[Ord. 156, 4/26/1994, § 6.2]
1. In addition to the other enforcement actions described within the
PWTA enforcement response plan (ERP), the PWTA may also seek civil
penalties and/or injunctive relief against any user who fails to comply
with the requirements of this Part 2F or its wastewater contribution
permit.
2. Civil penalties vary from $500 up to $25,000 per day per violation,
depending on the severity of the violation and other factors. In civil
penalty assessment, the PWTA will consider all of the following factors:
A. Damage to the PWTA treatment plant or collection system, the environment
or collection system personnel resulting from the violation.
B. The user's history of past violations.
C. The level of cooperation obtained from the user.
D. The economic benefit gained by the users as a result of the noncompliance.
3. The general civil assessment policy of the PWTA is given in Table
1 of the PWTA Enforcement Response Plan. All fines were developed
in accordance with the Publicly Owned Treatment Works Penalty Law
(Pennsylvania Act 9) and will be assessed on a per-day, per-violation
basis. The PWTA has the right to increase, reduce or waive the fines
in certain circumstances.
4. All civil penalties collected pursuant to the PWTA civil penalty
assessment policy for the repair of damage and any additional maintenance
or other costs resulting from the violation(s) on which the penalty
was imposed, to pay any penalties imposed on the PWTA by a state or
federal agency as a result of violating any pretreatment standards,
for the costs incurred by the PWTA to investigate and initiate enforcement
actions against the noncomplying discharge (including legal and engineering
fees), for additional monitoring costs associated with the noncomplying
user, and for capital improvements to the treatment plant or collection
system required by the pretreatment program. Any remaining funds may
be used for capital improvements to the treatment plant or collections
system not required by the industrial pretreatment program.
5. The PWTA ability to seek civil penalties against noncomplying users
shall apply to all users of the PWTA wastewater collection and treatment
system regardless of political boundary. The civil penalties may be
assessed by the PWTA for violations where the PWTA treatment plant
is located, where the activity took place, or where the condition
exists or the public was affected by the violations.
[Ord. 156, 4/26/1994, § 6.2; as amended by Ord.
264, 8/16/2011]
1. The PWTA shall be able to seek injunctive relief for noncompliance
by users with pretreatment standards or requirements or related provisions.
Injunctive relief is available for violations of pretreatment standards
or requirements, any requirement stated in this Part or user permits,
including but not limited to:
A. A discharge from a user presents an imminent or substantial danger
to the environment.
B. A discharge from a user causes the PWTA to violate any condition
of its NPDES permit, biosolids application standards, or other state
or federal requirements.
C. A discharge from a user presents an imminent or substantial danger
to the PWTA treatment plant, the collection system or the general
public.
D. The user has shown a lack of ability or intention to comply with
a pretreatment standard.
2. Injunctive relief may also be issued against a noncomplying user if the court determines that other enforcement actions available to the PWTA would not be adequate to affect prompt correction of the condition or violation. In addition to injunctive relief, the PWTA may also be granted civil penalties by the court pursuant to §
18-251.
3. The PWTA's ability to seek injunctive relief against a noncomplying
user shall apply to all users regardless of political boundary. The
injunctive relief may be sought in the Court of Common Pleas where
the PWTA treatment plant is located, where the activity took place,
where the condition exists or where the public was affected, and to
that end a jurisdiction is hereby conferred in law and equity upon
such courts.
[Ord. 156, 4/26/1994, § 6.3]
Any user charged with any civil penalty shall have 30 days to
pay the proposed penalty in full, or, if the user wishes to contest
wither the amount of the penalty or the fact of the violation, the
user must file an appeal of the action to the East Rockhill Township
Board of Supervisors within 30 days pursuant to the Local Agency Law,
2 Pa. C.S.A. § 101 et seq.