(a) Violations. No person or discharger shall violate any provision, regulation or requirement of this chapter.
(b) Notice of Violation. Whenever the City finds a discharger in violation of this chapter, it may serve written notice upon the violator stating a brief and concise description of the violation and direct compliance with this chapter within ten days.
Service of the notice shall be made personally or by certified mail upon the discharger or authorized representative of the industrial user. Service is complete on date of mailing.
(c) Citation and Hearing. When the violation has not been corrected as directed by the City, the City may issue a written citation to the discharger. The citation shall contain a brief and concise description of the particulars of the violation as well as the time and place of a hearing. The date of the hearing shall be no earlier than ten days nor later than twenty days from the date of service. Service of the citation shall be made personally or by certified mail upon the discharger or authorized representative of the industrial user. Service is complete on the date of mailing.
The Service-Safety Director or his authorized deputy, agent or representative shall be the responsible officer before which the hearing shall be conducted. He shall determine the order in which the hearing shall proceed.
At the hearing the discharger or its representative or attorney shall be permitted to present its position, arguments and contentions. Evidence may be admitted and witnesses may be examined and cross-examined to either support the discharger's position or to refute evidence and testimony offered by the City. Further, the right to proffer evidence into the record shall be recognized. All witnesses shall be placed under oath and the Director shall permit subpoenas to be issued upon written request. If neither the discharger or its authorized representative appear at the hearing, the Director shall proceed with the hearing.
Within thirty days from the date of the hearing, the Director shall render his decision in writing, supported by conclusions of fact supporting his decision, to all parties. The Director may order any appropriate relief including dismissal of the Municipal citation or termination of wastewater treatment services to the discharger. The decision of the Director shall be a final administrative order and any discharger adversely affected by such decision may appeal to the Common Pleas Court according to law.
(d) Enforcement Actions; Annual Publication. A list of all significant dischargers which were the subject of enforcement proceedings pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) hereof during the twelve previous months, shall be annually published by the City in a newspaper published in the City, summarizing the enforcement actions taken against the dischargers during the same twelve months whose violations remained uncorrected forty-five or more days after notification of noncompliance; or which have exhibited a pattern of noncompliance over that twelve-month period, or which involve failure to accurately report noncompliance.
(e) Operating Upsets. Any discharger which experiences an upset in operations which places the discharger in a temporary state of noncompliance with this chapter shall inform the City thereof 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 discharger with the City within five days. The report shall specify:
(1) Description of the upset, the cause thereof and the upset's impact on a discharger'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.
(f) Other Remedies. Notwithstanding any other enforcement procedure listed in this chapter, whenever it is determined there is a substantial danger to the public health or welfare or a substantial danger to the environment or of interference to the POTW due to the acts or omission of any discharger, the City may, through its appropriate officials, seek a temporary restraining order, temporary or permanent injunction or abatement in the Court of Common Pleas and shall not be required under these conditions to exhaust the administrative procedures within this chapter as a condition precedent to the commencement of such action.
Notwithstanding any other enforcement procedure listed in this chapter, or in conjunction with any other enforcement procedure, the City may seek to terminate the wastewater treatment services to any discharger which fails to factually report the wastewater concentrations and characteristics of its discharge; report significant changes in the wastewater concentration or discharge; refuse reasonable access to the discharger's premises by representatives of the authority for the purpose of inspection or monitoring; or violates the conditions of this chapter, or any final administrative order entered with respect thereto.
Any discharge of any sewage, industrial waste pollutant, toxic pollutant or other waste into the POTW system in violation of any provision, regulation or requirement of this chapter is declared to be a public nuisance and may be enjoined by the City through its appropriate officials in the Court of Common Pleas.
(Ord. 84-6. Passed 2-2-84.)