§ 32.12. Enforcement Response.

1.

General.

(a)

Any person, property owner or user found to be in violation of any provision of this Chapter, any approved written policies and procedures, any orders, rules, regulations, or the Agreement for the Delivery and Use of Reclaimed Water issued hereunder, shall be delivered a written notice by the Director of Public Works, or designee, that states the nature of the violation and a deadline for satisfactory correction of the violation. Any such written notice shall be delivered to the address on the application submitted previously to the City under Section 32.10, and that address shall be presumed to be valid for purposes set out in this Section 32.12.

(b)

The remedies provided in this Chapter shall not be exclusive, and the City may seek whatever other remedies of any type are authorized by Florida Statutes, federal law or City Code, against any person, property owner or user in violation.

(c)

Notwithstanding any other penalty or enforcement response as set forth in this Chapter, any person, property owner or user who violates any provision of this Chapter, also, shall be subject to the provisions of Section 1.08 of the City Code.

2.

Discontinuation or Termination of Service.

(a)

The Director of Public Works shall have the authority to discontinue or terminate reclaimed water service.

(b)

Failure to comply with the provisions of the Cross Connection Program of this Chapter shall be deemed noncompliance. As such, reclaimed water service to the premises or parcel shall be subject to disconnection until such conditions or system defects have been corrected by the user in accordance with the requirements set forth in this Chapter, and approved by the Director of Public Works. The user shall pay all applicable service charges and penalties prior to restoration of reclaimed water service.

(c)

The user or property owner shall receive written notification of any violation of the provisions set forth in this Chapter. If the violation does not create an emergency situation, the user or property owner shall be given fifteen (15) days to correct the stated deficiencies. If the problems are not corrected within the allotted time period, or the user or property owner fails to respond to the Notice of Violation or compliance order, the Director of Public Works may discontinue reclaimed water service.

(d)

Discontinuance or termination of reclaimed water service shall not relieve the user or the property owner of any civil liability or from criminal or ordinance violations, or payment of any amounts for reclaimed water previously supplied to the said property owner or user.

(e)

The user or the property owner shall be liable and shall reimburse the City for all costs involved to correct the violations and for damages to the public potable or reclaimed water systems as the result of the said property owner's or user's violations.

(f)

Reclaimed water service shall be restored at the discretion of the Director of Public Works and in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Chapter. The Director of Public Works may require a property owner or user to provide reasonable and sufficient guarantees or assurances that the violation(s) will not recur, or if discontinuance was for reasons other than enforcement, that all requirements in this Chapter have been met.

(g)

If reclaimed water service is discontinued or terminated for any reason for more than thirty (30) consecutive days, then the property owner or user shall have the reclaimed water system tested and recertified by a state-certified specialist for backflow prevention and cross-connections prior to reinstatement of service. The property owner or user shall provide certification to the Director of Public Works prior to restoration of service.

3.

Emergency Situations. The Director of Public Works or water purveyor shall be authorized to take immediate action, including discontinuance or disconnection of service, without prior notice to the property owner, in response to the following, emergency situations that endanger, or threaten to endanger, the potable or reclaimed water systems, or the public health, safety and welfare:

(a)

The public potable water supply is in imminent danger or an emergency situation exists with either the potable or reclaimed water systems;

(b)

Backflow or siphonage conditions;

(c)

Cross-connections;

(d)

Unapproved use(s) of reclaimed water posing an immediate danger to public health or safety;

(e)

Hazardous situations where contaminants are in the process of, or suspected of, entering the potable or reclaimed water system;

(f)

Continued or persistent violations of this Chapter, or intentional or deliberate installation of a bypass or cross-connection with the knowledge of the property owner or user; or

(g)

Such other situations as determined by the Director of Public Works.

4.

Notice of Violation. Any person, property owner or user who has violated any provision of this Chapter, the Agreement for the Delivery and Use of Reclaimed Water, or order issued hereunder, may be sent a written Notice of Violation by the Director of Public Works, either in person or by certified mail with return receipt requested. Within five (5) days of the receipt of this notice, the property owner or user shall either submit a plan and schedule for the satisfactory correction of the violation, or satisfactorily correct the violation. Submission of this corrective action plan in no way relieves the user of liability for any violations occurring before or after receipt of the Notice of Violation. Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the Director of Public Works to take any action, including emergency suspension of reclaimed water service, or any other enforcement response, without first issuing a Notice of Violation.

5.

Show Cause Hearing. The Director of Public Works may order a person, property owner or user, who has violated any provision of the Chapter, the Agreement for the Delivery and Use of Reclaimed Water or any order issued hereunder, to appear before the Director of Public Works, and show cause why the proposed enforcement action should not be taken. Notice shall be served on the property owner or user, at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing, which specifies the time and place for the meeting, the proposed enforcement action, the reasons for such action, and a request that the property owner or user show cause why the proposed enforcement action should not be taken. Notice may be served on any authorized representative of the property owner or user. A show cause hearing shall not preclude, or be a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the property owner or user.

6.

Compliance Orders. The Director of Public Works may include a compliance order in the Notice of Violation that requires the person, property owner or user to come into compliance within a specified period of time. If compliance is not achieved within the time period provided, the Director of Public Works may discontinue or terminate reclaimed water service. The compliance order also may contain other requirements to address the violation(s), including, but not limited to, monitoring and management practices to minimize cross-connections, backflow conditions or the possibility of contamination of the potable or reclaimed water systems.

7.

Fines and Penalties.

(a)

When the Director of Public Works finds that a person, property owner or user has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this Chapter, the Agreement for the Delivery and Use of Reclaimed Water, or order issued hereunder, the Director of Public Works may fine such party in an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) per violation. Such fines shall be assessed on a per violation, per day basis during the period of the violation.

(b)

Unpaid charges, fines, and penalties shall, after thirty (30) calendar days, be assessed an additional penalty of ten percent (10%) of the unpaid balance, and interest shall accrue thereafter at a rate of one percent (1%) per month until fully paid. A levy may be sought by the City against the user's property for unpaid fees, charges, fines, and penalties.

(c)

Users desiring to dispute such fines must file a written request for the Director of Public Works to reconsider the fine within fifteen (15) calendar days of receipt of notice of the fine. Where a request has merit, the Director of Public Works may convene a hearing on the matter. The Director of Public works may add the costs of preparing administrative enforcement actions, such as the Notice of Violation, to the fine.

(d)

Issuance of an administrative fine shall not preclude, or be a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user.

8.

Criminal Prosecution.

(a)

Any person, property owner or user who willfully or negligently introduces any substance into the public potable or reclaimed water system which causes personal injury or property damage shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor in accordance with Section 1.08 of the City Code. This penalty shall be in addition to any other cause of action for personal injury or property damage available under State law.

(b)

Any person, property owner or 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, the Agreement for the Delivery and Use of Reclaimed Water, or any 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 guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punishable pursuant to Section 1.08 of the City Code.

9.

Remedies Nonexclusive. The remedies provided in this Chapter are not exclusive. The Director of Public Works may take any, all, or any combination of these actions against a noncompliant person, property owner or user, as the circumstances may warrant.

10.

Liability Insurance. The Director of Public Works may decline to provide reclaimed water service to any non-individual residential or nonresidential property owner or user who has failed to comply with any provision of this Chapter, the Agreement for Delivery and Use of Reclaimed Water, any order issued hereunder, or any other standard or requirement, unless the property owner or user first submits proof that it has obtained financial assurances in an amount and form acceptable to the City sufficient to restore or repair damage to either the potable or reclaimed water system caused by the operation of the non-individual residential or nonresidential property owner or user's reclaimed water system.

11.

Public Nuisances. A violation of any provision of this Chapter, the Agreement for the Delivery and Use of Reclaimed Water, any order issued hereunder, or any applicable state and federal requirement for reclaimed water service is hereby declared a public nuisance and shall be corrected or abated in accordance with the requirements set forth by the Director of Public Works. Any person(s) creating a public nuisance shall be subject to the provisions of this Chapter, governing such nuisances, including reimbursing the City for any costs incurred in removing, abating, or remedying said public nuisance.

(Ord. of 5-6-2002, Doc. #020506702)