Whenever the District finds that a person has violated a prohibition or failed to meet a requirement of this chapter, the District may order compliance or take action through any of the following.
(A) VTN. A verbal telephone notice describes a response to a minor type of violation which is conveyed verbally to the user and no further follow up on the user’s part is expected. A VTN is utilized when there is a very minor infraction.
(B) EN. An email notice describes a documented response to a minor type violation which is conveyed via email to the user. It is self-documenting and will be added to a user’s records. An EN is equivalent to a VTN.
(C) SV. A site visit is a visit to the user’s property to discuss and observe the problem. This can be a substitution for VTN or NOV. The SV can also be made in conjunction with a NOV, indicating a reason for the non-compliance and what steps are being taken to eliminate any future violations of this nature. A site visit form needs to be filled out when this action is taken.
(D) NOV. A notice of violation is written notice to a user or responsible party indicating the type of apparent violation.
(1) Such notice may require without limitation:
(a) A written response;
(b) Compliance with this chapter;
(c) The elimination of illicit connections or discharges;
(d) That violating discharges, practices or operations shall cease and desist;
(e) The abatement or remediation of pollution or contamination hazards and the restoration of any affected property;
(f) Payment of a fine to cover administrative and remediation costs; and
(g) The implementation of source control or treatment best management practices.
(2) If abatement of a violation and/or restoration of affected property is required, the notice shall set forth a deadline within which such remediation or restoration must be completed.
(3) Said notice shall further advise that, should the violator fail to remediate or restore within the established deadline, the work will be done by a designated governmental agency or a contractor and the expense thereof shall be charged to the violator.
(E) AO. An administrative order is issued to an user by the District or Director and contains necessary corrective measures that need to be carried out by a user to undertake or to cease specified activities by a specified deadline. An AO may contain one or more of the following: administrative fines; enforcement compliance schedules; directives for increased monitoring and/or reporting frequencies; or cease and desist orders. In addition, it specifies the name of the parties involved, statement of facts, the requirement to ensure compliance and the enforcement associated with any future non-compliance.
(F) AF. Administrative fines are monetary penalties assessed by the District.
(1) When the District finds that a person has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this chapter, the District may impose an administrative fine against such person in an amount not to exceed $2,500 on a per violation, per day basis, plus any administrative or remediation costs.
(2) Issuance of an administrative fine shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the person.
(3) In order to establish a consistent basis for assessing monetary penalties against a user, a schedule of common administrative fines may be as follows.
(a) Connection of unpolluted waters (see § 59.080): $50 per connection (per day) (e.g., two downspouts on the same property equal two violations);
(b) Un-maintained grease trap $200 (per day);
(c) No grease trap inspection and maintenance logs posted $100 (per day);
(d) Insufficient grease trap inspection or maintenance logs $100 (per day); and
(e) Prohibited discharge (excluding unpolluted waters) $100 (per day).
(4) This schedule does not limit the Director or the District, at their discretion, from assessing administrative fines for any violation of this chapter up to the maximum allowed amount of $2,500 per violation per day. This may be done for reasons including, but not limited to, a user having habitual violations, showing evidence of negligence or intent to violate, failure to remedy the violation in a timely manner, or a major violation impacting the POTW.
(Prior Code, § 50.58)