- Home
- Government
- Departments
- Public Works
- Wastewater
- Enforcement Response Guide (Wastewater)
Industrial Wastewater Permit Violations
City of Eugene Enforcement Response Guide
Excerpted from Industrial Pretreatment Program Administrative Rule 6.501 Appendix A
| Effluent Limitations or General Discharge Prohibitions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| (See notes 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 12 at bottom) | |||
| Nature of Violation | Response | Penalty | Personnel |
| First month with violation(s) in a 12-month period | Notice of noncompliance | None | Director |
| Second month with violation(s) in a 12-month period | Notice of violation | $100 per pollutant per day | Director |
| Third month with violation(s) in a 12-month period | Notice of violation | $200 per pollutant per day | Director |
| Fourth month with violation(s) in a 12-month period | Notice of violation | $300 per pollutant per day | Director |
| Fifth month with violation(s) in a 12-month period | Notice of violation Administrative Compliance Order | $500 per pollutant per day | Director |
| Sixth to twelfth month with violation(s) in a 12-month period | Notice of violation (Administrative Compliance Order remains in effect) | $500 per pollutant per day | Director |
| Any series of violations of effluent limitations which meet the definition of Significant Noncompliance | Administrative Compliance Order | See Note 5 | Director |
| Any exceedance of effluent limitations which causes danger, interference, pass-through or sludge contamination | Administrative Compliance Order or civil litigation or terminate service | $2500 per pollutant per day | Director |
| Failure to Report Noncompliance | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of Violation | Response | Penalty | Personnel |
| Failure to immediately report any slug load, or a spill or discharge that could cause interference or pass-through (no harm) | Notice of Violation (See Note 13) | $200 | Director |
| Failure to immediately report spill, slug load, or discharge causing interference or pass-through, or other harm | Administrative Compliance Order (See Note 13) | $2500 | Director |
| Failure to provide a written report within 5 days of a spill, slug load, or discharge that could cause interference or pass through | Notice of violation | $300 | Director |
| Failure to report a violation of a permit effluent limitation within 24 hours | Notice of noncompliance | None | Director |
| Failure to report a violation of a permit effluent limitation within 3 days | Notice of violation | $200 | Director |
| Failure to provide a certified laboratory report and written report within 5 days of a permit effluent limitation violation | Notice of violation | $200 | Director |
| Failure to provide a written report of an effluent limitation violation as required by a Notice of Violation | Notice of violation | $300 | Director |
| Any noncompliance report late by more than 30 days (SNC) | Administrative Compliance Order | $500 | Director |
| Failure to Submit Other Required Reports | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of Violation | Response | Penalty | Personnel |
| Failure to notify the City of a substantial change in volume or character of pollutants in discharge | Notice of Violation | $200 | Director |
| Failure to notify the City of a batch discharge | Notice of Violation | $500 | Director |
| Failure to report a slug discharge within 24 hours | Notice of violation | $200 | Director |
| Failure to notify the City of the disposal of over 500 gallons of wastewater to any other person in a period of 12 consecutive months | Notice of Violation | $200 | Director |
| Failure to obtain prior written permission for discharge of any hazardous waste, subject to exemptions in City Code | Notice of Violation | $1000 | Director |
| Failure to report the discharge of any hazardous waste within 180 days, subject to exemptions in City Code | Notice of Violation | $200 | Director |
| Two or more failures to submit required reports or notifications in a 12-month period | Administrative Compliance Order (See Note 2) | $500 | Director |
| Failure to report all monitoring data | Notice of Violation | $200 | Director |
| General Reporting Requirements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of Violation | Response | Penalty | Personnel |
| Any report (other than a noncompliance report) late by more than 5 days but less than 15 days | Telephone Call | None | Director |
| Any report (other than a noncompliance report) late by 15 to 30 days | Notice of Noncompliance | None | Director |
| Any report (other than a noncompliance report) late by more than 30 days (SNC) | Administrative Compliance Order | $200 | Director |
| Any incomplete or inaccurate report, or any report improperly signed or certified | Telephone Call | None | Director |
| Any incomplete or inaccurate report, or any report improperly signed or certified after telephone notice by City | Notice of Violation | $100 | Director |
| Pollution Management Practices | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of Violation | Response | Penalty | Personnel |
| Failure to implement required pollution management practices (first notice) | Notice of Noncompliance | None | Director |
| Failure to implement required pollution management practices (additional notices) | Notice of Violation | $200 per month | Director |
| Record Keeping | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of Violation | Response | Penalty | Personnel |
| Failure to maintain required records for three years | Notice of Violation | $200 | Director |
| Monitoring | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of Violation | Response | Penalty | Personnel |
| Failure to conduct self-monitoring as required in permit | Notice of Violation | $200 per event and conduct monitoring | Director |
| Improper sampling or analytical procedures used, no intent | Notice of Noncompliance | None | Director |
| Improper sampling or analytical procedures used, intent | Administrative Compliance Order (See Note 10 ) | $2500 | Director |
| Failure to install required monitoring equipment or facilities, delay less than 30 days | Notice of Noncompliance | None | Director |
| Failure to install required monitoring equipment or facilities, delay more than 30 days | Notice of Violation | $200 | Director |
| Failure to install required monitoring equipment or facilities, delay more than 90 days | Administrative Compliance Order | $500 | Director |
| Falsification | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of Violation | Response | Penalty | Personnel |
| Making any false statement, representation, or certification in any application, record, report, plan or other document; or falsifying, tampering with or rendering inaccurate any monitoring device | Notice of Violation (See Note 10 ) | $2500 | Director |
| Unpermitted Discharge | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of Violation | Response | Penalty | Personnel |
| Industrial User unaware of requirement; no harm | Telephone call. Permit application sent | None | Director |
| Industrial User unaware of requirement; results in harm | Administrative Compliance Order | $500 | Director |
| Failure to apply for permit within 30 days after notice from City | Notice of Violation | $200 | Director |
| Failure to apply for permit within 30 days after Notice of Violation | Terminate service | None | Director |
| Industrial User aware of requirement; no harm | Notice of Violation | $300 | Director |
| Industrial User aware of requirement, results in harm | Administrative Compliance Order | $2500 | Director |
| Permit Reissuance | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of Violation | Response | Penalty | Personnel |
| Application for permit reissuance late by more than 15 days (due 90 days prior to expiration date) | Notice of Violation | $100 | Director |
| Dilution | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of Violation | Response | Penalty | Personnel |
| Waste stream diluted in lieu of treatment; initial violation | Notice of Violation | $300 | Director |
| Waste stream diluted in lieu of treatment; recurring | Administrative Compliance Order | $2500 | Director |
| Entry Denial | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of Violation | Response | Penalty | Personnel |
| Entry to premises or access to sampling location denied | Notice of Violation | $2500 | Director |
| Compliance Schedules | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of Violation | Response | Penalty | Personnel |
| Compliance date missed by less than 30 days | Notice of Noncompliance | None | Director |
| Compliance date missed by more than 30 days | Notice of Violation | $200 | Director |
| Compliance date missed by more than 90 days (SNC) | Administrative Compliance Order | $500 | Director |
| Failure to meet a compliance date listed in an Administrative Compliance Order | Administrative Compliance Order in effect | $500 per day | Director |
| Mobile Waste Hauler | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of Violation | Response | Penalty | Personnel |
| Discharge of wastes at unpermitted discharge point (first violation) | Notice of Violation | $1000 | Director |
| Discharge of wastes at unpermitted discharge point (second violation) | Notice of Violation Permit revoked; unauthorized to discharge at WPCF; letter of notification to hauler; copy of letter to DEQ | $5000 | Director |
| Discharge of wastes at unpermitted time (first violation in 12 months) | Notice of Noncompliance | None | Director |
| Discharge of wastes at unpermitted time (second and subsequent violations in 12 months) | Notice of Violation | $500 | Director |
| Failure to submit or properly complete manifest at time of disposals | Notice of Noncompliance | None | Director |
| Failure to submit or properly complete manifest within 10 days of Notice of Noncompliance | Notice of Violation | $50 per manifest | Director |
| Failure to submit or properly complete manifest at time of disposal two or more times in any calendar month | Notice of Violation | $50 per manifest | Director |
| Discharge of other than domestic or septage wastes without prior approval | Notice of Violation | $500 | Director |
| Failure to supply copies of required documents to City by due date | Notice of Violation | $200 | Director |
| Failure to clean up spilled material at disposal site | Notice of Violation | Twice cost to city of labor and materials to clean up site | Director |
| Mobile Waste Hauler discharging without a permit | Notice of Violation | $1000 | Director |
| Failure to pay waste disposal charges within 30 days of mailing date | Letter regarding delinquent account with copy of billing | None | Finance, (Accounts Receivable) |
| Failure to pay waste disposal charges within 30 days of mailing date | City may restrict disposal hours and/or limit volume of wastes discharged | None | Director |
| Failure to pay waste disposal charges within 60 days of mailing date | Certified letter, demanding payment within 10 days; cash, money order, cashiers check only | None | Finance, (Accounts Receivable) |
| Failure to pay waste disposal charges within 10 days of mailing date of above certified demand letter | Permit revoked, unauthorized to discharge at WPCF; letter of notification to hauler; copy of letter to DEQ | Unauthorized to discharge at WPCF (See Note 11 ) | Director |
| Other Violations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of Violation | Response | Penalty | Personnel |
| Failure to comply with any other condition or requirement of a Wastewater Discharge Permit or Mobile Waste Hauler Permit not included above (no intent) | Notice of Noncompliance | None | Director |
| Failure to comply with any other condition or requirement of a Wastewater Discharge Permit or Mobile Waste Hauler Permit not included above (intent) | Notice of Violation | $200 | Director |
Notes
- Definitions for other definitions see Eugene City Code 6.506):
- Director: City of Eugene Wastewater Division Director
- SNC: Significant Noncompliance (Eugene City Code 6.576)
- WPCF: Eugene/Springfield Water Pollution Control Facility
- DEQ: Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
- POTW: Publicly Owned Treatment Works
- Where used in this guide, a twelve-month period means a moving twelve-month window, including the month for the current violation and the preceding eleven months. The enforcement response for violations of effluent limitations varies according to the past compliance history of the industrial user. The number of months containing violations in the twelve-month window is determined, and the enforcement response and penalty assessed accordingly.
- For violations of effluent limitations of greater than three times the limitation, the penalties indicated above will be subject to a multiplier determined as follows:
Multiplier = (analytical result divided by permit limitation), rounded to the next lower whole number. Analytical results between 4 and 9 times the limitation will be subject to a multiplier of two. Analytical results 10 times the limitation or greater will be subject to a multiplier of 3. For example, for a discharge with an effluent limitation of 0.5 mg/L, and an analytical result of 5.1 mg/L, the multiplier is 3. [(5.1 divided by 0.5) = 10.2, which rounded to next lower whole number is 10.] - For violations of effluent limitations where the analytical result is less than or equal to 1.2 times the permitted effluent limitation, or is less than 0.2 pH units above or below a permitted effluent pH range, the City will not assess an administrative penalty for that violation. The violation will, however, be recorded and treated as a permit violation for all other purposes, including the calculation of Significant Noncompliance.
- For any series of violations of effluent limitations which meet the definition of Significant Noncompliance, the enforcement response will be the issuance of an Administrative Compliance Order. The penalty assessed will be as listed above, according to the number of months with violations, or as specified in the Order.
- Penalties listed for effluent violations are per pollutant per day, and apply to results obtained from City or industrial user monitoring. The City may conduct monitoring as often as necessary to determine compliance. For the purposes of assessing an administrative civil penalty for a violation of effluent limitations, general discharge prohibitions, or specific restricted substance limitations, the term "day" shall have one of the following meanings:
- If the violation is determined from data obtained from a grab sample, or a series of grab samples, day means calendar day.
- If the violation is determined from data obtained from an automatic pH recording instrument, day means calendar day.
- If the violation is determined from data obtained from a composite sample collected by an automatic sampling device, day means the 24-hour period beginning at the time sampling is initiated.
- A violation of a monthly average, weekly average, or 4-day average effluent limitation will be considered as one violation for the purpose of calculating the administrative penalty, or other enforcement response.
- Penalties listed above (except penalties for Mobile Waste Haulers) will be subject to a flow-based multiplier according to the following:
For any discharger with a total daily wastewater flow greater than 100,000 gallons per day, the administrative penalty listed in the enforcement response guide will be multiplied by (Q x 10), where Q is the daily wastewater flow in million gallons per day (MGD) for the industrial user responsible for the violation. For violations which relate to a separate waste stream (such as an effluent limitation specific to one of several waste streams), the flow of this waste stream is used in the calculation. For general violations which relate to the facility as a whole (such as entry denial), the wastewater flow from the whole facility is used in the calculation. For example, an industry with a wastewater flow of 550,000 gallons per day, and responsible for a violation for which the administrative penalty from the enforcement response guide is $500, will receive an adjusted administrative penalty of $500 x 0.55 x 10 = $2750.
The value of Q will be calculated as follows:- For violations of a daily effluent limitation, Q = wastewater flow for the day of the violation.
- For violations of a weekly effluent limitation, Q = daily average wastewater flow for the week of the violation.
- For violations of a monthly effluent limitation, Q = daily average wastewater flow for the month of the violation.
- For other violations, Q = daily average wastewater flow for the month of the violation.
- If the wastewater flows above are not available, the best available data will be used by the City to estimate the flow.
- Other enforcement orders available besides those listed in the guide above include:
- Stipulated Enforcement Order;
- Cease and Desist Order;
- and Termination and Revocation Order.
- These orders can be issued separately or in conjunction with any other order in the guide.
- In addition to the enforcement response listed above, the matter will be referred for criminal prosecution where deemed appropriate by the Wastewater Division Director. Conviction will result in a fine of not less than $1,000 or more than $2,500, or 30 days in jail, or both, for each day in which such violation occurs.
- A Mobile Waste Hauler Permit may be reinstated when account is made current; only cash, money order, or cashiers check will be accepted for six month period following permit revocation. A $50.00 reconnection fee will be charged.
- For industries with more than one regulated waste stream, the escalated response to effluent violations is applied separately. For example, if an industry has three consecutive months of violations at one waste stream and then the following month a violation occurs at a separate waste stream, this would count as the industry’s first violation for that waste stream assuming there were no other violations at this location during the past 12 months.
- For slug discharges, notification to the POTW shall occur within 60 minutes of the industrial user becoming aware of it.