[Adopted 11-18-1963 by Ord. No. 499 (Ch. XVIII, Part 2, of
the 1980 Code of Ordinances)]
[Amended 12-5-1973 by Ord. No. 656; 1-10-1977 by Ord. No. 757; 6-28-1978 by Ord. No. 800; 9-10-1979 by Ord. No. 899; 2-13-1980 by Ord. No.
935; 12-16-1982 by Ord. No. 970; 3-3-1986 by Ord. No. 992; 5-2-1994 by Ord. No. 1022; 12-21-1994 by Ord. No. 1030]
A.
Owners of property, whether inside or outside the Borough, connected to the sewer system and furnished metered water service by the Borough and/or obtaining water from sources other than the Borough, with exceptions set forth hereinafter in Subsections B, C and D, shall pay sewer rentals as set from time to time by the Borough Council of the Borough of Mount Union.
[Amended 5-7-2001 by Ord.
No. 1055]
B.
Exclusion from the sewer system of noncontaminated wastewaters may be required by the Borough, or such exclusion may be optional with the property owner if not required by the Borough. When such wastewaters are excluded, sewer rentals shall be based upon total water consumed, less wastewaters excluded, at the rates set forth under Subsection A above. Wastewaters excluded from the sewer system may be determined from meters installed and maintained by the Borough, from meters installed and maintained by the property owner as required and approved by the Borough or from estimates or measurements made by the Borough, or the property owner may elect to measure the volume of wastes actually discharged to the sewer system as provided in Subsection C.
C.
The Borough may require any industrial establishment, or the industrial establishment may elect, to install, pay for, and maintain a meter approved by the Borough for measuring the volume of wastewater discharged to the sewer system, in which case sewer rentals shall be based upon actual metered waste volumes discharged to the sewer system at rates set forth in Subsection A above. Any premises used wholly or in part for the manufacture, processing, cleaning, laundering or assembly of any product, commodity, or article, or any premises from which industrial wastes, in addition to sanitary sewage, are discharged therefrom, shall be classified as an industrial establishment for sewer rental purposes. "Sanitary sewage," as used herein, shall mean the normal, water-carried, household and toilet wastes discharged from residences, business buildings and commercial and industrial establishments. Any and all discharges from an industrial establishment other than sanitary sewage shall be considered industrial wastes.
D.
Industrial establishments discharging combined sewage and industrial
wastes to the sewer system with a total suspended solids content (TSS)
greater than 250 parts per million (ppm) and with a five-day biochemical
oxygen demand (BOD5) greater than 250 ppm shall
pay a strength-of-waste surcharge in addition to applicable volume
charges. Volume charges shall be increased by 1/10 of 1% of the volume
charges for each ppm by which the total suspended solids of the combined
discharge exceeds 250 ppm, plus 1/10 of 1% for each part per million
by which the average five-day biochemical oxygen demand exceeds 250
parts per million. Surcharges shall be applicable to sewer rentals
billed to all industrial establishments. The strength of combined
waste used for establishing surcharges shall be determined at intervals
deemed advisable by the Borough.
[Amended 8-2-2004 by Ord. No. 1067]
E.
Sewer rentals set forth herein shall become effective on July 1,
1978. Sewer rental billings shall cover sewer service periods corresponding
to billing practices for the Borough for water service periods. Sewer
rental billings shall be subject to the same terms and conditions
as are billings for water with respect to time and methods of payment,
penalties, discounts, delinquencies, etc.
F.
The sewer rental rates (user charge system) shall be subject to biennial
review and revision.
G.
Each sewer system user shall be notified, at least annually, in conjunction
with a regular bill, of the sewer rental rate and that portion of
the user charges which are attributable to wastewater treatment services.
[Amended 7-11-1977 by Ord. No. 766; 6-28-1978 by Ord. No. 800]
A.
Definitions; word usage.
(1)
BOD (denoting "biochemical oxygen demand")
BOROUGH
BUILDING DRAIN
BUILDING SEWER
COMBINED SEWER
GARBAGE
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
NATURAL OUTLET
PERSON
pH
PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE
PUBLIC SEWER
SANITARY SEWER
SEWAGE
SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT
SEWAGE WORKS
SEWER
SLUG
STORM SEWER
STREET FOREMAN
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
WATERCOURSE
Unless
the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meanings of terms
used in this article shall be as follows:
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation
of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days
at 20° C., expressed in milligrams per liter.
The Borough of Mount Union.
That part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system
which receives the discharge from soil, waste, and other drainage
pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building
sewer, beginning five feet (1.5 meters) outside the inner face of
the building wall.
The extension from the building drain to the public sewer
or other place of disposal.
A sewer receiving both surface runoff and sewage.
Solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation,
cooking, and dispensing of food and from the handling, storage, and
sale of produce.
The liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing processes,
trade or business, as distinct from sanitary sewage.
Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake, or other
body of surface water or groundwater.
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation,
or group.
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen
ions in grams per liter of solution.
The wastes from the preparation, cooking, and dispensing
of food that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles
will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing
in public sewers, with no particle greater than 1/2 inch (1.27 centimeters)
in any dimension.
A sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal
rights and that is controlled by public authority.
A sewer which carries sewage and to which stormwater, surface
water and groundwater are not intentionally admitted.
A combination of the water-carried wastes from residences,
business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments, together
with such groundwater, surface water and stormwater as may be present.
Any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating
sewage.
All facilities for collecting, pumping, treating, and disposing
of sewage.
A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
Any discharge of water, sewage or industrial waste which,
in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow,
exceeds, for any period of duration longer than 15 minutes, more than
five times the average twenty-four-hour concentration or flows during
normal operation.
A sewer which carries stormwater and surface water and drainage,
but excludes sewage and industrial wastes, other than unpolluted cooling
water.
The Street Foreman of the Borough of Mount Union, or his
authorized deputy, agent or representative.
Solids that either float on the surface of or are in suspension
in water, sewage or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory
filtering.
A channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously
or intermittently.
(2)
"Shall"
is mandatory; "may" is permissive.
B.
Use of public sewers required.
(1)
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit, or permit
to be deposited in any unsanitary manner on public or private property
within the Borough of Mount Union or in any area under the jurisdiction
of said Borough any human or animal excrement, garbage, or other objectionable
waste.
(2)
It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the
Borough of Mount Union or in any area under the jurisdiction of said
Borough any sewage or other polluted waters, except where suitable
treatment has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions
of this article.
(3)
Except as hereinafter provided, it shall be unlawful to construct
or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool, or other
facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage.
(4)
The owner of all houses, buildings or properties used for human occupancy,
employment, recreation, or other purposes, situated within the Borough
and abutting on any street, alley, or right-of-way in which there
is now located or may in the future be located a public sanitary or
combined sewer of the Borough, is hereby required, at his expense,
to install suitable toilet facilities therein and to connect such
facilities directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with
the provisions of this article within 90 days after the date of official
notice to do so, provided that said public sewer is within 100 feet
(30.5 meters) of the property line.
C.
Building sewers and connections.
(1)
No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or
opening into, use, alter, or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance
thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Street Foreman.
(2)
There shall be one class of building sewer permit. The owner or his
agent shall make application on a special form furnished by the Borough.
The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications,
or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the Street
Foreman. A permit and inspection fee, as set from time to time by
the Borough Council of the Borough of Mount Union, shall be paid to
the Borough at the time the application is filed.
[Amended 5-7-2001 by Ord.
No. 1055]
(3)
All costs and expense incident to the installation and connection
of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall
indemnify the Borough from any loss or damage that may directly or
indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.
(4)
A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every
building, except, where one building stands at the rear of another
on an interior lot and no private sewer is available or can be constructed
to the rear building through an adjoining alley, court, yard, or driveway,
the building sewer from the front building may be extended to the
rear building and the whole considered as one building sewer.
(5)
Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings
only when they are found, on examination and test by the Street Foreman,
to meet all requirements of this article.
(6)
The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building sewer, and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing, and backfilling the trench shall all conform to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Code or other applicable rules and regulations of the Borough. (See Chapters 130 and 243.) A building sewer shall be a minimum of four inches (10 cm) in diameter, with a minimum slope of 1/4 inch/foot (2 cm/m), or 2%. The material of the building sewer may be clay, asbestos cement, concrete, iron, or solid wall plastic.
(7)
Whenever possible, the building sewer shall be brought to the building
at an elevation below the basement floor. In all buildings in which
any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public
sewer, sanitary sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted
by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer.
(8)
No person shall make connection of roof downspouts, exterior foundation
drains, areaway drains, or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater
to a building sewer or building drain which, in turn, is connected
directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer.
(9)
The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall
conform to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Code[1] or other applicable rules and regulations of the Borough.
All such connections shall be made gastight and watertight. Any deviation
from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the
Street Foreman before installation.
(10)
The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the
Street Foreman when the building sewer is ready for inspection and
connection to the public sewer. The connection shall be made under
the supervision of the Street Foreman.
(11)
All excavations for building sewer installation shall be adequately
guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from
hazard. Streets, sidewalks, parkways, and other public property disturbed
in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory
to the Borough.
D.
Use of public sewers.
(1)
The 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 industry in
order to prevent discharges deemed harmful or to have a deleterious
effect upon any portion of the sewer system. No sewage or industrial
wastes shall be discharged to the sewer system:
(a)
Having a temperature higher than 140° F.;
(b)
Containing more than 120 parts per million by weight of tar,
oil, and/or grease;
(c)
Containing any gasoline, benzine, naphtha, fuel oil or other
inflammable or explosive liquids, solids, or gases;
(d)
Containing any garbage which has not been ground by a household-type
or other suitable garbage grinder;
(e)
Containing any ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal,
glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, paunch manure, cotton,
wool, plastics or other fibers, or any other solid or viscous substances
capable of causing interference with proper operation of the sewer
system;
(f)
Having a pH lower than 6.0 or higher than 9.0 or having any
other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazards to structures,
equipment, or personnel of the sewer systems;
(g)
Containing a toxic or poisonous substance in sufficient quantity
to injure or interfere with any sewage or sludge treatment process,
constitute hazards to humans, or create any hazard in sewer system
operation. Toxic wastes shall include, but not by way of limitation,
wastes containing cyanide, chromium, and/or copper ions;
(h)
Containing noxious or malodorous gases or substances capable
of creating a public nuisance.
(2)
Industries shall install suitable pretreatment facilities to meet
the requirements stipulated herein.
E.
The Borough reserves the right to require industries having large
variations in rates of waste discharge to install suitable regulating
devices for equalizing waste flows.
F.
The Borough's representatives shall have access at all reasonable
times to industrial establishments and any meters used for establishing
or determining water consumption, water excluded from the sewer system
and sewage and/or industrial waste volumes discharged to the sewer
system.
G.
When directed by the Borough, industrial establishments shall install,
pay for, and maintain a manhole and other devices as may be approved
by the Borough to facilitate observation, measurements, and sampling
of industrial wastes discharged to the sewer system.
H.
Industrial establishments desiring to discharge industrial wastes
to the sewer system shall obtain a permit from the Borough to do so
upon notification by the Borough. Applications for a permit to discharge
industrial wastes shall be accompanied by all information requested
by the Borough for the determination of industrial waste volumes,
characteristics, and constituents. The cost for obtaining such information
shall be borne by the industrial establishment.
I.
Industrial establishments discharging sanitary sewage and/or industrial
wastes to the sewer system shall furnish the Borough, upon request,
all information deemed essential by the Borough for the determination
of applicable sewer rental surcharges or credits. The cost of obtaining
such information when, as, and if requested by the Borough shall be
borne by the industrial establishment.
J.
Penalties. Prosecution procedures to promote enforcement and administer
penalties shall be as follows:
(1)
Any person found to be violating any provision of this article shall
be served by the Borough with written notice stating the nature of
the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory
correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time
stated in such notice, permanently cease all violations.
(2)
Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit
provided shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be fined in an amount not exceeding $300 for each violation.
Each day in which any such violation shall continue shall be deemed
a separate offense. The Council of the Borough of Mount Union shall
administer said penalties.
(3)
No person shall refuse to permit the inspection by the Street Foreman
or his authorized deputy, agent, or representative.
(4)
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall
become liable to the Borough for any expense, loss, or damage occasioned
the Borough by reason of such violation.
