(A) Notification of violation. When the Director finds that a user has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this subchapter, a wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, the Director may serve upon that user a written notice of violation. Within 14 days of the receipt of this notice, an explanation of the violation and a plan for the satisfactory correction and prevention thereof, to include specific required actions, shall be submitted by the user to the Director. Submission of this plan in no way relieves the user of liability for any violations occurring before or after receipt of the notice of violation. Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the Director to take any action, including emergency actions or any other enforcement action, without first issuing a notice of violation.
(B) Consent orders. The Director may enter into consent orders, assurances of voluntary compliance, or other similar documents establishing an agreement with any user responsible for noncompliance. Such documents will include specific action to be taken by the user to correct the noncompliance within a time period specified by the document and may include stipulated fines. Such documents shall have the same force and effect as the administrative orders issued pursuant to divisions (D) and (E) below and shall be judicially enforceable.
(C) Show cause hearing. The Director may order a user which has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this subchapter, a wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, to appear before the Director and show cause why the proposed enforcement action should not be taken. Notice shall be served on the user specifying the time and place for the meeting, the proposed enforcement action, the reasons for such action, and a request that the user show cause why the proposed enforcement action should not be taken. The notice of the meeting shall be served personally or by registered or certified mail (return receipt requested) at least ten days prior to the hearing. Such notice may be served on any authorized representative of the user. A show cause hearing shall not be a bar against, or prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user.
(D) Compliance orders. When the Director finds that a user has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this subchapter, a wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, the Director may issue an order to the user responsible for the discharge directing that the user come into compliance within a specified time. If the user does not come into compliance within the time provided, sewer service may be discontinued. Compliance orders also may contain other requirements to address the noncompliance, including, without limitation, additional self-monitoring and management practices designed to minimize the amount of pollutants discharged to the sewer, pretreatment facility design and plan preparation and implementation, and any other affirmative action considered necessary for compliance with this subchapter. A compliance order may not extend the deadline for compliance established for a pretreatment standard or requirement, nor does a compliance order relieve the user of liability for any violation, including any continuing violation. Issuance of a compliance order shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user.
(E) Cease and desist orders.
(1) When the Director finds that a user has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this subchapter, a wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, or that the user’s past violations are likely to recur, the Director may issue an order to the user directing it to cease and desist all such violations and directing the user to:
(a) Immediately comply with all requirements; and
(b) Take such appropriate remedial or preventive action as may be needed to properly address a continuing or threatened violation, including halting operations and/or terminating the discharge.
(2) Issuance of a cease and desist order shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user.
(F) No limitation on civil infraction. Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the authorized city official, as defined in this section, to issue a municipal civil infraction citation or municipal civil infraction violation notice, as prescribed by this subchapter and Ch. 37 of this code of ordinances.
(G) Emergency suspensions.
(1) The Director may immediately suspend a user’s discharge, after informal notice to the user, whenever such suspension is necessary to stop an actual or threatened discharge which reasonably appears to present or cause an imminent or substantial endangerment to the health or welfare of persons. The Director may also immediately suspend a user’s discharge, after notice and opportunity to respond, that threatens to interfere with the operation of the POTW, or which presents, or may present, an endangerment to the environment.
(a) Any user notified of a suspension of its discharge shall immediately stop or eliminate its discharge. In the event of a user’s failure to immediately comply voluntarily with the suspension order, the Director may take such steps as deemed necessary, including immediate severance of the sewer connection, and suspension of water service to prevent or minimize damage to the POTW, its receiving stream, or endangerment to any individuals. The Director may allow the user to recommence its discharge when the user has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Director that the period of endangerment has passed, unless the termination proceedings in division (I) below are initiated against the user.
(b) A user 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 contribution and the measures taken to prevent any future occurrence, to the Director prior to the date of any show cause or termination hearing under divisions (C) and (I) of this section.
(2) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as requiring a hearing prior to an emergency suspension under this section.
(H) Termination of discharge.
(1) In addition to the provisions in § 51.040(F), any user who violates following conditions is subject to discharge termination:
(a) Violation of wastewater discharge permit conditions;
(b) Failure to accurately report the wastewater constituents and characteristics of its discharge;
(c) Failure to report significant changes in operations or wastewater volume, constituents, and characteristics prior to discharge;
(d) Refusal of reasonable access to the user’s premises for the purpose of inspection, monitoring, or sampling; or
(e) Violation of the pretreatment standards in §§ 51.028 through 51.031.
(2) Such user will be notified of the proposed termination of its discharge and be offered an opportunity to show cause under division (C) above why the proposed action should not be taken. Exercise of this option by the Director shall not be a bar to, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user.
(I) Continuing violation. Each act of violation, and each day or portion of a day that a violation of this subchapter, or of any permit, order, notice or agreement issued or entered into under this subchapter is permitted to exist or occur, constitutes a separate violation and shall be subject to fines, penalties and other sanctions as provided by this subchapter.
(J) Number of violations. The number of violations resulting from a user’s noncompliance with applicable pretreatment standards shall be determined as follows.
(1) Applicable concentration limitations and mass (or loading) limitations shall be treated as separate limitations, and a user may be liable and penalized separately for exceeding any of those limitations for a single pollutant or sampling parameter.
(2) Each violation of a daily maximum limit for a single pollutant or sampling parameter shall constitute a single violation for each day on which the violation occurs or continues, and the violation shall be considered to continue until subsequent sample results establish that the violation has ceased.
(3) Each violation of an instantaneous maximum limit for a single pollutant or sampling parameter shall constitute a single violation for each such exceedance. There may be multiple violations for each day on which such a violation occurs or continues, and the violation shall be considered to continue until subsequent sample results establish that the violation has ceased.
(4) If a wastewater discharge permit regulates more than one outfall, each outfall shall be considered separately in computing the number of violations as provided by this section.
(Prior Code, § 51.41) (Ord. D-1927, passed 7-15-2002, effective 8-1-2002)