Kings County Municipal Code Art. IV Enforcement and Penalties

(a) County representatives and/or designees, are authorized, in accordance with applicable laws, to conduct reasonable inspections and investigations, at random or otherwise, of any collection container, collection vehicle loads, or transfer, processing, or disposal facility for materials collected from generators, or source separated materials to confirm compliance with this chapter by generators, commercial businesses (including multi-family residential dwellings), property owners, collectors, licensed haulers, self-haulers subject to applicable laws. This section does not authorize county or any designee to enter the interior of a private residential property for inspection without authorized consent or a lawful warrant.

(b) All entities subject to this chapter shall provide or arrange for access to all areas subject to inspection during the inspection (with the exception of residential property interiors) and shall cooperate with the county's representative or designee during such inspections and investigations. Such inspections and investigations may include confirmation of proper placement of materials in containers, records, or any other requirement of this chapter described herein. Failure to provide or arrange for access to an entity's premises and/or access to records for any inspection or investigation is a violation of this chapter and may result in enforcement as authorized in this chapter.

(c) Any records obtained by the county during its inspection and other reviews shall be subject to the requirements and applicable disclosure exemptions of the Public Records Act as set forth in Government Code section 6250 et seq.

(d) County representatives and/or designee are authorized, in accordance with applicable laws, to conduct any inspections or other investigations, randomly or as a result of a complaint of non-compliance, as reasonably necessary to ensure compliance with this chapter. The county may, in its discretion, authorize licensed haulers to perform certain inspection and/or investigation activities under this section pursuant to the terms of the agreement with the licensed hauler and as authorized by law.

(e) Persons who know or reasonably suspect that an entity or person is not in compliance with this chapter and SB 1383 regulations may file a written complaint with the county. The director of public works shall develop procedures for receipt of such written complaints, including those that are made anonymously.

(Ord. No. 705, § 2, 10-4-22)

(a) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, the director of the public health department shall be responsible for the enforcement of this chapter and the rules and regulations adopted by the board.

(b) The director of the public health department shall have authority to enter, at any reasonable hour, upon the premises of any person regulated by articles III and IV of this chapter to determine compliance with this chapter and the rules and regulations adopted by the board.

(c) Education period for non-compliance. Upon the effectiveness of this chapter and through December 31, 2023, county or its designee will conduct inspections, route reviews or waste evaluations, and compliance reviews, depending upon the type of regulated entity, to determine compliance with this chapter, consistent with section 13-53. If the county determines that any organic waste generator, hauler, or other entity is not in compliance, county, or designee, shall provide educational materials to the entity describing its obligations under this chapter and a notice that compliance is required and that violations may be subject to civil penalties starting on January 1, 2024.

(d) Violation of any provision of this chapter is grounds for issuance of a notice of violation. Persons issued a notice of violation shall correct any noncompliance with this chapter within 60 days of the notice's issuance. Nothing in this chapter precludes the county from using any other available method, including, without limitation, issuance of administrative citations in accordance with chapter 1A of this Code, for violations of this chapter.

Consistent with chapter 1A of this Code, the penalty levels are as follows:

(1) For a first violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be $100.00 per violation.

(2) For a second violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be $200.00 per violation.

(3) For a third violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be $500.00 per violation.

(e) Civil penalties for non-compliance. Beginning January 1, 2024, if the county determines that a generator of solid waste, hauler, or other entity is not in compliance with this chapter, the noncompliance will be documented, and appropriate enforcement action may be taken.

(f) Compliance deadline extension considerations. County may extend any compliance deadline set forth in a notice of violation issued in accordance with this section if satisfied there are extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the respondent that make compliance within the deadlines impracticable, including, without limitation, the following:

(1) Acts of God, such as earthquakes, wildfires, flooding, and other emergencies or natural disasters;

(2) Delays in obtaining discretionary permits or other government agency approvals; or

(3) Deficiencies in organic waste recycling infrastructure capacity and the county is under a corrective action plan with CalRecycle pursuant to 14 CCR section 18996.2 due to those deficiencies.

(g) Use of available enforcement methods. The county may use any available method authorized in this Code, state law, or federal law to enforce the provisions of this chapter.

(h) The remedies available to the county for the handling of violations or enforcement of the provisions of this chapter shall be cumulative and not exclusive of any other applicable provisions of county, state, or federal law.

(Ord. No. 705, § 2, 10-4-22)

In addition to the administrative citations under section 13-54, the county may charge violations of this chapter as follows:

(1) Misdemeanors. Any person violating any of the provisions of the source separation requirements under sections 13-12 and 13-13 of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punishable as provided in section 1-8 of this Code.

(2) Infractions. Any person violating any of the provisions of sections 13-11 and 13-35 of this chapter shall be guilty of an infraction and shall be punishable as provided in section 1-8.1 of this Code.

(3) Citation. In addition to or in lieu of other enforcement powers set forth in this chapter, the public works director and the director of the public health department shall have the authority to issue citations for violations of this chapter which are made a misdemeanor or an infraction.

(Ord. No. 705, § 2, 10-4-22)

If any article, section, sentence, clause, or phrase of this chapter is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this chapter. The board hereby declares that it would have adopted this chapter and adopted each article, section, sentence, clause, or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more articles, sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional.

(Ord. No. 705, § 2, 10-4-22)