§ 2Q1.2.
Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides; Recordkeeping, Tampering, and Falsification; Unlawfully Transporting Hazardous Materials in Commerce
(a) Base Offense Level: 8
(b) Specific Offense Characteristics
(1) (A) If the offense resulted in an ongoing, continuous, or repetitive discharge, release, or emission of a hazardous or toxic substance or pesticide into the environment, increase by 6 levels; or
(B) if the offense otherwise involved a discharge, release, or emission of a hazardous or toxic substance or pesticide, increase by 4 levels.
(2) If the offense resulted in a substantial likelihood of death or serious bodily injury, increase by 9 levels.
(3) If the offense resulted in disruption of public utilities or evacuation of a community, or if cleanup required a substantial expenditure, increase by 4 levels.
(4) If the offense involved transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal without a permit or in violation of a permit, increase by 4 levels.
(5) If the offense involved a simple recordkeeping or reporting violation only, decrease by 2 levels.
(6) If the defendant was convicted under 49 U.S.C. § 5124 or § 46312, increase by 2 levels.
Historical note
Effective November 1, 1987. Amended effective November 1, 1993 (amendment 481); November 1, 1997 (amendment 553); November 1, 2004 (amendment 672); November 1, 2010 (amendment 746); November 1, 2018 (amendment 813); November 1, 2025 (amendment 836); November 1, 2026 (amendment 837).
Commentary
Statutory provisions
Statutory Provisions: 7 U.S.C. §§ 136j–136l; 15 U.S.C. §§ 2614 and 2615; 33 U.S.C. §§ 1319(c)(1), (2), 1321(b)(5), 1517(b); 42 U.S.C. §§ 300h-2, 6928(d), 7413(c)(1)–(4), 9603(b), (c), (d); 43 U.S.C. §§ 1350, 1816(a), 1822(b); 49 U.S.C. §§ 5124, 46312. For additional statutory provision(s), see Appendix A (Statutory Index).
Application Notes:
1. “Simple recordkeeping or reporting violation” means a recordkeeping or reporting offense in a situation where the defendant neither knew nor had reason to believe that the recordkeeping offense would significantly increase the likelihood of any substantive environmental harm.
2. This section applies to offenses involving pesticides or substances designated toxic or hazardous at the time of the offense by statute or regulation. A listing of hazardous and toxic substances in the guidelines would be impractical. Several federal statutes (or regulations promulgated thereunder) list toxics, hazardous wastes and substances, and pesticides. These lists, such as those of toxic pollutants for which effluent standards are published under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (e.g., 33 U.S.C. § 1317) as well as the designation of hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 9601(14)), are revised from time to time. “Toxic” and “hazardous” are defined differently in various statutes, but the common dictionary meanings of the words are not significantly different.
3. Subsection (b)(1) assumes a discharge or emission into the environment resulting in actual environmental contamination. A wide range of conduct, involving the handling of different quantities of materials with widely differing propensities, potentially is covered.
4. Subsection (b)(2) applies to offenses where the public health is seriously endangered.
5. Subsection (b)(3) provides an enhancement where a public disruption, evacuation or cleanup at substantial expense has been required.
6. Subsection (b)(4) applies where the offense involved violation of a permit, or where there was a failure to obtain a permit when one was required.
Background
Background: This section applies both to substantive violations of the statute governing the handling of pesticides and toxic and hazardous substances and to recordkeeping offenses. The first four specific offense characteristics provide enhancements when the offense involved a substantive violation. The fifth and sixth specific offense characteristics apply to recordkeeping offenses. Although other sections of the guidelines generally prescribe a base offense level of 6 for regulatory violations, §2Q1.2 prescribes a base offense level of 8 because of the inherently dangerous nature of hazardous and toxic substances and pesticides. A decrease of 2 levels is provided, however, for “simple recordkeeping or reporting violations” under §2Q1.2(b)(5).