California · Public Utilities Code - PUC

PUC §13575: (a) Any person who fails to comply with any order issued by the district, shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each day in which the discharge, violatio

Civil

What this law says, in plain English

A person who fails to comply with district orders regulating wastewater discharge may face civil penalties up to $10,000–$25,000 per day, enforceable by the district attorney through court petition.

Read the full statutory text

(a) Any person who fails to comply with any order issued by the district, shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each day in which the discharge, violation, or refusal occurs. (b) Any person who intentionally or negligently violates any order issued by the district for violation of rules regulating or prohibiting discharge of waste water which causes or threatens to cause a condition of contamination, pollution or nuisance, as defined in this article, may be liable civilly in a sum not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for each day in which the violation occurs. (c) The attorney of the district, upon request of the board, shall petition the superior court to impose, assess and recover the sums provided for in subdivisions (a) and (b). In determining the amount of the fine the court shall take into consideration all relevant circumstances, including, but not limited to, the extent of harm caused by the violation, the nature and persistence of the violation, the length of time over which the violation occurs and corrective action, if any, attempted or taken by the discharger. (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all civil fines imposed by the court for a violation of this section shall be distributed as follows: (1) Fifty percent shall be transferred into the general fund of the county in which the action to recover the fine was brought. (2) Fifty percent shall be transferred once a month to the treasurer of any municipal utility district in the county for deposit in the funds of the district. (e) Remedies under this section are in addition to and do not supersede or limit any and all other remedies, civil or criminal, but no liability shall be recoverable under this section for any violation for which liability is recovered under Section 13575.5.

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