(a) Emergency Suspension of Service and Discharge Orders. The City of Conneaut, by and through its Director, or other duly authorized representative, may, for good cause shown, suspend the wastewater treatment service and the Wastewater Discharge Orders of an Industrial User when it appears that actual or threatened discharge presents or May present an imminent or substantial danger to the health or welfare of persons, substantial danger to the environment, interfere with the operation of the POTW, or violate any pretreatment limits imposed by this chapter or any Wastewater Discharge Orders issued pursuant to this chapter. Written notice of such suspension shall be served upon the Industrial User by personal service. Any Industrial User so notified of the suspension of the City of Conneaut's wastewater treatment service and/or the Industrial User's Wastewater Discharge Orders, shall, within a reasonable period of time as determined by the City of Conneaut, cease all discharges. In the event the Industrial User fails to comply voluntarily with the suspension notice within the time specified therein, the City of Conneaut shall, without further notice to the Industrial User and without the scheduling of a show cause hearing, immediately commence judicial proceedings to compel the Industrial User's compliance with such suspension notice and to exact civil penalties, if any, which may be due for or as a result of the Industrial User's noncompliance. The City of Conneaut may reinstate the Wastewater Discharge Orders and/or the wastewater treatment service and terminate any judicial proceedings pending upon submission of written proof by the Industrial User that it has eliminated the noncomplying discharge or conditions creating the threat of imminent or substantial danger as set forth above.
(b) Revocation of Orders and/or Termination of Treatment Services. The City of Conneaut, by and through its Director or other duly authorized representative, may revoke the Orders or seek to terminate the wastewater treatment services to any Industrial User which fails to:
(1) Report the wastewater constituents and characteristics of its discharge;
(b) Revocation of Orders and/or Termination of Treatment Services. The City of Conneaut, by and through its Director or other duly authorized representative, may revoke the Orders or seek to terminate the wastewater treatment services to any Industrial User which fails to:
(1) Report the wastewater constituents and characteristics of its discharge;
(2) Report significant changes in wastewater constituents or characteristics;
(3) Allow reasonable access to the Industrial User's premises or records by representatives of the City of Conneaut for the purpose of inspection or monitoring as required in Section 931.05; or
(4) Comply with the conditions of its Wastewater Discharge Orders, or this chapter, or any final administrative or judicial order entered with respect thereto.
(c) Notification of Violation - Administrative Adjustment. Whenever the City of Conneaut, by and through its Director or other duly authorized representative, finds that any Industrial User has engaged in conduct which justifies revocation of a Wastewater Discharge Order or termination of treatment services, pursuant to subsection (b) hereof, the City of Conneaut shall serve or cause to be served Upon such Industrial User, a written notice either personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested, stating the nature of the alleged violation. Within 30 days of the date of receipt of the notice, the Industrial User shall respond personally or in writing to the Director or other duly authorized representative who caused such notice to be served, and shall thereby advise the City of Conneaut of its position with respect to the allegations. Thereafter, the parties shall meet to ascertain the veracity of the allegations and, where necessary, establish a plan for the satisfactory correction thereof.
(d) Show Cause Hearing. Where the violation of any requirement of this chapter is not corrected by timely compliance voluntarily or by means of Administrative Adjustment, pursuant to subsection (c) hereof, the City of Conneaut, by and through its Director or other duly authorized representative, may order the Industrial User to show cause before the Director of Public Service or his duly authorized representative, why the proposed Wastewater Discharge Orders revocation and/or service termination action should not be taken. A written notice shall be served on the Industrial User by personal service, or certified mail, return receipt requested, specifying the time and place of the hearing to be held regarding the violation, the reasons why the enforcement action is to be taken, the proposed enforcement action, and directing the Industrial User to show cause why the proposed enforcement action should not be taken. The notice of the hearing shall be served no less than ten (10) days before the hearing. Service may be made on any agent, officer, or authorized representative of an Industrial User. The proceedings at the hearing shall be considered by the City of Conneaut, by and through its Director or other duly authorized representative, who shall then enter appropriate orders with respect to the alleged improper activities of the Industrial User. Appeal of such orders may be taken by the Industrial User in accordance with subsection (g) hereof. If no such appeal is taken, the City of Conneaut may seek enforcement of its order by judicial proceeding as herein provided.
(e) Judicial Proceedings. The Law Director or other duly authorized attorney for the City of Conneaut may commence civil proceedings in the appropriate local court seeking appropriate legal and/or equitable relief against any Industrial User who fails to comply with any final administrative order issued pursuant to either Section 931.06 or Section 931.05 hereof, or with any suspension notice issued by the City of Conneaut pursuant to subsection (b) hereof. Such relief may include civil penalties, judgment for damages, penalties, expenses and/or costs incurred by or charged to the City of Conneaut by or as a result of any and all acts and/or omissions of the Industrial User as required, prohibited or governed by this chapter, and injunctive relief, whether temporary or permanent, to suspend or terminate the activities and/or operations of the Industrial User as may be necessary for the City of Conneaut to enforce the provisions of this chapter. The Law Director for the City of Conneaut or the prosecutor having jurisdiction thereover may commence criminal proceedings in the appropriate local court upon authorization from the City of Conneaut.
(f) Enforcement Actions - Annual Publication. At least annually, the Superintendent shall publish a list of all industrial users which at any time during the previous twelve months were in significant noncompliance with applicable pretreatment requirements. For the purposes of this provision, an industrial user is in significant noncompliance if its violations meet one or more of the following criteria:
(1) Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which sixty-six percent (66%) or more of all the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter at any permitted monitoring point during a six (6) month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous limits;
(2) Technical Review Criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which thirty-three percent (33%) or more of all the measurements for each pollutant parameter taken during a six (6) month period equal or exceed the product of the daily maximum limit or the average limit multiplied by the applicable TRC (TRC=1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oil and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);
(3) Any other violation of a pretreatment effluent limit (daily maximum or longer term average) that the Superintendent determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass through (including endangering the health of POTW personnel or the general public);
(4) Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment of human health, welfare or to the environment or has resulted in the POTW's exercise of emergency authority to halt or prevent such a discharge;
(5) Failure to meet, within 90 days after the schedule date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in a wastewater discharge permit or enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final compliance;
(6) Failure to provide, within 45 days after the due date, required reports such as baseline monitoring reports, 90 day compliance reports, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;
(7) Failure to accurately report noncompliance;
(8) Any other violation or group of violations, including a violation of BMPs, which the Superintendent determines will or has adversely affected the operation or implementation of the City's pretreatment program.
(g) Interpretation Requests and Rights of Appeal.
(1) Any Industrial User shall have the right to request in writing an interpretation or ruling by the City of Conneaut regarding the Industrial User's performance under or compliance with this chapter or its Wastewater Discharge Orders. Such interpretation request shall be submitted to the Director. A written response by the City of Conneaut, by and through the Director or other duly authorized representative, to such interpretation request shall be delivered to the Industrial User either personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested, within thirty (30) days after the City of Conneaut's receipt of such written interpretation request. Such response by the City of Conneaut shall be final and binding upon the Industrial User and shall not be subject to further review by the City of Conneaut.
(2) Any Industrial User shall have the right to seek review and reconsideration of any order of the City of Conneaut entered with respect to such Industrial User after hearing as provided for in subsection (d) hereof, provided that said Industrial User submits the basis of its request for review and reconsideration in writing to the Director of Public Service within ten (10) days after issuance of the City of Conneaut's administrative order. Upon timely receipt of a Industrial User's request, the City of Conneaut shall stay for thirty (30) days any and all judicial enforcement proceedings against said Industrial User as may then be pending. The City of Conneaut, by and through its Director or other duly authorized representative, shall deliver a written response to the Industrial User's request for review and reconsideration of the City of Conneaut's order either personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested, within said thirty (30) Day period after the City of Conneaut's receipt of such request. Such response shall be final and binding upon the Industrial User and shall not be submitted to further review by the City of Conneaut.
(Ord. 106-15. Passed 12-14-15.)