[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township
of Clark 3-7-2011 by Ord. No. 11-08. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to impose an annual user fee,
as hereinafter defined, on all domestic, commercial, industrial, institutional
and government users of the Sanitary Sewer Utility of the Township
of Clark.
"User fee" is defined as a fee levied upon all users of the
Sanitary Sewer Utility for the annual cost of operation and maintenance
of the Clark Township Sanitary Sewer Utility.
The following classes of users are hereby established:
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any user not classified elsewhere herein.
Any user operating as an extension of the federal, state,
county, or municipal government.
Gallons per year.
A commercial use solely contained within a residential dwelling
unit. The residential use must be the predominate use.
Users located within an industrial zone of the Township of
Clark that generate wastewater other than domestic waste as a result
of their operation, such as process water, cooling water, washdown
etc. Such users will not generate sufficient quantities of wastewater
to be classified as significant industrial users by the New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection and/or the Rahway Valley Sewerage
Authority.
An entity receiving a tax bill from the Township of Clark
that does not otherwise meter domestic water usage.
Properties operating a single water meter with multiple uses
(i.e., retail with apartments), but not a home occupation as defined
therein.
Two or more residential dwelling units on a single water
meter.
Users designated as 501c(6) or 501c(3) under the IRS Tax
Code.
Any user where sole use of the property is as a residential
dwelling unit.
Industrial users generating sufficient wastewater quantities
to meet definitions established by the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection and/or the Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority and shall meet
all Township, RVSA and NJDEP monitoring and reporting requirements.
A.
Residential, commercial, governmental, not-for-profit and industrial
user fees:
[Amended 1-17-2012 by Ord. No. 12-01; 12-5-2016 by Ord. No. 16-12]
|
Type of Use
|
Minimum Charge
(0 to 100,000 GPY)
|
Exceeds 100,000 GPY
|
Exceeds 400,000 GPY
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Residential domestic
|
$280`
|
$280, plus $0.025 per gallon over 100,000 gallons
|
$7,780, plus $0.02685 per gallon over 400,000 gallons
| |
|
Commercial domestic
|
$280
|
$280, plus $0.025 per gallon over 100,000 gallons
|
$7,780, plus $0.02685 per gallon over 400,000 gallons
| |
|
Governmental
|
$280
|
$280, plus $0.025 per gallon over 100,000 gallons
|
$7,780, plus $0.02685 per gallon over 400,000 gallons
| |
|
Not-for-profit
|
$280
|
$280, plus $0.025 per gallon over 100,000 gallons
|
$7,780, plus $0.02685 per gallon over 400,000 gallons
| |
|
Industrial (non-SIU)
|
$280
|
$280, plus $0.025 per gallon over 100,000 gallons
|
$7,780, plus $0.02685 per gallon over 400,000 gallons
|
B.
Significant industrial users. The annual billing methodology for
significant industrial users (SIUs) shall be as follows:
(1)
The annual billing methodology for SIUs shall be based upon sanitary sewerage reporting by the SIU to the RVSA and the Township. Such reporting shall include continuous flow monitoring and measurements for total flow, total suspended solids (TSS) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). The Municipal Sewer Utility may, at its option, verify the data supplied by the SIU, as may be deemed necessary, in compliance with § 279-15 of Chapter 279, Sewers.
(2)
Annually, the Engineer shall calculate billing costs for parameters
of flow, TSS, and BOD as follows:
(a)
The total annual budget for the Clark Municipal Sewer Utility
will be established. Said budget shall provide for payment of the
Township's assessment from the RVSA for treatment and for the
operation and maintenance of the sanitary sewer collection system.
(b)
It is to be assumed that the parameters of flow, TSS and BOD
shall each represent an equal portion of the overall Municipal Sewer
Utility budget.
(c)
The Engineer shall calculate the billing cost for each parameter
(flow, TSS and BOD) by dividing the applicable portion of the utility
budget by the total amount of each parameter which may be billed to
users and as reported by the user, water purveyor and/or RVSA.
(d)
The Municipal Sewer Utility shall send a bill to each SIU by
multiplying the amount of each parameter (flow, TSS and BOD) by the
billing cost as calculated above, based on the certification of current
usage submitted on or before February 1 of every year for a twelve-month
period concluding September 30 of the previous year.
C.
Miscellaneous unmetered.
(1)
Users, for which the Township has not received meter data from applicable
water purveyors, including wells, shall have their usage requirements
estimated by the Utility Engineer. The Engineer's estimate will
be prepared in accordance with generally accepted engineering standards,
including but not necessarily limited to the following:
(a)
N.J.A.C. 7:14A-23.3, Projected flow criteria.
(b)
ASCE/WPCF Manual of Practice Design and Construction of Storm
and Sanitary Sewers.
(c)
International Building Code, New Jersey Edition.
(d)
International Plumbing Code.
(e)
National Standard Plumbing Code.
(f)
Residential Site Improvement Standards, N.J.A.C. 5:21.
(2)
All such users will be required to complete an informational form,
distributed by the Sewer Utility on an annual basis, representing
data on the number and type of sewer users. Such information may include
the number and age of occupants, the number and type of fixtures,
the number of bedrooms, gross floor area, the number of employees,
the number of service bays, etc., as may be necessary for the Utility
Engineer to estimate water usage and classification. Failure to submit
an annual informational form or the falsification of same shall subject
the owner to a minimum penalty of $500, in addition to a minimum fee
of $500.
(3)
In the event that an unrelated facility owner disagrees with the
estimate of the Utility Engineer, they may appeal the estimate in
the manner provided elsewhere herein. Further, the owner may elect
to have a meter installed on the property to accurately assess usage.
(4)
Users shall be billed by the Sewer Utility under the criteria of
this section.
D.
Multifamily residential. The minimum charge shall be a flow charge
of $280 per unit, plus an excess flow charge of $0.025 per gallon
shall be charged for flows in excess of 100,000 gallons per unit.
[Amended 12-5-2016 by Ord. No. 16-12]
E.
Mixed-use. The minimum charge shall be the sum of the minimums for
each use. Flows exceeding the combined flow allowance shall be billed
at the highest rate of use for the property.
All requests for appeals shall be received by the Utility on
or before May 1 of every year, or the appeal shall be deemed denied
by the Municipal Sewer Utility.
The Clark Municipal Sewer Utility will assess user fees based
on the bills submitted by the water purveyor dated November through
April of the year prior to the year of the sewer bill. Said amounts
shall be multiplied by two to achieve an annualized flow estimate.
This effectively eliminates the usage of water during the early Spring,
Summer, and early Fall seasons, when water is heavily used.
[Amended 12-5-2016 by Ord. No. 16-12]
User fees will be billed annually, with payments due on or before
March 15 and September 15.
Users will be subject to the payment of interest and penalties
for payments received after the due date. Users will be assessed penalties
in the manner established by the Township for payment on late property
tax payments.
[Amended 12-5-2016 by Ord. No. 16-12]
Senior citizens eligible for the senior citizen deduction on
their municipal property taxes, as per N.J.S.A. 54:4-8.44, shall receive
a deduction of $140 from their sewer bill.
