law is amended
35 by adding a new subdivision 13 to read as follows:
36 13. Any individual, corporation, or any other public or private entity
37 registered or permitted by the department to remove, transport, accept,
38 store, or dispose of solid waste, construction and demolition material,
39 limited use fill or equivalent, and restricted use fill or equivalent
40 shall document the movement of such material from the point at which the
41 individual, corporation or entity receives such material to the point in
42 which the individual, corporation or entity provides that material to
43 another individual, corporation or entity or to its point of final
44 disposition.
45 § 8. Subdivision 4 of section 175.05 of the penal law is amended and a
46 new subdivision 5 is added to read as follows:
47 4. Prevents the making of a true entry or causes the omission thereof
48 in the business records of an enterprise[.]; or
49 5. Makes or causes a false entry in a solid waste tracking document
50 required by section 27-0305 of the environmental conservation law.
51 § 9. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 175.50 to read
52 as follows:
53 § 175.50 Failure to maintain solid waste tracking documents.
54 An individual, corporation, or any other public or private entity
55 registered or permitted by the department of environmental conservation
56 to remove, transport, accept, store, or dispose of solid waste,
A. 8672--A 6
1 construction and demolition material, limited use fill or equivalent,
2 and restricted use fill or equivalent is guilty of failure to maintain
3 solid waste tracking documents when such individual, corporation or
4 entity fails to maintain proper documentation as required by section
5 27-0305 of the environmental conservation law.
6 Failure to maintain solid waste tracking documents is a class A misde-
7 meanor.
8 § 10. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 175.35 of the penal
9 law, as added by chapter 490 of the laws of 2013, is amended and a new
10 subdivision 3 is added to read as follows:
11 (b) such instrument is a financing statement the contents of which are
12 prescribed by section 9--502 of the uniform commercial code, the collat-
13 eral asserted to be covered in such statement is the property of a
14 person who is a state or local officer as defined by section two of the
15 public officers law or who otherwise is a judge or justice of the
16 unified court system, such financing statement does not relate to an
17 actual transaction, and he or she filed such financing statement in
18 retaliation for the performance of official duties by such person[.]; or
19 3. he or she presents a written instrument to receive a permit for
20 agricultural or building purposes for property to a public office,
21 public servant, public authority, or public benefit corporation, with
22 the intent to use such property for some other purposes that requires a
23 different permit and with the intent to defraud the state or any poli-
24 tical subdivision, public authority or public benefit corporation of the
25 state with the knowledge or belief that the written instrument will be
26 filed with, registered or recorded in or otherwise become a part of the
27 records of such public office.
28 § 11. The penal law is amended by adding seven new sections 270.40,
29 270.45, 270.50, 270.55, 270.60, 270.65 and 270.70 to read as follows:
30 § 270.40 Criminal sand mining in the second degree.
31 A person is guilty of criminal sand mining in the second degree when,
32 with intent to remove more than one thousand tons or seven hundred fifty
33 cubic yards of sand from any residential, commercial, industrial or farm
34 land where the sand is naturally occurring, he or she removes, directs,
35 importunes or intentionally aids another to extract sand from such prop-
36 erty, without a valid mining permit or registration issued by the
37 department of environmental conservation.
38 Criminal sand mining in the second degree is a class E felony.
39 § 270.45 Criminal sand mining in the first degree.
40 A person is guilty of criminal sand mining in the first degree when,
41 with intent to remove more than one thousand tons or seven hundred fifty
42 cubic yards of sand from any residential, commercial, industrial or farm
43 land where the sand is naturally occurring, he or she removes, directs,
44 importunes or intentionally aids another to extract sand from such prop-
45 erty, without a valid mining permit or registration from the department
46 of environmental conservation, and he or she has previously been
47 convicted of the crime of criminal sand mining in the first or second
48 degree, or criminal disposal incident to sand mining in the first,
49 second, third or fourth degree within the preceding ten years.
50 Criminal sand mining in the first degree is a class D felony.
51 § 270.50 Criminal disposal incident to sand mining in the fourth degree.
52 A person is guilty of criminal disposal incident to sand mining in the
53 fourth degree when, except as otherwise permitted by law:
54 1. with intent to dispose of solid waste on property where the
55 extraction and removal of sand occurred, he or she disposes of, or
A. 8672--A 7
1 directs, importunes, or intentionally aids another to dispose of solid
2 waste on such property; or
3 2. with intent to dispose of liquid waste on property where the
4 extraction and removal of sand occurred, he or she disposes of, or
5 directs, importunes, or intentionally aids another to dispose of liquid
6 waste on such property; or
7 3. with intent to dispose of vegetative organic waste on property of
8 where the extraction and removal of sand occurred, he or she disposes
9 of, or directs, importunes, or intentionally aids another to dispose of
10 vegetative organic waste on such property.
11 Criminal disposal incident to sand mining in the fourth degree is a
12 class E felony.
13 § 270.55 Criminal disposal incident to sand mining in the third degree.
14 A person is guilty of criminal disposal incident to sand mining in the
15 third degree when, except as otherwise permitted by law:
16 1. with intent to dispose of solid waste containing a hazardous
17 substance on property where the extraction and removal of sand occurred,
18 he or she disposes of, or directs, importunes, or intentionally aids
19 another to dispose of solid waste containing hazardous substances on
20 such property; or
21 2. with intent to dispose of solid waste, liquid waste, or vegetative
22 organic waste on property where the extraction and removal of sand
23 occurred, he or she disposes of, or directs, importunes, or inten-
24 tionally aids another to dispose of solid waste, liquid waste or vegeta-
25 tive waste on such property, and has previously been convicted of the
26 crime of criminal sand mining in the first or second degree, or criminal
27 disposal incident to sand mining in the first, second, third or fourth
28 degree in the preceding ten years.
29 Criminal disposal incident to sand mining in the third degree is a
30 class D felony.
31 § 270.60 Criminal disposal incident to sand mining in the second degree.
32 A person is guilty of criminal disposal incident to sand mining in the
33 second degree when, except as otherwise permitted by law:
34 1. with intent to dispose of solid waste containing a hazardous
35 substance on property where the extraction and removal of sand occurred,
36 he or she disposes of, directs, importunes, or intentionally aids anoth-
37 er to dispose of hazardous substances on such property; or
38 2. with intent to dispose of solid waste containing a hazardous
39 substance on property where the extraction and removal of sand occurred,
40 he or she disposes of, or directs, importunes, or intentionally aids
41 another to dispose of solid waste containing a hazardous substance on
42 such property and has previously been convicted of the crime of criminal
43 sand mining in the first or second degree, or criminal disposal incident
44 to sand mining in the first, second, third or fourth degree in the
45 preceding ten years.
46 Criminal disposal incident to sand mining in the second degree is a
47 class C felony.
48 § 270.65 Criminal disposal incident to sand mining in the first degree.
49 A person is guilty of criminal disposal incident to sand mining in the
50 first degree when, except as otherwise permitted by law, with intent to
51 dispose of solid waste containing an acutely hazardous substance on
52 property where the extraction and removal of sand occurred, he or she
53 disposes of, or directs, importunes, or intentionally aids another to
54 dispose of solid waste containing an acutely hazardous substance on such
55 property.
A. 8672--A 8
1 Criminal disposal incident to sand mining in the first degree is a
2 class B felony.
3 § 270.70 Presumption.
4 For the purposes of this article, the lack of a permit or registration
5 required by the department of environmental conservation is presumptive
6 evidence that all proprietors, directors, managers and agents of any
7 corporation, partnership or business entity, and any accomplices or
8 accessories, are knowingly operating without said permit or registra-
9 tion.
10 § 12. Subdivisions 9, 10, and 11 of section 155.30 of the penal law,
11 subdivision 9 as amended by chapter 479 of the laws of 2010, subdivision
12 10 as added by chapter 491 of the laws of 1992, and subdivision 11 as
13 added by chapter 394 of the laws of 2005, are amended and a new subdivi-
14 sion 12 is added to read as follows:
15 9. The property consists of a scroll, religious vestment, a vessel, an
16 item comprising a display of religious symbols which forms a represen-
17 tative expression of faith, or other miscellaneous item of property
18 which:
19 (a) has a value of at least one hundred dollars; and
20 (b) is kept for or used in connection with religious worship in any
21 building, structure or upon the curtilage of such building or structure
22 used as a place of religious worship by a religious corporation, as
23 incorporated under the religious corporations law or the education
24 law[.]; or
25 10. The property consists of an access device which the person intends
26 to use unlawfully to obtain telephone service[.]; or
27 11. The property consists of anhydrous ammonia or liquified ammonia
28 gas and the actor intends to use, or knows another person intends to
29 use, such anhydrous ammonia or liquified ammonia gas to manufacture
30 methamphetamine[.]; or
31 12. The property, regardless of its value, consists of sand naturally
32 occurring on the land from which the sand was taken.
33 § 13. This act shall take effect on the first of November next
34 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.