Santa Barbara County Municipal Code § 18-52 Injunctive relief and civil penalties

Editor's note— Ord. No. 5189, § 2, adopted September 19, 2023, repealed the former section 18-49 in its entirety, which pertained to contamination cleanup plan development and implementation, and derived from Ord. No. 3707, § 1.

Not later than June 1, 1987 the county health officer shall specify for each class I hazardous waste facility located in the county the locations and numbers of all groundwater monitoring devices necessary in his opinion to constitute a system capable of detecting any off-site migration of liquid hazardous waste whether by seepage, groundwater contamination or surface drainage. Concurrently the county health officer, after consultation with the director of the air pollution control district, shall specify the location, number and kind of all air monitoring devices necessary in his opinion to constitute a system capable of detecting any on-site or off-site air pollution which could constitute a health hazard. These determinations shall be communicated to operators of such hazardous waste facilities not later than June 5, 1987 and shall be implemented by such hazardous waste facilities by July 20, 1987 in accordance with the specifications of the county health officer.

In the event that the operator of a class I hazardous waste facility wishes to contend that the groundwater and/or air monitoring system specified by the county health officer is unreasonable or that it cannot be implemented by July 20, 1987 it shall file with the clerk of the board of supervisors not later than June 9, 1987 a notice of appeal. A public hearing shall in that event be held on June 22, 1987 at which the board of supervisors shall determine whether there is merit to any of the objections raised in the notice of appeal. If the board determines that any of the objections raised are meritorious it shall grant to the class I hazardous waste facility such relief as in its discretion is reasonable.

(Ord. No. 3638, § 2)

Any person who willfully operates a class I hazardous waste facility in violation of any provision of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(Ord. No. 3638, § 2)

Whenever there is reason to believe that there is a continuing practice by any person in violation of this article, the district attorney or county counsel may make application to the Superior Court for an order enjoining such practice, or for an order directing compliance, and upon a showing that such person has engaged in or is about to engage in any such practice, a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or other order may be granted.

Any person who willfully violates the provisions of this article shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars for each day that the violation continues to exist. Such civil penalty shall be assessed and recovered in a civil action commenced within one year from the date the failure to report is discovered.

(Ord. No. 3638, § 2)

"Class I hazardous waste facility" means a class I disposal site, as defined in section 2510 of title 23 of the California Administrative Code, and includes a facility operating pursuant to a grant of interim status by the State Department of Health Services pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 25200.5.

(Ord. No. 3638, § 2)

At any time following the time that air and groundwater monitoring has been put in place to the satisfaction of the county health officer that significant new information becomes available, or upon application by the operator of a class I hazardous waste facility, and after public notice and hearing, the county health officer may require such changes in the kind, number, and/or location of air or groundwater monitoring devices as in his judgment are reasonable and will more effectively carry out the purposes of this article.

(Ord. No. 3638, § 2)

The groundwater and air monitoring systems, including their associated sampling and testing programs and any necessary repair and maintenance, initially required by the county health officer, or required pursuant to section 18-54, shall be put in place at the expense of the owner or operator of the class I facility. Thereafter if the county health officer determines that any additional sampling and/or testing utilizing groundwater or air monitoring devices should be conducted in addition to that required by other regulatory agencies or otherwise regularly conducted by the site operator, such sampling and/or testing shall be conducted and the results promptly reported to the county health officer. The county health officer in his discretion shall specify whether such sampling and/or testing shall be conducted by the site operator, the county or any of its agents or employees, or by such independent laboratory or other personnel as the county health officer may designate to enter upon the site for such purpose. The operator of such a facility shall be entitled to a credit against the amount of the tax otherwise payable to the county under article VI of chapter 32 of this Code for the direct costs of such additional testing and/or sampling as it incurs which would not have been incurred in the absence of direction from the county health officer pursuant to this section. The site operator shall not be required to incur more than one hundred thousand dollars of such expense in any calendar quarter nor shall more than one hundred thousand dollars of tax credit be allowed in any quarterly reporting period unless the board of supervisors has approved the incurring of such expense and tax credit in advance. All tax credits available under the terms of this section shall be claimed only in the quarter following that in which they are actually incurred. Such claims shall be substantiated with detailed actual expense reports and shall be subject to audit by the county or its agents. Any such tax credits shall be applied only after receipt and approval of the claims by the county. In instances where the facility has paid money to a trust fund administered by the county the facility shall be entitled to a tax credit on the quarterly return immediately following such payment. Operators of hazardous waste facilities shall keep and preserve all records, necessary to establish the amount of the tax credit, for a period of three years from the date the tax credit was allowed and shall allow the county tax collector, county auditor and/or their designees, reasonable access to such records on demand.

(Ord. No. 3638, § 2; Ord. No. 3646, § 2; Ord. No. 3713, § 1)

It is declared to be the intention of the board of supervisors that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this article are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this article shall be declared unconstitutional or otherwise unlawful by the valid judgment or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction such unconstitutionality or unlawfulness shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this article.

(Ord. No. 3638, § 2)