(a) Compliance Orders. The Control Authority shall issue orders to any industrial discharger to comply with any portion of this chapter, including categorical pretreatment standards, locally developed industrial discharge limits, other discharge limits and reporting requirements.
(b) Enforcement Response Plan.
(1) The Control Authority shall develop and implement an Enforcement Response Plan. This Plan shall contain detailed procedures indicating how the Control Authority will investigate and respond to instances of Industrial User non-compliance. The Plan shall include:
A. Description of how the Control Authority will investigate instances of non-compliance.
B. Description of the types of escalating enforcement responses the Control Authority will take in response to all anticipated types of Industrial User violations and the time periods within which response will take place;
C. Identify by title the official(s) responsible for each type of response;
D. Adequately reflect the Authority's primary responsibility to enforce all applicable pretreatment requirements and standards, as detailed in 40 CFR 403.8(f)(1) and (f)(2).
(c) Enforcement Remedies:
(1) Emergency Suspension of Service and Discharge Permits (ESS). The Control Authority may for good cause shown suspend the wastewater treatment service to a Discharger when it appears to the Control Authority that an actual or threatened discharge presents or threatens an imminent or substantial danger to the health or welfare of persons, substantial danger to the environment, interfere with the operation of the Rocky River WWTP, or violate any pretreatment limits imposed by this chapter. Any Discharger notified of the suspension of wastewater treatment service shall within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the Control Authority, cease all discharges. In the event of failure of the Discharger to comply voluntarily with the suspension order within the specified time, the City shall commence judicial proceedings immediately thereafter to compel the Discharger's compliance with such order. The Control Authority shall reinstate the wastewater treatment service and terminate judicial proceedings pending proof by the Discharger of the elimination of the non-complying discharge or conditions creating the threat of imminent or substantial danger as set forth above.
(2) Revocation of Treatment Services (RTS): The Control Authority may seek to terminate the wastewater treatment services to any Discharger which fails to:
A. Factually report the wastewater constituents and characteristics of its discharge;
B. Report significant changes in wastewater constituents or characteristics;
C. Refuses reasonable access to the Discharger's premises by representatives of the Control Authority for the purpose of inspection or monitoring; or
D. Violates the conditions of this chapter, or any final judicial order entered with respect thereto.
(3) Notification of Violation - Administrative Adjustment (NOV): Whenever the Control Authority finds that any Discharger has engaged in conduct which justifies termination of wastewater treatment services, pursuant to Section 915.06
(b) hereof, the Control Authority shall serve or cause to be served upon such Discharger, a written notice either personally or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, stating the nature of the alleged violation. Within thirty (30) days of the date of receipt of this notice, the Discharger shall respond personally or in writing to the Control Authority, advising 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.
(4) Show Cause Hearing (SCH): Where the violation of Section 915.06
(b) hereof is not corrected by timely compliance by means of Administrative Adjustment, the Control Authority may order any Discharger which causes or allows conduct prohibited by Section 915.06
(b) hereof, to show cause before the Control Authority or its duly authorized representative, why the proposed service termination action should not be taken. A written notice shall be served on the Discharger by personal service, certified or registered, return receipt requested, specifying the time and place of a hearing to be held by the Control Authority or its designee regarding the violation, the reasons why the enforcement action is to be taken, the proposed enforcement action, and directing the Discharger to show cause before the Control Authority or its designee 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 a Discharger. The proceedings at the hearing shall be considered by the Control Authority which shall then enter appropriate orders with respect to the alleged improper activities of the Discharger. Appeal of such orders may be taken by the Discharger in accordance with applicable local or State law.
(5) Judicial Proceedings (JP): Following the entry of any order by the Control Authority with respect to the conduct of a Discharger contrary to the provisions of Section 915.06
(b) hereof, the Attorney for the City and/or Control Authority may, following the authorization of such action by the City, commence an action for appropriate legal and/or equitable relief in the appropriate local Court.
(6) Enforcement Actions - Annual Publication (AP): At least annually in a newspaper of general circulation that provides meaningful public notice within the jurisdictions served by the POTW, a list shall be published of all industrial users which at any time during the previous twelve (12) 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:
A. Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which sixty-six (66) percent or more of all of the measurements taken during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) the daily maximum limit or the average limit, including Instantaneous Limits, for the same pollutant parameter;
B. Technical Review Criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which thirty-three (33) percent or more of all the measurements for each pollutant parameter taken during a six-month period equal or exceed the product of the daily maximum limit or the average limit, including Instantaneous Limits, multiplied by the applicable TRC (TRC=1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oil and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);
C. Any other violation of a pretreatment effluent limit (daily maximum or longer term average or Instantaneous Limits) that the Pretreatment Coordinator determines has caused, alone or in combination with other dischargers, interference or pass through (including endangering the health of Rocky River WWTP personnel or the general public);
D. Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment of human health, welfare or to the environment or has resulted in the Rocky River WWTP's exercise of emergency authority to halt or prevent such a discharge;
E. Failure to meet, within 90 days after the schedule date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in a wastewater discharge permit, control mechanism or enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final compliance;
F. 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 or any other reports required by the control authority;
G. Failure to accurately report noncompliance; and
H. Any other violation or group of violations, which may include a violation of Best Management Practices, which the Pretreatment Coordinator determines will or has adversely affected the operation or implementation of the City's and/or Control Authority's pretreatment program.
(d) Right of Appeal. Any Discharger or any interested party shall have the right to request in writing an interpretation or ruling by the Control Authority on any matter covered by this chapter and shall be entitled to a prompt written reply. In the event that such inquiry is by a Discharger and deals with matters of performance or compliance with this chapter for which enforcement activity relating to an alleged violation is the subject, receipt of a Discharger's request, shall stay all enforcement proceedings pending receipt of the aforesaid written reply. Appeal of any final judicial order entered pursuant to this chapter may be taken in accordance with local and State law.
(e) Operating Upsets. Any Discharger which experiences an upset in operations which places the Discharger in a temporary state of non-compliance with this chapter shall inform the Control Authority thereof within twenty-four (24) hours of first awareness of the commencement of the upset. Where such information is given orally, a written follow-up report thereof shall be filed by the Discharger with the Control Authority within five (5) days. The report shall address:
(1) Description of the upset, the cause thereof and the upset's impact on a Discharger's compliance status.
(2) Duration of non-compliance, including exact dates and times of non-compliance, and if the non-compliance continues, the time by which compliance is reasonably expected to occur.
(3) All steps taken or to be taken to reduce, eliminate and prevent recurrence of such an upset or other conditions of non-compliance.
A document and verified bona fide operation upset shall be an affirmative defense to any enforcement action brought by the City and/or Control Authority against a Discharger for any non-compliance with the chapter which arises out of violations alleged to have occurred during the period of the upset. (Ord. 12-38. Passed 11-19-12.)