The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors made it easier to fine businesses and residents who dump damaging waste into the county’s sewer system and substantially increased how much violators would have to pay.
The newly approved rules allow the Wastewater Planning and Monitoring Division to bypass the courts and fine anyone who releases toxic or damaging waste into sewers $32,500 for each infraction. Fines can go as high as $100,000 for multiple infractions.
Previously, such fines were limited to $2,500 and required the county to file a lawsuit to collect.
In addition to the fines, the new code makes it easier for the county to require the violator to pay for any damage they cause to sewer lines.
While fines could be issued to any county resident, wastewater planning director Shahram Mohsenin said the county rarely uses the code to fine businesses, let alone residents.
The most recent case in which the county sought damages was in 2009, when officials ordered the Krispy Kreme donut factory in the Gunston Commerce Center to pay $1.9 million to repair a sewer line damaged by the factory’s discharge.
When people are found in violation, Mohsenin said, the county first tries to work with violators to bring them into compliance with the county code.
Maintenance crews use portable cameras fed into the sewer lines through manholes to locate pipes damaged by illegal discharges and to trace the discharge back to its source.
The county rewrote its sewer code to comply with the recently amended Virginia state code, which strengthened the ability of localities to establish sewer standards and assess fines and damages.
