A. Notification of Violation.
1. Whenever the director finds that a user is in violation of any article of this chapter, any part of a permit, or any order for corrective action, the director shall serve or cause to be served upon such user, a written notification of violation (NOV). The notification of violation shall be served and shall state the nature of the alleged violation. The notification of violation may include, but not be limited to:
a. An order for corrective action;
b. A schedule to attain compliance;
c. An order to show cause why the matter should not be referred to the Pima County attorney's office for appropriate legal action;
d. An order to cease discharge;
e. A suspension or revocation of the user's permit; or
f. An order to respond in writing to the allegations.
Additional orders and changes to a suspension or revocation may follow the initial order at the discretion of the director or as additional information becomes available.
2. The current water quality standards for phenolics, codified at AAC R18-11-101 through 304, are suspended, pending further administrative rule making proceedings by the director of ADEQ, and shall not be enforced against any user pursuant to Title 49, Arizona Revised Statutes. Until such further administrative rule making proceedings are concluded, no person shall discharge phenol compounds to surface waters at levels or in combinations sufficient to be toxic to humans or local animal, plant or aquatic life. Phenol (total) is an indicator and, in and of itself, is not a violation unless there is a corresponding violation of the Appendix A Numeric Water Quality Standards for Surface Waters Table 1, Water Quality Criteria by Designated Use found in AAC R18-11.
B. Response to Notification of Violation.
1. The user shall respond in writing to the director within the time specified referenced in the notification of violation. In no instance shall an initial response be submitted any later than ten days from receipt of the notice by the user. The response shall be complete, containing all information and data required by the notification of violation.
2. If the response to a notification of violation requires an order to show cause, the user shall respond by demonstrating why the director should not ask the Pima County attorney to file an action in superior court requesting injunctive relief and penalties.
C. Resolution of Notification of Violation. Upon review of a response to a notification of violation, the director may accept the response as complete and satisfactory. If this is the case, the director shall consider the issue regarding the notification of violation closed. The director will notify the user in writing regarding the closure of the notification of violation. The closure of the notification of violation does not preclude further enforcement action.
D. Deficient Response to Notification of Violation. Upon review of a response to a notification of violation, the director may determine the response to be deficient. If such a determination is made, the director may take any one or more of the following actions:
1. Require any non-submitted or incomplete information be provided;
2. Suspend or revoke the user's permit;
3. Order the user to cease discharge;
4. Seek penalties as justified by the violations; or
5. Any other action the director determines to be appropriate.
E. Compliance Schedule. When the user is found to be in noncompliance, a compliance schedule may be made part of an enforcement order. The deadline dates in the enforcement order will be subject to the same civil penalties and will be as enforceable as a discharge limit.
F. Published List of Significant Violators. To comply with the public participation requirements of 40 CFR Part 25 as outlined in ARS § 49-391(C) for the enforcement of National Pretreatment Standards, the director shall at least annually publish notification, in a newspaper of general circulation that provides meaningful public notice in the municipality in which the POTW is located, of industrial users which, at any time during the previous twelve months, were in significant noncompliance with applicable pretreatment requirements.
[1.] For purposes of this provision, a significant industrial user (or any industrial user that violates 40 CFR § 403.8, paragraphs [f][2][viii][c], [d], or [h] of this section) is in significant noncompliance if its violation meets one or more of the following criteria:
a. Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which sixty-six percent or more of all the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement including instantaneous limits, as defined in 40 CFR § 403.3(l);
b. Technical review criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which thirty-three percent or more of all of the measurements for the same pollutant parameter during a six-month period equal or exceed the product of the numeric pretreatment standard or requirement including instantaneous limits as defined in 40 CFR § 403.3(l) multiplied by the applicable TRC (TRC = 1.4 for BOD, TSS, and FOG, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);
c. Any other violation of a pretreatment standard or requirement as defined by 40 CFR § 403.3(l) (daily maximum, longer-term average, instantaneous limit, or narrative standard) that the director determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass through (including endangering the health of POTW personnel or the general public);
d. Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare or to the environment or has resulted in the director's exercise of emergency authority under Section 13.36.195 to halt or prevent such a discharge;
e. Failure to meet, within ninety days after the scheduled date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in a local control mechanism or enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final compliance;
f. Failure to provide, within forty-five days after the due date, required reports such as baseline monitoring reports, ninety-day compliance reports, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;
g. Failure to accurately report noncompliance;
h. Any other violation or group of violations, which may include a violation of best management practices, that the director determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.
(Ord. 2013-32 (part), 2013)