(a) Any discharger who is found to have violated an order of the Plant Manager, or who has failed to comply with any provision of this chapter and the regulations or rules of the Safety-Service Director, shall be penalized as follows:
(1) Continuous dischargers. The City may assess administrative penalties ranging in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100.00) to one thousand dollars ($1,000) per violation per day upon sewer users who normally have a continuous discharge who fail to comply with numerical values or administrative orders issued by the City or other regulatory agencies. Such administrative penalties shall be determined by the City based on the severity of the violation and the enforcement category assigned to the violator. If the violation is an "average" violation, the penalty shall be applied times the number of days (i.e., $100 x 30 = $3,000). If a discharger has both monthly average maximum and one-day maximum violations for the same parameter, the monthly violation takes precedent. If the monthly average maximum and one-day maximum violations are for different parameters, they will be assessed penalties as separate violations.
(2) Batch dischargers. The City may assess administrative penalties ranging in the amount of five hundred dollars ($500.00) to three thousand dollars ($3,000) per violation upon sewer users who batch discharge and fail to comply with numerical values or administrative orders issued by the City or other regulatory agencies. Such administrative penalties shall be determined by the City based on the volume of the discharge, the severity of the violation, and the enforcement category assigned to the violator. If the violations are for different parameters, they will be assessed penalties as separate violations.
NOTE: In addition to administrative penalties stated in Section 925.51(
a) "surcharges" may be imposed upon violating dischargers. Such surcharges are intended to recover the additional cost associated with treating "extra strength" discharges and are not penalties.
(b) State and Federal Law. In addition to Administrative penalties, dischargers which interfere with the proper operation or cause damage to the municipal wastewater system may be liable to State and/or Federal Law which provides for penalties up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per day and six years in jail for a repeat knowing criminal violation.
(c) Municipal Civil and Criminal Penalties. In addition to Administrative penalties, discharges which interfere with the proper operation of or cause damage to the municipal wastewater system may be liable to the City as follows:
(1) The City may seek Civil Penalties in the amount of three thousand dollars ($3,000) per violation per day; or
(2) The City may seek criminal penalties. Any person who is found guilty shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in an amount not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) per day per violation.
(Ord. 140-2012. Passed 1-22-13.)
Administrative Penalty Schedule
Any Industrial User violating any of the following regulations will receive administrative penalties accordingly.
Discharge slug load which causes WWTP (POTW) upset | $ 500 |
Discharge slug load which causes pass-through (Either of the above would also be subject to pay Massillon's NPDES fines for the excursion(s)) | $1,000 |
Deliberately discharge constituents known to be in violation of local or categorical limits | $1,000 |
Report or administrative penalty submitted late: | |
1 to 10 days | $ 250 |
11 to 20 days | $ 500 |
21 to 30 days | $ 750 |
> 30 days | $1,000 |
Failure to report (within 24 hours): | |
A change in discharge | $ 100 |
Any permit discharge violation | $ 250 |
A slug load (no harm to POTW) | $ 250 |
A slug load (harm to POTW) | $ 500 |
Failure to report: | |
Analysis for required parameters (per parameter) | $ 100 |
Incomplete or missing files (recurrent) | $ 100 |
Additional monitoring (EPA approved method) | $ 250 |
Reporting violations: | |
Report is improperly completed | $ 100 |
Report is improperly signed or certified | $ 100 |
Report is improperly signed or certified after notice by POTW | $ 250 |
Unpermitted discharge: | |
Unaware of requirement (no harm) | NOV |
Unaware of requirement (harm to POTW) | $ 500 |
Failure to apply for permit and discharge continues after notice by POTW | $ 750 |
Monitoring: | |
Failure to monitor all pollutants as required by permit (per parameter) | |
Failure to monitor all pollutants as required by permit (per parameter) | $100 |
Failure to install monitoring equipment for more than 30 days (each day) | $ 200 |
Improper sampling or analysis (i.e. wrong techniques or methods) | $ 200 |
Recurring failure to monitor | $ 500 |
POTW personnel denied entry to facility for inspection or sampling | $1,000 |
Sample results which exceed local or categorical limits will result in the assessment of administrative penalty or penalties as defined by the tables below.
Exceed Permit Limit By (Excluding pH violations)
Flows | < 25% | 25-50% | 51-75% | 76-100% | > 100% |
<1,000 GPD | NOV | NOV | $100 | $250 | $500 |
1,000-50,000 GPD | NOV | $100 | $200 | $400 | $650 |
10,001-50,000 GPD | NOV | $150 | $300 | $500 | $750 |
50,001-100,000 GPD | NOV | $200 | $400 | $750 | $900 |
>100,000 GPD | NOV | $250 | $500 | $900 | $1,000 |
pH Violations (Grab samples only)
6.0-6.49 | 5.5-5.99 | <5.5 | |
Flows | 10.01-10.50 | 10.51-12.50 | >12.50 |
<1,000 GPD | NOV | $100 | $200 |
1,000-10,000 GPD | NOV | $200 | $400 |
10,001-50,000 GPD | NOV | $300 | $600 |
50,001-100,000 GPD | NOV | $400 | $800 |
>100,000 GPD | NOV | $500 | $1,000 |
Other permit violations: | |
Waste streams are diluted in lieu of treatment | $500 |
Failure to properly maintain pretreatment facility | $500 |
Failure to correct noncompliance or halt discharge: | |
No harm to POTW | $500 |
Harm to POTW | $1,000 |
Repeated violations will be penalized, in addition to the administrative penalty, $200 for each event. This penalty will carry over and increase by $200 with every event in a series of recurrent violations.
Administrative penalty range increments increase per event, not per day.
Three successive administrative penalties will result in the issuance of a compliance schedule.
Fines will be levied for missed milestone dates during compliance schedule implementation.
Maximum administrative penalty per event is $5,000. Fines may be levied by the courts in excess of these amounts.
Any or all administrative penalties may be waived or modified per the discretion of the Director of Public Safety and Service.
Any user who violates any provision of the City of Massillon Sewer Use Code ordinance may be liable for a fine(s) up to a maximum amount of $1,000 for each violation, with each day being separate violation. (925.51)
(Ord. 140-2012. Passed 1-22-13.)