13.22.010 Emergency suspension of service and industrial wastewater acceptance

The City may, without advance notice, order the suspension of the wastewater treatment service and the industrial wastewater acceptance form to a discharger when it appears to the City that an actual or threatened discharge:

1. Presents or threatens an imminent or substantial danger to the health or welfare of persons or substantial danger to the environment, or
2. Threatens to interfere with the operation of the POTW, or to violate any pretreatment limits imposed by this chapter. Any discharger notified of the City's suspension order shall immediately cease all discharges.

In the event of failure of the discharger to comply with the suspension order, the City may commence judicial proceedings immediately thereafter to compel the discharger's specific compliance with such order and/or to recover civil penalties. The City shall reinstate the industrial wastewater acceptance form and/or the wastewater treatment service upon proof by the discharger of the elimination of the noncomplying discharge or conditions creating the threat as set forth above. (Ord. 2645, 1993; Ord. 2386 Exh. A (part), 1985, §13.20.610).

13.22.020 Termination of treatment service

A discharger shall not:

1. Fail to factually report accurately the wastewater constituents and characteristics of its discharge;
2. Fail to report significant changes in wastewater constituents or characteristics;
3. Refuse reasonable access to the discharger's premises by representatives of the City for the purpose of inspection or monitoring; or
4. Violate the provisions of this chapter, or any order of the City with respect thereto. The City may terminate wastewater treatment services to any discharger who violates any of the foregoing prohibitions. (Ord. 2645, 1993; Ord. 2386 Exh. A (part), 1985, §13.20.620).

13.22.030 Notification of violation--administrative adjustment

Whenever the City finds that any discharger has violated the prohibitions in Section 13.22.020, the City shall cause to be served upon such discharger a written notice (either personally or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested) stating the nature of the alleged violation. Within thirty days of the date of receipt of the notice, the discharger shall respond personally or in writing or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, to the City, advising of its position with respect to the allegations. Thereafter, the discharger shall be given the opportunity to meet with a duly authorized City representative to ascertain the veracity of the allegations and establish a plan for the satisfactory correction of the violations and preclusion of a recurrence thereof. (Ord. 2645, 1993; Ord. 2386 Exh. A(part), 1985, §13.20.630).

13.22.040 Show cause hearing

Where the violation of Section 13.22.020 is not corrected by timely compliance by means described in Section 13.22.020, the City may order any discharger which suffers or permits a violation of Section 13.22.020 to show cause before the City or its duly authorized representative why the proposed service termination action should not be taken. A written notice shall be served on the discharger by personal service, certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, specifying the time and place of a hearing to be held by an ad hoc committee appointed by the City Manager regarding the violation, the reasons why the enforcement action is to be taken, the proposed enforcement action, and directing the discharger to show cause before such committee why the proposed enforcement action should not be taken. The notice of the hearing shall be served no less than ten days before the hearing. Service may be made on any agent, officer, or authorized representative of a discharger. The proceedings at the hearing shall be considered by such committee, which shall then enter appropriate orders with respect to the alleged violations of the discharger. (Ord. 2645, 1993; Ord. 2386 Exh. A (part), 1985, §13.20.640).

13.22.050 Judicial proceedings

Following the entry of any order by the City with respect to the violation by a discharger of Section 13.22.020, the City may commence an action for appropriate legal and/or equitable relief in the appropriate local court. (Ord. 2645, 1993; Ord. 2386 Exh. A (part), 1985, §13.20.650).

13.22.060 Significant violations--annual publication

A list of dischargers who were significantly violating the terms of this chapter during the previous twelve months shall be annually published by the City in the official newspaper of the City. For the purposes of this section, an industrial user is in significant noncompliance if its violation meets one or more of the following criteria:

1. Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which sixty-six percent (66%) or more of all of the measurements taken during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) the daily maximum limit or the average limit for the same pollutant parameter;
2. Technical Review Criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which thirty-three percent or more of all the measurements for each pollutant parameter of all of the measurements for each pollutant parameter taken during a six-month period equal or exceed the product of the daily maximum limit or the average limit multiplied by the applicable TRC (TRC=1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oil, and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except Ph).
3. Any other violation of a pretreatment effluent limit (daily maximum or longer-term average) that the control authority determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass through (including endangering the health of POTW personnel or the general public);
4. Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare or to the environment or has resulted in the POTW's exercise of its emergency authority under Section 13.22.020 to halt or prevent such a discharge;
5. Failure to meet, within ninety days after the schedule date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in a local control mechanism or enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction or attaining final compliance;
6. Failure to provide, within thirty days after the due date, required reports such as baseline monitoring reports, ninety-day compliance reports, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;
7. Failure to accurately report noncompliance;
8. Any other violation or group of violations which the City determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program. (Ord. 2645, 1993; Ord. 2601 §6, 1991, §13.20.660: Ord. 2386 Exh. A (part), 1985).

13.22.070 Interpretations

Any discharger or any interested party shall have the right to request in writing an interpretation or ruling by the City on any matter covered by this chapter and shall be entitled to a prompt written reply. In the event that such inquiry is by a discharger and deals with matters of performance of compliance with this chapter for which enforcement activity relating to an alleged violation is the subject, receipt of a discharger's request shall not stay enforcement proceedings pending. Appeal of any final judicial order entered pursuant to this chapter may be taken in accordance with local and State law. (Ord. 2645, 1993; Ord. 2386 Exh. A (part), 1985, §13.20.670).

13.22.080 Temporary state of non-compliance

Any discharger which experiences an upset in operations which places the discharger in a temporary state of noncompliance with this chapter shall inform the City thereof within twenty-four hours of first awareness of the commencement of the upset. Where such information is given orally, a written follow-up report thereof shall be filed by the discharger with the City within five days. The report shall specify:

1. Description of the upset, the cause thereof and the upset's impact on the discharger's compliance status;
2. Duration of noncompliance, including exact dates and times of noncompliance, and if the noncompliance continues, the time by which compliance is reasonably expected to occur;
3. All steps taken or to be taken to reduce, eliminate and prevent recurrence of such an upset or other conditions of noncompliance.

A documented and verified bona fide operating upset shall be an affirmative defense to any enforcement action brought by the City against the discharger for any noncompliance with the chapter which arises out of violations alleged to have occurred during the period of the upset. (Ord. 2645, 1993; Ord. 2386 Exh. A (part), 1985, §13.20.680).

13.22.090 Bypass

1. Bypass is prohibited, and the control authority 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 back-up equipment should have been installed in the exercise of reasonable engineering judgment to prevent a bypass which occurred during normal periods of equipment downtime or preventative maintenance; and
   3. The industrial user submitted notices as required under paragraph B of this section.
2. If an industrial user knows in advance of the need for a bypass, it shall submit prior notice to the City, if possible at least ten days before the date of the bypass.
3. An industrial user shall submit oral notice of an unanticipated bypass that exceeds applicable pretreatment standards to the City within twenty-four hours from the time the industrial user becomes aware of the bypass. A written submission shall also be provided within five 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 City may waive the written report on a case-by-case basis if the oral report has been received within twenty-four hours.
4. The City may approve an anticipated bypass, after considering its adverse effects, if the City determines that it will meet the three conditions listed in paragraph (A) of this section.
5. 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 assure efficient operation. (Ord. 2645, 1993; Ord. 2551 §4, 1989; §13.20.685).

13.22.100 Civil penalties

Any discharger who violates an order of the City, or who fails to comply with:

1. Any provision of this chapter, or
2. Any regulation, rule or permit of the City, issued pursuant to the chapter, shall be liable to the City for a civil penalty. The amount of such civil penalty shall be not less than one thousand dollars per violation. Each day upon which a violation occurs or continues shall constitute a separate violation. Such penalties may be recovered by judicial actions and/or, to the extent permissible by State law, by administrative procedures. (Ord. 2645, 1993; Ord. 2551 §1, 1989: Ord. 2531 §8, 1989 §13.20.690; Ord. 2386 Exh. A (part), 1985, prior code section 13.20.690).

13.22.110 Recovery of costs incurred by the City

Any discharger violating any of the provisions of this chapter who discharges or causes a discharge producing a deposit or obstruction or causes damage to or impairs the City's wastewater disposal system shall be liable to the City for any expense, loss, or damage caused by such violation of discharge.  The City shall, by order, bill the discharger for the cost incurred by the City for any cleaning, repair, or replacement work caused by the violation or discharge.  Refusal to pay the assessed costs shall constitute a violation of this chapter, enforceable under the provisions of this chapter.  Any costs incurred by the City to enforce the provisions of this chapter, including, but not limited to, verification sampling and analysis, special administrative procedures, site inspections and plan evaluation, which are directly and reasonably attributable to any specific discharger, shall be billed to that discharger.

General administrative costs to implement and maintain the industrial pretreatment program shall be a part of the operation costs of the wastewater system.  (Ord. 2645, 1993; Ord. 2386 Exh. A (part), 1985, §13.20.700).

13.22 120 Falsifying information

Any person who knowingly makes any false statement, representation, or certification in any application, record, report, and plan or other document filed or required to be maintained pursuant to this chapter, or who falsifies, tampers with, or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required under this chapter, shall, in addition to civil and/or criminal penalties provided by State law, be guilty of a gross misdemeanor and shall be prosecuted and punished accordingly. (Ord. 2645, 1993; Ord. 2386 Exh. A (part), 1985, §13.20.710).

13.22.130 Records retention

All dischargers subject to this chapter shall retain and preserve for no less than three years, any records, books, documents, memoranda, reports, correspondence and any and all summaries thereof, relating to monitoring, sampling and chemical analyses made by or in behalf of a discharger in connection with its discharge. All records which pertain to matters which are the subject of administrative adjustment or any other enforcement or litigation activities brought by the City pursuant hereto shall be retained and preserved by the discharger until all enforcement activities have concluded and all periods of limitation with respect to any and all appeals have expired. (Ord. 2645, 1993; Ord. 2386 Exh. A (part), 1985, §13.20.730).