(A) (1) Any person responsible for any connection to the MS4 which results in a prohibited discharge shall immediately cause such illegal connection to be discontinued and redirected, if necessary, to an approved sanitary sewer system.
(2) Such person shall provide the county with written confirmation, in a form satisfactory to county, that the connection has been discontinued, and, if necessary, redirected to the sanitary sewer.
(B) (1) Any person responsible for illicit discharges or noncompliance with BMPs at industrial and/or construction sites, and who fails to correct any prohibited condition or discontinue any prohibited activity at the order of the county, shall be liable to the county for expenses incurred in abating pollution.
(2) Such expenses may include those incurred in testing, measuring, sampling, collecting, removing, treating, and disposing of the polluting materials, and preventing further noncompliance and/or illicit discharges.
(C) The county may institute appropriate actions or proceedings at law or in equity for the enforcement of this chapter, and the county shall be entitled to recover its costs expended and reasonable attorney fees in any such proceeding. Any court of competent jurisdiction shall have the right to issue restraining orders, temporary or permanent injunctions, and other appropriate forms of remedy or relief.
(1) Each day of noncompliance is considered a separate offense and nothing herein contained shall prevent the county from taking such other lawful action as necessary to prevent or remedy any violation, including application for injunctive relief.
(2) Any of the following enforcement remedies and penalties, to be applied independently or in a sequence as deemed necessary, shall be available to the county in response to violations of this chapter. If the person, property, or facility has, or is required to have, a stormwater discharge permit from the IDEM, the county shall notify the appropriate state authorities of the violation.
(a) Whenever the county finds that any person owning or occupying premises has violated, or is violating, this chapter, or an order issued hereunder, the enforcement official may serve, by personal service, registered mail, or certified mail, upon said person a written NOV. Within 30 days of the receipt of this notice, or shorter period as may be prescribed in the NOV, an explanation of the violation and a plan for the satisfactory correction and prevention thereof, which shall include specific required actions, shall be submitted to the county. Submission of this plan shall not, however, affect liability for violations of this chapter.
(b) The county may revoke and require surrender of a permit or certificate by notifying the permit holder, in writing, of the reason for the revocation. Permits or certificates may be revoked for any substantial departure from the approved application plans or specifications; refusal or failure to comply with the requirements of state or local law; or for false statements or misrepresentations made in securing the permit or certificate. Any permit or certificate mistakenly issued in violation of any applicable state or local law may also be revoked.
(c) The county may issue a stop work order and require that all activities cease, except those actions that are necessary to eliminate the illicit discharge. Unacceptable or untimely actions to eliminate the illicit discharge may be used as grounds to revoke permits for the construction site.
(d) If any person shall violate the provisions of this chapter, the county may order the owner, responsible party, or any person in possession of the subject property that all unlawful conditions existing thereupon be abated within a scheduled period defined from the date of such notice.
1. The enforcement official shall have the authority to establish elements of a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan and require any business to adopt and implement such a plan as may be reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes of this chapter. The enforcement official may establish the requirements of BMPs for any premises.
2. If it is determined by the county that an unlawful condition is such that there is imminent danger or peril to the public health, safety, or welfare, the county may, with or without notice, proceed to abate the same, with the costs of such abatement to be charged against the property, its owner, or the responsible party, jointly and severally.
(D) (1) Any person who has been found to have violated any provision of this chapter may be assessed a civil penalty not to exceed the amount the lessor of that set forth in this section or § 152.999, or the maximum amount permitted by law.
(2) The penalty shall increase by 25% of the previous penalty amount for every subsequent, but separate, offense made by the same person. This penalty shall be in addition to other enforcement actions of this section. The penalty may be assessed for each day that the prohibited activity continues beyond those schedules set forth in compliance orders or other abatement schedules issued to the property owner or other person responsible by the county.
(3) In determining the amount of the penalty, the court shall consider the following:
(a) The degree and extent of the harm to the natural resources, to the public health, or to the public or private property resulting from the violation;
(b) The duration and gravity of the violation;
(c) The effect on ground or surface water quality;
(d) The cost of rectifying the damage;
(e) The amount of money saved by noncompliance;
(f) Whether the violation was committed willfully or intentionally;
(g) The cumulative effect of other enforcement actions applied for the same offense;
(h) The prior record of the violator in complying, or failing to comply, with the stormwater quality management program; and
(i) The cost of enforcement to the county.
(E) Any violator may be required to clean and/or restore land to its condition prior to the violation.
(F) (1) If corrective action, including required maintenance, is not completed in the time specified, or within a reasonable time, the county may take the corrective action, and the cost of abatement or corrective action may be assessed against the responsible party, owner of the premises, and/or the developer.
(2) If these costs are not paid within 90 days of invoice, the enforcement official may initiate all appropriate legal actions to enforce the claim.
(G) Any violation of this chapter, or of any condition, order, requirement, or remedy adopted pursuant hereto, may be restrained, corrected, abated, mandated, or enjoined by other appropriate proceeding pursuant to state law.
(H) In addition to any other remedies provided in this chapter, any violation of this chapter may be enforced by civil action brought by the county. Monies recovered under this section shall be paid to the county to be used exclusively for costs associated with implementing or enforcing the provisions of this chapter. In any such action, the county may seek, as appropriate, any, or all of, the following remedies:
(1) A temporary and/or permanent injunction;
(2) Assessment of the violator for the costs of any investigation, inspection, or monitoring survey which lead to the establishment of the violation, and for the reasonable costs of preparing and bringing legal action under this section;
(3) Costs incurred in removing, correcting, or terminating the adverse effects resulting from the violation; and/or
(4) Compensatory damages for loss or destruction to water quality, wildlife, fish, and aquatic life.
(I) (1) The county may order the abatement of any discharge from any source to the stormwater conveyance system when, in the opinion of the county, the discharge causes, or threatens to cause, a condition that presents an imminent danger to the public health, safety, or welfare of the citizens of the county, the environment, or is a violation of a NPDES permit.
(2) If such emergency situations occur, and the property owner, or other responsible party, is unavailable, or time constraints are such that service of a notice and order to abate cannot be effected without presenting an immediate danger to the public health, safety, or welfare, the county may undertake the abatement of said threat or danger. The costs of any such action by the county may be recovered as in this chapter.
(J) Any condition caused by, or permitted to exist in, violation of any of the provisions of this chapter is deemed a threat to the public health, safety, welfare, and environment, and is declared to be a nuisance, which may be abated by injunctive or other equitable relief.
(K) The remedies listed in this chapter are not exclusive of any remedies available under any applicable federal, state, or local law, and the county may seek cumulative remedies.
(Ord. 2019-25, passed 10-15-2019) Penalty, see § 152.999