{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-27a-27a-1015","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 27A, § 27A-1015","heading":"Powers of Department relating to POTW - Violations -","body":"Penalties - Power to halt or prevent discharge.\n\nA. Once a Central Treatment Trust has made the election and\n\ngiven the notice specified in Section 3 of this act, and entered\n\ninto the coordinating agreement with the Department as specified in\n\nparagraph 2 of Section 4 of this act, the Department, in addition to\n\nall of its other authority under state or federal law, shall have\n\nand shall exercise the enforcement powers specified in this section\n\nwith respect to the POTW owned and operated by such CTT (terms used,\n\nbut not defined, in this section, but defined in 40 CFR, Section\n\n403.3, shall have the same meanings ascribed to them in 40 CFR,\n\nSection 403.3):\n\n1. To issue permits to industrial users of the POTW, designed\n\nto:\n\na. limit and control their contributions of pollutants\n\nand allocate waste loads to the POTW so that the\n\nrequirements of the CTT's NPDES permit and Oklahoma\n\nlaw will be met, and\n\nb. require compliance by the industrial users with\n\napplicable pretreatment standards and requirements;\n\n2. To require compliance by industrial users of the POTW with\n\napplicable pretreatment standards and requirements;\n\n3. To deny or condition new or increased contributions of\n\npollutants, or changes in the nature of pollutants, by industrial\n\nusers to the POTW where such contributions would not meet applicable\n\npretreatment standards or requirements or where such contributions\n\nwould cause a violation of the CTT's NPDES Permit;\n\n4. To require industrial users of the POTW to develop a\n\ncompliance schedule for the installation of technology required to\n\nmeet applicable pretreatment standards and requirements;\n\n5. To require industrial users of the POTW to submit all\n\nnotices and self-monitoring reports as are necessary to assess and\n\nassure compliance with pretreatment standards and requirements and\n\nwith conditions and requirements of permits issued by the Department\n\npursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection;\n\n6. To require industrial users of the POTW to meet any\n\nprovisions of Oklahoma law applicable to the discharge of pollutants\n\nby an industrial user to a POTW;\n\n7. To carry out all inspection, surveillance, sampling and\n\nmonitoring procedures necessary to determine, independent of\n\ninformation supplied by industrial users, compliance or\n\nnoncompliance by industrial users of the POTW with applicable\n\npretreatment standards and requirements. Authorized representatives\n\nof the Department or of the CTT are hereby authorized in order to\n\ncarry out the purposes specified above to enter any premises of any\n\nindustrial user of the POTW which is contributing pollutants to the\n\nPOTW, and in which a discharge source or treatment system is located\n\nor records are required by 40 CFR, Section 403.12 to be kept. The\n\nauthority to enter upon the premises of any industrial user of the\n\nPOTW granted in this paragraph is intended to, and shall, be as\n\nextensive as the authority provided under Section 308 of the Federal\n\nClean Water Act; and\n\n8. To promulgate rules reasonably required to implement\n\nparagraphs 1 through 7 of this subsection, and to conduct individual\n\nproceedings and to enter orders to enforce such rules and to enforce\n\nparagraphs 1 through 7 of this subsection.\n\nB. For purposes of promulgating rules, conducting individual\n\nproceedings and issuing orders as provided in this section, the\n\nDepartment shall be subject to the provisions of the Oklahoma\n\nAdministrative Procedures Act, Section 301 et seq. of Title 75 of\n\nthe Oklahoma Statutes; provided, that any person adversely affected\n\nby issuance of a rule, permit or order of the Department may, within\n\nthirty (30) days after such rule, permit or order becomes final,\n\nseek judicial review thereof; provided further, that the exclusive\n\nvenue for such judicial review shall be the District Court of\n\nOklahoma County; and provided further, that such judicial review\nthe Oklahoma Statutes; provided, that any person adversely affected\n\nby issuance of a rule, permit or order of the Department may, within\n\nthirty (30) days after such rule, permit or order becomes final,\n\nseek judicial review thereof; provided further, that the exclusive\n\nvenue for such judicial review shall be the District Court of\n\nOklahoma County; and provided further, that such judicial review\n\nshall be limited to review of the administrative record compiled\n\nbefore the Department, and shall be conducted by the court without a\n\njury.\n\nC. An industrial user of the POTW who violates any provision of\n\nthis act or of any rule, permit or order of the Department issued\n\npursuant to this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not\n\nmore than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per violation. Any\n\nviolation which continues for more than one (1) day shall constitute\n\na separate violation for each day of violation. If any such\n\npenalties are not paid within thirty (30) days after\n\nadministratively assessed by the Department, the Department shall\n\nbring suit in district court to recover such penalties. Penalties\n\nshall be paid to the Department for the benefit of the CTT.\n\nD. The Department may sue an industrial user of the POTW for\n\ninjunctive relief in any instance where an industrial user of the\n\nPOTW violates or threatens to violate any provision of this act or\n\nof any rule, permit or order of the Department issued pursuant to\n\nthis section. In any such suit, the court shall have jurisdiction\n\nto grant to the Department, without bond or other undertaking, such\n\nprohibitory or mandatory injunctions as the facts may warrant,\n\nincluding temporary restraining orders, after notice and hearing,\n\ntemporary injunctions or permanent injunctions.\n\nE. The Department may sue for both civil penalties and\n\ninjunctive relief, as authorized by subsections C and D of this\n\nsection, in the same proceeding.\n\nF. The venue of any suit brought by the Department pursuant to\n\nsubsections C and D of this section shall be either the District\n\nCourt of Oklahoma County, or the district court of the county where\n\nthe CTT maintains its administrative offices and the POTW is\n\nlocated, at the Department's election.\n\nG. In any proceeding by the Department to recover civil\n\npenalties, injunctive relief or both, the prevailing party shall be\n\nallowed to recover reasonable attorney fees, to be set by the court\n\nand taxed and collected as costs.\n\nH. In addition to the remedies provided for in subsections C\n\nand D of this section, the Department shall have the following\n\nadditional remedy: The Department shall have the authority (after\n\ninformal notice to the affected industrial user) to immediately and\n\neffectively halt or prevent any discharge of pollutants to the POTW\n\nwhich reasonably appears to present an imminent endangerment of the\n\nhealth or welfare of persons. The Department shall also have the\n\nauthority (which shall include notice to the affected industrial\n\nuser and an opportunity to respond) to halt or prevent any discharge\n\nto the POTW which presents or may present an endangerment to the\n\nenvironment or which threatens to interfere with the operation of\n\nthe POTW.\n\nI. Nothing in this act shall directly or indirectly limit or\n\nsupersede any jurisdiction of the Department or the United States\n\nEnvironmental Protection Agency under the Oklahoma Pollutant\n\nDischarge Elimination Act, the Oklahoma Environmental Quality Code,\n\nor any other federal or state statute or regulation.\n\nJ. The term \"NPDES Permits\" as used in this act shall include\n\nany permit, or interim, successor, renewal or substitute permit\n\nissued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or by\n\nthe State of Oklahoma or an agency thereof in the event the State of\n\nOklahoma at some future date is authorized to administer the NPDES\nterm \"NPDES Permits\" as used in this act shall include\n\nany permit, or interim, successor, renewal or substitute permit\n\nissued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or by\n\nthe State of Oklahoma or an agency thereof in the event the State of\n\nOklahoma at some future date is authorized to administer the NPDES\n\nprogram in Oklahoma, pursuant to 33 U.S.C.A., Section 1342.","path":["OK Code","Title 27A"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os27A.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"49b7045dfa9a1851a29ac0ab58ba692babf11d964dda9b63915f57ad63a71479","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-27a-27a-1014","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-27a-27a-1016"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}