[§342D-34]  Knowing endangerment.  (a) 
Any person who knowingly violates this chapter or any rule adopted by the
department pursuant to this chapter, or any condition in a permit issued under
this chapter, and who knows at that time that the violation places another
person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury, shall, upon
conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than $250,000 or imprisonment of
not more than fifteen years, or both.



(b)  A person which is an organization, upon
conviction of violating this section, shall be subject to a fine of not more
than $1,000,000.  If a conviction of a person is for a violation committed
after a first conviction of such person under this section, the maximum
punishment shall be doubled with respect to both fine and imprisonment.



(c)  For the purpose of this section, in
determining whether a defendant who is an individual knew that the individual’s
conduct placed another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily
injury:



(1)  The person is responsible only for actual
awareness or actual belief that the person possessed; and



(2)  Knowledge possessed by a person other than the
defendant but not by the defendant 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 or herself from relevant information.



(d)  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 were reasonably foreseeable hazards of:



(1)  An occupation, a business, or a profession; or



(2)  Medical treatment or medical or scientific
experimentation conducted by professionally approved methods and such other
person had been made aware of the risks involved prior to giving consent; and
such defense may be established under this section by a preponderance of the
evidence.



(e)  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.



(f)  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, organ, or mental faculty. [L
1989, c 212, pt of §2]