Any person who owns a well and any person who is in possession of a well may be required to take corrective action with respect to the well as provided in this section.
(A) Grounds - Any of the following occurrences constitutes a ground for ordering corrective action:
(1) Maintenance, operation or use of the well in a manner that will cause or contribute to, or run a substantial risk of causing or contributing to, the pollution or contamination of the groundwater; or
(2) Construction, maintenance, repair, modification or destruction of the well in a manner that violates any provision of this article.
(B) Notice - To initiate proceedings to order corrective action, the public works director shall send written notice to the person who owns the well or the person in possession of the well or both of them. The notice shall briefly describe the suspected occurrence which constitutes a ground for ordering corrective action, shall describe the proposed corrective action, shall specify a time and place of hearing at which such person shall be afforded an opportunity to present evidence showing that there has been no such occurrence or that the proposed corrective action is inappropriate, and shall state that failure to appear and present such evidence may result in an order requiring such person to take some or all of the proposed corrective action.
(3) Hearing - The public works director shall conduct the hearing specified in the notice. The hearing shall be informal and shall not be governed by rules of evidence applicable to courts of law. The person to whom the permit was issued shall have the right to present relevant evidence at the hearing. The public works director may, but need not, permit other persons to present relevant evidence. At the conclusion of the hearing, or within 30 days thereafter, the public works director shall determine, based upon the preponderance of the evidence accepted at the hearing, whether there has been such an occurrence, and, if so, whether the proposed corrective action is appropriate. The determination of the public works director shall be final and conclusive. Such determination shall be in writing and shall contain a brief statement of the findings of fact upon which the determination is based.
(D) Order - If the determination is that there has been such an occurrence and that some or all of the proposed corrective action is appropriate, the public works director may issue and serve upon the person or persons who were served with notice of the hearing a written order requiring such appropriate corrective action. The order shall state a deadline for commencing the corrective action if such action is to be ongoing and shall state a deadline for completing the corrective action if such corrective action is not to be ongoing. The order shall further state that, if the corrective action is not taken in compliance with the order, such action may be taken by the public works director at the expense of the person served with the order and, in addition, such person may be subject to criminal prosecution.
(E) Compliance - Any owner or possessor of the well who is served with such an order shall, on or before the deadline stated therein, commence every corrective action described therein as being ongoing and complete every corrective action described therein as not being ongoing. Any owner or possessor of the well served with such an order, and any person who thereafter acquires ownership or possession of the well with actual or constructive notice of the order, shall, for so long as such person owns or possesses the well, continue to take every corrective action described in the order as ongoing, until such time as either the well is destroyed pursuant to this article or the public works director states in writing that such ongoing corrective action is no longer necessary.
(`64 Code, Sec. 33-82) (Ord. No. 2219)