925.10 ENFORCEMENT.

   (a)   The City may for good cause shown suspend the wastewater treatment service to a user when it appears to the City 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, interferes with the operation of the POTW, or violates any pretreatment limits imposed by this chapter. Any user notified of the suspension of the City's wastewater treatment service shall within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the City, cease all discharges. In the event of failure of the user to comply voluntarily with the suspension order within the specified time, the City shall commence judicial proceedings immediately thereafter to compel the user's compliance with such order. The City shall reinstate the wastewater treatment service and terminate judicial proceedings pending proof by the user of the elimination of the non-complying discharge or conditions creating the threat of imminent or substantial danger as set forth above.

   (b)   The City may seek to terminate the wastewater treatment services to any user which exhibits significant non-compliance from any permitted monitoring points. A user shall be considered in significant non-compliance 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 during a six month period exceed (by any magnitude) the daily maximum limit, instantaneous limits or the average limit for the same pollutant parameter;

      (2)   Technical review criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which thirty-three percent (33%) or more of all of the measurements taken during a six-month period equal or exceed the product of the average maximum limit, instantaneous limits or the average limit times 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, instantaneous limits, longer-term average or BMPs) that the City believes has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass-through (including endangering the health or POTW personnel or the general public);

      (4)   Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare or to the environment and has resulted in the POTW's exercise of its emergency authority under subsection (a) hereof to halt or prevent such a discharge;

      (5)   Violation, by ninety days or more after the scheduled date, of a compliance schedule milestone contained in a local control mechanism or enforcement order, for starting construction, completing construction or attaining final compliance;

      (6)   Failure to provide required reports such as baseline monitoring reports, ninety-day compliance reports, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with schedules within forty-five days of the due date;

      (7)   Failure to accurately report noncompliance; or

      (8)   Any other violation or group of violations which the City considers to be significant.

   (c)   Whenever the City finds that any user has engaged in conduct which justifies termination of a wastewater treatment services, pursuant to subsection (b) hereof, the City shall serve or cause to be served upon such user, a written notice either personally or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, stating the nature of the alleged violation. Within thirty days of the date of receipt of the notice, the user shall respond personally or in writing to the City, 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.

   (d)   Where the violation of subsection (b) hereof is not corrected by timely compliance by means of administrative adjustment, the City may order any user which causes or allows conduct prohibited by subsection (b) hereof, to show cause before the City or its duly authorized representative, why the proposed service termination action should not be taken. A written notice shall be served on the user by personal service, certified or registered, return receipt requested, specifying the time and place of a hearing to be held by the City or its designee regarding the violation, the reasons why the enforcement action is to be taken, the proposed enforcement action, and directing the user to show cause before the City or its designee why the proposed enforcement action should not be taken. The notice of the hearing shall be served no less than ten days before the hearing. Service may be made on any agent, officer or authorized representative of a user. The proceedings at the hearing shall be considered by the City which shall then enter appropriate orders with respect to the alleged improper activities of the user. Appeal of such orders may be taken by the user in accordance with applicable local or state law.

   (e)   Following the entry of any order by the City with respect to the conduct of a user contrary to the provisions of subsection (b) hereof, the Attorney or the City 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.

   (f)   A list of all significant users which were in significant noncompliance, or the subject of enforcement proceedings pursuant to Section 925.10 during the twelve previous months, shall be annually published by the City in the largest daily newspaper, published in the municipality in which the City is located, summarizing the enforcement actions taken against the users during the same twelve months.

   (g)   Any user or any interested party shall have the right to request in writing an interpretation or ruling by the City 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 user 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 user'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 laws.

   (h)   Any user which experiences an upset in operations which places the user in a temporary state of noncompliance with this chapter shall inform the City thereof immediately upon 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 user with the City within five days. The report shall specify:

      (1)   Description of the upset, the cause thereof and the upset's impact on a user's compliance status.

      (2)   Duration of noncompliance, including exact dates and times of noncompliance, and if the noncompliance 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 noncompliance.

   A documented and verified bona fide operating upset shall be an affirmative defense to any enforcement action brought by the City against a user for any noncompliance with the chapter which arises out of violation alleged to have occurred during the period of the upset.

(Ord. 2009-041. Passed 5-5-09.)