Section 116577.

(a)  Each public water system shall reimburse the department for actual costs incurred by the department for any of the following enforcement activities related to that water system:

(1)  Preparing, issuing, and monitoring compliance with, an order or a citation.

(2)  Preparing and issuing public notification.

(3)  Conducting a hearing pursuant to Section 116625.

(b)  The department shall submit an invoice for these enforcement costs to the public water system that requires payment prior to September 1 of the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the costs were incurred. The invoice shall indicate the total hours expended, the reasons for the expenditure, and the hourly cost rate of the department. The costs set forth in the invoice shall not exceed the total actual costs to the department of enforcement activities specified in this section.

(c)  Notwithstanding the reimbursement of enforcement costs of the local primacy agency pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 116595 by public water systems under the jurisdiction of the local primacy agency, public water systems shall also reimburse enforcement costs, if any, incurred by the department pursuant to this section.

(d)  "Enforcement costs" as used in this section does not include "litigation costs" pursuant to Section 116585.

(e)  The department shall not be entitled to enforcement costs pursuant to this section if either a court or the department determines that enforcement activities were in error.

(f)  The maximum reimbursement, pursuant to this section, by a public water system serving less than 1,000 service connections during any fiscal year shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) or twice the maximum for that public water system as set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 116565, whichever is greater.

(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1996.)