§ 12A-8-18 Enforcement response guide.
(A) The following table identifies violations and the general enforcement response options that may be taken by the Director that shall apply to all Industrial Users. The table is intended to be a reference only, and is not intended to identify all possible violations or limit the Director’s response to a violation. At all times the Director retains the right to take any enforcement action, in response to an identified violation, which it deems appropriate including all civil and/or criminal actions available by law. All enforcement response options include the possible imposition of fees, fines, costs, reasonable attorney fees, court costs and any and all other expenses associated with inspection, and enforcement activities, including sampling and monitoring expenses, and the cost of any actual damages incurred by the City.
(B) Enforcement Response Table.
Violation |
Nature of Violation |
Enforcement Response Option |
Administrative Fines |
---|---|---|---|
Un-Permitted Discharges |
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Un-Permitted Discharge |
User Aware Of Requirement; No Harm to the POTW Or Environment |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV With Permit Application Form, Resample Discharge, Unannounced Inspection, Unannounced City Monitoring |
Up to $1,000 per day per violation |
User Aware Of Requirement; Discharge Causes Harm to the POTW Or Environment |
NOV, Resample Discharge, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action |
Up to $10,000 per day per violation |
|
Failure To Comply; Discharge Continues After Notice By City |
NOV, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action, Terminate Sewer Connection, Revoke Permit |
Up to $25,000 per day per violation |
|
Failure to Renew Permit |
Permit Expired; No Application Submitted |
NOV, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action, Terminate Sewer Connection |
Up to $10,000 per day per violation |
Discharge Limit Violations |
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Exceedance of Local Limit, Permit Limit or Federal Standard |
Random Violation; No Harm to POTW or Environment |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV, Resample discharge, Unannounced inspection, Unannounced City monitoring |
|
Random violation; Discharge Caused Harm to POTW or Environment (SNC) |
NOV, Resample discharge, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action |
Up to $10,000 per day per violation |
|
Pattern Violation; No Harm to POTW or Environment |
NOV, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action |
Up to $10,000 per day per violation |
|
Pattern Violation; Discharge Caused Harm to POTW or Environment (SNC) |
NOV, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action, Terminate sewer connection, Revoke Permit |
Up to $10,000 per day per violation |
|
Pattern Violation with Knowledge, Intent or Negligence (SNC) |
NOV, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action, Terminate sewer connection, Revoke Permit |
Up to $25,000 per day per violation |
|
Monitoring and Reporting Violations |
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Reporting Violation |
Report Improperly Signed or Certified |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV |
|
Report Improperly Signed or Certified After Notification By City |
NOV, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action |
Up to $1,000 per day per violation |
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Random Violation No Harm to POTW or Environment Report, Reported Less Than 30 Days Late |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV |
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Unannounced inspection |
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Report late ≤ days |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV |
$50 per day |
|
Report late 6 - 29 days |
NOV, Compliance Meeting |
$100 per day |
|
Report late, 30 days or more |
NOV, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action |
$500 per day |
|
Missing or Incomplete Information in Report |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV |
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Failure to Correct Report with Missing or Incomplete Information After Notification by City |
NOV, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action |
Up to $5,000 per day per violation |
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Failure to Report Spill or Changed Discharge; No Harm to POTW or Environment |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV, Resample discharge, Unannounced inspection, Unannounced City monitoring |
Up to $1,000 per day per violation |
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Failure to Report Spill or Changed Discharge; Discharge Caused Harm to POTW or Environment (SNC) |
NOV, Resample discharge, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action |
Up to $10,000 per day per violation |
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Repeated Failure to Report Spills or Changed Discharge |
NOV, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action, Terminate sewer connection, Revoke Permit |
Up to $10,000 per day per violation |
|
Falsification of Information in Report |
NOV, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Criminal and/or Civil Action, Terminate Sewer Connection, Revoke Permit |
Up to $1,000 per day per violation |
|
Failure to Monitor Correctly |
Failure to Monitor All Pollutants as Required by Permit |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV |
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Pattern Violation or Evidence of Intent (SNC) |
NOV, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil Action, Terminate Sewer Connection, Revoke Permit |
Up to $5,000 per day per violation |
|
Improper Sampling |
Random Violation |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV, Resample Discharge, Unannounced Inspection, Unannounced City Monitoring |
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Pattern Violation or Evidence of Intent (SNC) |
NOV, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Criminal Action, Terminate Sewer Connection, Revoke Permit |
Up to $5,000 per day per violation |
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Failure to Install Monitoring Equipment |
Delay of 30 days or more after notification by City |
NOV, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action, Terminate Sewer Connection, Revoke Permit |
Up to $1,000 per day per violation |
Compliance Schedules |
Missed Compliance Deadline by Less Than 30 Days |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV |
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Missed Compliance Deadline by More Than 30 Days; USER Has Good Cause For Delay |
NOV, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order |
Up to $500 per day per violation |
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Missed Compliance Deadline by More Than 30 Days; USER Does Not Have Good Cause For Delay (SNC) |
NOV, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action, Terminate Sewer Connection, Revoke Permit |
Up to $1,000 per day per violation |
|
Pattern Violation or Violation of Schedule in Administrative Order |
NOV, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Fines, Civil and/or Criminal Action, Terminate Sewer Connection, Revoke Permit |
Up to $5,000 per day per violation |
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Other Permit Violations |
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Water Streams Diluted in Lieu of Treatment |
Random Violation |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV, Resample Discharge, Unannounced Inspection, Unannounced City Monitoring |
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Pattern Violation |
NOV, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Fees/Fines, Civil and/or Criminal Action, Terminate Sewer Connection, Revoke Permit |
Up to $5,000 per day per violation |
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Failure to Mitigate Noncompliance or Halt Production |
Discharge Causes No Harm to POTW or Environment |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV, Resample Discharge, Unannounced Inspection, Unannounced City Monitoring, |
Up to $1,000 per day per violation |
Discharge Causes Harm to POTW or Environment |
NOV, Resample Discharge, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action |
Up to $10,000 per day per violation |
|
Failure to Properly Operate and Maintain Pretreatment Facility |
Random Violation |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV, Resample Discharge, Unannounced Inspection, Unannounced City Monitoring |
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Pattern Violation |
NOV, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action, Terminate Sewer Connection, Revoke Permit |
Up to $1,000 per day per violation |
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Violations Observed During Site Visit/Inspection |
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Entry Denial |
Entry Denied or Consent Withdrawn; Copies of Records Denied |
Warning Notice, NOV, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action, Terminate Sewer Connection, Revoke Permit |
Up to $100 per day per violation |
Illegal Discharge |
Discharge Causes No Harm to POTW or Environment |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV, Resample Discharge, Unannounced Inspection, Unannounced City Monitoring |
Up to $500 per day per violation |
Pattern Violation; No Harm to POTW or Environment |
NOV, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order |
Up to $1,000 per day per violation |
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Discharge Causes Harm to POTW or Environment or There is Evidence of Intent or Negligence |
NOV, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action, Terminate Sewer Connection, Revoke Permit |
Up to $10,000 per day per violation |
|
Improper Sampling |
Incorrect Location, Sample Type, or Collection Procedure |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV, Resample discharge |
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Inadequate Record Keeping or Documentation |
Files incomplete or Missing Information; Initial Violation |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV |
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Pattern Violation After Notice From City to Correct |
NOV, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Civil and/or Criminal Action |
Up to $5,000 per day per violation |
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Failure to Report Additional Monitoring |
Inspector Finds Additional Files/Records; Initial Violation |
Verbal Warning, Warning Notice, NOV |
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Pattern Violation After Notice From City to Correct |
NOV, Compliance Meeting, Show Cause Meeting, Administrative Order, Administrative Fines, Civil Action, Terminate Sewer Connection, Revoke Permit |
Up to $5,000 per day per violation |
(Ord. 14-1290, passed 3-3-2014; Am. Ord. 23-1584, passed 9-25-2023)