[R.O. 2017 § 700.600; Ord. No. 04-40 § 7-1, 10-19-2004]
If an official who has a duty to perform under this Code has been refused access to a building, structure or property or any part thereof, and if such official has probable cause to believe that there may be a violation of this Chapter or that there is a need to inspect and/or sample as part of a routine inspection and sampling program of the City designed to verify compliance with this Chapter or any permit or order issued under this Chapter or to protect the overall public health, safety and welfare of the community, then upon application by the City Attorney to the Municipal Court Judge and a showing of the above, the Municipal Court Judge of the City shall issue a search and/or seizure warrant describing therein the specific location subject to the warrant. The warrant shall specify what, if anything, may be searched and/or seized on the property described. Such warrant shall be served at reasonable hours and only by an official of the department in the company of a uniformed Police Officer of the City.
[R.O. 2017 § 700.610; Ord. No. 04-40 § 7-2, 10-19-2004]
A. 
Notification Of Violation. Whenever the Director finds that any user has violated or is violating this Chapter, a wastewater contribution permit or order issued under this Chapter, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, the Director or his/her agent may serve upon the user a written notice of violation. Within the time specified in the notice, an explanation of the violation and a plan for the satisfactory correction and prevention thereof, to include specific required actions, shall be submitted by the user to the Director. Submission of this plan in no way relieves the user of liability for any violation occurring before or after receipt of the notice of violation. Nothing in this Section shall limit the authority of the POTW to take any action, including emergency actions or any other enforcement action, without first issuing a notice of violation.
B. 
Consent Orders. The Director is hereby empowered to enter into consent orders, assurances of voluntary compliance or other similar documents establishing an agreement with any user responsible for non-compliance. Such orders will include specific action to be taken by the user to correct the non-compliance within a time period also specified by the order. Consent orders shall have the same force and effect as the administrative orders issued pursuant to Subsections (D) and (E) of this Section.
C. 
Show Cause Hearing. The Director may order any user which causes or contributes to violations of this Chapter, wastewater contribution permits, or orders issued under this Section, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement to appear before the Director and show cause why a proposed enforcement action should not be taken. Notice shall be served on the user specifying the time and place for the meeting, the proposed enforcement action, the reasons for such action, and a request that the user show cause why this proposed enforcement action should not be taken. The notice of the meeting shall be served personally or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. Such notice may be served on any authorized representative of the user. Whether or not the user appears as ordered, immediate enforcement action may be pursued following the hearing. A show cause hearing shall not be a prerequisite for taking any other action against the user.
D. 
Compliance Orders. When the Director finds that a user has violated or continues to violate this Chapter, wastewater contribution permits or orders issued under this Article, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, the Director may issue an order to the user responsible for the discharge directing that the user come into compliance within a time as specified by the Director. If the user does not come into compliance within the time specified by the Director, sewer service may be discontinued unless adequate treatment facilities, devices or other related appurtenances are installed and properly operated. Compliance orders may also contain other requirements to address the non-compliance, including additional self-monitoring and management practices designed to minimize the amount of pollutants discharged to the POTW. A compliance order may not extend the deadline for compliance established for a Federal pretreatment standard or requirement, nor does a compliance order release the user of liability for any violation, including any continuing violation. Issuance of a compliance order shall not be a prerequisite to taking any other action against the user.
E. 
Cease-And-Desist Orders. When the Director finds that a user is violating this Chapter, the user's wastewater contribution permit, any order issued under this Section, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, or that the user's past violations are likely to recur, the Director may issue an order to the user directing it to cease and desist all such violations and directing the user to:
1. 
Immediately comply with all requirements.
2. 
Take such appropriate remedial or preventive action as may be needed to properly address a continuing or threatened violation, including halting operations and/or terminating the discharge.
F. 
Issuance Of Order. Issuance of a cease-and-desist order shall not be a prerequisite to taking any other action against the user.
[R.O. 2017 § 700.620; Ord. No. 04-40 § 7-3, 10-19-2004]
A. 
In addition to the provisions in Section 700.420, any user who violates any of the following conditions may be subject to disconnection from the POTW:
1. 
Violation of wastewater contribution permit conditions;
2. 
Failure to accurately report the wastewater constituents and characteristics of its discharge;
3. 
Failure to report significant changes in operations or wastewater volume, constituents and characteristics prior to discharge;
4. 
Refusal of reasonable access to the user's premises for the purpose of inspection, monitoring or sampling;
5. 
Violation of the conditions for use of the POTW in Article III of this Chapter; or
6. 
Failure to comply with an order by the Director to correct a violation within the time specified by such order.
B. 
The Director may disconnect the violator from the POTW, revoke any permits issued by the City under which the activity is conducted, including any permit issued under this Chapter, and seek termination of City utilities, or other public or private utility services, to the building or structure wherein the activity is conducted.
[R.O. 2017 § 700.630; Ord. No. 04-40 § 7-4, 10-19-2004]
A. 
When the Director finds that an emergency exists, he/she shall require the violator to immediately cause the violations to be abated or corrected. If the violator cannot be contacted within a reasonable time or fails or refuses to abate or correct the violation, the Director may abate or correct the violation.
B. 
When the Director has abated or corrected any violation, he/she shall certify the costs thereof to the City Collector, and the owner of the property on which such violation was abated or corrected shall be civilly liable to the City for the costs of such abatement or correction. Violation may also result in denial or revocation of a permit to contribute to the POTW under Section 700.420. Costs shall include all costs attributable to such abatement or correction, including all wages and salaries of City employees for their time directly attributable to the abatement or correction.
[R.O. 2017 § 700.640; Ord. No. 04-40 § 7-5, 10-19-2004]
If a person violates this Chapter, a wastewater contribution permit or any order issued under this Article, the Director may cause a Municipal Court summons to be issued and he/she may also request the City Attorney to institute the appropriate legal proceedings to obtain an injunction to restrain, correct or abate such violation of the provisions of this Code.
[R.O. 2017 § 700.650; Ord. No. 04-40 § 7-6, 10-19-2004]
A. 
Criminal Penalties. Any person violating any of the provisions of this Chapter or failing to comply with any order, permit or certificate issued under the provisions of this Chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment in jail for a period not exceeding ninety (90) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each violation per day after the posting of notice shall be deemed a separate offense. Notice, as set forth in Section 700.610, shall not be required in order to prosecute a person for a violation of any provisions of this Chapter, except such notice shall be required to prosecute a person for failure to comply with an order.
B. 
Civil Penalties. Failure to comply with an order which has been duly posted, which interferes with the POTW or significantly contributes to any violation or requirement of the POTW's NPDES permit or any violation of any of the provisions of this Chapter or the failure to comply with any order, permit or certificate issued under the provisions of this Chapter shall be subject to civil penalties not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) per day per violation.
[R.O. 2017 § 700.660; Ord. No. 04-40 § 7-7, 10-19-2004]
A. 
Upset. For the purposes of this Section, the term "upset" means an exceptional incident in which there is unintentional and temporary non-compliance with pretreatment standards because of factors beyond the reasonable control of the industrial user. An upset does not include non-compliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventative maintenance or careless or improper operation.
B. 
An upset shall constitute an affirmative defense to an action brought for non-compliance with pretreatment standards if the requirements of Subsection (C)(3) of this Section are met.
C. 
An industrial user who wishes to establish the affirmative defense of upset shall demonstrate through properly signed, contemporaneous operating logs or other relevant evidence that:
1. 
An upset occurred and the industrial user can identify the cause of the upset.
2. 
The facility was at the time being operated in a prudent and workmanlike manner and in compliance with applicable operation and maintenance procedures.
3. 
The industrial user has submitted the following information to the POTW within twenty-four (24) hours of becoming aware of the upset if this information is provided orally, a written submission must be provided within five (5) days:
a. 
A description of the indirect discharge and cause of non-compliance.
b. 
The period of non-compliance, including exact dates and times, or, if not corrected, the anticipated time the non-compliance is expected to continue.
c. 
Steps being taken and/or planned to reduce, eliminate and prevent recurrence of the non-compliance.
4. 
In any enforcement proceeding, the industrial user seeking to establish the occurrence of an upset shall have the burden of proof.
5. 
Industrial users will have the opportunity for a judicial determination on any claim of upset only in an enforcement action brought for non-compliance with pretreatment standards.
6. 
The industrial user shall control production or all discharges to the extent necessary to maintain compliance with pretreatment standards upon reduction, loss or failure of its treatment facility until the facility is restored or an alternative method of treatment is provided. This requirement applies in the situation where, among other things, the primary source of power of the treatment facility is reduced, lost or fails.
D. 
Restricted Discharges. An industrial user shall have an affirmative defense to an enforcement action brought against it for non-compliance with the restricted discharges in Section 700.220 if it can prove that it did not know or have reason to know that its discharge, alone or in conjunction with discharges from other sources, would cause pass-through or interference and that either:
1. 
A local limit exists for each pollutant discharged and the industrial user was in compliance with each limit directly prior to, and during, the pass-through or interference; or
2. 
No local limit exists, but the discharge did not change substantially in nature or constituents from the user's prior discharge when the POTW was regularly in compliance with its NPDES permit and, in the case of interference, was in compliance with applicable sludge use or disposal requirements.
E. 
Bypass.
1. 
For the purposes of this Section the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BYPASS
The intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion of an industrial user's treatment facility.
SEVERE PROPERTY DAMAGE
Substantial physical damage to property, damage to the treatment facilities which cause them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonably be expected to occur in the absence of a bypass. "Severe property damage" does not mean economic loss caused by delays in production.
2. 
An industrial user may allow any bypass to occur which does not cause pretreatment standards or requirements to be violated, but only if it also is for essential maintenance to ensure efficient operation. These bypasses are not subject to the provision of Subsections (E)(3) and (E)(4) of this Section.
3. 
Notice Of Bypass.
a. 
If an industrial user knows in advance of the need for a bypass, it shall submit prior notice to the Director at least ten (10) days before the date of the bypass if possible.
b. 
An industrial user shall submit oral notice of an unanticipated bypass that exceeds applicable pretreatment standards to the Director within twenty-four (24) hours from the time it becomes aware of the bypass. A written submission shall also be provided within five (5) days of the time the industrial user becomes aware of the bypass. The written submission shall contain a description of the bypass and its cause; the duration of the bypass, including exact dates and times, and, if the bypass has not been corrected, the anticipated time it is expected to continue; and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate and prevent reoccurrence of the bypass. The Director may waive the written report on a case-by-case basis if the oral report has been received within twenty-four (24) hours.
4. 
Enforcement Action Exceptions.
a. 
Bypass is prohibited and the Director may take enforcement action against an industrial user for a bypass, unless:
(1) 
Bypass was unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury or severe property damage;
(2) 
There were no feasible alternatives to the bypass, such as the use of auxiliary treatment facilities, retention of untreated wastes, or maintenance during normal periods of equipment downtime. This condition is not satisfied if adequate backup equipment should have been installed in the exercise of reasonable engineering judgement to prevent a bypass which occurred during normal periods of equipment downtime or preventive maintenance; and
(3) 
The industrial user submitted notices as required under Subsection (E)(3) of this Section.
b. 
The Director may approve an anticipated bypass, after considering its adverse effects, if the Director determines that it will meet the three (3) conditions listed in Subsection (E)(4)(a) of this Section.
[R.O. 2017 § 700.670; Ord. No. 04-40 § 7-8, 10-19-2004]
The imposition of the penalties prescribed in Section 700.650 shall not prevent the City Attorney from instituting appropriate action to prevent or to restrain, enjoin, correct or abate a violation or nuisance or to prevent an illegal act or conduct in or about any premises in violation of this Chapter.
[R.O. 2017 § 700.680; Ord. No. 04-40 § 7-9, 10-19-2004]
Any person who shall occupy the user's premises as a tenant under any rental or lease agreement shall be jointly and severally responsible for compliance with the provisions of this Chapter in the same manner as the owner.
[R.O. 2017 § 700.690; Ord. No. 04-40 § 7-10, 10-19-2004]
The Director shall develop and implement an enforcement response plan in accordance to 40 CFR 403.8(f)(5). Enforcement of pretreatment violations will generally be in accordance with the City's enforcement response plan. However, the City reserves the right to take other action against any user when the circumstances warrant. Further, the City is empowered to take more than one (1) enforcement action against any non-compliant user. These actions may be taken concurrently.