13.25.156 Civil penalties.
These enforcement provisions are intended to encourage compliance with this chapter. To achieve this, violators shall be required to take corrective action and comply with the requirements of this chapter, and may be required to pay a civil penalty for the redress of ecological, recreational, and economic values lost or damaged due to their unlawful action.
(1) The provisions in this section are in addition to and not in lieu of any other penalty, sanction or right of action provided by law.
(2) Any person in violation of this chapter shall be subject to civil penalties assessed as follows:
(a) An amount reasonably determined by the Director to be equivalent to the economic benefit the violator derives from the violation as measured by the greater of the resulting increase in market value of the property or business value received by the violator, or savings of construction or retrofitting costs realized by the violator performing any act in violation of this chapter; and
(b) An amount, not to exceed $25,000, that is reasonably based upon the nature and gravity of the violation and the cost to the City of enforcing this chapter against the violator.
(3) Any person who, through an act of commission or omission, aids or abets in a violation, or continues a pre-existing violation, shall be considered to have committed the violation for the purposes of the civil penalty.
(4) Each violator is jointly and severally liable for a violation of this chapter. The Director may take enforcement action, in whole or in part, against any violator. The decisions whether to take enforcement action, what type of action to take, and which person to take action against are all entirely within the Director’s discretion. Factors to be used in taking such enforcement actions shall be:
(a) Awareness of the violation;
(b) Ability to correct the violation;
(c) Cooperation with government agencies;
(d) Degree of impact or potential threat to water or sediment quality, human health, or the environment.
(5) In the event more than one person is determined to have violated the provisions of this chapter, all applicable civil penalties may be imposed against each person, and recoverable damages, costs, and expenses may be allocated among the persons on any equitable basis. Factors that may be considered in determining an equitable allocation include:
(a) Awareness of the violation;
(b) Ability to correct the violation;
(c) Ability to pay damages, costs, and expenses;
(d) Cooperation with government agencies;
(e) Degree of impact or potential threat to water or sediment quality, human health, or the environment.
(6) Penalties may be reduced based upon one or more of the following mitigating factors:
(a) The person responded to City attempts to contact the person and cooperated with efforts to correct the violation;
(b) The person showed due diligence and/or substantial progress in correcting the violation; or
(c) An unknown person was the primary cause of the violation. Payment of a monetary penalty pursuant to this chapter does not relieve the person of the duty to correct the violation.
(7) All civil penalties recovered during the enforcement of this chapter under subsection (2) of this section shall be deposited into a fund of the Department taking the enforcement action and shall be used for the protection of surface and stormwater or groundwater as set forth in this chapter, through education or enhanced implementation.
(8) Triple Penalties. Penalties may be trebled for:
(a) A repeat violation, which means an additional violation of a requirement of this chapter for which the responsible party has previously received a notice of violation and failed to correct the violation by the compliance date;
(b) A violation resulting in physical harm to persons or to private or public property;
(c) A knowing or deliberate violation; or
(d) A violation resulting from gross negligence or reckless conduct. (Ord. 13-09 § 10 (Exh. 2); Ord. 37-02 § 2 (9.04.180))