§ 1178-a. Enforcement and special powers of the authority. 1.\nAdministrative sanctions and civil liability. a. Any user who has been\nfinally determined to violate any rules, regulations, permits or orders\nof the authority made pursuant to this title, shall be strictly liable,\nwithout regard to fault, to a penalty of not to exceed ten thousand\ndollars per violation per day. Each violation shall be a separate and\ndistinct violation and, in the case of a continuing violation, each\nday's continuance thereof shall be deemed a separate and distinct\nviolation. The penalties provided for herein shall be imposed by the\nauthority, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the authority.\n b. The authority may bring suit for collection or recovery of any such\npenalty in any court of competent jurisdiction. Any sanction, penalty,\naction or cause of action for the recovery of a penalty, under this\ntitle, may be settled or compromised by the authority, before or after\nproceedings are brought to recover such penalties and prior to the entry\nof judgment thereof. All penalties received by the authority shall be\ndeposited with the treasurer and applied by the board to the benefit of\nthe authority's sewer rent payors and bondholders.\n c. In addition to the penalties provided herein, in the event of a\nviolation or threatened violation of any of the authority's rules,\nregulations, permits, or orders, the authority is authorized to:\n (i) obtain a warrant upon application to the Erie county court or any\nother court of competent jurisdiction, based upon reasonable cause and\nreliable information that such violation is threatened or has occurred,\nfor entry onto a user's premises or effluent source where entry has been\ndenied or obstructed; or\n (ii) suspend or revoke any user's discharge permit; or\n (iii) discontinue, disconnect or block the user's access to the sewer\nsystem; or\n (iv) obtain an injunction or other judicial relief upon application to\na court of competent jurisdiction, to enjoin any user from continuing\nsuch violation or from carrying out the threat of such violation. In any\nsuch suit the court shall have jurisdiction to grant the authority,\nwithout bond or undertaking, such prohibitory or mandatory injunctions\nas the facts may warrant, including prevention or abatement of pollutant\ndischarges, temporary restraining orders or preliminary injunctions; and\n (v) recover the fee, cost or expense incurred by the authority for any\ninvestigation, sampling, monitoring (enhanced or otherwise), removal and\nremediation costs or other actual expenses, fees or costs, including\nattorneys fees and costs.\n d. Imposition of any sanction or penalty or application for judicial\nrelief, shall not be a bar against, or prerequisite for taking any other\naction against a user.\n e. In determining the amount of an administrative or civil penalty,\nthe authority or the court shall consider the seriousness of the\nviolation or violations, any history of such violations, any good faith\nefforts to comply with applicable requirements and such other matters as\njustice may require.\n 2. Summary abatement. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of\nlaw, whenever the general manager finds, after investigation, that any\nperson is discharging any pollutant, sewage, industrial waste or other\nwaste which, in his judgment, presents an imminent danger to the\nfacilities, the environment or the public health, safety or welfare of\npersons and the general manager determines that it would be harmful to\ndelay action until an opportunity for a hearing can be provided, the\ngeneral manager may, without prior hearing, order such person by notice,\nin writing wherever practicable or in such other form as in the general\nmanager's judgment will reasonably notify such person whose practices\nare intended to be proscribed, to discontinue, abate or alleviate such\ndischarge, and thereupon such person shall immediately discontinue,\nabate or alleviate such discharge. In the event of non-compliance with\nsuch order, the authority is authorized to discontinue, disconnect or\nblock the user's access to the sewer system. Within thirty days after\nthe issuance of such order, the authority shall give written notice to\nany such person which provides for an opportunity for a hearing.\n 3. Records, reports, inspections and entry. a. Whenever required to\ncarry out the purposes and objectives of this title, including but not\nlimited to, developing or assisting in the development of any discharge\nlimitation, or other limitation, prohibition or discharge standard,\npretreatment standard, or standard of performance; or determining\nwhether any industrial user is in violation of any such discharge\nlimitation, or other limitation, prohibition, discharge standard,\npretreatment standard, or standard of performance or the authority's\nrules, regulations, permits or orders;\n (i) the authority may require industrial users to:\n (1) establish and maintain such records;\n (2) make such reports;\n (3) install, use and maintain such monitoring equipment or methods\n(including where appropriate, biological monitoring equipment or\nmethods);\n (4) sample such discharges, in accordance with such methods, at such\nintervals, and in such manner as the authority shall prescribe in its\nrules, regulations, permits or orders; and\n (5) provide such other information as the authority may reasonably\nrequire; and\n (ii) except as otherwise provided by a court warrant or order, the\nauthority or its authorized representative, (including an authorized\ncontractor acting as a representative of the authority) upon\npresentation of his credentials:\n (1) shall have a right of entry, at all reasonable times, to, upon, or\nthrough any premises in which any effluent source of an industrial user\nis located or in which any records are required to be maintained\npursuant to this title or any rules, regulations, orders or permits of\nthe authority;\n (2) may, at reasonable times during regular business hours, have\naccess to and copy any records required to be maintained pursuant to\nthis title or any rules, regulations, orders or permits of the\nauthority;\n (3) may, during all times of industrial user discharges, inspect any\nmonitoring equipment or method which is required pursuant to this title\nor any rules, regulations, orders or permits of the authority; and\n (4) may, during all times of industrial user discharges, have access\nto and sample any discharges or pollutants, resulting directly or\nindirectly from activities or operations of the industrial user of the\npremises in which an effluent source is located.\n b. Any records, reports or information obtained under this section\nshall, in the case of discharge data, be related to any applicable\nlimitation, toxic pretreatment, or performance standards, and shall be\navailable to the public, except that upon a showing satisfactory to the\nauthority by any person that records, reports, or information, or\nparticular part thereof (other than discharge data), to which the\nauthority has access under this section, if made public would divulge\nmethods or processes entitled to protection as trade secrets of such\nperson, the authority shall consider such record, report, or\ninformation, or particular portion thereof confidential, except that\nsuch record, report, or information may be disclosed to officers,\nemployees, or authorized representatives of the United States or New\nYork state concerned with carrying out the Clean Water Act or when\nrelevant to any proceeding under this title or the Clean Water Act.\n 4. Proceedings before the authority. a. Whenever the authority\ndetermines, after investigation, that there has been a violation of any\nof the provisions of this title or any rules, regulations, orders or\npermits issued pursuant thereto, the authority shall give notice in\nwriting, in such form as will reasonably notify the alleged violator or\nviolators setting forth any thing or act done or omitted to be done or\nclaimed to be in violation of any such provisions, and requiring that\nthe matters complained of be corrected. Such notice shall inform the\nviolator of an opportunity for a hearing, or that the alleged violator\nappear in person or by attorney before the authority, at a reasonable\ntime and place in said notice specified, and show cause why enforcement\naction should not be taken.\n b. The authority shall establish in its rules and regulations\nprocedures for the conduct of any hearings.\n c. In any hearing, a hearing officer may administer oaths, examine\nwitnesses, and issue, in the name of the authority, notices of hearings\nand subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and\nthe production of evidence relevant to any matter involved in any\nhearing conducted by the authority.\n d. In any proceeding before the authority, the burden of proof, with\nrespect to violations of or liability imposed by this title or by rules,\nregulations, orders or permits issued pursuant thereto shall be upon the\nuser or person cited by notice. In any such proof, the authority or the\nhearing officer may rely upon the self-monitoring reports submitted by\nthe person being investigated or any other evidence.\n e. After due consideration of the written and oral statements, and\ntestimony and arguments, or on default in appearance, the authority may\nissue and enter such final order or make such final determination as it\ndeems appropriate under the circumstances, and shall notify such person\nor persons thereof in writing.\n f. The general manager may designate an agent of the authority or any\nother person, independent of the authority, to serve and preside as\nhearing officer.\n g. In case of contumacy or refusal to obey a notice of hearing or\nsubpoena issued by the authority, the supreme court shall have\njurisdiction, upon application of the authority, to issue an order\nrequiring such person to appear and testify or produce evidence as the\ncase may require.\n