(A) Emergency cease and desist orders. When the city finds that any person has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this chapter, or any order issued hereunder, or that the person’s past violations are likely to recur, and that the person’s violation(s) has (have) caused or contributed to an actual or threatened discharge to the MS4 or waters of the United States which reasonably appears to present an imminent or substantial endangerment to the health or welfare of persons or to the environment, the city may issue an order to the violator directing it immediately to cease and desist all violations and directing the violator to:
(1) Immediately comply with all ordinance requirements; and
(2) Take appropriate preventive action as may be needed to properly address a continuing or threatened violation, including immediately halting operations and/or terminating the discharge. Any person notified of an emergency order directed to it under this division (A) shall immediately comply and stop or eliminate its endangering discharge. In the event of a discharger’s failure to immediately comply voluntarily with the emergency order, the city may take the steps as deemed necessary to prevent or minimize harm to the MS4 or waters of the United States, and/or endangerment to persons or to the environment, including immediate termination of a facility’s water supply, sewer connection, or other municipal utility services. The city may allow the person to recommence its discharge when it has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the authorized enforcement agency that the period of endangerment has passed, unless further termination proceedings are initiated against the discharger under this chapter. A person 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 discharge and the measures taken to prevent any future occurrence, to the authorized enforcement agency within seven days of receipt of the emergency order. Issuance of an emergency cease and desist order shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the violator.
(B) Suspension due to illicit discharges in emergency situations. The city may, without prior notice, suspend MS4 discharge access to a person when a suspension is necessary to stop an actual or threatened discharge which presents or may present imminent and substantial danger to the environment, or to the health or welfare of persons, or to the MS4 or waters of the state and/or United States. If the violator fails to comply with a suspension order issued in an emergency, the authorized enforcement agency may take the steps as deemed necessary to prevent or minimize damage to the MS4 or waters of the state and/or United States, or to minimize danger to persons.
(C) Suspension due to detection of illicit discharges.
(1) Any person discharging to the MS4 in violation of this chapter may have their MS4 access terminated if the termination would abate or reduce an illicit discharge. The authorized enforcement agency will notify a violator of the proposed termination of its MS4 access. The violator may petition the authorized enforcement agency for a reconsideration and hearing.
(2) A person commits an offense if the person reinstates MS4 access to a premises terminated pursuant to this section without the prior approval of the authorized enforcement agency.
(Prior Code, § 7-10-8) (Ord. 606, passed 12-8-2014) Penalty, see § 10.99