When the DCO 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 DCO may petition the appropriate court through the city’s
attorney for the issuance of a temporary or permanent injunction,
as appropriate, which restrains or compels the specific performance
of the wastewater discharge permit, order, or other requirement imposed
by this article on activities of the user. The DCO may also seek such
other action as is appropriate for legal and/or equitable relief,
including a requirement for the user to conduct environmental remediation.
A petition for injunctive relief shall not be a bar against, or a
prerequisite for, taking any other action against a user.
(2005 Code, sec. 13.4.175)
(a) A user who 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 shall be liable
to the city for a maximum civil penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00)
per violation, per day. In the case of a monthly or other long-term
average discharge limit, penalties shall accrue for each day during
the period of the violation.
(b) The DCO may recover reasonable attorneys’ fees, court costs,
and other expenses associated with enforcement activities, including
sampling and monitoring expenses, and the cost of any actual damages
incurred by the city.
(c) In determining the amount of civil liability, the court shall take
into account all relevant circumstances, including, but not limited
to, the extent of harm caused by the violation, the magnitude and
duration of the violation, any economic benefit gained through the
user’s violation, corrective actions by the user, the compliance
history of the user, and any other factor as justice requires.
(d) Filing a suit for civil penalties shall not be a bar against, or
a prerequisite for, taking any other action against a user.
(2005 Code, sec. 13.4.176)
(a) A user who violates any provision of this article, a wastewater discharge
permit or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard
or requirement shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor,
punishable by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000.00)
per violation, per day, or imprisonment as decided by an appropriate
court, or both.
(b) A user who negligently introduces any substance into the POTW which causes personal injury or property damage shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and be subject to the same penalties described in subsection
(a) of this section. This penalty shall be in addition to any other cause of action for personal injury or property damage available under state law.
(c) A user who makes any false statements, representations, or certifications in any application, record, report, plan, or other documentation filed, or required to be maintained, pursuant to this article or a wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, or who falsifies, tampers with, or renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required under this article, shall, upon conviction, be subject to the same penalties described in subsection
(a) of this section.
(d) A culpable mental state is not required to prove an offense under
this article. A person is criminally responsible for a violation of
this article if:
(1) The person commits or assists in the commission of a violation, or
causes or permits another person to commit a violation; or
(2005 Code, sec. 13.4.177)
The remedies provided for in this article are not exclusive.
The DCO may take any, all, or any combination of these actions against
a noncompliant user. Enforcement of pretreatment violations will generally
be in accordance with the city’s enforcement response plan.
However, the DCO may take other action against any user when the circumstances
warrant. Further, the DCO is empowered to take more than one enforcement
action against any noncompliant user.
(2005 Code, sec. 13.4.178)
(a) National pretreatment standards.
If national pretreatment
standards, categorical or otherwise, more stringent than the discharge
limits prescribed in this article are promulgated by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency for certain industries, the more stringent
national pretreatment standards will apply to the affected industrial
user. A violation of the more stringent national pretreatment standards
will also be considered a violation of this article.
(b) Waste received by other governmental entity.
An industrial
user within the city who discharges industrial waste ultimately received
and treated by another governmental entity pursuant to a wholesale
wastewater contract or a reciprocal agreement with the city is subject
to the following additional rules:
(1) If the governmental entity has more stringent discharge limits than
those prescribed by this article, or by a discharge permit issued
hereunder, because the United States Environmental Protection Agency
requires the more stringent discharge limits as part of the governmental
entity’s wastewater pretreatment program, the more stringent
discharge limits shall prevail.
(2) The DCO is authorized to issue a discharge permit to an industrial user affected by subsection
(1), to insure notice of and compliance with the more stringent discharge limits. If the industrial user already has a discharge permit, the DCO may amend the permit to apply and enforce the more stringent discharge limits. An industrial user shall submit to the DCO an expected compliance date and an installation schedule if the more stringent discharge limits necessitate technological or mechanical adjustments to discharge facilities or plant processes.
(3) If the DCO chooses not to issue or amend a permit under subsection
(2), the DCO shall notify the affected industrial user in writing of the more stringent discharge limits and their effective date. Regardless of whether or not a permit is issued or amended, an industrial user shall be given a reasonable opportunity to comply with the more stringent discharge limits.
(4) The more stringent discharge limits cease to apply upon termination of the city’s wholesale wastewater contract or reciprocal agreement with the governmental entity, or upon modification or elimination of the limits by the government entity or the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The DCO shall take the appropriate action to notify the affected industrial user of an occurrence under this subsection
(4).
(c) Authority to grant variance in compliance dates.
The
DCO may grant a variance in compliance dates to an industry when,
in the DCO’s opinion, such action is necessary to achieve pretreatment
or corrective measures. In no case shall the DCO grant a variance
in compliance dates to an industry affected by national categorical
pretreatment standards beyond the compliance dates established by
the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(d) Authority to establish additional regulations.
The DCO
may establish regulations, not in conflict with this article or other
laws, to control the disposal and discharge of industrial waste into
the wastewater system and to insure compliance with the city’s
pretreatment enforcement program and with all applicable pretreatment
regulations promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection
Agency. The regulations established shall, where applicable, be made
part of any discharge permit issued to an industrial user by the DCO.
(2005 Code, sec. 13.4.179)