The Chief Operator may immediately halt or prevent any discharge of
pollutants which reasonably appears to present an imminent endangerment to
the health or welfare of persons. In the event that the Chief Operator determines
that a discharge of pollutants reasonably appears to present an imminent endangerment
to the health or welfare of persons, the Chief Operator shall provide informal
(oral or written) notice of said determination to the User. Said User shall
immediately stop or eliminate such discharge and shall submit written proof
of the elimination of the discharge to the Chief Operator within 48 hours
of receipt of notice of the Chief Operator's determination. If said User fails
voluntarily and immediately to halt such a discharge, the Chief Operator shall
take such actions as he or she deems necessary to prevent or minimize endangerment
to the health or welfare of persons. Such actions include, but are not limited
to, seeking ex parte temporary injunctive relief, entry on private property
to halt such discharge, blockage of a public sewer to halt such discharge,
severance of the sewer connection, suspension of wastewater disposal service,
suspension or revocation of a Wastewater Discharge Permit, and institution
of a legal or special proceeding. After such discharge has been halted, the
Chief Operator may take such other and further actions provided under this
section as may be necessary to ensure elimination of said discharge and compliance
with the terms of this chapter and Wastewater Discharge Permits issued hereunder.
If the User provides satisfactory written proof that it has eliminated the
cause of the conditions creating the imminent endangerment, the Chief Operator
may reinstate the permit, restore the sewer connection and wastewater disposal
service, and perform other activities to allow the User to commence discharging
again.
The Special Joint Subcommittee shall annually publish in the largest
local daily newspaper a list of the Industrial Users which, at any time during
the previous 12 months, were in significant noncompliance with applicable
Pretreatment Standards or Pretreatment Requirements. For purposes of this
provision, an Industrial User is in significant noncompliance if its violation
meets one or more of the criteria set forth at 40 CFR 403.8(f)(2)(vii).
[Amended 9-8-1998 by L.L.
No. 11-1998]
If any person violates the provisions of this chapter, the Act, any
applicable Pretreatment Standards or Pretreatment Requirements, the conditions
and requirements of any Wastewater Discharge Permit issued hereunder, or any
order of the Chief Operator, Special Joint Subcommittee, or municipality,
counsel for the municipality where such person is located (or counsel for
any of the municipalities, if such person is not located in any of the municipalities)
may commence an action for appropriate legal and/or equitable relief, including,
but not limited to, injunctive relief, penalties, and fines, in either state
or federal court. In addition, until and unless all of the municipalities
are named on the POTW's SPDES Permit, the City Attorney for the City of Ithaca
shall have the authority to initiate such court proceedings against violators
located outside the City of Ithaca. The municipalities, Special Joint Subcommittee,
or POTW may also ask appropriate officials at the local, state, or federal
levels to investigate and bring a criminal action against any Industrial User
or person associated with an Industrial User believed to have violated the
criminal provisions of this chapter, the Act, or any other law.