(A) General penalties.
(1) Malicious or negligent destruction or damage. No unauthorized person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with, climb upon or enter into any structure, appurtenance or equipment of the system.
(2) Notice of violation. Except as provided in division (A)(1) above, any person found to be violating any provisions of this chapter, shall be served by the city with written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in the notice, permanently cease all violations.
(3) Penalty. Any person who violates division (A)(1) above, or who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit provided for in division (A)(2) above shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in an amount not to exceed $500 for each violation or shall be imprisoned in the county jail for a maximum of 90 days or be subject to both fine and imprisonment. Each day in which the violation shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense.
(4) Liability. Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall become liable to the city for any expense, including reasonable attorney and engineering fees, loss or damage occasioned by the city by reason of the violation. Industrial customers are subject to liabilities specified in § 52.10(C)(16).
(B) Administrative penalties. Notwithstanding any other section of this chapter, any user who has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this chapter or permits or orders issued hereunder, has committed a municipal civil infraction and shall be fined in an amount not to exceed $1,000 a day for each violation. Each day on which noncompliance shall occur or continue shall be deemed a separate and distinct violation. The assessments may be added to the user’s next scheduled sewer service charge and the city may pursue other collection remedies as required to collect other service charges. Unpaid charges, fines and penalties shall constitute a lien against the industrial user’s property. Industrial users desiring to dispute the fines must file a request for the WWTP Supervisor to reconsider the fine within ten days of being notified of the fine. The WWTP Supervisor shall hold a hearing on the matter within 15 days of receiving the request from the user, and issue a final decision on the penalty within 30 days after the conclusion of the hearing. The WWTP Supervisor’s decision on the penalty shall be the final administrative action for purposes of judicial review.
(C) Civil penalties.
(1) Any industrial user who has violated or continues to violate the provisions of this chapter or permit or order issued hereunder, shall be liable to the city for a civil penalty of not more than $3,000 per day for each violation, plus actual damages incurred by the city per violation per day as long as the violation continues. In addition to the above described penalty and charges, the city may recover reasonable attorney’s fees, court costs and other expenses associated with the enforcement activities, including sampling, monitoring and analyses expenses.
(2) The city shall petition the court to impose, assess and recover these sums. In determining the amount of liability, the court shall take into account all relevant circumstances, including, but, not limited to, the extent of harm caused by the violation, the magnitude and duration, any economic benefit gained through the industrial user’s violation, corrective actions by the industrial user, the compliance history of the user, and any other factor as justice requires.
(3) Criminal prosecution:
(a) Violations generally.
1. Any industrial user who willfully or negligently violates any portion of this chapter or any permits or orders issued hereunder shall, upon first conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 per violation per day or imprisonment of not more than one year or both; and
2. In the event of a second conviction, the user shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $3,000 per violation per day and imprisonment for not more than three years or both.
(b) Falsifying information. Any industrial user who knowingly makes any false statements, representations or certifications, in any application, record, report, plan or other document filed or required to be maintained pursuant to this chapter, or wastewater permit, or who falsifies, tampers with, or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required under this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 per violation per day or imprisonment for not more than one year or both.
(Ord. 162, passed 8-12-2002)