Cobb County |
Code of Ordinances |
Part I. OFFICIAL CODE OF COBB COUNTY, GEORGIA |
Chapter 122. UTILITIES |
Article II. WATER AND WASTEWATER SYSTEMS |
Division 2. ENFORCEMENT |
§ 122-41. Violations.
(a)
General. Except as otherwise provided herein, the failure of any person to comply with any provision contained in this article, any provision of a permit or order issued pursuant to this article, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement shall be a violation of this Code as same is defined in section 1-10 and subject to the penalties provided therein. Enforcement may be carried out by any means authorized by this article or any provision of this Code.
(b)
Discharge violations. Any violation of the wastewater discharge prohibitions set forth in section 122-181 or violations of the conditions contained in a discharge permit issued by the county pursuant to section 122-184 shall be enforced as follows:
(1)
Discharge violations, defined. Discharge violations shall be defined as follows:
a.
Any discharge by any user of a concentration greater than the allowable limit as set forth in this article, or a county-issued wastewater discharge permit.
b.
Any discharge that exceeds the pH limit.
c.
Any other discharge violation that the water system believes has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass through, including endangering the health of POTW personnel or the general public.
d.
Failure to meet, within 90 days of the scheduled date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in a wastewater discharge permit or enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction or attaining final compliance.
e.
Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to the public or to the environment or has resulted in the department director's exercise of his emergency authority to halt or prevent such a discharge.
f.
Failure to provide within 30 days of the due date any required reports, including baseline monitoring reports, reports on compliance with categorical pretreatment standard deadlines, periodic self-monitoring reports and reports on compliance with compliance schedules.
g.
Failure to accurately report noncompliance.
h.
Any other violations which the water system determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.
i.
Any significant violation as defined by 40 CFR 403.8(f)(2)(vii) shall also be considered a violation.
(2)
Discharge violations, enforced.
a.
The county shall provide written notice to the party in violation stating the nature of violation and any other pertinent information regarding the violation or the need for corrective action.
b.
Discharge violations shall be enforced in accordance with this Code and as provided in subsection (a) hereof.
(c)
Other violations.
(1)
It shall be a violation of this Code for any user to willfully or negligently introduce any substance into the POTW which causes personal injury or property damage.
(2)
It shall be a violation of this Code for any user to knowingly make any false statements, representations or certifications in any application, record, report, plan or other documentation filed, or required to be maintained, pursuant to this article, wastewater discharge permit or order issued pursuant to this article or to falsify, tamper with or knowingly render inaccurate any monitoring device or method required under this article.
(d)
Significant noncompliance (SNC).
(1)
For the purposes of this provision, a user is in significant noncompliance if its violation meets one or more of the following criteria:
a.
Chronic violations of wastewater permit discharge limits, defined here as those in which 66 percent or more of all of the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous limits, as defined by 40 CFR 403.3(l);
b.
Technical review criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which 33 percent or more of all of the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter during a six-month period equal or exceed the product of the numeric pretreatment standard or requirement including instantaneous limits, as defined by 40 CFR 403.3(l) multiplied by the applicable TRC (TRC = 1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oil, and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);
c.
Any other violation of a pretreatment standard or requirement as defined by 40 CFR 403.3(l) (daily maximum, long-term average, instantaneous limit, or narrative standard) that the POTW 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);
d.
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 paragraph 403.8(f)(1)(vi)(B) [sic] of this section to halt or prevent such a discharge;
e.
Failure to meet, within 90 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;
f.
Failure to provide, within 45 days after the due date, required reports such as baseline monitoring reports, 90-day compliance reports, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;
g.
Failure to accurately report noncompliance;
h.
Any other violation or group of violations, which may include a violation of best management practices, which the POTW determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.
(2)
Annually, the water system shall publish in a newspaper(s) of general circulation that provides meaningful public notice, a list of users which, at any time during the previous 12 months, were in SNC with applicable pretreatment requirements. The notice shall also summarize any enforcement action(s) taken against the user and the user's response to such action.
(Ord. of 6-28-88, § 3-26-171; Ord. of 2-27-07; Amd. of 2-26-13; Amd. of 10-23-18)