The purpose of this article is to provide for the use of the publicly owned sewerage facilities located within the area served by the City of Rice Lake, Barron County, Wisconsin, without damage to the physical facilities and without impairment of their normal function of collecting, transporting, treating and discharging wastewaters from the area served by the City. This article is intended to prevent the introduction of pollutants into the system which do not receive adequate treatment and which will pass through the system into receiving waters or otherwise be incompatible with the system and to provide for the proper development and use of the user charge system for the City and treatment facilities.
The City shall control the sewerage system and shall administer and enforce this article. This article shall apply to all dischargers to the City sewerage system.
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
ACT
The Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.), as amended.
APPROVING AUTHORITY or AUTHORITY
The City Council or its authorized deputy, agent, representative or consulting engineer. "Approving authority" and "City" are used interchangeably.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD)
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20° C. and expressed in milligrams per liter.
CITY SEWERAGE SYSTEM
The wastewater collection system of the City of Rice Lake, including lift stations and force mains.
COMBINED SEWER
A sewer intended to receive both wastewater and stormwater or surface water.
COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL USERS
Those users of the publicly owned treatment works which are not residential and are not classified as industrial users.
COMPATIBLE POLLUTANTS
Those pollutants generally characterized as BOD, suspended solids, pH and fecal coliform, together with any additional pollutants defined in the WPDES permit issued for the treatment facilities, unless the concentrations of any of these pollutants are such that they interfere with the operation of the treatment works or exceed the limits established under this article.
DEBT SERVICE CHARGE
That charge to the users in the City service area which shall defray the costs of retiring the debts incurred by the City in construction of the sewage treatment facilities plus the existing debts on the City sewerage facilities.
DOMESTIC WASTEWATER
Waterborne wastes normally discharged from the sanitary conveniences of dwellings, apartment houses, hotels, office buildings, factories and institutions, free of industrial wastes, and in which the average concentration of suspended solids is established at or below 290 milligrams per liter and the BOD is established at or below 250 milligrams per liter.
FLAT CHARGE
The charge made to unmetered users for use of the treatment works.
INCOMPATIBLE POLLUTANTS
All pollutants which are not compatible.
INDUSTRIAL USER
Industrial user, as defined for industrial user class, means any user of the publicly owned treatment works that engages in the processing, blending, assembling or in some way transforming of materials or substances into new products and:
A. 
Discharges a wastewater having BOD concentration in excess of 290 milligrams per liter and/or suspended solids concentration in excess of 250 milligrams per liter or flows in excess of 25,000 gallons per day or has in its waste a toxic pollutant in toxic amounts as defined in § 307 of the Act.
B. 
Is found by the City, state or the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to have significant impact, either singly or in combination with other contributing industries, on the wastewater treatment system, the quality of sludge, the system's effluent quality or air emissions generated by the system.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE
Solid, liquid or gaseous waste resulting from any industrial, manufacturing, trade or business process or from the development, recovery or processing of natural resources.
MINIMUM CHARGE
The amount charged to each user in the City, regardless of use. This charge does not provide the user a minimum amount of use.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE COSTS
The treatment plant operation and maintenance costs plus the operation and maintenance cost of the City sewerage system. These costs shall include labor, energy, chemicals and equipment replacement costs but do not include debt retirement.
PERSON
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation or group.
PH
The logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration in gram moles per liter of solution as determined by acceptable laboratory procedures.
REPLACEMENT COSTS
Expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories or appurtenances which are necessary to maintain the capacity and performance during the service life of the treatment works and City sewerage system. The term "operation and maintenance" includes replacement. The yearly replacement cost shall be calculated as follows:
Present Replacement Cost
a =
Projected Service Life
RESIDENTIAL USER
A user of the City-owned sewerage system that would occupy an establishment considered a house or apartment and other facilities in which people live.
SANITARY SEWER
A sewer that conveys domestic wastewater or industrial waste, or a combination of both, and into which stormwater, surface water and groundwater or unpolluted industrial wastewater is not intentionally passed.
SEWER SERVICE CHARGE
The sum of the minimum charge, user charge, debt service charge and any applicable surcharge.
SLUG
Any discharge of water or wastewater which, in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow, exceeds, for any period of duration longer than 15 minutes, more than five times the average twenty-four-hour concentration or flow during normal operation and which adversely affects the collection system and/or performance of the wastewater treatment plant.
STANDARD METHODS
The examination and analytical procedures set forth in the most recent edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water, Sewage and Industrial Wastes, published jointly by the American Public Health Association, the American Waterworks Association and the Federation of Sewage and Industrial Wastes Association.
STORM SEWER
A sewer which carries stormwater and surface drainage but excludes domestic wastewater and industrial wastes.
SURCHARGE
An additional charge related to industrial wastes being discharged by any user having unusual characteristics, such as excessive BOD, excessive suspended solids or other pollutants.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS (SS)
Total suspended matter that either floats on the surface of or is in suspension in water, sewage or other liquids and which is removable by a laboratory filtration device. Quantitative determination of SS shall be made in accordance with procedures set forth in Standard Methods.
UNPOLLUTED WATER
Water of quality equal to or better than the effluent criteria in effect or water that would not cause violation of receiving water quality standards.
USER
Any person discharging domestic wastewater or industrial wastes into the collection system.
USER CHARGE
That charge to users of the City sewerage system which adequately provides for proportionate recovery of the operation and maintenance costs.
USER CLASS
A group of users having similar wastewater flows and characteristics, levels of BOD, suspended solids, etc.
UTILITIES COMMISSION
The Commission appointed by the City of Rice Lake to supervise the operation of the treatment facility. Commission duties shall include supervision and control of plant operation and maintenance, determination of plant expenses and revenue requirements and assessment of proportionate share and expenses to the communities.[1]
WASTEWATER
A combination of the water-carried waste discharged into the collection system from residences, commercial buildings, institutions and industrial establishments, together with such groundwater, surface water and stormwater as may be present.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES
The complete facilities for treating and disposing of the domestic wastewater and industrial wastes from the City of Rice Lake.
WPDES PERMIT
The Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued for the Rice Lake wastewater treatment facilities.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. A263, Charter Ordinances, § A263-3, Utilities Commission.
It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the City, or in any area under the jurisdiction of the City, any wastewater or other polluted waters, except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this article.
Except as provided in this article, it shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool or other facility intended or used for the disposal of wastewater.
[Amended 1-25-2000 by Ord. No. 00-3]
The owner of any house, building or property used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purposes situated within the City and abutting on any street, alley or right-of-way in which there is now located or may in the future be located a public sanitary sewer of the City is hereby required, at the owner's expense, to install suitable toilet facilities therein and to connect such facilities directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this article within 30 days after date of official notice to do so, provided that said public sewer is within 100 feet (30.5 meters) of the property line. Where a public sanitary sewer is not available under the provisions of this section, the building sewer shall be connected to a private wastewater disposal system complying with the provisions of this article.
A. 
Inspection of installation. A permit for a private wastewater disposal system shall not become effective until the installation is completed to the satisfaction of the approving authority. The approving authority shall be allowed to inspect the work at any stage of construction, and, in any event, the applicant for the permit shall notify the approving authority when the work is ready for final inspection and before any underground portions are covered. The inspection shall be made within 48 hours of the receipt of notice by the approving authority.
B. 
Compliance with certain state provisions required; discharge to natural outlet prohibited. The type, capacities, location and layout of a private wastewater disposal system shall comply with all recommendations of the Department of Industry, Labor and Job Development of the state. No septic tank or cesspool shall be permitted to discharge to any natural outlet.
C. 
When connection with public sewer is required. At such time as a public sewer becomes available to a property serviced by a private wastewater disposal system, as provided in § 239-11 above, a direct connection shall be made to the public sewer within 90 days, in compliance with this article, and any septic tanks, cesspools and similar private wastewater disposal facilities shall be cleaned of sludge and filled with suitable material.
D. 
Sanitary operation required. The owner shall operate and maintain the private wastewater disposal facility in a sanitary manner at all times, at no expense to the City.
No statement contained in this article shall be construed to interfere with any additional requirements that may be imposed by the Health Officer.
A wastewater discharge permit shall be required of any person desiring to discharge wastewater to the City sewerage system and shall be of two classes:
A. 
A domestic wastewater discharge permit shall be required of any person desiring to discharge domestic waste and shall be considered as part of the building permit required and issued by the City.
B. 
An industrial wastewater discharge permit shall be required of any person desiring to discharge an industrial waste and shall be completely separate from any other permits issued by the City. Further requirements for this class of permit can be found in § 239-27 of this article.
All costs and expenses incidental to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The size, slope, alignment and materials of construction of a building sewer and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing and backfilling the trench shall all conform to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Code[1] or other applicable rules and regulations of the City or state.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 88, Building Construction.
The City shall be permitted to have an authorized representative inspect any new or old installations for compliance with the regulations of this article.
New connections to the system shall not be allowed unless all downstream components have a reserve capable of accepting them.
The City reserves the right to require any user of the system with flows in excess of 5,000 gallons per day to install and maintain, at the user's expense, a control or monitoring manhole on the user's discharge pipeline. The user shall provide the City free and unobstructed access to the installed manhole.
All new sewers shall be designed by a professional engineer. Sanitary sewer designs shall be approved by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. All sewers shall be constructed in accordance with the approved plans and specifications.
All industrial users with flows in excess of 25,000 gallons per day shall install and maintain, at the user's expense, a monitoring facility. This monitoring facility will be capable of continuous flow measurement and composite sampling for all discharges and accessible to City utility personnel at all times.
The City may inspect the monitoring facilities of any discharger to determine compliance with the requirements of this article. The discharger shall allow the City or its representatives to enter upon the premises of the discharger at all reasonable hours for the purposes of inspection, sampling or records examination. The City shall have the right to set up on the discharger's property such devices as are necessary to conduct sampling, inspection, compliance monitoring and/or metering operations.
A. 
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any unpolluted waters, such as stormwater, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage or cooling water, to any sewer, except that stormwater runoff from limited areas, which may be polluted at times, may be discharged to the sanitary sewer by permission of the approving authority.
B. 
Stormwater, other than that exempted under Subsection A above, and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated as storm sewers or to a natural outlet approved by the approving authority. Unpolluted industrial cooling water or process waters may be discharged, on approval of the approving authority, to a storm sewer or natural outlet.
C. 
Except as provided in this article, no person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described water or wastes to any public sewer:
(1) 
Gasoline, benzine, naphtha, fuel oil or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.
(2) 
Water or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids or gases in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, to injure or interfere with any waste treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals or create a public nuisance in the receiving waters of the wastewater treatment plant. The toxins prohibited are those consistent with Section 307(a) of the Clean Water Act of 1977.
(3) 
Water or wastes having a pH lower than 6.0 or higher than 9.0 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and personnel of the City sewerage system.
(4) 
Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size as to be capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers or other interference with the proper operation of the City sewerage system, such as but not limited to ashes, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, unground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entrails and paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc., either whole or ground by garbage grinders.
The following described substances, materials, waters or wastes shall be limited in discharges to the City sewer system to concentrations or quantities which will not harm the sewers, lift stations or the wastewater treatment facilities, will not have an adverse effect on the receiving stream or will not otherwise endanger life, limb or public property or constitute a nuisance. The approving authority may set limitations lower than the limitations established in the regulations below, if such limitations are necessary to meet the above objectives. In forming an opinion as to acceptability, the approving authority will give consideration to such factors as the quantity of subject waste in relation to flows and velocities in the sewers, materials of construction of the sewers, the wastewater treatment process employed, the capacity of the wastewater treatment plant and other pertinent factors. The limitations or restrictions on materials or characteristics of waste or wastewaters discharged to the sanitary sewer, which shall not be violated without approval of the approving authority, are as follows:
A. 
Wastewater having a temperature higher than 150° F. (65° C.).
B. 
Wastewater containing more than 25 milligrams per liter of petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oils or products of mineral oil origin.
C. 
Wastewater from industrial plants containing floatable oils, fats or grease.
D. 
Garbage that has not been properly shredded. Garbage grinders may be connected to sanitary sewers from homes, hotels, institutions, restaurants, hospitals, catering establishments or similar places where garbage originates from the preparation of food in kitchens for the purpose of consumption on the premises or when served by caterers.
E. 
Water or wastes containing iron, chromium, copper, zinc and similar objectionable or toxic substances to such degree that any such material at the point of discharge exceeds the limits established by the approving authority in compliance with state and federal regulations.
F. 
Water or wastes containing odor-producing substances exceeding limits which may be established by the approving authority in compliance with state regulations.
G. 
Radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentrations as may exceed limits established by the approving authority in compliance with state regulations.
H. 
Quantities of flow, concentrations, or both, which constitute a slug.
I. 
Water or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction by the wastewater treatment processes employed or are amenable to treatment only to such degree that the wastewater treatment plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of the WPDES permit.
J. 
Water or wastes which, by interaction with other water or wastes in the City sewerage system, release obnoxious gases, form suspended solids which interfere with the collection system or create a condition deleterious to structures and treatment processes.
K. 
Materials which exert or cause:
(1) 
Unusual BOD, chemical oxygen demand or chlorine requirements in such quantities as to constitute a significant load on the wastewater treatment plant.
(2) 
Unusual volume of flow or concentration of wastes constituting slugs.
(3) 
Unusual concentrations of inert suspended solids, such as fuller's earth, lime slurries and lime residues, or of dissolved solids, such as sodium sulfate.
(4) 
Excessive discoloration, such as dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions.
Each discharger shall provide protection from accidental discharge of prohibited or regulated materials or substances established by this article. Dischargers shall notify the authority immediately upon occurrence of a slug load or accidental discharge of substances prohibited by this article and shall follow up within 48 hours with a written report. The notification shall include location of discharge, date and time thereof, type of waste, concentration and volume and corrective actions. Any discharger which discharges a slug load of prohibited materials shall be liable for any expense, loss or damage to the publicly owned treatment works, in addition to the amount of fines imposed on the authority on account thereof under state or federal law. Signs shall be permanently posted in conspicuous places on the discharger's premises advising employees whom to call in the event of a slug or accidental discharge. Employers shall instruct all employees who may cause or discover such a discharge with respect to the emergency notification procedure.
A. 
When pretreatment is required; cost. When, in the opinion of the approving authority and in accordance with Title 40, Part 128 of the Code of Federal Regulations and other applicable state and federal regulations, pretreatment is required to modify or eliminate wastes that are harmful to the structures, processes or operation of the wastewater treatment facility, the person creating the waste shall provide, at his expense, such preliminary treatment or processing facilities as may be determined to be required to render his wastes acceptable for admission to the City sewerage system.
B. 
Interceptor requirements. Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the approving authority, they are necessary for the proper handling of such wastes, except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the State Plumbing Code and shall be located so as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection. In the maintaining of these interceptors, the owner shall be responsible for the proper removal and disposal, by appropriate means, of the captured material and shall maintain records of the dates and means of disposal, which are subject to review by the approving authority. Any removal and handling of the collected materials not performed by the owner's personnel must be performed by currently licensed waste disposal firms.
No statement contained in this article shall be construed as prohibiting any special agreement between the City and any person whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be admitted to the City sewerage system, either before or after pretreatment, provided that there is no impairment of the functioning of the wastewater treatment facilities by reason of the admission of such wastes or impairment of the quality of the sludge in reuse or disposal and no extra costs are incurred by the City without recompense by the person.
A. 
An industrial wastewater discharger permit is required under § 239-14 of this article. For any discharge by an industrial user, as defined in § 239-8, this permit must be obtained 180 days prior to the beginning of discharge.
B. 
In support of his application, the user shall submit the following information:
(1) 
Name, address and standard industrial classification number of applicant.
(2) 
Average volume of wastewater to be discharged.
(3) 
Wastewater constituents and characteristics as determined by examination according to Standard Methods.
(4) 
Time and duration of discharge.
(5) 
Average and peak wastewater flow rates, including daily, monthly and seasonal variations, if any.
(6) 
Site plans, floor plans, mechanical and plumbing plans and details to show all sewers and appurtenances by size, location and elevation.
(7) 
Description of activities, facilities and plant processes on the premises, including all materials and types of materials which are, or could be, discharged.
(8) 
Each product produced by type, amount and rate of production.
(9) 
Number and type of employees and hours of work.
(10) 
Any other information as may be deemed by the approving authority to be necessary to evaluate the permit application.
C. 
The approving authority may use a consulting engineer or attorney to evaluate the data furnished by the user and may require additional information. After evaluation and acceptance of the data furnished, the approving authority may issue a wastewater discharge permit subject to appropriate terms and conditions.
The Common Council shall have the authority to establish and collect a sewer service charge for the use of the City sewerage system and the wastewater treatment facility.
A. 
The following user classes are established:
(1) 
Residential.
(2) 
Commercial and institutional.
(3) 
Industrial.
B. 
All users will pay at the residential rate plus the appropriate surcharges.
A. 
The Utilities Commission shall determine the yearly cost of operation and maintenance of the wastewater treatment facility, the total flow-BOD-suspended solids treated by the facility and resulting flow-BOD-suspended solids unit rates.
B. 
To these expenses, the City shall add its expenses for debt, operation and maintenance of the City sewerage system and the cost of billing and collecting and then determine the total sewer service charge for each user of the system. The service charge shall be based on water and wastewater meter readings, when available. When such meter readings are unavailable, the service charge will be a flat charge based on the estimate of usage for the unmetered users. This estimate shall be 5,000 gallons per month. Where the flat charge must be used, it will be paid for the full quarter and shall not be prorated. If service should be interrupted for any full quarter, only the minimum will be charged. The flat charge will be adopted by resolution/ordinance.
The total sewer service charge shall be the sum of the minimum charge, the debt service charge, the user charge, any applicable surcharges and industrial cost recovery charges. For those unmetered services, the total sewer charge shall consist of the minimum charge plus the flat charge.
A. 
The debt charge, user charge and industrial surcharge portions of the service charges provided in this article shall be including as separate items by the City. The bill will be payable in accordance with the schedule established by the City. These bills are normally in monthly payments.
B. 
Due date. All portions of the service charges shall be payable at the time the bill for the same is issued.
Charges levied in accordance with this article shall be a debt due to the City and shall be a lien upon the property. If this debt is not paid within 20 days after it is due and payable, it shall be deemed delinquent, and a penalty charge of 1 1/2% monthly added. This debt may then be recovered by civil action in the name of the City against the property owner, the person, or both. If delinquent payments are not received by November 1 of the calendar year, a ten-percent charge shall be added to delinquent bills. Thereafter, if payment is not received prior to November 15, the delinquent bill will be forwarded to the county for placement on the succeeding tax roll.
A. 
In the event of failure to pay sewer service charges after they become delinquent, the City shall have the right to remove or close sewer connections and enter upon the property for accomplishing such purposes.
B. 
The expense of such removal or closing, as well as the expense of restoring service, shall likewise be a debt to the City and a lien upon the property and may be recovered by civil action in the name of the City against the property owner, the person, or both.
C. 
Sewer service shall not be restored until all charges, including the expense of removal, closing and restoration, shall have been paid.
D. 
Change of ownership or occupancy of premises found delinquent shall not be cause for reducing or eliminating these penalties.
The City shall conduct an annual audit, the purpose of which shall be to maintain the proportionality and adequacy of the sewer service charge relative to changing system operation, maintenance and debt service costs. Any excess revenues collected from a user class shall be attributed to that class when determining the next year's charge system.
A. 
The authority may, for good cause shown, suspend the wastewater treatment service and the wastewater discharge permit of a discharger when it appears to the authority that an actual or threatened discharge presents or threatens an imminent or substantial danger to the health or welfare of persons, substantial danger to the environment, interference with the operation of the publicly owned treatment works or violation of any pretreatment limits imposed by this article or any wastewater discharge permit issued pursuant to this article.
B. 
Any discharger notified of the suspension of the authority's wastewater treatment service and/or the dischargee's wastewater discharge permit shall, within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the authority, cease all discharges. In the event of failure of the discharger to comply voluntarily with the suspension order within the specified time, the authority shall commence judicial proceedings immediately thereafter to compel the discharger's compliance with such order.
C. 
The authority shall reinstate the wastewater discharge permit and/or the wastewater treatment service and terminate judicial proceedings pending proof by the discharger of the elimination of the noncomplying discharge or conditions creating the threat of imminent or substantial danger as set forth above.
The authority may revoke the permit of any discharger which:
A. 
Fails to factually report the wastewater constituents and characteristics of its discharge;
B. 
Fails to report significant changes in wastewater constituents or characteristics;
C. 
Refuses reasonable access to the discharger's premises by representatives of the authority for the purpose of inspection or monitoring; or
D. 
Violates the conditions of its permit or this article or any final judicial order entered with respect thereto.
Whenever the authority finds that any discharger has engaged in conduct which justifies revocation of a wastewater discharge permit, pursuant to § 239-37 hereof, the authority shall serve or cause to be served upon such discharger a written notice either personally or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, stating the nature of the alleged violation. Within 30 days of the date of receipt of the notice, the discharger shall respond personally or in writing to the authority, advising of its position with respect to the allegations. Thereafter, the parties shall meet to ascertain the veracity of the allegations and, where necessary, establish a plan for the satisfactory correction thereof.
A. 
Where violation of § 239-37 hereof is not corrected by timely compliance by means of administrative adjustment, the authority may order any discharger which causes or allows conduct prohibited by § 239-37 hereof to show cause before the authority or its duly authorized representative why the proposed permit revocation action should not be taken. A written notice shall be served on the discharger by personal service, certified or registered, return receipt requested, specifying the time and place of a hearing to be held by the authority or its designee regarding the violation, the reasons why the enforcement action is to be taken and the proposed enforcement action and directing the discharger to show cause before the authority or its designee why the proposed enforcement action should not be taken. The notice of the hearing shall be served no less than 10 days before the hearing. Service may be made on any agent, officer or authorized representative of a discharger.
B. 
The proceedings at the hearing shall be considered by the authority, which shall then enter appropriate orders with respect to the alleged improper activities of the discharger. Appeal of such orders may be taken by the discharger in accordance with applicable local or state law.
Following the entry of any order by the authority with respect to the conduct of a discharger contrary to the provisions of § 239-37 hereof, the attorney for the authority may, following the authorization of such action, apply for appropriate legal and/or equitable relief in the appropriate court.
A list of all significant dischargers which were the subject of enforcement proceedings pursuant to this article during the 12 previous months shall be annually published by the authority in the official newspaper, summarizing the enforcement actions taken against the dischargers during the same 12 months whose violations remained uncorrected 45 or more days after notification of noncompliance or which have exhibited a pattern of noncompliance over that twelve-month period or which involve failure to accurately report noncompliance.
Any discharger or any interested party shall have the right to request, in writing, an interpretation or ruling by the authority on any matter covered by this article and shall be entitled to a prompt written reply. In the event that such inquiry is by a discharger and deals with matters of performance or compliance with this article or deals with a wastewater discharge permit issued pursuant hereto for which enforcement activity relating to an alleged violation is the subject, receipt of a discharger's request shall stay all enforcement proceedings pending receipt of the aforesaid written reply. Appeal of any final judicial order entered pursuant to this article may be taken in accordance with local and state law.
A. 
Any discharger which experiences an upset in operations which places the discharger in a temporary state of noncompliance with this article or a wastewater discharge permit issued pursuant hereto shall inform the authority thereof within 24 hours of first awareness of the commencement of the upset. Where such information is given orally, a written follow-up report thereof shall be filed by the discharger with the authority within five days. The report shall specify:
(1) 
Description of the upset, the cause thereof and the upset's impact on a discharger's compliance status.
(2) 
Duration of noncompliance, including exact dates and times of noncompliance, and if the noncompliance continues, the time by which compliance is reasonably expected to occur.
(3) 
All steps taken or to be taken to reduce, eliminate and prevent recurrence of such an upset or other conditions of noncompliance.
B. 
A documented and verified bona fide operating upset shall be an affirmative defense to any enforcement action brought by the authority against a discharger for any noncompliance with this article or any wastewater discharge permit issued pursuant hereto which arises out of violations alleged to have occurred during the period of the upset.
Any discharger which is found to have violated an order of the authority or which has failed to comply with any provision of this article and the regulations or rules of the authority or orders of any court of competent jurisdiction or permits issued hereunder may be subjected to the imposition of a forfeiture of not more than $500 or to imprisonment of not more than 30 days, or both. Each day in which any violation is continued beyond the notice time limit shall be deemed a separate offense.
Any discharger violating any of the provisions of this article or which discharges or causes a discharge producing a deposit or obstruction or causes damage to or impairs the authority's wastewater disposal system shall be liable to the authority for any expense, loss or damage caused by such violation or discharge. The authority shall bill the discharger for the costs incurred by the authority for any cleaning, repair or replacement work caused by the violation or discharge. Refusal to pay the assessed costs shall constitute a violation of this article enforceable under the provisions of this article.
[Amended 1-25-2000 by Ord. No. 00-3]
Any person who knowingly makes any false statement, representation or certification in any application, record, report, plan or other document filed or required to be maintained pursuant to this article or a wastewater discharge permit or who falsifies, tampers with or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required under this article shall, upon conviction, be punished by the imposition of a civil penalty as set forth in § 239-44.
Any person violating any provisions of this article shall become liable to the City for any expense, loss or damage occasioned by reason of such violation which the City may suffer as a result thereof.
When adopted by the Common Council of the City of Rice Lake, this article and the user charge system shall take precedence over any preexisting agreements, ordinances and charge systems which are inconsistent with this article and/or the Federal Law PL 92-500 and subsequent amendments thereto.