§ 1.27.047. Enforcement procedures for violations of Chapters 15.04, 15.08, 16.04 and 16.08.

The following subsections contain the enforcement processes and penalties associated with violations of Chapters 15.04, 15.08, 16.04 and 16.08.

(1)

Enforcement process . The provisions of this section may be utilized when the director, his designee, or the enforcement officer determines that a violation of the Chapters 15.04, 15.08, 16.04 and 16.08 of the Cheney Municipal Code, rules and policies of the department, or rules or manuals published by the Washington State Departments of Ecology and Health, has occurred or is occurring.

(A)

Voluntary correction process.

(i)

The director or the enforcement officer shall attempt to secure voluntary correction by contacting the responsible person(s) explaining the violation, providing education on how to avoid or otherwise correct the violation, and requesting correction; provided the violation does not constitute a circumstance described in subsections (1)(B)(i) through (v) of this section, whereby the director may immediately issue a notice of violation, a stop work order, correction notice, or an emergency order.

(ii)

To secure voluntary compliance, the city may require the responsible party to perform, including but not limited to, the following:

(a)

Business practices which prevent the violation from reoccurring;

(b)

Additional best management practices to mitigate or correct source control to cease the exceedance of the prohibited discharge;

(c)

Elimination of the cause or contributing factor to the known or likely violation of water quality standards and of the city's NPDES permit; or

(d)

Construction or installation of a facility, equipment or improvements to prevent the pollutant from entering the wastewater, storm or surface water system.

(iii)

In addition to the requirements contained in subsection (1)(A)(ii) of this section, during the voluntary correction process, the city may:

(a)

Issue a correction notice;

(b)

Issue a stop work order; or

(c)

Execute a voluntary correction agreement.

(iv)

No civil penalty shall be imposed during the voluntary correction process, or as a result of issuance of a correction notice or a stop work order; provided penalties may be issued in connection with execution of a voluntary correction agreement.

(B)

Notice of violation . The director, his designee, or the enforcement officer is not required to pursue voluntary correction and may issue a notice of violation or an emergency order when the following circumstances occur:

(i)

An emergency exists as defined in CMC Chapters 15.04, 15.08, 16.04 and 16.08;

(ii)

There are repeat violations of CMC Chapters 15.04, 15.08, 16.04 and 16.08, engineering and design standards, permits or other approvals, rules promulgated by the director, rules and manuals published by the Washington State Departments of Ecology and Health, correction notices, stop work orders, emergency orders, or notices of violation issued pursuant to this section;

(iii)

When the violation is determined to be an illegal connection to the sewer or water system;

(iv)

When the matter involves tampering, interference, or destruction to any component of the public water or sewer system as defined in CMC 15.04 or 16.04; or

(v)

When the director determines, at his discretion, that the activity requires issuance of a notice of violation.

(C)

Emergency order . The director may order responsible persons to take emergency corrective action and set a schedule for compliance and/or may require immediate compliance with an emergency order to correct the violation when the director determines that it is necessary to do so in order to obtain immediate compliance with or to correct a violation of any provision of CMC Chapters 15.04, 15.08, 16.04 or 16.08, engineering and design standards, permits or other approvals, rules promulgated by the director, rules or manuals published by the Washington State Departments of Ecology and Health, correction notices, stop work orders, emergency orders, or notices of violation issued pursuant to this section.

(2)

Procedural requirements .

(A)

Contents . The content of a correction notice, stop work order, notice of violation, or stop work order for purposes of administering this section shall include the following:

(i)

A description of the violation to include the matters in CMC 1.27.045(2);

(ii)

A description of the corrective action required to bring the property into compliance; and

(iii)

The date by which the corrective action shall be completed.

(B)

Delivery . The correction notice, stop work order, notice of violation, or stop work order shall be personally served on the responsible person(s), posted conspicuously on the premises, or mailed to responsible person(s) with delivery confirmation, as set forth in CMC 1.27.045(3).

(3)

Penalties . The director or hearing examiner, after considering all available information, shall assess a penalty for each violation. The amount of the penalty may be modified based on the mitigating factors set forth below:

(A)

Schedule of civil penalties . The director or hearing examiner shall determine penalties as follows:

(i)

Maximum penalty . A violation described in subsection (1)(B) of this section is subject to a civil penalty of up to $500.00 per day. Each day or portion thereof during which the violation exists is a separate civil violation and may be considered a repeat violation.

(ii)

Commencement date . The penalty shall commence on the date of the violation, unless otherwise provided for in a notice of violation.

(iii)

Mitigating factors . The penalty shall be assessed by the director or hearing examiner based on the severity of the violation, taking into account the following mitigating factors described below:

(a)

Was the violation willful or knowing?

(b)

Was the responsible party unresponsive in correcting the violation?

(c)

Does the violation provide economic benefit for noncompliance?

(d)

Will cleanup activities fully mitigate or remediate the impacts?

(e)

Is there a history of violations?

(B)

Repeat violations . For repeat violations that occur within two years of a previous violation, the director or hearing examiner may impose the following penalties, taking into account the mitigating factors described above.

(i)

The first repeat violation, a penalty up to $1,000.00 per day;

(ii)

The second repeat violation, a penalty up to $2,000.00 per day;

(iii)

For the third repeat violation, a penalty up to $3,000.00 per day;

(iv)

For each additional violation that occurs beyond the fourth repeat violation, the penalty may equal up to $3,000.00 per day.

(4)

Collection of monetary penalty and abatement costs . See CMC 1.27.045(6).

(Ord. No. W-28, § 3, 3-11-2014)