1
2
3
4
5
6
7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill, subject to certain exceptions, prohibits the disposal of drugs in certain
10 locations.
11 Highlighted Provisions:
12 This bill:
13 ▸ defines terms;
14 ▸ subject to certain exceptions, prohibits the disposal of a drug in a drain, sewage
15 system, the waters of this state, or a landfill; and
16 ▸ makes technical changes.
17 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
18 None
19 Other Special Clauses:
20 None
21 Utah Code Sections Affected:
22 AMENDS:
23 19-5-115, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 237
24 ENACTS:
25 19-5-125, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26
27 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
28 Section 1. Section 19-5-115 is amended to read:
29 19-5-115. Violations -- Penalties -- Civil actions by director -- Ordinances and
30 rules of political subdivisions.
31 [
32
33 (1) As used in this section:
34 (a) "Criminal negligence" means the same as that term is defined in Section 76-2-103.
35 (b) "Knowingly" means the same as that term is defined in Section 76-2-103.
36 (c) "Organization" means a legal entity, other than a government, established or
37 organized for any purpose, and includes a corporation, company, association, firm, partnership,
38 joint stock company, foundation, institution, trust, society, union, or any other association of
39 persons.
40 (d) "Serious bodily injury" means bodily injury that involves a substantial risk of death,
41 unconsciousness, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted
42 loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.
43 (e) "Wilfully" means the same as that term is defined in Section 76-2-103.
44 (2) Any person who violates this chapter, or any permit, rule, or order adopted under
45 [
46 civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 per day of violation.
47 (3) (a) A person is guilty of a class A misdemeanor and is subject to imprisonment
48 under Section 76-3-204 and a fine not exceeding $25,000 per day who, with criminal
49 negligence:
50 (i) discharges pollutants in violation of Subsection 19-5-107(1) or in violation of any
51 condition or limitation included in a permit issued under Subsection 19-5-107(3);
52 (ii) violates Section 19-5-113;
53 (iii) violates a pretreatment standard or toxic effluent standard for publicly owned
54 treatment works; or
55 (iv) manages sewage sludge in violation of this chapter or rules adopted under [
56 chapter.
57 (b) A person is guilty of a third degree felony and is subject to imprisonment under
58 Section 76-3-203 and a fine not to exceed $50,000 per day of violation who knowingly:
59 (i) discharges pollutants in violation of Subsection 19-5-107(1) or in violation of any
60 condition or limitation included in a permit issued under Subsection 19-5-107(3);
61 (ii) violates Section 19-5-113;
62 (iii) violates a pretreatment standard or toxic effluent standard for publicly owned
63 treatment works; or
64 (iv) manages sewage sludge in violation of this chapter or rules adopted under [
65 chapter.
66 (4) A person is guilty of a third degree felony and subject to imprisonment under
67 Section 76-3-203 and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $10,000 per day of violation if
68 that person knowingly:
69 (a) makes a false material statement, representation, or certification in any application,
70 record, report, plan, or other document filed or required to be maintained under this chapter, or
71 by any permit, rule, or order issued under [
72 (b) falsifies, tampers with, or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or
73 method required to be maintained under this chapter.
74 [
75 [
76
77
78
79 [
80
81
82 [
83 subject to imprisonment under Section 76-3-203 and a fine of not more than $250,000 if that
84 person:
85 (i) knowingly violates this chapter, or any permit, rule, or order adopted under it; and
86 (ii) knows at that time that the person is placing another person in imminent danger of
87 death or serious bodily injury.
88 [
89 violating Subsection (5)[
90 [
91 (A) the defendant's conduct placed another person in imminent danger of death or
92 serious bodily injury; and
93 (B) the defendant was aware of or believed that there was an imminent danger of death
94 or serious bodily injury to another person.
95 (ii) Knowledge possessed by a person other than the defendant may not be attributed to
96 the defendant.
97 (iii) Circumstantial evidence may be used to prove that the defendant possessed actual
98 knowledge, including evidence that the defendant took affirmative steps to be shielded from
99 receiving relevant information.
100 [
101 conduct charged was consented to by the person endangered and that the danger and conduct
102 charged were reasonably foreseeable hazards of:
103 (A) an occupation, a business, or a profession; or
104 (B) medical treatment or medical or scientific experimentation conducted by
105 professionally approved methods and the other person was aware of the risks involved prior to
106 giving consent.
107 (ii) The defendant has the burden of proof to establish any affirmative defense under
108 this Subsection (5)[
109 (6) For purposes of Subsections [
110 that leads to simultaneous violations of more than one pollutant parameter shall be treated as a
111 single violation.
112 (7) (a) The director may begin a civil action for appropriate relief, including a
113 permanent or temporary injunction, for any violation or threatened violation for which it is
114 authorized to issue a compliance order under Section 19-5-111.
115 (b) Actions shall be brought in the district court where the violation or threatened
116 violation occurs.
117 (8) (a) The attorney general is the legal advisor for the board and the director and shall
118 defend them in all actions or proceedings brought against them.
119 (b) The county attorney or district attorney, as appropriate under Section 17-18a-202 or
120 17-18a-203, in the county in which a cause of action arises, shall bring any action, civil or
121 criminal, requested by the director, to abate a condition that exists in violation of, or to
122 prosecute for the violation of, or to enforce, the laws or the standards, orders, and rules of the
123 board or the director issued under this chapter.
124 (c) The director may initiate any action under this section and be represented by the
125 attorney general.
126 (9) If any person fails to comply with a cease and desist order that is not subject to a
127 stay pending administrative or judicial review, the director may initiate an action for and be
128 entitled to injunctive relief to prevent any further or continued violation of the order.
129 (10) Any political subdivision of the state may enact and enforce ordinances or rules
130 for the implementation of this chapter that are not inconsistent with this chapter.
131 (11) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (11)(b), all penalties assessed and collected
132 under the authority of this section shall be deposited in the General Fund.
133 (b) The department may reimburse itself and local governments from money collected
134 from civil penalties for extraordinary expenses incurred in environmental enforcement
135 activities.
136 (c) The department shall regulate reimbursements by making rules that:
137 (i) define qualifying environmental enforcement activities; and
138 (ii) define qualifying extraordinary expenses.
139 Section 2. Section 19-5-125 is enacted to read:
140 19-5-125. Disposal of drugs.
141 (1) As used in this section:
142 (a) (i) "Drug" means:
143 (A) a substance recognized in the official United States Pharmacopoeia, official
144 Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, or official National Formulary, or any
145 supplement to any of them, intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or
146 prevention of disease in humans or animals;
147 (B) a substance that is required by any applicable federal or state law or rule to be
148 dispensed by prescription only or is restricted to administration by practitioners only;
149 (C) a substance, other than food, intended to affect the structure or any function of the
150 body of humans or other animals; or
151 (D) a substance intended for use as a component of any substance described in
152 Subsections (1)(a)(i)(A), (B), or (C).
153 (ii) "Drug" does not include a dietary supplement.
154 (b) "Non-retrievable" means the same as that term is defined in 21 C.F.R. 1300.05.
155 (2) Except as provided in Subsections (3) or (4), a person may not dispose of a drug in
156 a drain, sewage system, the waters of this state, or a landfill.
157 (3) (a) A person may dispose of an unused drug in a landfill if:
158 (i) before disposal, the drug is rendered non-retrievable; and
159 (ii) the disposal does not violate state or federal law relating to surface water or
160 groundwater.
161 (b) The following entities may dispose of a drug in accordance with federal regulations
162 of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency:
163 (i) a health care facility, as defined in Section 75-2a-103;
164 (ii) a health care clinic owned by a hospital; or
165 (iii) a pharmacy, as defined in Section 58-17b-102.
166 (4) This section does not apply to the discharge of water from a wastewater treatment
167 plant.