Any owner or any person acting as a director, officer, agent, or employee of an owner, or any contractor or agent or employee of a contractor who engages in the construction, enlargement, repair, alteration, maintenance, or removal of any dam or reservoir, who knowingly does work or permits work to be executed on the dam or reservoir without an approval or in violation of or contrary to any approval as provided for in this part, or any inspector, agent, or employee of the department who has knowledge of such work being done and who fails to immediately notify the department thereof is guilty of a misdemeanor and punishable as provided in this article.