Yuba City Municipal Code Art. 7 Judicial Enforcement Remedies

When the Public Works Director finds that a user has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this chapter, a wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, the Public Works Director may petition the Superior Court of California, County of Sutter through the City Attorney for the issuance of a temporary or permanent injunction, as appropriate, which restrains or compels the specific performance of the wastewater discharge permit, order, or other requirement imposed by this chapter on activities of the user. The Public Works Director may also seek such other action as is appropriate for legal and/or equitable relief, including a requirement for the user to conduct environmental remediation. A petition for injunctive relief shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against a user.

(Ord. No. 007-16, § 2, 6-21-2016; Ord. No. 001-22, § 3, 1-18-2022)

(a) A user who has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this chapter, a wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement shall be liable to the City for a maximum civil penalty of $25,000 per violation, per day. In the case of a monthly or other long-term average discharge limit, penalties shall accrue for each day during the period of the violation.

(b) The Public Works Director may recover reasonable attorneys' fees, court costs, and other expenses associated with enforcement activities, including sampling and monitoring expenses, and the cost of any actual damages incurred by the City.

(c) In determining the amount of civil liability, the Court shall take into account all relevant circumstances, including, but not limited to, the extent of harm caused by the violation, the magnitude and duration of the violation, any economic benefit gained through the user's violation, corrective actions by the user, the compliance history of the user, and any other factor as justice requires.

(d) Filing a suit for civil penalties shall not be a bar against, nor a prerequisite for, taking any other action against a user.

(Ord. No. 007-16, § 2, 6-21-2016; Ord. No. 001-22, § 3, 1-18-2022)

(a) Any user who negligently violates any provision of Water Code §§ 13387(a)1—6, upon conviction, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than $25,000 per violation, per day, or imprisonment in the County jail for not more than one year, or both.

(b) A user who willfully or knowingly introduces any substance into the POTW which causes personal injury or property damage shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and be subject to a fine of not less than $5,000 nor more than $50,000, or be subject to imprisonment, in state prison, for not more than three years, or both. This penalty shall be in addition to any other cause of action for personal injury or property damage available under state law.

(c) A user who knowingly makes any false statements, representations, or certifications in any application, record, report, plan, or other documentation filed, or required to be maintained, pursuant to this chapter, wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or who falsifies, tampers with, or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required under this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punished by a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 per violation, per day.

(d) In the event of a second conviction, a user shall be punished by a fine of not more than $100,000 per violation, per day, or imprisonment for not more than six years, or both.

(Ord. No. 007-16, § 2, 6-21-2016; Ord. No. 001-22, § 3, 1-18-2022)

The remedies provided for in this chapter are not exclusive. The Public Works Director may take any, all, or any combination of these actions against a noncompliant user. Enforcement of pretreatment violations will generally be in accordance with the City's enforcement response plan, which is located in Article 10 of this chapter; however, the Public Works Director may take other action against any user when the circumstances warrant. Further, the Public Works Director is empowered to take more than one enforcement action against any noncompliant user.

(Ord. No. 007-16, § 2, 6-21-2016; Ord. No. 001-22, § 3, 1-18-2022)

Any unauthorized entering, breaking, damaging, destroying, uncovering, defacing, or tampering with any structure, equipment, or appurtenances which are a part of the City's sewerage system shall be a violation of this chapter. Damages to the City's facilities as a result of such unauthorized entering, breaking, damaging, destroying, uncovering, defacing, or tampering shall be paid by the responsible party or parties. The responsible party shall also be responsible to pay any type of fines resulting from damages to the POTW.

(Ord. No. 007-16, § 2, 6-21-2016; Ord. No. 001-22, § 3, 1-18-2022)

(a) Municipal water system connection. Where the premises are connected to the municipal water system, the sewer service charges shall be billed to the person who requested such connection to the water system, or their successor in interest, or to any person requesting that such bill be charged to them.

(b) Non-municipal water system connection. Where the premises are not connected to the municipal water system, the sewer service charges shall be billed to the person who requested such connection to the sewerage system, or their successor in interest, or, if no such request was made, to the owner of record of such premises on the date on which such premises were required by the City to be connected to the sewerage system, or to the successor in interest of such person, or to any person requesting that such bill be charged to him or her.

(c) Enforcement of payment. In each case where a bill for sewer services becomes delinquent, the City Manager or Finance Director shall order the premises shut off from the municipal water system. In the event of continued or repeated delinquencies, the City Manager or Finance Director may order the premises disconnected from the municipal water system and/or the sewerage system. When any premises have been shut off or disconnected from either the municipal water system or the sewerage system for the nonpayment of sewer service charges, such water or sewer service shall not be restored and such premises shall not be reconnected until all the delinquencies have been paid to the Finance Department, together with such reasonable charges for reconnecting as may be established.

(d) Owner responsible. Notwithstanding any provisions of this chapter, the property owner shall be additionally responsible for payment of all unpaid water/sewer bills and other fees owed to the City. Any agreement between landlords and tenants to the contrary will not relieve the landlord or record owner of the property of the responsibility for payment of the water and/or sewer service charges to the City.

(e) Collection of delinquent sewer charges. All rates, charges, penalties and interest which remain delinquent as of June 30 of each year may be collected in the same manner as the general taxes for the City for the forthcoming fiscal year, as follows:

(1) The City's Finance Department shall prepare a written report, which shall be filed with the City Clerk. The report shall describe each parcel of real property for which there are any delinquencies in any rates or charges for services rendered to each parcel during the preceding year, and the amount of the delinquency. The report of delinquent sewer charges may be combined with the report of any other delinquent charges, as long as the report identifies the delinquent charges for each service for each parcel.

(2) The City Clerk shall publish notice of the report's filing and of the time and place of hearing on the report, prior to the date set for the hearing. The notice shall be published once a week for two successive weeks prior to the hearing. The Finance Department shall also mail written notice of the report's filing to each property owner whose property or parcel is identified as being subject to delinquent charges, setting forth individually each property and each of the services and charges due for that property.

(3) At the time stated in the notice for the prehearing, the Finance Director and/or designee shall hear and consider all objections or protests, if any, to the report concerning the delinquencies in a "prehearing." Thereafter, the Finance Director may revise, change, reduce, or modify any delinquency, or overrule any or all objections thereto. The Finance Director shall then make his or her determination on each delinquency identified in the report, and present the list to the City Council for final determination at the public hearing stated in the notice.

(4) At the time stated in the notice, following the prehearing and prior to submission to the County of Sutter, the City Council shall hear and consider all objections or protests, if any, to the report concerning the delinquencies. Thereafter the City Council may adopt, revise, change, reduce, or modify any delinquency or overrule any or all objections thereto. The City Council shall then make its determination on each delinquency identified in the report; the City Council's determination shall be final.

(5) Following the hearing, on or before August 10 of each year, the City Clerk shall file with the City's Finance Director a copy of the signed report to submit to the County. The Finance Director will submit a request to the Sutter County to include the amount of delinquencies on the bills for taxes levied against the properties identified in the report.

(Ord. No. 007-16, § 2, 6-21-2016; Ord. No. 001-22, § 3, 1-18-2022)

In addition to the foregoing, violations of this chapter shall be infractions as provided in Chapter 2 of Title 1 of this Code.

(Ord. No. 007-16, § 2, 6-21-2016; Ord. No. 001-22, § 3, 1-18-2022)

(a) Procedure. Except for any decision, action, or determination made by the City Council, any permit applicant, permit holder, or other discharger affected by any decision, action, or determination, including cease and desist orders, made by the City in interpreting or implementing the provisions of this chapter, or any permit issued hereunder, may file with the City Manager a written request for reconsideration within ten days after such decision, action, or determination, setting forth in detail the facts supporting the request. The City Manager may elect to hold a hearing on the request. The request for reconsideration shall be acted upon by the City Manager within ten days after the date of filing or the close of the reconsideration hearing. The decision, action, or determination shall remain in effect during such period of review by the City Manager.

(b) Action by the City Manager. If the ruling made by the City Manager is unsatisfactory to the person requesting reconsideration, he may, within ten days after notice of the action by the City Manager, file a written appeal to the Council.

(Ord. No. 007-16, § 2, 6-21-2016; Ord. No. 001-22, § 3, 1-18-2022)

Any person who is dissatisfied with the action of the City Manager may appeal to the Council in accordance with Chapter 4 of Title 1 of this Code. In the event of such an appeal, the City Manager shall transmit to the Council a report setting forth the reasons for the action taken.

(Ord. No. 007-16, § 2, 6-21-2016; Ord. No. 001-22, § 3, 1-18-2022)