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(A) Injunctive relief. When the Superintendent finds that a user has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this chapter, an individual wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, the Superintendent may petition the County Circuit Court through the city’s Attorney for the issuance of a temporary or permanent injunction, as appropriate, which restrains or compels the specific performance of the individual wastewater discharge permit, order or other requirement imposed by this chapter on activities of the user. The Superintendent may also seek such other action as is appropriate for legal and/or equitable relief, including a requirement for the user to conduct environmental remediation. A petition for injunctive relief shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against a user.
(B) Civil penalties.
(1) The Superintendent may recover reasonable attorneys’ fees, court costs and other expenses associated with enforcement activities, including sampling and monitoring expenses, and the cost of any actual damages incurred by the city.
(2) In determining the amount of civil 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 of the violation, any economic benefit gained through the user’s violation, corrective actions by the user, the compliance history of the user and any other factor as justice requires.
(3) Filing a suit for civil penalties shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against a user.
(C) Remedies nonexclusive. The remedies provided for in this chapter are not exclusive. The Superintendent may take any, all, or any combination of these actions against a noncompliant user. Enforcement of pretreatment violations will generally be in accordance with the city’s enforcement response plan. However, the Superintendent may take other action against any user when the circumstances warrant. Further, the Superintendent is empowered to take more than one enforcement action against any noncompliant user.
(Ord. 2015-9, passed 11-10-2015)
Payment of outstanding fees and penalties: the Superintendent may decline to issue or reissue an individual wastewater discharge permit to any user who has failed to pay any outstanding fees, fines or penalties incurred as a result of any provision of this chapter, a previous individual wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder.
(Ord. 2015-9, passed 11-10-2015)
(A) Upset.
(1) For the purposes of this section, UPSET means an exceptional incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with categorical pretreatment standards because of factors beyond the reasonable control of the user. An upset does not include noncompliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance or careless or improper operation.
(2) An upset shall constitute an affirmative defense to an action brought for noncompliance with categorical pretreatment standards if the requirements of division (A)(3) below are met.
(3) A user who wishes to establish the affirmative defense of upset shall demonstrate, through properly signed, contemporaneous operating logs or other relevant evidence that:
(a) An upset occurred and the user can identify the cause(s) of the upset;
(b) The facility was at the time being operated in a prudent and workman-like manner and in compliance with applicable operation and maintenance procedures; and
(c) The user has submitted the following information to the Superintendent within 24 hours of becoming aware of the upset (if this information is provided orally, a written submission must be provided within five days):
1. A description of the indirect discharge and cause of noncompliance;
2. The period of noncompliance, including exact dates and times or, if not corrected, the anticipated time the noncompliance is expected to continue; and
3. Steps being taken and/or planned to reduce, eliminate and prevent recurrence of the noncompliance.
(4) In any enforcement proceeding, the user seeking to establish the occurrence of an upset shall have the burden of proof.
(5) Users shall have the opportunity for a judicial determination on any claim of upset only in an enforcement action brought for noncompliance with categorical pretreatment standards.
(6) Users shall control production of all discharges to the extent necessary to maintain compliance with categorical pretreatment standards upon reduction, loss or failure of its treatment facility until the facility is restored or an alternative method of treatment is provided. This requirement applies in the situation where, among other things, the primary source of power of the treatment facility is reduced, lost or fails.
(B) Prohibited discharge standards. A user shall have an affirmative defense to an enforcement action brought against it for noncompliance with the general prohibitions in § 51.15(A) or the specific prohibitions in § 51.15(B)(3) through (B)(16) if it can prove that it did not know, or have reason to know, that its discharge, alone or in conjunction with discharges from other sources, would cause pass through or interference and that either:
(1) A local limit exists for each pollutant discharged and the user was in compliance with each limit directly prior to, and during, the pass through or interference; or
(2) No local limit exists, but the discharge did not change substantially in nature or constituents from the user’s prior discharge when the city was regularly in compliance with its NPDES permit, and in the case of interference, was in compliance with applicable sludge use or disposal requirements.
(C) Bypass.
(1) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
BYPASS. The intentional diversion of wastestreams from any portion of a user’s treatment facility.
SEVERE PROPERTY DAMAGE. Substantial physical damage to property, damage to the treatment facilities which causes them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonably be expected to occur in the absence of a bypass. Severe property damage does not mean economic loss caused by delays in production.
(2) A user may allow any bypass to occur which does not cause pretreatment standards or requirements to be violated, but only if it also is for essential maintenance to assure efficient operation. These bypasses are not subject to the provision of divisions (C)(3) and (C)(4) above.
(3) Bypass notifications.
(a) If a user knows in advance of the need for a bypass, it shall submit prior notice to the Superintendent, at least ten days before the date of the bypass, if possible.
(b) A user shall submit oral notice to the Superintendent of an unanticipated bypass that exceeds applicable pretreatment standards within 24 hours from the time it becomes aware of the bypass. A written submission shall also be provided within five days of the time the user becomes aware of the bypass. The written submission shall contain a description of the bypass and its cause; the duration of the bypass, including exact dates and times, and, if the bypass has not been corrected, the anticipated time it is expected to continue; and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate and prevent reoccurrence of the bypass. The Superintendent may waive the written report on a case-by-case basis if the oral report has been received within 24 hours.
(4) Bypass.
(a) Bypass is prohibited, and the Superintendent may take an enforcement action against a user for a bypass, unless:
1. Bypass was unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage;
2. There were no feasible alternatives to the bypass, such as the use of auxiliary treatment facilities, retention of untreated wastesw or maintenance during normal periods of equipment downtime. This condition is not satisfied if adequate back-up equipment should have been installed in the exercise of reasonable engineering judgment to prevent a bypass which occurred during normal periods of equipment downtime or preventive maintenance; and
3. The user submitted notices as required under division (C)(3) above.
(b) The Superintendent may approve an anticipated bypass, after considering its adverse effects, if the Superintendent determines that it will meet the three conditions listed in division (C)(4)(a) above.
(Ord. 2015-9, passed 11-10-2015)
(A) What rates are based on. Residential, commercial and those industrial customers not participating in the industrial cost recovery program, shall pay sewage service rates based on water purchased from the city. Industries participating in industrial cost recovery shall be charged on metered waste flows.
(B) Rates.
(1) A minimum charge of $38 for the first 2,000 gallons of water consumed or metered flow will be charged to all residential customers. Thereafter, $10 per 1,000 gallons will be charged to all residential customers.
(2) A minimum charge of $42.50 for the first 2,000 gallons of water consumed or metered flow will be charged to all commercial customers. Thereafter, $10.50 per 1,000 gallons will be charged to all commercial and industrial customers.
(3) A minimum charge of $75 for the first 2,000 gallons of water consumed or metered flow will be charged to all industrial customers unless a contractual agreement is in place for base charges or fees. Thereafter, $11 per 1,000 gallons will be charged to all industrial customers.
(C) Tap fees.
(1) Each customer applying for a sanitary sewer connection shall pay a $500 minimum sewer tap-on fee prior to connection unless specifically otherwise agreed upon in advance.
(2) In the event the cost to the city exceeds the above tap-on fee, a determination of the actual cost shall be made by the Utility Superintendent and such cost shall be the responsibility of the customer.
(Ord. 2018-1, passed 2-13-2018; Ord. 2023-3, passed 6-21-2023)
The city may adopt reasonable fees for reimbursement of costs of setting up and operating the city’s pretreatment program, which may include:
(A) Fees for wastewater discharge permit applications including the cost of processing such applications;
(B) Fees for monitoring, inspection and surveillance procedures including the cost of collection and analyzing a user’s discharge, and reviewing monitoring reports and certification statements submitted by users;
(C) Fees for reviewing and responding to accidental discharge procedures and construction;
(D) Fees for filing appeals;
(E) Fees to recover administrative and legal costs (not included in § 51.32) associated with the enforcement activity taken by the Superintendent to address IU noncompliance; and
(F) Other fees as the city may deem necessary to carry out the requirements contained herein. These fees relate solely to the matters covered by this chapter and are separate from all other fees, fines and penalties chargeable by the city.
(Ord. 2015-9, passed 11-10-2015)
(A) Any person violating any provision of this chapter for which no specific penalty is prescribed shall be subject to § 10.99.
(B) A user who has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this chapter, an individual wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement shall be liable to the city for a minimum civil penalty of $1,000 per violation, per day. In the case of a monthly or other long-term average discharge limit, penalties shall accrue for each day during the period of the violation.
(C) (1) A user who willfully or negligently violates any provision of this chapter, an individual wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 per violation, per day, or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
(2) A user who willfully or negligently introduces any substance into the POTW which causes personal injury or property damage shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and be subject to a penalty of at least $1,000 or be subject to imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. This penalty shall be in addition to any other cause of action for personal injury or property damage available under state law.
(3) A user who knowingly makes any false statements, representations or certifications in any application, record, report, plan, or other documentation filed, or required to be maintained, pursuant to this chapter, individual wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, 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.
(4) In the event of a second conviction, a user shall 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. 2015-9, passed 11-10-2015)