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If sampling performed by a user indicates a violation, the user must notify the Director within twenty-four (24) hours of becoming aware of the violation. The user shall also repeat the sampling and analysis and submit the results of the repeat analysis to the Director within thirty (30) days after becoming aware of the violation. Resampling by the industrial user is not required if the City performs sampling at the user's facility at least once a month, or if the City performs sampling at the user between the time when the initial sampling was conducted and the time when the user or the City receives the results of this sampling. If the City has performed the sampling and analysis in lieu of the industrial user, the City will notify the user of the violation and require the user to perform the repeat sampling and analysis.
(Ord. 30-14. Passed 3-3-14.)
ENFORCEMENT
(a) The City, by and through its Chairman of the Water Pollution Control Board, or other duly authorized representative, may, for good cause shown, shall immediately suspend the wastewater treatment service and the wastewater discharge permit of a industrial user, after informal notice, when it appears that actual or threatened discharge presents or may present an imminent or substantial danger to the health or welfare of persons, substantial danger to the environment, interfere with the operation of the POTW, or violate any pretreatment limits imposed by these rules and regulations or any wastewater discharge permit issued pursuant to these rules and regulations.
(1) Any industrial user so notified of the suspension of the City's wastewater treatment service and/or the industrial user's wastewater discharge permit, shall, immediately or within a reasonable period of time as determined by the Chairman of the Board, cease all discharges. In the event the industrial user fails to comply voluntarily with the suspension notice within the time specified therein, the Chairman of the Board shall, without further notice to the industrial user and without the scheduling of a show cause hearing immediately commence judicial proceedings to compel the industrial user's compliance with such suspension notice and to exact civil penalties, if any, which may be due for or as a result of the industrial user's noncompliance. The Chairman of the Board may reinstate the wastewater discharge permit and/or the wastewater treatment service and terminate any judicial proceedings pending upon submission of written proof by the industrial user that it has eliminated the noncomplying discharge or conditions creating the threat of imminent or substantial danger as set forth above.
(2) A user that is responsible, in whole or in part, for any discharge presenting imminent endangerment shall submit a detailed written statement, describing the causes of the harmful contribution and the measures taken to prevent any future occurrence, to the Chairman prior to the date of any show cause or termination hearing under Sections 915.403 or 915.401 of these regulations.
Nothing in this Section shall be interpreted as requiring a hearing prior to any Emergency Suspension under this Section.
(b) Whenever the Director finds that any industrial user has engaged in conduct which justifies revocation of a wastewater discharge permit or termination of treatment services, pursuant to this section, the Director shall serve upon such industrial user, a written notice either personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested, stating the nature of the alleged violation. Within thirty days of the date of receipt of the notice, the industrial user shall respond personally or in writing to the Director and thereby advise the City of its position with respect to the allegations and submit a plan for satisfactory correction.
(Ord. 30-14. Passed 3-3-14.)
The Chairman of the Water Pollution Control Board may revoke the permit or seek to terminate the wastewater treatment services to any industrial user which, in addition to the provisions in Section 915.301(k), fails to:
(a) Report the wastewater constituents and characteristics of its discharge;
(b) Report significant changes in operations or wastewater volume, constituents or characteristics prior to discharge;
(c) Allow reasonable access to the industrial user's premises or records by representatives of the Director for the purpose of inspection or monitoring as required in Section 915.308; or
(d) Comply with the conditions of its wastewater discharge permit, or these rules and regulations, or any final administrative or judicial order entered with respect thereto.
When the Director finds that a user has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of these rules and regulations, an individual wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or any other Pretreatment Standard or Requirement, the Director may serve upon that user a written Notice of Violation. Within ten (10) days of the receipt of such notice, an explanation of the violation and a plan for the satisfactory correction and prevention thereof, to include specific required actions, shall be submitted by the user to the Director. Submission of such a plan in no way relieves the user of liability for any violations occurring before or after receipt of the Notice of Violation. Nothing in this Section shall limit the authority of the Director to take any action, including emergency actions or any other enforcement action, without first issuing a Notice of Violation. (Ord. 30-14. Passed 3-3-14.)
Where the violation of any requirement of these regulations is not corrected by timely compliance, voluntarily or by means pursuant to Section 915.400, the Chairman of the Water Pollution Control Board may order the industrial user to show cause before the Board as defined in Section 913.900 of the Division of Water Pollution Control Rules and Regulations why an enforcement action should not be taken. A written notice shall be served on the industrial user by personal service, or certified mail, return receipt requested, specifying the time and place of the hearing to be held regarding the violation, the reasons why the enforcement action is to be taken, the proposed enforcement action, and directing the industrial user to show cause why the proposed enforcement action shou1d 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 an industrial user. All evidence presented and testimony taken must be under oath and recorded. The recording shall be made available upon request by the industrial user or any member of the public upon payment of the usual charges for transcribing the recording. The evidence presented at the hearing shall be considered by the Board, who shall then enter appropriate orders with respect to the alleged improper activities of the industrial user. Appeal of such orders may be taken by the industrial user in accordance with Section 915.407. If no such appeal is taken, the City may seek enforcement of its order by judicial proceeding as herein provided. A show cause hearing shall not be bar against, or prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user. (Ord. 30-14. Passed 3-3-14.)
The Law Director or other du1y authorized attorney for the City may commence civil proceedings in the appropriate local court seeking appropriate legal and/or equitable relief against any industrial user who fails to comply with any final administrative order issued pursuant to either Section 915.403 or with any suspension notice issued by the City pursuant to Section 915.400. Such relief may include civil penalties, judgment for damages, penalties, expenses and/or costs incurred by or charged to the City by or as a resu1t of any and all acts and/or omissions of the industrial user as required, prohibited or governed by these rules and regulations, and injunctive relief, whether temporary or permanent, to suspend or terminate the activities and/or operations of the industrial user as may be necessary for the City to enforce the provisions of these rules and regulations. The City Law Director or the prosecutor having jurisdiction there over may commence criminal proceedings in the appropriate local court upon authorization from the City. (Ord. 30-14. Passed 3-3-14.)
At least annually, the City shall publish, in a newspaper of general circulation that provides meaningful public notice within the jurisdiction served by the POTW, a list 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 the criteria in paragraph 915.405(c), (d), or (h) of this rule. A significant industrial user is in significant noncompliance if it meets one or moreany of the following criteria:
(a) Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which sixty-six percent (66%) or more of all of the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter at any permitted monitoring point during a six- (6-)month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous limits as define in Section 915.010, for the same pollutant parameter;
(b) Technical Review Criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which thirty-three percent (33%) or more of all of the measurements for each pollutant parameter taken for the same pollutant parameter at any permitted monitoring point during a six- (6-)month period equal or exceed the product of the numeric pretreatment standard or requirement including instantaneous limits as defined by Section 915.010, 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, longer term average, instantaneous limit, or narrative standard) that the City 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);
(d) 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;
(e) Failure to meet, within ninety (90) days after the schedule dates, a compliance schedule milestone contained in a wastewater discharge permit or enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final compliance;
(f) Failure to provide, within fort-five (45) days after the due date, required reports such as baseline monitoring reports, ninety day compliance reports, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;
(g) Failure to accurately report noncompliance;
(h) Any other violation or group of violations, which may include violation of Best Management Practices, which the City determines will or has adversely affected the operation or implementation of the City's pretreatment program.
(Ord. 30-14. Passed 3-3-14.)
All actions by the Water Pollution Control Board carried out in the enforcement of these rules and regulations are subject to appeal to the Water Pollution Appeal Board as established in Sub-Chapter 913.950 of the Division of Water Pollution Control Rules and Regulations.
(Ord. 30-14. Passed 3-3-14.)
(a) Any industrial user which experiences an upset in operations or other conditions which place the industrial user in a temporary state of noncompliance with these rules and regulations or a wastewater discharge permit issued pursuant hereto shall inform the Director hereof within twenty-four 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 industrial user with the Director within five days. The report shall specify:
(1) Description of the upset the cause thereof and the upset's impact on industrial 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.
(b) A documented and verified bonafide operating upset shall be an affirmative defense to any enforcement action brought by the City against a industrial user for any noncompliance with these rules and regulations or with any wastewater discharge permit issued pursuant hereto which arises out of violations alleged to have occurred during the period of the upset.
(c) A user who wishes to establish the affirmative defense of upset shall demonstrate, through properly signed, contemporaneous operating logs, or other relevant evidence that:
(1) An upset occurred and the user can identify the cause(s) of the upset; and
(2) The facility was at the time being operated in a prudent and workman-like manner and in compliance with applicable operation and maintenance procedures.
(d) In any enforcement proceeding, the user seeking to establish the occurrence of an upset shall have the burden of proof.
(e) 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.
(f) 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.
(g) A user shall have an affirmative defense to an enforcement action brought against it for noncompliance with the general prohibitions in Section 915.100(A) of these rules and regulations or the specific prohibitions in Section 915.100(B)(c) through (s) of these regulations 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. (Ord. 30-14. Passed 3-3-14.)
PENALTIES, COSTS AND DAMAGES
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