A.
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter or
who fails to perform any duty imposed by this chapter or any other
order of determination of the enforcement officer promulgated under
this chapter or the terms of any permit issued thereunder shall be
liable to the City for a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000. Each
violation shall be a separate and distinct violation and, in the case
of a continuing violation, each day's continuance thereof shall be
deemed a separate and distinct violation. Such penalty may be recovered
in an action brought by the City Attorney at the request of the enforcement
officer in the name of the City in any court of competent jurisdiction.
Such civil penalty may be released or compromised by the enforcement
officer before the matter has been referred to the City Attorney,
and, where such matter has been referred to the City Attorney, any
such penalty may be released or compromised and any action commenced
to recover the same may be settled and discontinued by the City Attorney
with the consent of the enforcement officer.
[Amended 10-5-1999 by L.L. No. 11-1999]
B.
In addition to the power to assess penalties as set forth in Subsection A above, the enforcement officer shall have the power, following a hearing held in conformance with the procedures set forth in Article X of this chapter, to issue an order suspending, revoking or modifying the violator's permit and enjoining the violator from continuing the violation. Any such order of the enforcement officer shall be enforceable in an action brought by the City Attorney at the request of the enforcement officer in the name of the City in any court of competent jurisdiction.
C.
Any civil penalty or order issued by the enforcement officer pursuant
to this section shall be reviewable in a proceeding pursuant to Article
78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules. Application for such review
must be made within 60 days after service in person or by mail of
a copy of the determination or order upon the attorney of record of
the applicant and of each person who has filed a notice of appearance
or the applicant in person, if not directly represented by an attorney.
A.
Any person who willfully violates any provision of this chapter or any final determination or order of the enforcement officer made in accordance with Article VI shall, in addition, be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $1,000. Each offense shall be a separate and distinct offense, and, in the case of a continuing offense, each day's continuance thereof shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense.
[Amended 3-15-1994 by L.L. No. 6-1994]
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall,
in addition, be civilly liable to the City for any expense, loss or
damage occasioned to the City by reason of such violation.
The City Attorney, on his own initiative or at the request of
the enforcement officer, shall have the right to seek equitable relief
in the name of the City to restrain the violation of or to compel
compliance with this chapter or any order or determination issued
thereunder by the enforcement officer.
A.
Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of law, whenever the enforcement officer finds, after investigation, that any user is causing, engaging in or maintaining a condition or activity which, in his judgment, presents an imminent danger to the public health, safety or welfare or to the environment or is likely to result in irreversible or irreparable damage to the public sewer system, and it therefore appears to be prejudicial to the public interest to delay action until notice and an opportunity for a hearing can be provided, the enforcement officer may, without prior hearing, order such user by notice, in writing wherever practicable or in such other form as practices are intended to be prescribed, to discontinue, abate or alleviate such condition or activity, and thereupon such person shall immediately discontinue, abate or alleviate such condition or activity; or, where the giving of notice is impracticable or in the event of a user's failure to comply voluntarily with an emergency order, the enforcement officer may take all appropriate action to abate the violating condition. As promptly as possible thereafter, not to exceed 15 days, the enforcement officer shall provide the user an opportunity to be heard in accordance with the provisions of Article X.
B.
The enforcement officer, acting upon the belief that an emergency
exists, shall be indemnified against any personal liability that may
arise in the performance of his duties to protect the public health,
safety or welfare or preserve the public sewer system.
A.
If there shall be any payments which are due to the City of Fulton,
or any department thereof, pursuant to any article or section of this
chapter, which shall remain due and unpaid, in whole or in part, for
a period of 20 calendar days from the date of billing by the City
of Fulton, the same shall constitute a default, and there shall be
added to the entire amount of the original bill a penalty equal to
20% of the entire original bill, and interest shall accrue on the
unpaid balance at the rate of 2% per month, retroactive to the date
of the original billing.
B.
In the event that there are any sewer charges, assessments or other service charges which shall have been delinquent for a period of at least 60 calendar days as of December 1 of any year, the Commissioner of Public Works shall report the names of the defaulting persons to the Mayor, Common Council, City Assessor and the Clerk/Chamberlain on or before December 10 of the same year. The Clerk/Chamberlain is hereby directed to add the entire amount of the sewer charge, assessment or other service charge which shall be in default, plus penalty and interest as provided in Subsection A of this section, to the real property taxes due and owing to the City of Fulton in the next succeeding year, and the Clerk/Chamberlain is directed to collect the same in the same manner as real property taxes due and owing to the City are collected. This section is intended to coincide with the provisions of § C87 of the City Charter, entitled "Collection of sewer and water charges," and § C244A of the City Charter, entitled "Delinquent sewer and water charges to be paid with City tax."
[Amended 10-30-1991 by L.L. No. 4-1991; 12-16-2003 by L.L. No.
6-2003; 12-1-2009 by L.L. No. 6-2009]
[Amended 10-30-1991 by L.L. No. 4-1991; 3-15-1994 by L.L. No.
6-1994; 10-4-2016 by L.L. No. 5-2016]
The enforcement officer shall provide public notification, in
the official newspaper of the City of Fulton, of industrial users
which were significantly in violation of local or federal pretreatment
standards or requirements since the last such notice. The frequency
of such notices shall be at least once per year. For the purposes
of this section, a significant violation shall be:
A.
Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as
those in which 66% or more of all of the measurements taken for the
same pollutant parameter during a six-month period exceed (by any
magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including
instantaneous limits;
B.
Technical review criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those
in which 33% or more of all of the measurements taken for the same
pollutant parameter during a six-month period equal or exceed the
product of the numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including
instantaneous limits, as defined by 40 CFR 403.3(1) multiplied by
the applicable TRC (TRC = 1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oil, and grease
and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH).
C.
Any other violation of a pretreatment standard or requirement (daily
maximum or longer-term average, instantaneous limit, or narrative
standard) that the control authority (enforcement officer) determines
has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference
or pass-through (including endangering the health of POTW personnel
or the general public).
D.
Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment
to human health, welfare or to the environment or has resulted in
the POTW's exercise of its emergency authority under Paragraph (f)(1)(vi)(B)
of 40 CFR 403.8 to halt or prevent such a discharge.
E.
Failure to meet, within 90 days after the schedule date, a compliance
schedule milestone contained in a local control mechanism or enforcement
order for starting construction, completing construction or attaining
final compliance.
F.
Failure to provide, within 30 days after the due date, required reports
such as baseline monitoring reports, ninety-day compliance reports,
periodic self-monitoring reports and reports on compliance schedules.
G.
Failure to accurately report noncompliance.
H.
Any other violation which may include a violation of best management
practices or group of violations which the control authority determines
will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local
pretreatment program.
