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.
B.
In the event of such a discharge, the Chief Operator must deliver a written notice to the User describing the problems posed by the discharge and offering the User an opportunity to respond. If the User does not respond in writing to the Chief Operator within 24 hours after delivery of such written notice, then the Chief Operator may undertake such actions, including those described in § 216-35, as he or she deems necessary to prevent or minimize the effects of such a discharge. If the Industrial User does respond in writing within 24 hours, then no immediate suspension of service or of a Wastewater Discharge Permit shall occur, unless the Chief Operator reasonably believes that the User's discharge continues to present or may present an endangerment to the environment or threatens to cause Interference or Pass Through at the POTW. If the User thereafter provides satisfactory written proof that it has eliminated the cause of the conditions creating the harmful discharge, then the Chief Operator may perform 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).
A.
The Chief Operator may issue compliance orders to Industrial
Users not complying with any Pretreatment Standards, Pretreatment Requirements,
Wastewater Discharge Permits, or any other provisions of this chapter or the
Act. Such orders may, among other things, direct said Industrial User to:
(1)
Comply immediately with Pretreatment Standards, Pretreatment
Requirements, Wastewater Discharge Permit provisions, this chapter, or the
Act;
(2)
Comply with Pretreatment Standards, Pretreatment Requirements,
Wastewater Discharge Permit provisions, this chapter, or the Act in accordance
with a time schedule set forth by the Chief Operator;
(3)
Increase the frequency of sampling and analysis of the
Industrial User's wastewater; and/or
(4)
Undertake appropriate remedial or preventive action to
prevent the possibility of violations in the future.
B.
The issuance of or compliance with an order under this
section shall not relieve the Industrial User of liability for violations
which occur before the order is issued or while the order is effective.
A.
This section shall govern the ability of the municipalities to suspend or revoke any Wastewater Discharge Permit to any Industrial User in all situations except those described in §§ 216-35 and 216-36 of this chapter regarding discharges which present imminent endangerment or which constitute harmful discharges. In all other situations, the municipality in which the Industrial User is located (or any of the municipalities, if the Industrial User is located outside the municipalities) may suspend or revoke a Wastewater Discharge Permit if it determines that a violation of any provision of the permit, the Act, or this chapter exists. Unless and until all of the municipalities are named on the POTW's SPDES Permit, the City of Ithaca shall also have the power to suspend or revoke Wastewater Discharge Permits for all Industrial Users located outside the City of Ithaca. Violations which may lead to such suspension or revocation include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1)
Failure of an Industrial User to accurately or timely
submit the information required in any report;
(2)
Failure of an Industrial User to allow access to its
premises for the purposes of inspection, monitoring, sampling, or records
examination or copying by the POTW, EPA, DEC, the United States, or the state;
(3)
Failure of an Industrial User to report significant changes
in its operations or the constituents, characteristics, or volume of its wastewater;
or
(4)
Violation of conditions of the Industrial User's permit.
B.
Before the relevant municipality may suspend or revoke an industrial wastewater permit, it must give the Industrial User a hearing in accordance with the procedures set forth at § 216-41 below. The final decision as to whether to suspend or revoke a permit shall then be made by the municipality and shall be a final administrative action.
A.
Whenever the Chief Operator determines that any Industrial User has violated or is violating any Pretreatment Standard, Pretreatment Requirement, its Wastewater Discharge Permit, or any other provision of the Act or this chapter, he or she may serve upon such User, either personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested, a written notice of violation stating the nature of the violation. The Chief Operator may include with the notice of violation a compliance order directing the User to take specified actions to correct the violations. The Chief Operator or relevant municipality, as described in § 216-39 above, may also include with the notice of violation an order to show cause before the municipality as to why the User's Wastewater Discharge Permit should not be suspended or revoked, or why civil administrative penalties should not be assessed by the municipality against the Industrial User for said violations. Any such show cause hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of § 216-41 of this chapter.
B.
Within 30 days of the date of the notice, the User shall
submit to the Chief Operator a written explanation of the reasons for the
violations and a plan for the satisfactory correction thereof consistent with
any compliance order which the Chief Operator may issue.
C.
Neither the issuance of a notice of violation, nor the
submittal of or compliance with a plan of correction or compliance order,
shall relieve the Industrial User of any liability for violations of any Pretreatment
Standards, Pretreatment Requirements, Wastewater Discharge Permit, the Act,
or this chapter, nor is the issuance of such a written notice required before
the Special Joint Subcommittee or municipalities may take any other type of
enforcement action against the Industrial User.
A.
Notice requirements. A notice from the Chief Operator
or relevant municipality shall be served on the User specifying the time and
place of a hearing to be held by the municipality regarding the violation,
the proposed action to be taken, the reasons why the action is proposed, and
directing the person to show cause before the municipality why the proposed
action should not be taken. The notice of the hearing shall be served personally
or by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 10 days before the
hearing. Service must be made on an authorized representative of the Industrial
User.
B.
Conduct of the hearing. The municipality shall conduct
the hearing and take the evidence, or may designate any of its members, the
Special Joint Subcommittee, or the Chief Operator to:
(1)
Issue in the name of the municipality notices of hearings
requesting the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of
evidence relevant to any matter involved in such hearings;
(2)
Take evidence;
(3)
Transmit a report of the evidence and hearing, including
transcripts and other evidence, together with recommendations to the municipality
for action thereon; and
(4)
Take any further necessary action as permitted by this
chapter or applicable contracts or agreements.
C.
Testimony recorded under oath. At any hearing held pursuant
to this chapter, testimony taken must be under oath and recorded, either stenographically
or by voice recording. The transcript, so recorded, will be made available
to any member of the public or any party to the hearing upon payment of the
usual charges therefor.
D.
Orders. After the municipality has reviewed the evidence,
it may issue an order suspending or revoking an industrial Wastewater Discharge
Permit, or assessing civil administrative penalties, and the timing for their
payment to the municipality, against the Industrial User. The issuance of
such an Order shall be a final administrative action.
E.
Settlement. At any time after notice of the show cause
hearing has been served and before the municipality has issued its order regarding
permit suspension or revocation or penalty assessment, the municipality may
enter into a settlement agreement with the Industrial User to resolve the
issues raised by the order to show cause.
[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.
