Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2076.1 – Civil enforcement
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2076.1
- Department: means the Department of Environmental Quality. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Discharge: means the placing, releasing, spilling, percolating, draining, pumping, leaking, seeping, emitting, or other escaping of pollutants into the air, waters, subsurface water, or ground as the result of a prior act or omission; or the placing of pollutants into pits, drums, barrels, or similar containers under conditions and circumstances that leaking, seeping, draining, or escaping of the pollutants can be reasonably anticipated. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Pollutant: means those elements or compounds defined or identified as hazardous, toxic, or noxious, or as hazardous, solid, or radioactive wastes under this Subtitle and regulations, or by the secretary, consistent with applicable laws and regulations. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Secretary: means the secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Treatment works: means any plant or other works which accomplishes the treating, stabilizing, or holding of wastes. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2073
- Violation: means a failure to comply with the requirements of this Subtitle, the rules issued under this Subtitle, and conditions of permits under this Subtitle. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
A. Whenever, on the basis of any information available to him, the secretary finds that an owner or operator of any source is introducing a pollutant into a treatment works in violation of the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, the secretary may notify the owner or operator of such treatment works of such violation. If the owner or operator of the treatment works does not commence appropriate enforcement action within thirty days of the date of such notification, the secretary may commence a civil action for appropriate relief, including but not limited to a permanent or temporary injunction against the owner or operator of such treatment works.
B. In any such civil action the secretary shall join the owner or operator of such source as a party to the action. Such action shall be brought in the Nineteenth Judicial District Court for the parish of East Baton Rouge. The court shall have jurisdiction to restrain such violation and to require the owner or operator of the treatment works and the owner or operator of the source to take such action as may be necessary to come into compliance with the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
C. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to limit or prohibit any other authority the department may have under the Louisiana Environmental Quality Act.
Acts 1993, No. 175, §1.