If you have issues viewing or accessing this file, please contact us at NCJRS.gov. DIVISION OF NEW YORK STATE CRIMINAL ,JUSTICE Mario M. Cuomo, Governor SERVICES DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES Richard H. Girgenti Director of Criminal Justice and Commissioner DICTIONARY OF TERMS AND LEGAL DEFINITIONS RELATED TO HAZARDOUS, l\Jf~nT~AL AND SOLID WASTE ,tate Division of Criminal Justice Services tal Offending Project .stice Systems Analysis itatistical Services 1991 This report is dedicated to the mem01Y of its author, Pamela Ramahlo who passed away on December 31, 1991. NEW YORK STATE Mario M. Cuomo, Governor DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES Richard H. Girgenti Director of Criminal Justice an.d Commissioner ;,Y)f~... r n 1. 1992 DICTIONARY 'OF TERMS AND LEGAL DEFINITIONS RELATED TO HAZARDOUS, MEDICAL AND SOLID WASTE OFFICE OF JUSTICE SYSTEMS ANALYSIS Barry C. Sample, Executive Deputy Commissioner BUREAU OF STATISTICAL SERVICES Richard A Rosen, Chief A product of the Environmental Offending Project Pamela J. Ramahlo, Director Mark D. Gorthy, Project Specialist Della L.M. Holtzman, Project Specialist James R. Levine, Investigative Aide Michael Braccini, Legal Aide The Division of Criminal 'ustice Services acknowledges' the support of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice in the development of this Dictionary of Terms and Legal Definitions Related to Hazardous. Medical and Solid Waste. The Division's Environmental Offending Project was supported in part by agreement # 90-BJ-CX-K009 awarded to New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. The points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. 135923 U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice This document has been reproduced exactly .as recei~e? from the person or organization originating it. Points of view or opInions stat~d in this document are those of the authors and do. not nec~ssanly represent the official position or policies of the National Institute of Justice. Permission to reproduce this copyrighted material in mi· croflche only has been granted by • • • New York state D1V1Slon of Criminal Justice Services to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires permis­ sion of the copyright owner. Copyright c 1991 by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. All rights reserved worldwide. This publication may be reproduced without the express written permission of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services provided that this copyright notice appears on all copies or segments of the publication. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people have contributed to the success of this research project. Special thanks to Della Holtzman, Mark Gorthy, Jim Levine· and Michael Braccini, graduate student interns working on the project. Thank you to Darlene VanSickle for legal review, Kelly Haskin-Tenenini for editorial work, and Carol King and Joan Burgess for secretarial support. Special thanks to Lieutenant John Haskins, Department of Environmental Conservation, Investigations for his comments and support throughout this project. iii ~-.------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ill Foreword v Introduction vi Terms and Legal Definitions 1 Appendices A. Acronyms 141 B. Bibliography 147 IV I FOREWORD The creation of this Dictionary of Terms and Legal Definitions Related to Hazardous, Medical and Solid Waste has been an effort on the part of the Office of Justice Systems Analysis of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services to improve understanding key terms related to environmental offenses at all levels of government and in all sectors of the justice system. The Dictionary includes both civil and criminal terminotogy and utilizes New York State Environmental Conservation Law definitions whenever possible. 0Irrent usage definitions vary considerably and recommendations are made with the intention to standardize. such definitions. v ---------------------------------------~~-------- INTRODUCTION This Dictionary of Terms and Legal Definitions Related to Hazardous, Medical and Solid Waste is a reference document developed by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Justice Systems Analysis with partial funding by the Departm~nt of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. A shared understanding of the complex terminology that is part of this area of environmental law is essential to effective enforc~ment of these laws. This dictionary is an effort to contribute to that understanding and is intended to serve as a reference tool for practitioners concerned with enviro.nmental crime. The Dictionary covers terminology relating to crime and the criminal justice process as well as civil! administrative terminology pertinent to the field. It includes legal definitions of terms as defined in the New York State Environmental Conservation Law, descriptions of selected Federal and State Acts, common prosecutorial terms, and numerous technical and scientific definitions. The State and Federal laws were a primary source for many of the definitions. Where mUltiple legal definitions appear for the same term, the statutory source for each is cited. The sources used for derived definitions is included in the Bibliography listed in the back of the Dictionary. In an effort to better serve the reader, descriptions frequently contain additional information that might be useful such as precautions to take around certain volatile chemicals, history or intent of a particular act, etc. All entries are alphabetically listed. Words highlighted in a definition are defined in the dictionary. A list of acronyms is provided in an appendix. vi ABANDONED SITES ACT (1979) Found in Chapter 282 of the Laws of 1979. This legislation created the New York State Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites for identification and clean up. Chapter 282 amended the New York State Environmental Conservation Law and the Public Health Law by: (1) requiring each county to report every suspected inactive hazardous waste site within its borders, and to update information about the sites annually; (2) requiring the N(:;w York State Department of Environmental Conservation to report to the legislature each January 1st regarding the status of every identified hazardous waste site; (3) requiring the Department of Environmental Conservation to maintain a registry of inactive sites in each region, including specific information about every site in. the region; (4) authorizing the Department of Environmental Conservation to order the owner and/ or responsible party to develop and carry out an Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Site Remedial Program for any site which constitutes a significant threat to the environment; and (5) empowering the Commissioner of Health (see Department of Health) to declare the existence of a condition dangerous to life and health resulting from an inactive hazardous waste site, and to order the owner and/ of' responsible party to develop and carry out a remedial program. ABANDONED STORAGE FACILITY See Facility, abandoned storage. ABANDONMENT The intentional relinquishment or forsaking of all possession or control of any substance. In any prosecution under ECL Article 71, Title 27, it is an 'affirmative defense to an allegation of abandonment that the defendant surrendered possession or control of such substance to another party who knowingly and voluntarily consented to assume such possession or control. (ECL § 71-2702(12» ACCESSORY BEFORE THE FACT A person who solicits or knowingly assists another person in the commission of a crime, often the only person not actually present at the time of the criminal act. ACCESSORY TO A CRIME A person involved in a crime, prior to or subsequent to its commission, but not present during its commission. ACCOMPLICE A person who in some way knowingly plays a role in the perpetration of a crime. ACCUMULATED SPECULATIVELY A material is accumulated speculatively if it is accumulated before being recycled. A material is not accumulated speculatively if the person accumulating it can show that the material is potentially recyclable and has a feasible means of being recycled; and that during the calendar year (commencing on January 1st) the amount of material that is recycled, or transferred to a different site for recycling, equals at least 75 percent by weight or volume of the amount of that material present at the beginning of the period. In calculating the percentage of turnover, the 75-percent requirement is to be applied to each material of the same type (e.g., slags from a single smelting process) that is recycled in the same way (Le.; from which the same material is 1 r---------------------------------------------- recovered or that is used in the same way). Materials accumulating in units that would be exempt from regulation under section 372.1( e )(7) of this Title of are not to be included in making the calculation. (Materials that are already defined as solid wastes also are not to be included in making the calculation.) Materials are no longer in this category once they are removed from accumulation for recycling. (6-1A NYCRR § 370.2(c)(1); 6-1A NYCRR § 360-1.2» ACCUMULATION AREA As related to hazardous waste, an area located at or near the point of manufacture or other activity where the generation of hazardous waste initially occurs and the accumulation is done in accordance with the requirements of section 372.2(a)(8)(i) of this Title. (6-1A NYCRR § 370.2(2» ACID DEPOSITION The wet or dry deposition from the atmosphere of chemical compounds, usually in the form of rain or snow, having the potential to form an aqueous compound with a Ph level lower than the level considered normal under natural conditions or lower than 5.6, whichever is less. (ECL § 19-0903(1» ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF CONSENT (See EPA Acknowledgement of Consent). ACQUITTAL A judgment of a court, based either on the verdict of a jury or a judicial officer; that the defendant is not guilty of the offense(s) for which slhe has been tried.