Windsor Municipal Code Art. 8 Legal

Except where the act constituting a violation of this chapter constitutes a violation of any State or Federal law which is designed to achieve the same purposes as this chapter, or where a penalty under this chapter is otherwise prohibited by law, violations of this chapter shall be punishable as follows:

a. Any owner, operator or handler or handler of a hazardous materials facility subject to this chapter shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less than five hundred ($500.00) dollars or more than five thousand ($5,000.00) dollars per day for any of the following:

1. Operation without an appropriate permit.

2. Failure to monitor the hazardous materials facility as required by the permit.

3. Failure to maintain records as required by Section 13-1-550.

4. Failure to report an actual or threatened release as required by Section 13-1-605.

5. Failure to properly close a hazardous materials facility as required by Section 13-1-335.

b. Any owner of a hazardous materials facility shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less than five hundred ($500.00) dollars or more than five thousand ($5,000.00) dollars per day for any of the following:

1. Failure to obtain a permit as specified by this chapter.

2. Failure to repair a hazardous materials facility in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

3. Abandonment or improper closure of any hazardous materials facility subject to the provisions of this chapter.

4. Knowing failure to take reasonable and necessary steps to assure compliance with this chapter by the owner, operator or handler or handler of a hazardous materials facility.

c. Any person who falsifies any monitoring records required by this chapter, or knowingly fails to report an actual or threatened release shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than five thousand ($5,000.00) dollars or more than ten thousand ($10,000.00) dollars or by imprisonment in the County Jail for a period not to exceed one (1) year or by both that fine and imprisonment.

d. Any person or business who violates Section 13-1-605 or Section 25507 of the Health and Safety Code shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than twenty-five thousand ($25,000.00) dollars for each day of violation, or by imprisonment in the County Jail for not more than one (1) year or by both the fine and imprisonment. If the conviction is for a violation committed after a first conviction under this section, the person or business shall be punished by a fine of not less than two thousand ($2,000.00) dollars or more than fifty thousand ($50,000.00) dollars per day of violation, or by imprisonment in the State Prison for sixteen (16), twenty (20) or twenty-four (24) months or in the County Jail for not more than one (1) year or by both the fine and imprisonment. Furthermore, if the violation results in or significantly contributes to an emergency, including a fire to which a public agency is required to respond, the person or business shall also be assessed the full cost of the emergency response as well as the cost of cleaning up and disposing of the hazardous materials and any costs associated with collecting monies owed under this section.

e. In determining both the civil and criminal penalties imposed pursuant to this section, the Court shall consider all relevant circumstances including, but not limited to, the extent of harm or potential harm caused by the violation, the nature of the violation and the period of time over which it occurred, and the frequency of past violations and the corrective action, if any, taken by the person who holds the permit.

f. Except where prohibited by law, penalties under this section are in addition to, and do not supersede or limit, any and all other legal remedies and penalties.

g. Persons providing information with respect to certain hazardous material law violations may be eligible for a reward under Sections 25517 of the Health and Safety Code.

h. Other penalties or remedies may apply under State law. This article is not in tended to be all-encompassing.

The Administrative Authority may request the assistance of the CAL EPA Toxics Substances Control Department and/or Regional Water Quality Control Boards to remedy the effects of and remove any hazardous material which has been released from a hazardous materials storage facility.

The standards set forth in this chapter are minimal standards, and compliance with minimum standards does not guarantee that there will be no actual or threatened release of hazardous material. All persons regulated by this chapter are responsible for independently ensuring an adequate level of protection of the public health and safety of the environment.

The Town Council may adopt, by resolution, regulations implementing and enforcing this chapter.

It is the intent of this chapter to regulate the storage, handling, use and management of hazardous material or substances unless specifically preempted by State or Federal law. This chapter is not intended, and shall not be construed to apply to any substance or activity which is preempted by Federal or State law or to the extent that such application would unduly interfere with the achievement of Federal or State regulatory activities. It is the intention of the Town Council that this chapter shall be interpreted to be compatible with Federal and State enactments and in furtherance of the public purposes which those enactments express.

Those provisions of this chapter which are mandated by State law may be subject to change without notice or action by the County. This chapter will be periodically updated to reflect such changes.