Com. v. Packer

• Citation: 798 A.2d 192,568 Pa. 481
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellant, v. David R. PACKER, Appellee.
• Decision Date: 31 May 2002
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

798 A.2d 192

568 Pa. 481

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellant, v. David R. PACKER, Appellee.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued October 16, 2001.

Decided May 31, 2002.

Ronald T. Williamson, Norristown, D. Michael Fisher, William H. Ryan, Robert A. Graci, Harrisburg, for Com.

Christian A. Fisanick, Ebensburg, for Pennsylvania District Attorneys Ass'n, amicus curiae.

Louise S. Thompson, Conshohocken, for Dept. of Environmental Protection, amicus curiae.

Hugh J. Bracken, Media, for David R. Packer.

Before FLAHERTY, C.J., and ZAPPALA, CAPPY, CASTILLE, NIGRO, NEWMAN and SAYLOR, JJ.

OPINION

Justice NEWMAN.

The Commonwealth appeals an Order of the Commonwealth Court, which reversed the conviction of Appellee David R. Packer (Packer), pursuant to the Solid Waste Management Act (SWMA).¹ We granted review to consider the conclusion of the Commonwealth Court, which held that an employee may not be criminally charged with violating section 610(1) of the SWMA, 35 P.S. § 6018.610(1) (hereinafter section 610(1)). Section 610(1) addresses solid waste and provides, in relevant part, that:

§ 6018.610 Unlawful conduct

It shall be unlawful for any person or municipality to:

(1) Dump or deposit, or permit the dumping or depositing, of any solid waste onto the surface of the ground or underground or into the waters of the Commonwealth, by any means, unless a permit for the dumping of such solid wastes has been obtained from the department....

35 P.S. § 6018.610(1). For the following reasons, we reverse.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Packer worked as a laborer, equipment operator, and truck driver for Glenn Holmes (Holmes) and the United States Environmental Service Corp.² Holmes owned property on Anderson Road (Anderson Road property) in East Coventry Township, Chester County. Prior owners had operated the Anderson Road property as an automobile junkyard before Holmes acquired it.

On October 15, 1993, George Strutynski (Strutynski), an excavator employed by East Coventry Township (Township), observed Packer operating a track hoe and burying tires in the northwest corner of the Anderson Road property. Strutynski reported this conduct to the police and the Township secretary. After this report was made, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General conducted a search at the northwest corner of the Anderson Road property and discovered that tires had been buried six to eight feet deep into the ground. The Department of Environmental Resources³ never issued a permit authorizing the dumping or depositing of waste tires on the Anderson Road property. Consequently, the Commonwealth charged Packer and Holmes with violating section 610(1) of the SWMA, which prohibits dumping or depositing solid waste without a permit.

At the criminal jury trial, Strutynski testified that he had observed a track hoe next to an excavated trench on the Anderson Road property. According to Strutynski's estimation, eighty to one hundred feet of the trench had been covered with dirt and a hole about twenty-five feet long and twenty feet deep remained. Strutynski stated that he had observed tires protruding from the sides of the excavated hole and he saw clean tires at the bottom of the hole. Strutynski further testified that he watched Packer cover the clean tires at the bottom of the hole with dirt. Finally, as an expert in excavation,⁴ Strutynski offered his opinion that Packer was burying tires on the Anderson Road property.

The Commonwealth also offered the testimony of Holmes' brother, Craig Holmes (Craig), regarding an incident that took place in 1993, when he had assisted his brother in cleaning the Anderson Road property. Craig testified that he and his brother loaded tires from the Anderson Road property into trailers. According to Craig, at the end of one particular week, ten to fifteen trailers had been filled with tires and only one and a half trailers remained empty. Craig stated that a six to ten-foot pile of tires remained, waiting to be put into the trailers. When Craig returned to the Anderson Road property after the weekend, he testified that he had observed that three quarters of the tires were missing, yet the one and a half trailers remained empty. Later, while operating a bulldozer on the Anderson Road property, Craig stated that he became submerged in mud and clay and had to dig six feet to extricate the bulldozer. Craig testified that when he asked his brother and Packer why his bulldozer sank, one of them had responded, "you mean you don't know that the tires were buried there." (N.T. 11/23/98, p. 102). Craig stated that Holmes or Packer had explained that they had used a track hoe to dig a twenty-foot hole, filled the hole with tires, and covered the hole with approximately five to eight feet of dirt. (N.T. 11/23/98, pp. 102-105).

Packer testified on his own behalf. He indicated that before 1993, Holmes hired him as a subcontractor on a per job basis and, in 1993, Packer became a full-time employee of Holmes. Packer testified that on the day that Strutynski observed him using the track hoe on the Anderson Road property; Packer was using the equipment to remove tires from their rims. Packer stated that while in the process of this project, he discovered that tires were buried underground and he informed Holmes of his discovery. According to Packer, Holmes told him to follow the tires. Packer explained that he was digging tires out of the ground when Strutynski confronted him and accused him of burying tires. In addition, Packer testified that while removing tires from the hole, he accidentally knocked some tires back into the hole with the track hoe.

At the conclusion of trial, the jury found Packer and Holmes guilty of violating section 610(1). The trial court sentenced Packer to one to twelve months of imprisonment, imposed a fine of $2,500.00, and ordered restitution to the Township in the amount of $2,300.00. The trial court sentenced Holmes to two to twelve months imprisonment, imposed a fine of $10,000.00, and ordered restitution of $2,300.00 to the Township. Packer and Holmes filed post-trial motions, which the trial court denied, and then Packer and Holmes appealed to the Commonwealth Court.

The Commonwealth Court affirmed the conviction of Holmes, but reversed the conviction of Packer. See Commonwealth v. Packer, 754 A.2d 44 (Pa.Cmwlth.2000)

. The court concluded that our legislature did not intend for section 610(1) to impose criminal liability on "mere employees." Id. at 48-49. In its analysis, the court reasoned that section 610(1) requires the Commonwealth to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person, who had a duty to obtain a permit, dumped or deposited solid waste without obtaining that permit. Id. The court held that Packer, as an employee, had no duty to obtain a permit, and therefore reversed his conviction under section 610(1). Id.

DISCUSSION

The Commonwealth has previously prosecuted employees for violating provisions of our waste management statutes. See generally Commonwealth v. Scarpone, 535 Pa. 273, 634 A.2d 1109 (1993)

(employee convicted of violating 35 P.S. §§ 6018.401, 6018.606(f) relating to management of hazardous waste); Commonwealth v. One Mack Dump Truck, 743 A.2d 542 (Pa.Cmwlth.1999) (employee convicted of violating 35 P.S. § 6018.302 relating to the disposal of residual waste and 35 P.S. § 6018.303 relating to the transportation of residual waste); Wargo v. Commonwealth, 71 Pa.Cmwlth. 329, 454 A.2d 692 (1983) (employee convicted for dumping solid waste without a permit pursuant to Pennsylvania SWMA, 35 P.S. § 6009(1), repealed by, 35 P.S. § 6018.1001). The issue of whether the Commonwealth can hold an employee criminally responsible for violating section 610(1), however, is one of first impression. Because our discussion involves questions of law, our review is plenary. See Phillips v. A-Best Products Co., 542 Pa. 124, 665 A.2d 1167, 1170 (1995).

We begin our analysis by examining the language of section 610(1) because, where the intent of the legislature is clear from the plain meaning of the statute, courts need not pursue statutory interpretation. 1 Pa.C.S. § 1921(b); LTV Steel Co., Inc. v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Bd. (Mozena), 562 Pa. 205, 754 A.2d 666, 674 (2000). Only when the language of the statute is ambiguous does statutory construction become necessary. 1 Pa.C.S. § 1921(c); Oberneder v. Link Computer Corp., 548 Pa. 201, 696 A.2d 148, 150 (1997). In addition, we note that penal statutes are to be strictly construed. 1 Pa.C.S. § 1928(b)(1); Commonwealth v. Booth, 564 Pa. 228, 766 A.2d 843, 846 (2001). "[S]trict construction does not require that the words of a penal statute be given their narrowest possible meaning or that legislative intent be disregarded." Booth, 766 A.2d at 846. "It does mean, however, that where ambiguity exists in the language of a penal statute, such language should be interpreted in the light most favorable to the accused." Id.

The SWMA regulates various kinds of waste management activities, including the disposal of several types of waste. 35 P.S. § 6018.102. Section 610(1) imposes criminal liability upon any person that dumps solid waste into the ground without a permit.⁵ The SWMA defines "solid waste" as "[a]ny waste, including but not limited to, municipal, residual or hazardous wastes, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous materials. The term does not include coal ash or drill cuttings." 35 P.S. § 6018.103. The regulations of the DEP provide that an accumulation of waste tires, as in the present case, is "residual waste,"⁶ 25 Pa.Code §§ 271.2(c)(3), 287.2(c)(3), and consequently an accumulation of waste tires is solid waste under section 610(1). In addition, the parties do not dispute that the DEP had not issued a permit for such dumping. Therefore, whether Packer, as an employee, may be convicted under section 610(1) turns upon whether Packer is "any person." The SWMA defines "person" as:

[a]ny

...