§ 170-24Definitions.
§ 170-25Sewer rentals and charges.
§ 170-26Billing; payment.
§ 170-27Liens.
§ 170-28Prohibited wastes.
§ 170-29Restrictions on discharge of industrial wastes.
§ 170-30Measuring devices; meter readings; right of access.
§ 170-31Changes to sewer rentals or charges; adoption of additional
regulations.
§ 170-32Purpose.
Unless the context clearly and specifically indicates otherwise, the meanings of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
- AUTHORITY
- Duncannon Borough Municipal Authority, a Pennsylvania municipality authority.
- BOD (BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND)
- The quantity of oxygen, expressed in ppm, utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure for five days at 20° C. The standard laboratory procedure shall be that found in the latest edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Sewage," published by the American Public Health Association.
- BOROUGH
- The Borough of Duncannon, Perry County, Pennsylvania, acting by and through its Council or, in appropriate cases, acting by and through its authorized representatives.
- DWELLING UNIT
- Each room, group of rooms, building, house trailer or other enclosures occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters by a family or other group of persons living together or by a person living alone.
- IMPROVED PROPERTY
- Any property upon which there is erected a structure intended for continuous or periodic habitation, occupancy or use by human beings or animals and from which structure sewage shall be or may be discharged.
- INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENT
- Any room, group of rooms, building or other enclosure used or intended for use in the operation of one business enterprise for manufacturing, processing, cleaning, laundering or assembling any product, commodity or article or from which any process waste, as distinct from sanitary sewage, shall be discharged.
- INDUSTRIAL WASTES
- Any and all wastes discharged from an industrial establishment, other than sanitary sewage.
- OWNER
- Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole or partial, of any improved property.
- PERSON
- Any individual, firm, partnership, company, association, society, trust, corporation or other group or entity.
- pH
- The logarithm of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions, expressed in grams per liter of solution, and is an indication of acidity or alkalinity of a substance.
- PPM
- Parts per million by weight.
- SANITARY SEWAGE
- Normal, water-carried household and toilet wastes discharged into the sewer system from an improved property.
- SEWAGE
- Sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes.
- SEWER
- Any pipe, main or conduit constituting a part of the sewer system used or usable for sewage collection purposes.
- SEWER SYSTEM
- All facilities, as of any particular time, for collecting, transporting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage situate in or adjacent to the Borough, owned by the Authority and leased to the Borough for operation and use.
Sewer rentals or charges are imposed upon and shall be collected from the owner of each improved property which shall be connected to the sewer system, for use of the sewer system, whether such use shall be direct or indirect, which sewer rentals or charges shall commence and shall be effective as of the date of connection of each such improved property to the sewer system and shall be payable as provided herein, in accordance with the following schedule of rates and classifications:
Residential:
Each private dwelling unit: $100 per quarter, plus $3 per 1,000 gallons of water used between 7,501 gallons and 57,500 gallons and $3.50 per 1,000 gallons of water used over 57,500 gallons.
Each dwelling unit in a double house, in a row of connecting houses or in an apartment shall be billed as a separate entity.
Nonresidential:
Commercial No. 1, to include public and tax-exempt entities, light, medium and heavy commercial business establishments, in-home businesses and light industry: $100 per quarter, plus $3 per 1,000 gallons of water used between 7,501 gallons and 57,500 gallons and $3.50 per 1,000 gallons of water used over 57,500 gallons.
Commercial No. 2, to include medium and heavy industry: the per-quarter rate for such establishments shall be established by Council from time to time as the need arises.
Additional classifications and sewer rentals or charges or modifications of the above schedule of sewer rentals or charges may be established by Council from time to time as deemed necessary. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as prohibiting special arrangements between Council and establishments connected to the sewer system under conditions and circumstances making special agreements advisable and necessary.
There is a quarterly base rate for all customers of the sewer system of $123, plus usage surcharges as follows:
There is established a tapping fee of $2,000 for all customers of the sewer system.
All bills for sewer rentals or charges, except those based on metered water consumption or metered waste volume, shall be rendered in calendar quarters on the first days of January, April, July and October, respectively, in each year or on such other dates as this Borough by resolution shall specify and shall cover a quarterly billing period consisting of the immediately preceding three complete calendar months.
All bills for sewer rentals or charges based on metered water consumption or metered waste volumes or estimates of this Borough shall be rendered for each calendar quarter promptly after the meters are read or estimates made.
Owners of improved properties connected to the sewer system during any calendar quarter shall pay a pro rata sewer rental or charge for service for the balance of the calendar quarter.
Sewer rentals or charges shall be due and payable upon the applicable billing date as provided for in Subsection A of this section, and the appropriate amount computed in accordance with this article shall constitute the net bill. If sewer rentals or charges are not paid within 30 calendar days after each billing date, an additional sum of 10% shall be added to such net bill, which net bill, plus such additional sum, shall constitute the gross bill. Payment made or mailed and postmarked on or before the last day of such thirty-calendar-day period shall constitute payment within such period. If the end of such thirty-calendar-day period shall fall on a legal holiday or a Sunday, payment made on or mailed and postmarked on the next succeeding weekday which is not a legal holiday shall constitute payment within such period.
Every owner of improved property which is connected to the sewer system initially shall provide this Borough with and thereafter shall keep this Borough advised of his correct address. Failure of any person to receive bills for sewer rentals or charges shall not be considered an excuse for nonpayment, nor shall such failure result in an extension of the period of time during which the new bill shall be payable.
The sewer rentals and charges hereby imposed shall be a lien on the improved property connected to and served by the sewer system from the date such sewer rental or charge becomes due and payable under provisions of this article. All sewer rentals or charges hereby imposed which shall not be paid after 30 days, as provided in § 170-26B of this article, shall be entered as a lien against the improved property connected to and served by the sewer system, which lien shall be filed in the office of the Prothonotary of Perry County, Pennsylvania, in the manner provided by law for the filing of municipal claims. All delinquent bills shall be collected by this Borough in any manner permitted and authorized by law.
This Borough reserves the right to refuse permission to connect to the sewer system, to compel discontinuance of use of the sewer system, or to compel pretreatment of industrial wastes by any industrial establishment, in order to prevent discharges deemed harmful or to have a deleterious effect upon any portion of the sewer system.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the sewer system any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff or subsurface drainage, or any sewage, unless otherwise specifically permitted, authorized or approved by this Borough and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any duly constituted board, commission or department thereof having jurisdiction in the premises:
Having a temperature higher than 140° F.
Containing more than 120 ppm of tar, oil or grease.
Containing any gasoline, benzine, naphtha, fuel oil or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.
Containing any unground garbage.
Containing any ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics or other fibers, wood, paunch manure or any other solid or viscous substance capable of causing obstruction or other interference with the proper operation of the sewer system.
Having a pH (as determined by consulting engineers for this Borough) lower than 6.5 or higher than 9.0 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment or personnel of the sewer system.
Containing a toxic or poisonous substance in sufficient quantity to injure or interfere with any sewage or sludge treatment process, to constitute a hazard to humans or animals, or to create any hazard in waters that receive treated effluent from the sewer system. Toxic wastes shall include, but shall not be limited to, wastes containing cyanide, copper, nickel and/or chromium ions.
Containing solids of such character and quantity that unusual attention or expense is required to handle such materials.
Containing noxious or malodorous gas or substance capable of creating a public nuisance.
Where necessary, all owners shall install suitable pretreatment facilities in order to comply with Subsection B of this section.
Plans, specifications and any other pertinent information relating to proposed facilities for preliminary treatment and handling of wastes shall be submitted for approval of this Borough, and no construction of any such facility shall be commenced until approval thereof first shall have been obtained, in writing, from this Borough, and until approval thereof shall have been obtained from any governmental regulatory body having jurisdiction.
Whenever facilities for preliminary treatment and handling of wastes shall have been provided by any owner, such facilities continuously shall be maintained, at the expense of such owner, in satisfactory operating condition, and this Borough shall have access to such facilities at reasonable times for purposes of inspection and testing.
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as prohibiting any special agreement or arrangement between this Borough and any person whereby industrial wastes of unusual strength or character may be admitted into the sewer system by this Borough, either before or after preliminary treatment.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the sewer system any industrial wastes except upon application to this Borough and upon receipt of a written permit therefor by this Borough.
Required survey data. Any person desiring to make or use a connection to the sewer system through which industrial wastes shall be discharged into the sewer system shall file with this Borough an industrial wastes questionnaire, to be furnished by this Borough, which shall supply to this Borough pertinent data, including estimated quantity of flow, characteristics and constituents, with respect to industrial wastes proposed to be discharged into the sewer system.
Control manholes. Any person who shall discharge industrial wastes into the sewer system, when required by this Borough, shall construct and thereafter properly shall maintain, at his own expense, a suitable control manhole and other devices as may be approved by this Borough to facilitate observation, measurement and sampling by this Borough of industrial wastes discharged to the sewer system. Any such control manhole, when required by this Borough, shall be constructed at an accessible, safe, suitable and satisfactory location in accordance with plans approved by this Borough prior to commencement of construction.
Changes in type of wastes. Any industrial establishment discharging sewage into the sewer system and contemplating a change in the method of operation which will alter the volume, characteristics or constituents of wastes at the time being discharged into the sewer system shall notify this Borough, in writing, at least 10 days prior to consummation of such change.
This Borough reserves the right to require industrial establishments having large variations in rates of waste discharge to install suitable regulating devices for equalizing waste flows to the sewer system.
The furnishing and installation of meters or other measuring devices which shall not be owned by this Borough or any private or public water company, but shall be permitted under provisions of this article, shall be the sole responsibility of the owner. The installation or use of such meters or other measuring devices at all times shall be subject to the approval of this Borough and may be tested and inspected by this Borough whenever necessary. The owner shall be responsible for the maintenance, safekeeping and repair of any such meter, whether such repairs shall be made necessary by ordinary wear and tear or other causes.
This Borough shall be responsible for the reading of all meters or other measuring devices, other than those owned and read by any private or public water company, and the same shall be available to employes and agents of this Borough at all reasonable times.
This Borough shall have the right of access at reasonable times to any part of any improved property served by the sewer system as shall be required for purposes of inspection, measurement, sampling and testing and for performance of other functions relating to service rendered by this Borough through the sewer system.
This Borough reserves the right to adopt and promulgate, from time to time, additional classifications and sewer rentals or charges therefor, or modifications of the schedule of sewer rentals or charges as set forth in this article, which additional classifications and sewer rentals or charges, or modifications, as the case may be, shall be construed as a part of this article.
This Borough reserves the right to adopt and promulgate, from time to time, such additional rules and regulations as it shall deem necessary and proper for the use and operation of the sewer system, which rules and regulations shall be construed as a part of this article.
It is hereby declared that the enactment of this article is necessary for the protection, benefit and preservation of the health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of this Borough.
