13.10.490 Upset.
A. Users shall control production or all discharges to the extent necessary to maintain compliance with applicable pretreatment standards and requirements upon reduction, loss, or failure of its wastewater treatment facility until the facility is restored or an alternative method of treatment is provided. This requirement applies in the situation where, among other things, the primary source of power of the treatment facility is reduced, lost, or fails.
B. A user who wishes to establish the affirmative defense of upset to an enforcement action brought for noncompliance with applicable pretreatment standards shall demonstrate, through properly signed, contemporaneous operating logs, or other relevant evidence that:
1. An upset occurred; the user can identify the cause(s) of the upset; and it was not due to improperly designed or inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventative maintenance, or careless or improper operation;
2. The facility was at the time being operated in a prudent and workmanlike manner and in compliance with applicable operation and maintenance procedures; and
3. The user has submitted the following information to the POTW and the director within twenty-four hours of becoming aware of the upset. If this information is provided orally, the user must submit a written report within five days containing this same information:
a. A description of the indirect discharge and cause of noncompliance;
b. The period of noncompliance, including exact dates and times or, if not corrected, the anticipated time the noncompliance is expected to continue; and
c. Steps being taken and/or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent recurrence of the noncompliance.
C. Users will only have the opportunity for a judicial determination on a claim of upset in an enforcement action brought for noncompliance with applicable pretreatment standards. In any such enforcement proceeding, the user seeking to establish the occurrence of an upset shall have the burden of proof. (Ord. 016/2021 § 2; Ord. 011/2004)