§ 34-481. Enforcement.

Users who violate any term or condition of this division or of their permit shall be subject to enforcement action by the control authority. Such enforcement action will be applied in accordance with the enforcement response plan and may include legal action or other appropriate enforcement remedies as provided for below:

(1)

Enforcement response plan. In accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(5)(ii), the control authority has in use an enforcement response plan (ERP), including an enforcement response guide (ERG) which shall be used by the control authority in initiating and, if necessary, in escalating, enforcement responses with regard to any instance of user noncompliance. The ERP is subject to change as required, and is consistent with approval authority procedures and guidelines.

(2)

Legal action. In addition to any other remedies provided by this division, the control authority may, at any time, seek legal and/or equitable remedies, or prosecute criminal charges against any person, corporation or other entity believed to be in violation of this division, the provisions of an industrial wastewater discharge permit and/or any federal or state law or regulations governing water quality or industrial wastewater pretreatment over which the control authority has been given enforcement powers. The control authority legal staff is hereby authorized and instructed to commence such actions for appropriate legal and/or equitable relief in courts having proper jurisdiction and may seek civil penalties and any other legal or equitable relief available under common law, Chapter 54 of the Texas Local Government Code, or any other applicable local, state, or federal code or statute. The control authority may require that an enforcement meeting be held prior to implementing legal action; however, such a meeting shall not be a bar against or prerequisite for taking any enforcement action against the user.

(3)

Notice of violation (NOV). When the control authority determines that a user has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this division, a wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, the control authority may serve (either personally or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested) upon that user a written notice of violation. Within fifteen (15) working days of the mailing date or personal delivery date of such notice, an explanation for the violation and measures taken and/or to be taken for the satisfactory correction and prevention thereof, to include specific required actions, shall be submitted by the user to the control authority. Submission of this response in no way relieves the user of liability for any violations occurring before or after receipt of the notice of violation. Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the control authority to take any action, including emergency actions or any other enforcement action, without first issuing a notice of violation.

(4)

Response by the industrial user to the notice of violation. The industrial user responding to receipt of a notice of violation shall file a written response in the following form:

(a)

The industrial user shall submit a written report within the fifteen (15) working days designated in section 34-481(3) to the director. If the violation involves a discharge that is prohibited, or exceeds quantity, quality, or concentration limitations, the report shall contain information regarding the time, date, location, cause, source, quantity, quality and concentration of the discharge and the corrective measures actually taken, or to be taken, by the industrial user to correct and prevent any similar recurring discharges. If the violation is an administrative or procedural violation, the report shall contain information regarding corrective measures and time schedules the industrial user has adopted to assure expeditious compliance.

(b)

Should the recipient of a notice of violation fail to respond in writing to the director within the initial fifteen (15) working day response period as required in section 34-481(3), above, the user shall be considered in violation of this division with each day resulting in a separate violation. Such failure to respond may be cited by the director in any legal proceeding in the appropriate municipal, county, district, or federal court.

(5)

Injunctive relief. When the control authority finds that a user has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this division, a wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, the control authority may petition the court through the control authority legal staff 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 division on activities of the user. The control authority 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.

(6)

Consent orders. The director or his designated representative is hereby empowered to enter into consent orders, assurances of voluntary compliance, establishing an agreement with any user responsible for noncompliance. Such orders will include specific action to be taken by the user to correct the noncompliance within a time period also specified by the order. Consent orders shall have legal force and effect and shall be judicially enforceable. The director may require that a compliance schedule pursuant to sections 34-478(1)(c)(7) and 34-478(3) of this division be included and followed as a condition of the order. No order shall in any way waive a national categorical pretreatment standard.

(7)

Compliance schedule. The compliance schedule is discussed in sections 34-478(1)(c)(7) and 34-478(3) of this division.

(8)

Compliance orders. When the director or his designated representative finds that a user has violated or continues to violate the division, wastewater discharge permits or orders issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, he may issue an order to the user responsible for the discharge directing that the user come into compliance within fifteen (15) calendar days. If the user does not come into compliance within fifteen (15) calendar days, sewer service shall 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 noncompliance, including additional self-monitoring and/or 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 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.

(9)

Emergency suspension. The director may unilaterally order the suspension of water and/or wastewater service(s) to any user in order to prevent or eliminate an indirect discharge which may cause imminent, serious endangerment to the health or safety of any person, significant damage to the environment, significant interference with the POTW, or violations of the Control Authority, TCEQ or NPDES permit conditions. Concurrent with ordering such a suspension, the director shall issue a written report containing information and investigative data and the notice of violation and suspension order upon which the director relies in ordering the suspension of service(s). A copy of this report will be expeditiously forwarded to the affected industrial user.

(a)

The director shall order reinstatement of any discontinued water and/or wastewater service(s) upon presentation to him by the industrial user of a registered professional engineer's report or other written proof acceptable to the control authority that the dangerous discharge has been eliminated and that recurrence is not likely.

(b)

Costs incurred by the control authority or its agents in detecting, investigating, monitoring, measuring and eliminating the dangerous discharge, along with any disconnect and reconnect fees, shall be reimbursed to the control authority by the user(s) responsible for the dangerous discharge within sixty (60) days of billing. Any property damage to the POTW or its appurtenant structures resulting from the dangerous discharge shall also be borne by the user(s) responsible for the discharge.

(c)

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 control authority prior to the date of any show cause or termination hearing under sections 34-481(10) and 34-481(11) of this division.

(10)

Cease and desist orders. When the control authority finds that a user has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this division, a wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, 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:

(a)

Immediately comply with all requirements; and

(b)

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.

Issuance of a cease and desist order shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user.

(11)

Termination of discharge. In addition to other provisions of this division, any user who violates the following conditions of this division, wastewater discharge permits, or orders issued hereunder, is subject to discharge termination:

(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;

(e)

Violation of the pretreatment standards in section 34-472 of this division.

(f)

Failure to provide, operate and maintain, at all times, wastewater pretreatment equipment, as is necessary to comply with this division.

(Ord. No. 81771, § 2(App. I), 3-2-95; Ord. No. 85765, § 1, 3-20-97; Ord. No. 99480, § 1(Exh. 1), 7-22-04; Ord. No. 2014-06-19-0472 , § 1(Exh. A), 6-19-14)