Section 12-9-24. Criminal penalties; evidence; affirmative defenses

   (a) Any person who knowingly violates any provision of this article or any permit condition or limitation established pursuant to this article or who fails, neglects, or refuses to comply with any final order of a court lawfully issued as provided in this article or knowingly introduces or releases into the air or atmosphere pollutants or air contaminants or hazardous substances in violation of any provision of this article or any permit condition or limitation established pursuant to this article which cause or may reasonably be anticipated to cause personal injury or property damage shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $25,000.00 per day of violation, imprisoned not more than two years, or both. If the conviction is for a violation committed after a first conviction of such person under this subsection, punishment shall be by a fine of not more than $50,000.00 per day of violation, by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.

(b) Any person who knowingly makes any false statement, representation, or certification in any application, record, report, plan, or other document filed or required to be maintained by this article or by any permit, rule, regulation, or order issued under this article or who falsifies, tampers with, or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required to be maintained by this article or by any permit, rule, regulation, or order issued under this article shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $25,000.00 per day of violation, imprisoned not more than two years, or both. If the conviction is for a violation committed after a first conviction of such person under this subsection, punishment shall be by a fine of not more than $50,000.00 per day of violation, by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.

(c) Any person who knowingly violates any provision of this article or any permit condition or limitation established pursuant to this article or who knowingly fails, neglects, or refuses to comply with any final order of a court lawfully issued as provided in this article and who knows at the time that he thereby places another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $250,000.00, by imprisonment for not more than 15 years, or both. A defendant that is an organization shall, upon conviction of violating this subsection, be subject to a fine of not more than $1 million. The following provisions apply for purposes of this subsection:

   (1) In determining whether a defendant who is an individual knew that his conduct placed another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury, the person is responsible only for actual awareness or actual belief that he possessed; and knowledge possessed by a person other than the defendant but not by the defendant himself may not be attributed to the defendant, except that in proving the defendant's possession of actual knowledge, circumstantial evidence may be used, including evidence that the defendant took affirmative steps to shield himself from relevant information;

   (2) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution that the conduct charged was consented to by the person endangered and that the danger and conduct charged was a reasonably foreseeable hazard of an occupation, a business, a profession, medical treatment, or medical or scientific experimentation conducted by professionally approved methods and that the persons endangered had been made aware of the risk involved prior to giving consent. Such defense must be established by a preponderance of the evidence;

   (3) The term "organization" means a legal entity, other than a government, established or organized for any purpose, and such term includes a corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, joint-stock company, foundation, institution, trust, society, union, or any other association of persons; and

   (4) The term "serious bodily injury" means bodily injury which involves a substantial risk of death, unconsciousness, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ or a mental faculty.

(d) It shall be an affirmative defense under subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section that the introduction of any contaminant or pollutant or hazardous substance into the air was in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local requirements which govern the introduction of a pollutant or hazardous substance into the air.

Code 1981, § 12-9-24, enacted by Ga. L. 1991, p. 1735, § 2; Ga. L. 1992, p. 918, § 2; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2886, § 1.