(a) Any illicit discharge or prohibited discharge, or non-stormwater discharge or discharge that would cause a violation of a municipal NPDES permit, amendments, revisions or reissuance thereof, either separately considered or when combined with other discharges, is prohibited.
(b) Liability for any such discharge, including but not limited to the cost of remedial activity, shall be the responsibility of the person or entity causing or responsible for the discharge, and the City shall seek to have such person or entity defend, indemnify and hold harmless the City in any administrative or judicial enforcement action against the City relating to such discharge.
(c) No person or entity shall construct or maintain any property, residence or business not in compliance with the standards of this article.
(d) City officials bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter upon all properties in the City watershed for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing in accordance with the provisions of this article.
(e) No person or entity shall fail to provide any report or other information or perform any duty required by this article.
(f) The City may take appropriate legal action to require compliance with this article.
(g) The City may issue notices of violations for any conditions found to violate the requirements in this article. A notice of violation of this article shall be served upon the alleged violator by personal delivery or by certified mail, return receipt requested. The notice shall state the nature of the violation, the potential penalty, the action required to correct the violation, and a time limit for making the correction.
(h) Violations of this article shall be a criminal misdemeanor, subject to criminal citation and punishable by a fine of up to five hundred dollars ($500.00) or imprisonment for a period not to exceed thirty days or both. Each and every day or portion thereof that a person or entity fails or refuses to remedy a violation shall be considered a separate offense. Citations may be issued against any person or entity who has violated or continues to violate any section of this article or any of the following:
(1) Failing to comply with a valid notice of violation issued under this article;
(2) Failing to allow entry, inspection or monitoring; or
(3) Violation of reporting requirements or falsification of reports.
(i) If, after reasonable warning notice, a person or entity fails to comply with this article within the time limit included in the notice, the City may cause a criminal citation to be issued.
(j) A person or entity causing an illicit discharge, prohibited discharge or a non-stormwater discharge that appears to present an imminent danger to public health, safety, or welfare or imminent danger to the environment shall immediately eliminate the discharge and abate any damage to the stormwater system.
(k) The City may take all steps necessary to immediately and without notice halt any discharge of pollutants which reasonably appear to present an imminent danger to the health or welfare of persons or to the environment in the City in the event that a person or entity causing such discharge does not immediately eliminate the violation or abate the damage to the stormwater system.
(l) When the City finds that a person or entity has violated or continues to violate any section of this article, the City may petition a court of competent jurisdiction for the issuance of a permanent or temporary injunction, as appropriate, which restrains or compels specific compliance with this article. The City may also seek such other action as is appropriate for legal and equitable relief, including a requirement that the person or entity conduct an environmental remediation. A petition for injunctive relief shall not be a bar against or a prerequisite for taking any other action against the person or entity. The City may recover from a violator reasonable attorney's fees, court costs and other expenses associated with the enforcement of this article, as well as the cost of actual damages incurred by the City.
(Ord. 2210. Passed 2-5-15.)