[Added 8-12-2003 by Ord. No. 03-23]
This article sets forth uniform requirements
for users of the sanitary sewer system for the City and the wastewater
treatment system of the South Central Wastewater Authority to which
the City sewer system discharges. This article implements and provides
for the implementation of requirements imposed on the City by Commonwealth
of Virginia pretreatment requirements, 9 VAC 25-31-730 to 900, and
federal pretreatment requirements, 40 CFR Part 403.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the following meanings:
The South Central Wastewater Authority.
The City's Department of Public Works.
Any solely residential discharger to the City sanitary sewer
system.
Any industrial, commercial, or other nonresidential discharger
to the City sanitary sewer system.
Any individual, partnership, copartnership, firm, company,
corporation, association, joint-stock company, trust, estate, governmental
entity, or any other legal entity; or their legal representatives,
agents, or assigns. This definition includes all federal, state, and
local governmental entities.
The employee of the Department responsible for supervising
requirements under this article.
Rules and regulations of the Department implementing this article, as provided under § 238-24 herein.
Any sewage or other wastes from holding tanks such as vessels,
chemical toilets, campers, trailers, and septic tanks.
Except as otherwise provided herein, the Department
and the pretreatment manager shall administer, implement, and enforce
the provisions of this article and any regulations promulgated hereunder.
The Department and the pretreatment manager shall implement this article
in conjunction with the programs of the Authority, and shall assist
the Authority in issuing pretreatment permits to industrial users
within the City.
A.
No industrial user, domestic user, or other person
shall discharge to the City's sanitary sewer system any wastewaters
or other wastes which:
(1)
Damage or may damage or interfere with the operation
or maintenance of the City sanitary sewer system, other sewer systems
into which the City system may discharge, or the Authority's facilities.
(2)
Pass through the wastewater treatment facilities of
the Authority untreated or inadequately treated.
(3)
Interfere with the Authority's use or disposal of
sewage sludge.
(4)
Present a danger or inordinate risk to City or other
personnel or property.
(5)
Violate or exceed any limitations on such wastewaters
or other wastes established by Virginia or federal pretreatment requirements.
B.
The regulations shall implement the provisions of
this section, and shall specify more particularly prohibitions and
restrictions on the discharge of wastewaters and other wastes.
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The Public Works Director is authorized to promulgate
and amend as necessary pretreatment regulations. The regulations shall
establish specific wastewater and other waste discharge prohibitions,
restrictions, and limitations; sampling, monitoring, testing, and
other analytical requirements; requirements to construct or otherwise
provide access and sampling structures and equipment; administrative
enforcement procedures; access and inspection requirements; requirements
for septic tank waste; and a permit program applicable to all or specified
classes of industrial users.
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The regulations shall provide for City compliance with Virginia and federal requirements identified in § 238-20 herein. Prior to promulgation or amendment of the regulations, the Public Works Director shall provide public notice of the Director's intent to promulgate or amend, a period of no less than 15 days for public comment, and an informal public hearing.
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The pretreatment regulations shall establish
an administrative procedure for the appeal of pretreatment permit
final action. Aggrieved parties seeking judicial review of the final
administrative wastewater discharge permit decision must do so by
filing a complaint, within 30 days after exhaustion of their right
to administrative appeal, with the District Court for the City of
Colonial Heights. Any such complaint shall name the City and the Authority
as defendant parties. The District Court's standard of review shall
be as specified in Virginia Code § 9-6.14:17.[1] If the Court holds in favor of the aggrieved party, the
Court shall remand the permit decision. However, although there shall
be a right of judicial review to contest the applicability of any
requirement to an aggrieved party, there shall be no right of judicial
review for substantive requirements mandated by Virginia or federal
law.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now Code of Virginia § 2.2-4027.
A.
Administrative Enforcement. The pretreatment regulations shall include provisions to address
violations and possible violations of this article, the regulations,
or any permit or order issued hereunder. Such administrative enforcement
provisions shall include but not be limited to notices of violations
and show cause hearings.
B.
Consent Orders. The Department may enter into consent orders, assurances of voluntary compliance, or other similar agreements with any user responsible for noncompliance. Such documents will include specific action to be taken by the user to correct the noncompliance within a time period specified by the document. Such documents shall have the same force and effect as the compliance orders issued pursuant to Subsection C herein and shall be judicially enforceable. Consent orders may include a civil charge for past noncompliance and stipulated civil charges for future noncompliance, in amounts that do not exceed the amounts specified in § 238-30 herein for civil penalties.
C.
Compliance Orders. When the
pretreatment manager finds that a user has violated, or continues
to violate, any provision of this article, the regulations, or any
permit or order issued hereunder, the Department may issue a compliance
order to the user responsible for the discharge directing that the
user come into compliance within a specified time. If the user does
not come into compliance within the time provided, sewer service may
be discontinued unless adequate treatment facilities, devices, or
other related appurtenances are installed and properly operated by
the user in a manner and time approved by the Department. Compliance
orders also may contain other requirements to address the noncompliance,
including additional self-monitoring and management practices designed
to minimize the amount of pollutants discharged to the sewer. A compliance
order may not extend the deadline for compliance established for a
pretreatment standard or requirement, nor does a compliance order
relieve the user of liability for any violation, including any continuing
violation. Issuance of a compliance order shall not be a bar against,
or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user.
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The pretreatment manager may immediately suspend
a user's discharge, after informal notice to the user, whenever such
suspension is necessary to stop an actual or threatened discharge
which reasonably presents or causes an imminent or substantial endangerment
to the health or welfare of persons or to the environment. The pretreatment
manager may also immediately suspend a user's discharge, after informal
notice to the user that threatens to interfere with the operation
of the City sanitary sewer system or the facilities of the Authority.
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Any user notified of a suspension of its discharge shall immediately stop or eliminate such discharge. In the event of a user's failure to immediately comply voluntarily with the suspension order, the pretreatment manager may take such steps as deemed necessary, including immediate severance of the sewer connection and the City's supply of potable water to the user, to prevent or minimize damage to the City sanitary sewer system or the facilities of the Authority, the receiving stream, or endangerment to any individuals. The pretreatment manager may allow the user to recommence its discharge when the user has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the pretreatment manager that the period of endangerment has passed, unless the termination proceedings in § 238-28 of this article are initiated against the user.
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A user that is responsible, in whole or in part,
for any discharge presenting imminent endangerment shall submit a
detailed written statement, describing the causes of the harmful contribution
and the measures taken to prevent any future occurrence, to the pretreatment
manager prior to the date of any administrative or termination hearing
under this article.
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Nothing in this section shall be interpreted
as requiring a hearing prior to any emergency suspension under this
section. However, the Department shall provide an opportunity for
an informal hearing as soon as practicable after any such emergency
suspension.
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Not by way of limitation of any provisions of
this article, any user who violates the following conditions is subject
to termination of its authorization to discharge to the sanitary sewer
system and of any pretreatment permit:
A.
Violation of wastewater discharge permit conditions;
B.
Failure to accurately report the wastewater constituents
and characteristics of its discharge;
C.
Failure to report significant changes in operations
or wastewater volume, constituents, and characteristics prior to discharge;
D.
Refusal of reasonable access to the user's premises
for the purpose of inspection, monitoring, or sampling; or
E.
Violation of the discharge prohibitions in § 238-23 of this article.
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Such user will be notified of the proposed termination
of its discharge and be offered an opportunity to show cause why the
proposed action should not be taken. Exercise of this option by the
City shall not be a bar to, or a prerequisite for, taking any other
action against the user.
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When the pretreatment manager finds that a user
has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this article,
the regulations, or a wastewater discharge permit or order issued
hereunder, the pretreatment manager may petition the Circuit Court
for the City of Colonial Heights through the City 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 or the
regulations on activities of the user.
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The pretreatment manager 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.
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A.
A user who has violated, or continues to violate,
any provision of this article, the regulations, or a wastewater discharge
permit or order issued hereunder shall be liable to the City for a
maximum civil penalty of $2,500 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. Civil
penalties shall be recovered by civil suit by the City Attorney on
behalf of the City in the District Court for the City of Colonial
Heights.
B.
The City 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 other factors 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.
A.
A user who willfully or negligently violates any provision
of this article, the regulations, or a wastewater discharge permit
or order issued hereunder shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a Class
1 misdemeanor under Virginia law.
B.
A user who willfully or negligently introduces any
substance into the publicly owned treatment works (POTW) which causes
personal injury or property damage shall, upon conviction, be guilty
of a Class 1 misdemeanor. This penalty shall be in addition to any
other cause of action for personal injury or property damage available
under Virginia law.
C.
A user 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,
the regulations, or a wastewater discharge permit or order issued
hereunder, or who falsifies, tampers with, or knowingly renders inaccurate
any monitoring device or method shall, upon conviction, be guilty
of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
If the pretreatment manager or the Authority
has been refused access to a building, structure, or property, or
any part thereof, and demonstrates probable cause to believe that
there may be a violation of this article, the regulations, or any
wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, or that there
is a need to inspect and/or sample as part of a routine inspection
and sampling program of the Department or the Authority designed to
verify compliance, or to protect the public health, safety and welfare
of the community, then the Department or the Authority may seek issuance
of a search warrant from the courts.
The remedies provided for in this article are
not exclusive. The City 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 pretreatment manager may take other action against
any user when the circumstances warrant, and nothing herein shall
restrict the City's enforcement discretion.
