(a) Violation of any provision of this Chapter shall constitute grounds for issuance of a Notice of Violation and assessment of a fine by DEHS or its Enforcement Officer. DEHS may commence Enforcement Actions under this Chapter by issuing an administrative citation and assessing a fine. County's procedures on imposition of administrative fines are hereby incorporated in their entirety, as modified from time to time, and shall govern the imposition, enforcement, Collection, and review of administrative citations issued to enforce this Chapter and any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to this Chapter, except as otherwise indicated in this Chapter.
(b) Other remedies allowed by law may be used, including civil action or prosecution as an infraction. DEHS may pursue civil actions in the California courts to seek recovery of unpaid administrative citations. DEHS may elect to delay court action until such time as a sufficiently large number of violations, or cumulative size of violations exist such that court action is a reasonable use of County staff and resources.
(c) Responsible entity for enforcement.
(1) Enforcement pursuant to this Chapter may be undertaken by DEHS Enforcement Official or county manager or representative who will interpret the Ordinance; determine the applicability of waivers, if violation(s) have occurred; implement enforcement actions; and, determine if compliance standards are met.
(d) Process for enforcement.
(1) DEHS will monitor compliance with the Ordinance randomly and through investigation of complaints, and an inspection program.
(2) DEHS may issue an official notification to notify regulated entities of its obligations under the Ordinance.
(3) DEHS will issue a Notice of Violation to any tier one or tier two commercial edible food generator found to have edible food in any waste collection container, or to any food recovery organization or food recovery service found to have edible food recovered from a tier one or tier two edible food generator in a waste collection container which has not been documented by a notice of significant spoilage as required in this Chapter. Such notice will be provided by written communication immediately upon identification of the violation or within three calendar days after determining that a violation has occurred. If DEHS observes edible food in a tier one or tier two commercial edible food generator, or food recovery organization, or food recovery service waste container on more than two consecutive occasion(s), DEHS may assess an administrative citation and fine, pursuant to the edible food recovery penalties provisions contained in this Chapter, on the tier one or tier two commercial edible food generator, food recovery organization, or food recovery service.
(4) DEHS shall issue a Notice of Violation requiring compliance within 60 days of issuance of the notice.
(5) Absent compliance by the entity within the deadline set forth in the Notice of Violation, DEHS shall commence an action to impose penalties, via an administrative citation and fine, pursuant to the Edible Food Recovery penalties provisions contained in this Chapter.
(e) Penalty amounts for types of violations. The penalty levels are as follows:
(1) For a first violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be $100 per violation.
(2) For a second violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be $200 per violation.
(3) For a third or subsequent violation, the amount of the base penalty $500 per violation.
(f) Compliance deadline extension considerations. DEHS may extend the compliance deadlines set forth in a Notice of Violation issued when such failure or delay in compliance is caused by or results from causes beyond the reasonable control of the entity such as:
(1) Acts of God such as earthquakes, wildfires, flooding, and other emergencies or natural disasters;
(2) Delays in obtaining discretionary permits or other government agency approvals; or,
(3) Deficiencies in Organic Waste Recycling infrastructure or edible food recovery capacity and DEHS is under a corrective action plan with CalRecycle pursuant to 14 CCR § 18996.2 due to those deficiencies.
(g) Appeals process.
(1) Persons receiving an administrative citation containing a penalty for an uncorrected violation may request a hearing to appeal the citation. A hearing will be held only if it is requested within the time prescribed and consistent with County's procedures in DEHS's codes for appeals of administrative citations. Evidence may be presented at the hearing. DEHS will appoint a hearing officer who shall conduct the hearing and issue a final written order.
(h) Education period for non-compliance. Beginning January 1, 2022 and through December 31, 2023, DEHS will conduct inspections to determine compliance, and if DEHS determines that a tier one commercial edible food generator, food recovery organization, or food recovery service is not in compliance, it shall provide educational materials and training to the entity describing its obligations under this Chapter and a notice that compliance is required by January 1, 2022, and that violations may be subject to administrative civil penalties starting on January 1, 2024.
(i) Civil penalties for non-compliance. Beginning January 1, 2024, if DEHS determines that tier one or tier two commercial edible food generator, food recovery organization, or food recovery service is not in compliance with this Chapter, it shall document the noncompliance or violation, issue a Notice of Violation, and take enforcement action pursuant to this Chapter, as needed.
(Ord. 4434, passed - -2022)