(A) Notification of violation. Whenever the city finds that any discharger has violated any provision of this chapter, its wastewater discharge permit, or an order of the city or court of competent jurisdiction the Director shall serve written notice stating the nature of the alleged violation. No later than ten days after the receipt date of this notice, the discharger shall respond in writing with an explanation of the violation and a plan for the satisfactory correction and prevention thereof. Submission of this plan in no way relieves the user of the liability for any violations occurring before or after receipt of the Notice of Violation.
(B) Compliance orders. When the Director finds that an industrial user has violated or continues to violate this chapter, its wastewater discharge permit, or an order of the city or court of competent jurisdiction, he or she may issue an order to the industrial user responsible for the discharge directing that, following a specified time period, sewer service shall be discontinued unless adequate treatment facilities, devices, or other related appurtenances have been installed and are properly operated. Orders may also contain such other requirements as might be reasonably necessary and appropriate to address the noncompliance, including the installation of pretreatment technology, additional self-monitoring, and management practices.
(C) Show cause hearing. Where any violation of this chapter is not corrected by timely compliance, the Director may order any discharger, to show cause why the proposed enforcement action should not be taken. A written notice shall be served on the discharger by personal service, or certified mail, 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 discharger 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 discharger. 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 discharger. The orders may be in the form of a compliance order or cease and desist order.
(D) Emergency suspension of service and discharge permits. The city may for good cause shown suspend the wastewater treatment service and the wastewater discharge permit of a discharger 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, or interferes with the operation of the POTW. Any discharger notified of the suspension of the city's wastewater treatment service or the discharger's wastewater discharge permit, shall immediately cease all discharge. In the event of a user's failure to immediately comply voluntarily with the suspension order, the city shall take such steps as deemed necessary, including immediately severing or plugging of the sewer connection.
(E) Revocation of permit. The city may revoke the wastewater discharge permit and treatment services of any discharger which violates any condition of this chapter, its permit, or an order of the city or court of competent jurisdiction.
(F) Right of appeal. Any discharger or any interested party shall have the right to request in writing an interpretation or ruling by the city on any matter covered under this chapter and shall be entitled to a prompt written reply.
(G) Annual publications. Annually the Director shall publish a list of all dischargers or significant industrial users which at any time during the previous 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:
(1) Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which 66% 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 for the same pollutant parameter;
(2) Technical Review Criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which 33% or more of all of 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 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 Director 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 30 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 non- compliance; or,
(8) Any other violation or group of violations which the Director determines will or has adversely affected the operation or implementation of the city's pretreatment program.
(Ord. 8623, passed 1-14-03; Am. Ord. 9622, passed 11-27-07
)