(a) Emergency Suspension of Service. The City of York may for good cause shown suspend the wastewater treatment service to any person when it appears to the City of York that an actual or threatened discharge presents or may reasonably present an imminent or substantial danger to the health or welfare of persons or to the environment, interferes with the operation of the POTW, or violates any pretreatment standard or requirement imposed by this article. In the event of failure to comply voluntarily with a suspension order within the specified time, the City of York may commence judicial proceedings to compel compliance with such order. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as requiring a hearing prior to any emergency suspension under this section. A User affected by an emergency suspension will be entitled to a hearing afterwards at the User's request pursuant to Section 931.17 of this Article.
(1) Any User notified of a suspension of its service shall immediately stop or eliminate its discharge. In the event of a User's failure to immediately comply voluntarily with the suspension order, the General Manager may take such steps as deemed necessary, including immediate severance of the sewer connection, to prevent or minimize damage to the POTW, its receiving stream, or endangerment to any individuals. The General Manager may allow the User to recommence its discharge when the User has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the General Manager that the period of endangerment has passed, unless the termination proceedings in Section 931.11(b) are initiated against the User.
(2) 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 discharge and the measures taken to prevent any future occurrence, to the General Manager prior to the date of any show cause or termination hearing under 931.11(d).
(b) Revocation of Treatment Services. The City of York may seek to terminate the wastewater treatment services to any person and/or revoke a wastewater discharge permit, for good cause, for, but not limited to, the following reasons:
(1) Failure to factually report the wastewater constituents and characteristics of its discharge;
(3) Violation of this Article or any permit or order issued under this Article following within one year a prior violation of the same kind;
(4) Misrepresentation or failure to fully disclose all relevant facts in the wastewater discharge permit application;
(5) Falsifying self-monitoring reports and certification statements;
(6) Tampering with monitoring equipment;
(7) Being found to be in Significant Noncompliance, as defined in Section 931.12 of this Article;
(8) Failure to pay civil penalties assessed under this Article;
(9) Failure to pay sewer charges, surcharges or fees for services;
(10) Failure to meet compliance schedules;
(11) Failure to complete a wastewater survey or a wastewater discharge permit application as provided by Section 931.03(c) of this Article; or
(12) Failure to provide advance notice of the transfer of business ownership of a permitted facility.
Such person will be notified of the proposed termination of its discharge and be offered an opportunity to show cause under Section 931.11(d) why the proposed action should not be taken. Exercise of this option by the General Manager shall not be a bar to, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the person.
(c) Notification of Violation; Administrative Adjustment. Whenever the City of York finds that any person has engaged in conduct that constitutes a violation of any provision of this Article or of a Permit issued hereunder, the City of York may serve or cause to be served upon such person, a written notice either personally or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, stating the nature of the alleged violation. Within thirty (30) days of the date of receipt of the notice, the person shall respond in writing to the City of York, advising of its position with respect to the allegations. Thereafter the parties shall meet to ascertain the veracity of the allegations and where necessary, establish a plan for the satisfactory correction thereof.
(d) Show Cause Hearing. Whenever a violation or series of violations occur that may result in suspension of service, termination of service, summary charges, or other enforcement action, the General Manager may issue an order to such violator to appear and show cause before a hearing board assembled for the purpose, why the proposed enforcement action should not be taken. The procedures for such a hearing shall be set forth in Section 931.17 hereof. The notice of the hearing shall be served on the person either personally or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, specifying the time and place of a hearing to be held by the City of York or its designee regarding the violation, the reasons why the enforcement action is to be taken, the proposed enforcement action, and directing the person to show cause before the City of York, or its designee, why the proposed enforcement action should not be taken. The notice of the hearing shall be served no less than seven days before the hearing. Service may be made on any authorized representative of the person or User or on anyone in apparent authority found at the premises of such User. The proceedings at the hearing shall be considered by the hearing board which board shall then instruct the General Manager as to the enforcement action, if any, to be taken, or as to additional actions to be taken by the General Manager. A show cause hearing shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the person.
(e) Injunctive Relief. When the General Manager finds that a User has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this article, an individual wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, or any other Pretreatment Standard or Requirement, the General Manager, acting through the City Solicitor's Office, may commence an action in the Court of Common Pleas for legal and equitable relief and, where deemed appropriate, may seek a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction to restrain violations of or compel compliance with the Article, permit, order, or other requirement. The filing of such an action shall not be a bar to taking other enforcement actions.
(f) Remedies Nonexclusive. The remedies provided for in this article are not exclusive. The General Manager may take any, all, or any combination of these actions against a noncompliant User. Further, the General Manager is empowered to take more than one enforcement action against any noncompliant User. The City of York may take any actions afforded to it under State law.
(g) Consent Orders. The General Manager may enter into consent orders, assurances of compliance, or other similar documents establishing an agreement with any User responsible for noncompliance. Such documents shall include specific action to be taken by the User to correct the noncompliance within a time period specified by the document. Such documents shall be judicially enforceable as contracts, and violations of the terms thereof may be deemed a violation of this Article subject to all of the penalties provided herein.
(h) Compliance Orders. When the General Manager finds that a User has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this article, a wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, the General Manager may issue an order to the User responsible for the discharge directing that the User come into compliance within a specified time. Any such order shall inform the person of the opportunity to request a hearing before a hearing board constituted by the Sanitary Sewer Board of Appeals, as set forth in Section 931.17 hereof. If the User does not come into compliance within the time provided, sewer service may be discontinued unless the User demonstrates to the satisfaction of the General Manager, a good faith effort to do so, which may include evidence of hiring a consultant, ordering of pretreatment equipment, creation of a pollution prevention plan, or other affirmative acts aimed at achieving compliance in the shortest possible time. Compliance orders also may contain other requirements to address the noncompliance, including additional self monitoring and/or management practices designed to minimize the amount of pollutants discharged to the sewer. A compliance order cannot 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.
(i) Payment of Outstanding Fees and Penalties. The General Manager may decline to issue or reissue an individual wastewater discharge permit to any User who has failed to pay any outstanding fees, fines or penalties incurred as a result of any provision of this article, a previous individual wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder.
(j) Cease and Desist Orders. When the General Manager finds that a User has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this article, an individual wastewater discharge permit, or order, or any other Pretreatment Standard or Requirement, or that the User's past violations are likely to recur, the General Manager may issue an order to the User directing it to cease and desist all such violations and directing the User to:
(1) Immediately comply with all requirements; and
(2) 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. Issuance of a cease and desist order shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the User.
Any such order shall inform the person of the opportunity to request a hearing before a hearing board constituted by the Sanitary Sewer Board of Appeals, as set forth in Section 931.17 hereof.
(Ord. 16-2010. Passed 5-4-10.)