15.14.106 Administrative fines.
A. When the director finds that a user has violated or continues to violate any provision of this chapter, including a wastewater discharge approval, order or pretreatment standard or requirement, the director may fine such user in an amount not to exceed $10,000. Such fines shall be assessed on a per-violation, per-day basis. In the case of monthly or other long-term average discharge limits, fines may be assessed for each day during the period of violation. Said administrative fines shall constitute a sewer service surcharge, and, upon assessment, shall be subject to collection in the same manner as all other sewer utility rates, charges, and penalties.
B. The director may add the costs of any emergency response, additional monitoring, investigation and administrative costs related to the noncompliance to the amount of the fine.
C. The director will consider the economic benefit enjoyed by a user as a result of the noncompliance in cases where there appears to have been a monetary benefit from not complying. In such cases, the director shall ensure that fines, to the maximum amount allowable, exceed the benefit to the user from the noncompliance. Economic benefit may include and is not necessarily limited to:
1. The cost benefit resulting from the delay or avoidance of capital costs that would have been incurred for compliance;
2. The cost benefit resulting from the delay or avoidance of operation and maintenance costs that would have been incurred for compliance including the cost of labor, utilities, chemicals, supplies, replacement parts, overhead, monitoring, permit fees, and other fixed or variable costs for the period of violations(s);
3. A reasonable investment rate of return on the cost benefit calculated in subsections (C)(1) and (C)(2) of this section over the period of violations(s); and
4. The value of a competitive advantage derived by the user attributable to the user’s noncompliance over the period of violations(s) including increased profits or market share compared to competitors in compliance.
D. Unless other arrangements have been made with and authorized by the director, unpaid charges, fines, and penalties shall accrue interest thereafter until paid at the rate of one percent per month. After 90 days, if charges, fines, and penalties have not been paid, the director may revoke the user’s wastewater discharge approval.
E. Users seeking judicial review of administrative fines must do so by filing a petition for review in the Whatcom County superior court within 30 days of the decision of the director.
F. Issuance of an administrative fine shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user. [Ord. 2020-07-016 § 1; Ord. 2019-11-032 § 1].