Ord 2012-89ORDINANCE NO. 89
AN ORDINANCE OF THE COSTA MESA SANITARY
DISTRICT PROVIDING AUTHORITY FOR THE RECOVERY
OF ABATEMENT COSTS MADE NECESSARY BY
VIOLATIONS OF THE DISTRICT'S ORDINANCES
WHEREAS, the District is a sanitary district established pursuant to the authority
of the Sanitary District Act of 1923 (Health & Safety Code §§ 6400 et seq.); and
WHEREAS, the District has been provided with the authority to compel
connection to its sewer system and has the authority to adopt regulations for sanitary
purposes not in conflict with other laws (Health & Safety Code § 6521); and
WHEREAS, the District may terminate service for property that is in violation of
the District's rules (Health & Safety Code § 6523.2); and
WHEREAS, the District may correct violations of its ordinances and add the
costs of correction onto the sewer service charge payable for the property (Health &
Safety Code § 6523.3); and
WHEREAS, the State Water Resources Control Board has issued an Order (No.
2066 -0003) requiring the District to have an overflow emergency response program in
place for the sewer system as well as legal authority to maintain the sewer system so as
to prevent overflows;
NOW, THEREFORE, the Board of Directors of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District
does hereby ORDAIN as follows:
Section 1. That Chapter 6.10 is hereby added to the Costa Mesa Sanitary District
Operations Code to read as follows:
"Chapter 6.10
Cost Recovery
Section 6.10.010. Purpose. This Chapter shall identify the
authority and provide a reference for cost recovery when abatement and
enforcement efforts are required to abate violations or to correct violations
pertaining to the sewer system, including the sewer laterals that connect
to District's system. The intent of this chapter is to provide the mechanism
for the District to recover costs when abatement is required for various
conditions that constitute violations of this code, including, but not limited
to, conditions arising from fats, oils, grease, roots or other conditions of
sewer laterals or the District's lines caused by a property owner or
Authority for Recovery of Abatement Costs Ordinance
Page 2 of 3
occupier or other person who causes a condition that needs to be abated
or corrected. The authority for the cost recovery is provided in Health and
Safety Code Section 6523.3, which provides that the District may correct
any violation of an ordinance of the District and providing further that the
cost of such correction shall be added to the sewer service charge of the
person violating the ordinance or the tenant or owner of the property upon
which the violation occurred.
Section 6.10.020. Abatement. Whenever a condition exists that is
in violation of this code or any applicable State Waste Discharge Order,
the District may determine to abate the conditions if necessary for the
immediate preservation of the health, safety or welfare of the public.
Section 6.10.030. Notice and due process. The responsible
party shall be provided with appropriate due process before abatement
occurs, if possible. Such due process shall be commensurate with the
emergency condition necessitating abatement. Whenever possible, that
due process shall include attempts to contact the responsible party of the
conditions that exist and provide an opportunity to review those conditions
before the same are abated if consistent with the immediate public health,
welfare and safety concerns. If possible and consistent with the public
health, safety and welfare, the responsible party shall be given an
opportunity to abate the property using his /her own forces.
Section 6.10.040. Abatement by District forces. Should District
not be able to contact the responsible party or should District's General
Manager or District Engineer determine that the situation must be abated
immediately and without allowing the responsible party to abate the
condition using his /her own forces, the District shall attempt to provide the
responsible party with an opportunity to witness the abatement by District
staff, which may include District contractors. District staff shall also
provide photographs and other evidence of the abatement if they exist to
the responsible party thereafter.
Section 6.10.050. Hearina on the abatement. If District
determines to abate the property using District forces, which includes
District contractors, it shall provide the responsible party with a copy of the
report of the incident and the abatement efforts, including photographs,
video and other memorialization as may exist of the conditions and
abatement efforts, including costs by hour and rate. The responsible party
shall be entitled to a hearing, which shall be an informal opportunity to
present evidence contesting his responsibility, the fact that the conditions
constituted a threat to the public health, safety or welfare, and the costs of
the abatement.
Authority for Recovery of Abatement Costs Ordinance
Page 3 of 3
Section 6.10.060. Collection of the abatement charnes. If the
District Board confirms the charges, District staff shall collect those
charges by separate invoice sent directly to the property owner. If said
charges are not paid within 30 days, District may add said charges on the
regular tax roll in accordance with the authority provided in Government
Code Section 6523.3. That section provides that the costs of correction
may be added to the sewer charges otherwise due and payable, and the
District shall have such remedies for collection as are available for those
charges."
Section 2. Should any part, clause or section of this Ordinance be declared by any Court
of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the remaining provisions of this Ordinance shall
nevertheless be and remain in full force and effect and the Board of Directors of the Costa
Mesa Sanitary District of Orange County, California, hereby declares that each and every
section, clause, provision or part of this Ordinance would have been adopted and made a
part of this Ordinance without the adoption of any portion thereof and that the invalidity of
any part or provision hereof shall not in any way affect the validity or enforcement of the
remaining provisions of this Ordinance that may stand on their own.
Section 3. Pursuant to Health and Safety Code Sections 6490 and 6491.3, the District
Clerk shall cause this ordinance or a summary thereof to be published in a newspaper of
general circulation printed and published in the District according to law.
PASSED and ADOPTED this -2 5/1.4 day of ! ` , 2012.
,, .
$ecretery
APPROVED AS TO FORM
District Counsel
trip, I
President
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) SS
CITY OF COSTA MESA )
I, JOAN REVAK, Clerk of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District, hereby certify that the above
and foregoing Ordinance No. 89 was duly and regularly passed and adopted by said Board of
Directors at a regular meeting thereof, held on the 23rd day of February 2012 by the
following vote:
AYES: Robert Ooten, James Ferryman, Michael Scheafer, Arthur Perry, Jim
Fitzpatrick
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Costa
Mesa Sanitary District, this 23rd day of February 2012.
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Clerk of Ue Costa Mesa Sanitary District