§ 13-709. Enforcement response guide.

The enforcement actions taken in response to violations of the city's pretreatment program are as follows:

Description of Terms:

PC—Pretreatment Coordinator

WWDM—Wastewater Division Manager

AO—Administrative Order

IU—Industrial User

NOV—Notice of Violation

POTW—Public Owned Treatment Works

NA—Not Applicable

ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE GUIDE
ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE GUIDE TABLE
UNAUTHORIZED DISCHARGE (NO PERMIT)

NONCOMPLIANCE	NATURE OF VIOLATION	CATEGORY/PENALTY RANGE		ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE	PERSONNEL
Industrial user survey	Failure to return	1	No penalty	1st - phone call repeated terminate service	PC
Unpermitted discharge	IU unaware of requirements, no harm to POTW or environment	1	No penalty	Phone call, NOV with application	PC
	IU unaware of requirements, harm to POTW or environment (significant non-compliance)	4	$1,000—$5,000	AO and penalty termination of service	WDM
	Failure to apply continues after notification by PC	5	$5,000—$10,000	Civil action in chancery court Criminal investigation termination of service	WDM
	IU has not submitted application within 10 days of due date	1	No penalty	Phone call, NOV	PC

 

DISCHARGE PERMIT VIOLATIONS

NONCOMPLIANCE	NATURE OF VIOLATION	CATEGORY/PENALTY RANGE		ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE	PERSONNEL
Exceeding of Local, State or Federal standards	Isolated, not significant	1	No penalty	Phone call, NOV	PC
	Isolated, significant (no harm)	2	$50—$500	AO to develop spill prevention plan (if not previously submitted)	WDM
	Isolated harmful to POTW or environment	3	$500—$1,000	Show cause hearing AO and penalty	PC WDM
	Chronic or TRC, no harm	2	$50—$500	AO and penalty	WDM
	Chronic or TRC, harm to POTW or environment	4	$1,000—$5,000	AO and penalty termination of service	WDM

 

MONITORING AND REPORTING VIOLATIONS

NONCOMPLIANCE	NATURE OF VIOLATION	CATEGORY/PENALTY RANGE		ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE	PERSONNEL
Reporting violation	Report improperly signed or certified	1	No penalty	Phone call, NOV	PC
	Report improperly signed or certified after prior notice	2	$50—$500	Show cause hearing AO	PC WDM
	Isolated, not significant (<5 days late)	1	No penalty	Phone call, NOV	PC
	Significant (>5 days late)	2	$50—$500	AO to submit and penalty for each day late	WDM
	Report always late: failure to submit (significant non-compliance)	5	$5,000—$10,000	Civil action, chancery court termination of service	WDM
	Failure to report spill or discharge, no harm	1	No penalty	NOV	PC
	Failure to report spill or discharge with harm	3	$500—$1,000	AO and penalty, civil action	WDM
	Repeated failure to report spills	5	$5,000—$10,000	AO and penalty, civil action termination of service	WDM
	Falsification of records	5	$5,000—$10,000	Criminal investigation termination of service	WDM
Failure to monitor correctly	Failure to monitor all required permit pollutants	1 2	No penalty $50—$500	NOV AO	PC WDM
	Recurring failure to monitor	3	$500—$1,000	AO and penalty, civil action	WDM
Improper sampling	No evidence of intent	1	No penalty	NOV	PC
	Evidence of intent	5	$5,000—$10,000	Criminal investigation termination of service	WDM
Failure to install monitoring equipment     Compliance schedule	Delay of less than 30 days	1	No penalty	NOV	PC
	Delay of more than 30 days	2	$50—$500	AO to install with penalty for each additional day	WDM
	Recurring, violation of AO	5	$5,000—$10,000	Civil action, criminal investigation termination of service	WDM
	Missed milestone, less than 30 days, will affect final schedule	1	No penalty	NOV	PC
	Missed milestone, more than 30 days, will affect final schedule (good cause)	2	$50—$500	AO	WDM
	Missed milestone, more than 30 days, will affect final schedule (no good cause)	4	$1,000—$5,000	AO and penalty, civil action termination of service	WDM
	Recurring violations or violations of AO	5	$5,000—$10,000	Civil action, criminal investigation termination of service	WDM

 

OTHER PERMIT VIOLATIONS

NONCOMPLIANCE	NATURE OF VIOLATION	CATEGORY/PENALTY RANGE		ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE	PERSONNEL
Waste stream dilution in lieu of pretreatment	Initial violation	2	$50—$500	AOL and penalty	WDM
	Recurring	3	$500—$1,000	Show cause hearing termination of service	WDM
Failure to mitigate non-compliance or halt production	Does not cause harm	1	No penalty	NOV	PC
	Does cause harm	5	$5,000—10,000	AO and penalty, civil action	WDM
Failure to properly maintain and operate facility	Does not cause harm	1	No penalty	NOV	PC
	Does cause harm	4	$1,000—$5,000	AO and penalty, civil action	PC

 

VIOLATIONS DETECTED DURING SITE VISIT

NONCOMPLIANCE	NATURE OF VIOLATION	CATEGORY/PENALTY RANGE		ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE	PERSONNEL
Entry denial	Entry denied or consent withdrawn; copies of records denied	2	$50—$500	Obtain warrant and return to IU	PC
Illegal discharge, violation of general discharge prohibitions	No harm to POTW or environment	2	$50—$500	AO and penalty	WDM
	Caused harm or evidence of intent or negligence	4	$1,000—$5,000	AO and penalty, civil action criminal investigation	WDM
	Recurring, violation of AO	5	$5,000—$10,000	Termination of service	WDM
Improper sampling	Unintentional sampling at incorrect location	1	No penalty	NOV	PC
	Unintentional using of incorrect sample type	1	No penalty	NOV	PC
	Unintentional using incorrect sample techniques	1	No penalty	NOV	PC
Inadequate record keeping	Files incomplete or missing (no evidence of intent)	1	No penalty	NOV	PC
	Recurring	3	$500—$1,000	AO and penalty	WDM
Failure to report additional monitoring	Inspection finds additional files (unintentional	2	$50—$500	NOV	WDM
	Recurring (considered falsification)		$1,000—$5,000	AO and penalty	WDM

 

TIME FRAMES FOR
ENFORCEMENT RESPONSES

All violations will be identified and documented within five (5) days of receiving compliance information.

Initial enforcement response involving contact with the IU and requesting information on corrective or preventative action will occur within fifteen (15) days of violation detections.

Follow up actions for continuing or recurring violations will be taken within sixty (60) days of initial enforcement response. For continuing violations, the response will include a compliance schedule.

Violations that threaten health, property or environmental quality are considered emergencies and will receive immediate response such as halting the discharge or terminating service.

All violations meeting the criteria for significant non-compliance will be addressed with an enforceable order within thirty (30) days of identification of the significant non-compliance.

Chronic and TRC violations will be determined by the PC on a six-month basis (April through September and October through March) per parameter as detailed in 40 CFR 403.8(f)(2)(vii).

( Ord. No. 41-2016-17 , § 1, 1-5-17)