(a)
Persons or occupants of premises where wastewater is created or discharged
shall allow the Director, or other City representatives under the
direction of the Director, reasonable access to all parts of the wastewater
generating and disposal facilities for the purposes of inspection
and sampling during all times the discharger's facility is open and
operating or at any other reasonable time.
(b)
Where a food service establishment has security measures in force,
the FSE shall make necessary arrangements so that representatives
of the City shall be permitted to enter without delay for the purpose
of performing their specific responsibilities.
(c)
No person shall interfere with, delay, resist, or refuse entrance
to City representatives attempting to inspect any facility involved
directly or indirectly with a discharge of wastewater to the POTW.
The Director shall develop a written FOG enforcement response
plan (ERP) to include enforcement procedures, enforcement mechanisms
and a fine structure in accordance with Secs. 70-272 and 70-273. The
ERP shall be posted to the FOG website and be available to all food
service establishments. The Wastewater Management Commission may amend
or modify the FOG ERP at any time, other than the fee structure, which
may only be amended by the City Council. No enforcement procedure
is contingent upon the completion of any lesser activity. Nothing
in this article or the FOG enforcement response plan shall limit the
authority of the Director or his designee to take any action necessary
for the protection of the POTW system, the environment, or public
health and safety, including termination of sanitary sewer service,
without first issuing a notice of violation or other less severe action.
(a)
In general, the Director or his designee shall determine noncompliance
with the provisions of this FOG control rule through registrations,
visual inspections, records review, sampling, monitoring, and any
other reasonable method.
(b)
Upon review of evidence suggesting a violation may have occurred,
the Director or his designee shall conduct an investigation. Inquiries,
if required, shall be in writing and submitted in the form of an administrative
notice (AN). If the investigation indicates that there is reasonable
evidence indicating a violation has occurred, the Director or his
designee shall proceed with enforcement. Enforcement may entail a
written administrative warning (AW), notice of violation (NOV), or
compliance order (CO); each may include a noncompliance fee as established
in Sec. 70-273. Failure to respond to an AN shall automatically result
in a AW. Failure to comply with the terms and conditions on an AW
shall automatically result in a NOV. Failure to comply with the terms
and conditions of a NOV shall automatically result in a CO.
(1)
The Director or his designee may pursue one or more of the following
enforcement options:
a.
Administrative warning (AW). The Director or his designee may
issue an administrative warning for a noncompliance event not warranting
a notice of violation or compliance order. The administrative warning
shall indicate the nature of the noncompliance event, any action required
to comply with conditions of the administrative warning, including
corrective action, and a specific date upon which a reply is required,
if applicable.
b.
Notice of violation (NOV). The Director or his designee may
issue a notice of violation for a noncompliance event, including,
but not limited to, failure to respond to an administrative warning
or to comply with the terms or conditions of the administrative warning,
failure to register, a recordkeeping or reporting failure, or other
provisions of this article. The NOV shall indicate the date of noncompliance,
if known, the nature of the noncompliance event, any action required
to comply with conditions of the NOV, including corrective action,
the amount of any noncompliance fees, and a specific date upon which
a reply is required.
c.
Compliance order (CO). The Director or his designee may issue
a FOG wastewater discharge compliance order for a documented noncompliance
event, including, but not limited to, failure to respond to a NOV
or the terms or conditions of a NOV; repeated violations of this article,
for discharges resulting in or contributing to a blockage, interference,
or SSO; or repeated failure to comply with one or more provisions
of this article. Should a compliance order require a cease and desist
order, all costs for physical termination of service shall be paid
by the owner or operator of the food service establishment or designee
as well as all costs for reinstating service.
(2)
Appeals. A food service establishment or other regulated entity
may appeal an administrative warning, notice of violation, or compliance
order to the City of Biddeford Wastewater Management Commission (WWMC).
The appeal must be submitted, in writing, through the Director within
30 days of the date of the administrative warning, notice of violation,
or compliance order. The written notice must reference the document
being appealed, the reason for the appeal, and a requested resolution.
Failure to submit a complete and timely appeal will result in denial
of the appeal. The WWMC shall consider the appeal at the next scheduled
WWMC meeting corresponding to the agenda submittal deadline. The WWMC's
decision shall be final.
Noncompliance fees shall be assessed for violations of this
article in accordance with the schedule provided in Table 1 Fats,
Oils, and Grease Enforcement Response Plan Noncompliance Fees.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said table is included as an attachment to this chapter.
