A.
Prohibited discharge. No person shall discharge or intentionally or accidentally allow the discharge, escape or introduction of any liquid waste or wastewater onto any publicly or privately owned property or waterway within the county unless such discharge is permitted under the Act as defined herein, any state law or regulations or this article or any regulations promulgated pursuant to this Article.
B.
Accidentally allowed discharge or escape defined. An accidentally allowed discharge, escape or introduction of liquid waste or wastewater shall be any discharge, escape or introduction:
(1)
That occurs because of circumstances which reasonably could not have been foreseen by a person who exercised reasonable care; i.e., the care that a prudent person usually exercises;
(2)
That is not similar to a discharge or escape of liquid waste or wastewater involving the same person and similar circumstances as any discharge or escape which occurred during the previous one-hundred-eighty-day period;
(3)
That is not the result of a failure to take any action recommended by any federal, state or county agency with regard to the proper storage, containment, transport or deposit of the type of liquid waste or wastewater in question; and
(4)
That was reported immediately upon discovery to the appropriate federal, state and/or local authorities.
C.
Intentionally allowed discharge or escape defined. Any discharge, escape or introduction of liquid waste or wastewater which was not reported to the appropriate federal, state and/or local authority immediately upon discovery and:
(1)
Occurred because liquid waste or wastewater was not stored, contained, transported or deposited in compliance with federal, state or county law or regulations; or
(2)
That is similar to a discharge or escape of liquid waste or wastewater involving the same person and similar circumstances as any discharge or escape which occurred during the previous one hundred eighty-day (180-day) period; or
(3)
That results because a person failed to take any action required or recommended by a federal, state or county agency with regard to the storage, containment, transport or deposit of any liquid waste; or
(4)
Was not an accidentally allowed discharge or escape.
D.
Expense recoupment.
(1)
Any person who discharges or allows the discharge, escape or introduction of a liquid waste or wastewater, regardless of whether intentionally or accidentally allowed, shall be required to pay to the county all costs incurred by the county or any contractor, subcontractor or agent of the county associated with:
(a)
Any test to determine the physical, chemical or biological properties of the liquid waste.
(b)
Any supplies, materials or equipment used to contain, clean up or remediate any effect of the liquid waste or wastewater, such charges to include but not be limited to:
(c)
Any wages, overtime or benefits payable to any county employee, contractor, subcontractor or agent.
(2)
The Authority and the Director of the Division of Emergency Operations shall set forth or shall promulgate regulations which set forth the rates to be charged for (1)(a) through (1)(c) of this section.
(3)
The county, at its sole discretion, can waive all or any portion of the charges assessed under this section with respect to an accidentally allowed discharge, escape or introduction payable by a person who historically has, without cost to the county, provided personnel, laboratory assistance or other supplies, materials or equipment to any team or program generally available for county use to respond to such discharges.
E.
Civil penalty.
(1)
In addition to all other charges, costs or damages recoverable by the county from a person who discharges or allows the discharge of a liquid waste or wastewater, any person who discharges or intentionally permits or allows the discharge, escape or introduction of liquid waste or wastewater shall be subject to a civil fine of $1,000 per parameter (e.g., oil, metal, voc) per day. Each day during which a discharge continues or remains uncontained, or is not cleaned up or recaptured, shall constitute a separate offense.
(2)
The civil penalty shall constitute a separate offense in addition to any other civil or criminal penalties, fines or offenses provided for pursuant to this Article.
F.
Presumptions.
(1)
There shall be a presumption that any person who owns and/or has a present possessory interest in any private property on which any discharge or escape of liquid waste or wastewater occurs has permitted or allowed the discharge or escape. This presumption can be overcome only upon affirmative proof by the person with an ownership or present possessory interest that he should not reasonably have been expected to know of and, in fact, did not know of the presence of the liquid waste or wastewater on the property.
(2)
There shall be a presumption that a discharge or escape was intentionally allowed and the person who discharged or allowed the discharge of the liquid waste or wastewater shall have the burden of proving to the contrary.
(3)
There shall be a presumption that any escape which is observed or reported by someone other than the person, or an agent or employee of the person, was an intentionally allowed discharge or escape provided that the discharge or escape occurred at a time when the person or his agent or employee was at the site of the occurrence.