(A) Administrative remedies; generally. The village may suspend wastewater treatment services to any user when the suspension is necessary, in the opinion of the village, in order to stop an actual or threatened discharge which presents or may present an imminent or substantial endangerment to the health or welfare of persons or the environment, causes or may cause interference to the POTW, or causes or may cause the village to violate any condition of its NPDES permit.
(B) Administrative notices and orders.
(1) (a) Whenever the village finds that a user has violated any provision of this chapter or order issued hereunder, or other pretreatment standard or requirement, the Director will issue a notice of violation to formally document the noncompliance. This document will specify the nature of the violation, establish a date by which the violation shall be corrected, and notify the affected user that failure to correct the violation would constitute a further violation which may result in additional enforcement action. A notice of violation will be sent via first-class mail or personally served on an authorized representative of the user.
(b) Receipt, or nonreceipt, of a notice of violation shall in no way relieve the affected user of any and all liability associated with the violation. Issuance of a notice of violation shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, any other enforcement actions by the village against the affected user.
(2) (a) When the village finds that a user has violated any provision of this chapter or order issued hereunder, or other pretreatment standard or requirement, the Director may issue an administrative order to show cause requiring the affected user to appear at a hearing to demonstrate why escalated enforcement action should not be pursued. This document will specify the nature of the violation, establish the time and place for the hearing, and notify the affected user that failure to comply would constitute a violation of this chapter which may result in additional enforcement action. An order to show cause will be issued at least 10 days prior to the hearing, and will be sent via certified mail/return receipt requested or personally served on an authorized representative of the user.
(b) Receipt, or nonreceipt, of an order to show cause shall in no way relieve the affected user of any and all liability associated with the violation. Issuance of an order to show cause or conducting of the show cause hearing shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, any other enforcement actions by the village against the affected user.
(3) (a) When the village and an affected user agree to a violation and to the remedial solution, the Director may issue an order of consent or similar document to formally establish the agreement. This document will specify the nature of the violation and required actions such as compliance schedules, stipulated fines, additional self-monitoring, and improvements to treatment facilities or management practices designed to control the user's discharge to the sewer. An order of consent will be sent via certified mail/return receipt requested, or personally served on an authorized representative of the user, and will require signatures of representatives from both the village and the affected user.
(b) An order of consent or similar document shall have the same force and effect as other administrative orders issued by the village pursuant to this chapter, shall be judicially enforceable, and shall not modify the requirements or extend the deadline for compliance established by a pretreatment standard or requirement. Receipt, or nonreceipt, of an order of consent or similar document shall in no way relieve the affected user of any and all liability associated with the violation. Issuance of a consent order or similar document shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, any other enforcement actions by the village against the affected user.
(4) (a) When the village and affected user do not agree to the violation or to the remedial solution, the Director may issue an order to achieve compliance. This document will specify the nature of the violation and include required actions such as compliance schedules, stipulated fines, additional self-monitoring, and improvements to treatment facilities or management practices designed to control the user's discharge to the sewer. An order to achieve compliance will be issued unilaterally in that terms need not be agreed to by the affected user, and will be sent via certified mail/return receipt requested, or personally served on an authorized representative of the user.
(b) An order to achieve compliance shall have the same force and effect as other administrative orders issued by the village pursuant to this chapter, shall be judicially enforceable, and shall not modify the requirements or extend the deadline for compliance established by a pretreatment standard or requirement. Receipt, or nonreceipt, of an order to achieve compliance shall in no way relieve the affected user of any and all liability associated with the violation. Issuance of an order to achieve compliance shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, any other enforcement actions by the village against the affected user.
(5) (a) When the village finds that a user has violated and continues to violate any provision of this chapter or order issued hereunder, or other pretreatment standard or requirement, the Director and Village Attorney may jointly issue a cease and desist order requiring the affected user to eliminate the violation within 24 hours or face suspension of sewer service. This document will specify the nature of the violation, and require that the violation cease. If the violation has not been corrected within 24 hours following issuance of the order, the village may suspend sewer service without further notice until the time as the affected user is able to demonstrate to the village that it can comply with the discharge requirements. A cease and desist order will be personally served on an authorized representative of the user.
(b) Receipt, or nonreceipt, of a cease and desist order shall in no way relieve the affected user of any and all liability associated with the violation. Issuance of a cease and desist order shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, any other enforcement actions by the village against the user.
(6) (a) Whenever the village finds that a user's discharge is in violation of any provision of this chapter and that the violation creates or threatens to create an emergency situation such as damage to the sanitary sewer system, pass-through or interference to the wastewater treatment plant, hazard to River Raisin (receiving water), endangerment to the public health and safety, or violation of any condition of the NPDES permit issued to the village, the Director and Village Attorney will jointly issue an emergency cease and desist order notifying the affected user to eliminate the violating discharge immediately or face service severance via a temporary plug in its sewer connection at any time and without further warning. This document will specify the nature of the violation, and require that the violating discharge cease until the time as the affected user is able to demonstrate to the village that it can comply with the discharge requirements. This document will also establish the time and place for a hearing where the affected user shall present a written statement regarding the causes of the violation and measures taken to prevent future occurrences, and further will notify the affected user of its liability for any costs incurred by the village to conduct this enforcement action. An emergency cease and desist order will be personally served to an authorized representative of the user, or may be delivered verbally via telephone to an authorized representative of the user and then served personally.
(b) Receipt, or nonreceipt, of an emergency cease and desist order shall in no way relieve the affected user of any and all liability associated with the violation. Issuance of an emergency cease and desist order shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, any other enforcement actions by the village against the affected user.
(7) (a) Except for emergency situations covered under division (B)(6) above, whenever the village finds that a user's continuing violation warrants revocation of its permit or privilege to discharge into the wastewater system, the Director and Village Attorney will jointly issue a notice of termination to warn of the impending suspension of the sewer service up to and including severance via temporary plug in the affected user's sewer connection. This document will specify the date and the time of scheduled service suspension in order to allow the affected user to either voluntarily cease the violating discharge or arrange appropriate actions such as production shut-down or alternative means of wastewater disposal. This document will also establish the time and place for a hearing where the affected user shall present a written statement regarding the causes of the violation and measures taken to prevent future occurrences, and further will notify the affected user of its liability for any costs incurred by the village to conduct this enforcement action. A notice of termination will be personally served on an authorized representative of the user at least 10 days before the scheduled service suspension.
(b) Receipt, or nonreceipt, of a notice of termination shall in no way relieve the affected user of any and all liability associated with the violation. Issuance of a notice of termination shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, any other enforcement actions by the village against the affected user.
(8) In addition to the sanctions, orders, liabilities, and other remedies prescribed under divisions (B)(1) through (B)(7) above, a user shall be liable to the village for any and all fines, penalties, and associated legal and other costs incurred or expended by the village as the result of any violation of the village 's NPDES permit that is attributable, in whole or in part, to the user's violation of this chapter or a permit issued to the user hereunder.
(C) Rights of appeal.
(1) Except for emergency situations covered under division (B)(6) above, any user desiring to dispute a notice of violation or order of the village, pursuant to this chapter, including, but not limited to, fines, may present a written request for reconsideration. The request shall be submitted to the Director within 10 days of first being notified of the corresponding order for all but a notice of termination, where such a request shall be submitted within 5 days of notification. If, in the opinion of the Director, the request has merit, he or she will convene a hearing on the matter as soon as possible to collect testimony of appropriate persons, take evidence, and render a final determination. In the event the affected user's appeal is unsuccessful, any original fine will become immediately due and the village may also add any additional costs incurred to administer this appeal. Further appeal of the Director's final determination shall be governed by applicable state law.
(2) Submittal of an appeal shall in no way relieve the affected user of any and all liability associated with the violation. An appeal shall not stay the corresponding order, or limit any other enforcement proceedings by the village against the affected user.
(Ord. 247, passed 2-2-2004) Penalty, see § 51.99