[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Town Commissioners of the
Town of Bel Air 11-4-2013 by Ord. No. 763-13.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building construction — See Ch. 145.
Health and sanitation — See Ch. 240.
Minimum Livability Code — See Ch. 301.
Plumbing and gas fitting standards — See Ch. 353.
Stormwater management — See Ch. 405.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 397,
Sewers, adopted 3-11-1980 by Ord. No. 310 as Ch. 8, Arts. 6 and 7,
of the 1980 Code, as amended.
A.
The Board of Commissioners does hereby adopt the National Standard Plumbing Code in accordance with Chapter 353 of this Code as a part of the rules and regulations relating to the sanitary sewerage system of the Town.
B.
The Board of Commissioners does hereby adopt the Harford County Water
and Sewer Design Guidelines, Harford County Water and Sewer General
Rules and Regulations, Part 4, and Harford County Standard Specifications
and Details for Water Mains and Sewer Mains as each is updated from
time to time.
For the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall
be used:
The Board of Commissioners.
Harford County, Maryland.
Any improved property used, in whole or in part, for manufacturing,
processing, cleaning, laundering or assembling any product, commodity,
or article or from which any process waste, as distinct from domestic
waste, shall be discharged to the wastewater treatment system.
Any liquid or gaseous substance, whether or not solids are
contained therein, discharged from any industrial establishment during
the course of any industrial, manufacturing, trade, or business process
or in the course of the development, recovery, or processing of natural
resources, as distinct from sanitary sewage.
A permit to deposit or discharge liquid industrial wastes
into any sanitary sewer owned by the county/Town.
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
The treatment of industrial sewage from privately owned industrial
sources by the generator of that source prior to introduction of the
waste effluent into a publicly owned treatment works.
The Town of Bel Air, Maryland.
The structures, equipment and processes required to collect,
transport and treat domestic and industrial wastes and to dispose
of the effluent and accumulated residual solids.
Sewage, consisting of wastewater originating within buildings
of all types, shall be received into the sewerage system. Roof water
and other stormwater or surface water shall not be discharged into
sewers provided for carrying the fouled water from buildings. The
Commissioners reserve the right to require such preliminary treatment
of industrial wastes as they may deem proper before such wastes shall
be discharged into the Town's sewers.
Any available information in regard to size, location, or depth
of public sewers and drains shall be furnished to licensed master
plumbers upon application in person or writing. All reasonable care
shall be taken to ensure the correctness of such information, but
the Town shall make no guarantee of the correctness of information
so given.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person, not specifically authorized
by the Town, to open or close any manhole, obstruct or cover, uncover,
disturb, or tap any pipe or appurtenance or interfere in any way with
any property belonging to the Town. Any expense to which the Commissioners
shall be put as a result of such interference shall be paid by the
person responsible.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any person to damage a valve, manhole, pipe
or appurtenance or any other property belonging to the Town. Any person
damaging such property shall be responsible for the damage and shall
pay to the Commissioners the cost of repairing the same, including
overhead expense.
C.
It shall be unlawful for any person to throw or deposit in any manhole,
sewer cleanout or appurtenance, in any sewage pumping station or in
any reservoir or tank any sticks, stones, dirt, straw, rubbish, sweepings,
manure, dead animals, offal, garbage, rags, clothing, leaves, ashes,
cinders, or refuse of any kind.
D.
It shall be unlawful for any person to make or maintain any connection
with any sewer or drain, or appurtenance thereof, through which there
may be conveyed into the same any hot, suffocating, corrosive, inflammable,
or explosive liquid, gas, vapor, or substance of any kind, or to cause
to enter or flow into any sewer or drain or appurtenance thereof any
hot, suffocating, corrosive, inflammable, or explosive liquid, gas,
vapor, or substance of any kind.
E.
It shall be unlawful for any person to make or maintain any connection
with the sewer, or drain or appurtenance thereof, through which there
may be conveyed discharge from a sump pump or rain leader or roof
drain.
Duly authorized agents or employees of the Town, when attending
to their duties, shall have access to private properties at all reasonable
hours.
The Commissioners shall permit owners of properties fronting
on streets immediately along and adjacent to the corporate limits
of the Town to connect to the sewage system provided that:
A.
Any such owner consents to a proposed annexation of the property
to be connected.
B.
Pending such proposed annexation, such an owner agrees to pay to
the Town such reasonable charge for permission to use the sewerage
system as may be set by the Commissioners, including any duly approved
charges levied by Harford County.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any property owner within the Town to permit
the contents of any bathroom, sink, or any other fouled water to flow
in or upon any of the alleys or streets of the Town.
B.
It shall be the duty of every property owner who is aware that any
fouled water is flowing from his property into alleys or streets of
the Town to immediately stop and prevent such flow and clean up same.
Whenever the Commissioners shall have extended the sewer main within the street frontage abutting any property line, the property owner, upon notice from the Town and within the time prescribed in such notice and in accordance with a Town of Bel Air permit issued pursuant to Chapter 353 of the Code, shall make adequate connection therewith.
A.
Sewer connections for each separate, developed lot fronting upon
a street, alley, or right-of-way in which there is a sewer belonging
to the Town will be extended to the property line by the property
owner/developer, as required.
B.
The size, location, depth and type of construction of all such sewer
connections shall be as specified by the Harford County Standard Specifications
and Details for Water Mains and Sewer Mains.
Sewer connections which have been installed but never connected
or used for a period of one year or more or have been previously disconnected
may be returned to use only when they are found by the Director of
Public Works to be adequate and proper for the services to be performed.
A.
No more than one building shall be served by each sewer or drain
connection on private property. A building, for this purpose, shall
be any structure or part thereof intended for a single occupancy on
the street floor. Garages and accessory structures, if under the same
ownership as the main building on the lot, may be served by the connection
for the main building. For buildings of two or more stories, the Town
may allow a single connection, by special permit for special reasons
shown.
B.
A group of public, ecclesiastical, educational, charitable, club
or industrial buildings under one ownership and on a single tract
of ground may be served by one connection if the Director of Public
Works shall so approve.
A.
The Department of Public Works shall maintain all sewer connections
constructed by the Town outside the property line. The Town will maintain
that portion of a service lateral extending from a cleanout set at
the edge of the property line to the main. All pipes and appurtenances
on private property shall be maintained by and at the expense of the
property owner. The Department of Public Works, in case of emergency,
or where they shall deem such action necessary, may do maintenance
or repair work on private property, in which case the labor, material
and equipment cost, including fifteen-percent overhead expense, shall
be paid by the property owner. Likewise, the cost of any inspection
or work outside of the property line made necessary by trouble on
private property or by the neglect or through the action of a property
owner or tenant shall be paid by the property owner.
B.
The Department of Public Works will not attend to complaints concerning
sewage leaks, stoppages, backups or overflow occurring on private
property.
By agreement with the County, the Town paid an "Annual Area
Connection Charge Equivalent Payment" as its proportional share of
the cost of basic main and other sewage treatment facilities used
to treat Town-generated sewage as such facilities existed on or before
May 29, 1979. The Town made further an "Annual Area Connection Charge
Equivalent Payment" for additional basic main facilities and upgrades/expansion
of the existing facilities completed between May 29, 1979, and June
20, 1988. Any new basic main facilities or other treatment facilities
constructed by the county after June 20, 1988, and used to transport
and/or treat Town-generated sewage shall be financed by funds generated
by collection of additional sewer connection charges as approved by
the Commissioners.
A.
The Commissioners and county have agreed that the Town will collect
and remit to the county a sewer connection charge of $650 for each
new sewer connection made after July 1, 1988. Such charge is based
on the peak demand of each 30 fixture units requiring a 5/8 inch meter
in accordance with the Harford County Division of Water and Sewer
General Rules and Regulations, Part 4.
B.
The Commissioners may collect an additional connection charge for
new, basic main facilities for the Town sanitary sewerage system.
Such funds, when and if collected, will be placed in the sanitary
sewer capital improvement reserve to be utilized for capital upgrades
to the system.
Sanitary sewer capital contribution charges, sewer connection
charges and sewer service rates shall be reviewed by the Commissioners
annually.
A.
Except as provided in Subsection C of this section, the rate for sewer service for all properties connected to and discharging domestic sewage into the Town sanitary sewerage system and metered for water use shall be applied on each 1,000 gallons of water used or fraction thereof as measured by water meters either approved by the Director of Public Works or in use by the Maryland American Water Company, its successors and assigns, or by Harford County.
B.
Except as provided in Subsection C of this section, the rate for sewer service for all properties connected to and discharging domestic sewage into the Town sanitary sewerage system for which the Director of Public Works has determined that no approved meter which measures water use accurately can be provided shall be a flat rate which shall be determined by the use to which the property is put, and such rate shall be directly related to the average water use of properties used for the same or similar uses which are metered, but in no case shall such charge be less than the minimum flat rate charges made by Harford County to its customers with the same or similar uses.
C.
The rate for sewer service for those properties connected to and discharging domestic sewage into the Town sanitary sewerage system which are served under a legally binding agreement between the Town and the property owner shall be as set forth in the agreement so long as said agreement is in force. Upon the termination of such agreement, if the property being served is within the Town, and if such property is appropriately metered, Subsection A of this section shall apply; otherwise, Subsection B shall apply.
A.
The rates for sewer service shall be applied as specified in § 397-17 and shall be computed annually, or more often if necessary, to cover both the projected cost of operating, maintaining, and making capital improvements to the Town sanitary sewerage system and the projected cost of transport and treatment of sewage by Harford County and its successors and assigns. The following charges/rates shall apply to all sewer customers in the Town of Bel Air unless otherwise specified:
[Amended 1-27-2014 by Ord. No. 765-14; 6-15-2015 by Ord. No. 771-15; 3-15-2022 by Ord. No. 807-22]
|
Town of Bel Air Sewer Charges and Usage Rates
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Water Meter Size
(inches)
|
Monthly Base Charge Amount
|
Quarterly Base Charge Amount
|
Usage Rate per 1,000 Gallons
|
|
5/8
|
$2.87
|
$8.61
|
$6.19
|
|
3/4
|
$16.17
|
$48.50
|
$6.19
|
|
1
|
$26.91
|
$80.79
|
$6.19
|
|
1 1/4
|
$38.89
|
$116.65
|
$6.19
|
|
1 1/2
|
$53.89
|
$161.59
|
$6.19
|
|
2
|
$86.17
|
$258.50
|
$6.19
|
|
3
|
$183.27
|
$549.77
|
$6.19
|
|
4
|
$269.23
|
$807.72
|
$6.19
|
|
6
|
$538.49
|
$1,615.45
|
$6.19
|
|
8
|
$807.74
|
$2,423.22
|
$6.19
|
|
Flat rate (4,737 gallons plus 5/8-inch base charge):
|
$32.20 (monthly)
|
|
Flat rate affidavit (67.5% reduction):
|
$10.46 (monthly)
|
B.
The flat rate shall be charged to all customers who are not served
by a metered water connection. For flat-rate single-user customers
who own and occupy the residence, the Town offers a lower flat-rate
sewer charge; however, eligible customers must apply for the lower
rate each July 1 by signing an affidavit.
C.
All sewer charges and rates described herein shall be adjusted annually
based on the Economic Indicator Consumer Price Index (CPI). Each fiscal
year these charges and rates will be adjusted to reflect the annual
change of the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for the
expenditure category "all items not seasonally adjusted" and for all
regions. The annual Consumer Price Index for the period ending each
December, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United
States Department of Labor, shall be used to adjust all charges and
rates to be applied beginning July 1 of the following fiscal year.
D.
The current charges will be published on the Town website at the
beginning of each fiscal year beginning on July 1.
All properties connected to the sanitary sewerage system of
the Town of Bel Air after passage of this article shall be equipped
with approved water meters at time of connection.
A.
Abatement of a sewer service charge may be made by the Director of
Finance or the Town Administrator where it has been determined that
a particular quantity of water allegedly flowing into the Town sanitary
sewerage system has not been accurately measured. To be eligible for
a rebate, a user must make application to the Director of Finance,
making affidavit that a particular quantity of water flowing into
the Town sanitary sewerage system did not and will not enter that
sewerage system. The minimum quantity of water use which will be considered
for rebate shall be 5,000 gallons.
B.
Abatement of a sewer service charge may be approved where an abatement
of water use charge has been made by the Maryland American Water Company,
or its successors and assigns, or by Harford County.
Billing periods shall be quarterly or monthly as information
is received for those metered users for which the Maryland American
Water Company, or its successors or assigns, furnishes usage data.
Billing periods shall be quarterly for those users not served by the
Maryland American Water Company or its successors or assigns.
A.
Sewer service charges to be assessed against each property served
by the Town sewer system pursuant to the provisions of this article
shall be a lien upon such property until paid and are to be collected
in the same manner as municipal taxes are collected. Liens hereby
established shall be subject only to liens for state and county taxes
and for the Town real estate taxes. Such charges shall be due 30 days
from the bill date and will incur interest at the rate of 1 1/2%
per month until paid. Neither the due dates nor the interval between
such dates need be uniform throughout the area served by the Town
sanitary sewerage system.
B.
Bay Restoration Fund charges are included with the sewer service
charges and shall be collected in the same manner. Bay Restoration
Fund charges were enacted by the State of Maryland in 2004 as a means
to upgrade existing wastewater treatment plants to enhanced nutrient
removal (ENR) levels of no more than 0.30 mg/l of phosphorus and 3.0
mg/l of nitrogen in their effluent discharged to the bay.
The purpose of this article is to establish uniform requirements
for direct and indirect contributors into the Town sanitary sewerage
system and the collection and treatment system owned and operated
by the county and to comply with applicable federal and state laws
and regulations, including the Federal General Pretreatment Regulations
(40 CFR Part 403) and the State Water Pollution Regulations (COMAR
26.08); and to prevent the introduction of pollutants into the wastewater
transport, treatment and disposal systems which singly or by interaction
with other pollutants will:
A.
Interfere with the maintenance and operation of a publicly owned
treatment works (POTW).
B.
Cause any county-owned, maintained or operated POTW to violate its
NPDES discharge permit.
C.
Contaminate the sludge at a POTW.
D.
Pass through a POTW, inadequately treated, into any receiving waters
or the atmosphere, or otherwise adversely affect the receiving stream
of a POTW.
E.
Pose a health threat to any workers on the collection system or POTW
or constitute a hazard to humans or animals.
F.
Be otherwise incompatible with a POTW.
A.
Public wastewater collection facilities are used for the deposit
of human wastes, garbage or other liquid wastes that cannot be discharged
into a receiving stream or disposed of in any other manner in accordance
with federal and state law. All domestic waste and authorized industrial
waste may be discharged into the treatment works, except those which
are deemed harmful to the system or are specifically prohibited by
this article or are otherwise prohibited under the laws of the Town,
county, the State of Maryland, or of the United States.
B.
No person shall place, deposit or discharge, or cause to be placed,
deposited or discharged, directly or indirectly, upon public or privately
owned property, any wastewaters within the Town, unless done so in
accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.
C.
No person shall directly or indirectly deposit or discharge, or cause
to be deposited or discharged, into any wastewater collection facilities
any solid, liquid, or gaseous waste unless through a connection approved
by law or regulation of the Town.
D.
No person shall directly or indirectly discharge any sewage, waste
or material, industrial waste or any polluted water into a stream
or in the air or onto the land, unless that person has provided for
treatment of such wastes in accordance with applicable Town, state,
and federal laws and regulations.
E.
In accordance with the 1985 Harford County/Town of Bel Air industrial
wastewater pretreatment agreement, any industrial user is required
to obtain an industrial waste discharge permit from the Harford County
Department of Public Works. Industrial users within the Town of Bel
Air shall comply with all applicable provisions of Chapter 256, Article
VIII, Wastewater Collection and Treatment, of the Harford County Code.
No person shall, directly or indirectly, discharge or cause
to be discharged any stormwater, foundation drainwater, roof runoff,
surface drainage or unpolluted industrial cooling waters into any
sewer connected through the Town's sewer collection system to the
County's wastewater treatment plant. All connections which would result
in the discharge of infiltration or inflow are hereby specifically
prohibited.
Grease, oil, and sand interceptors or retainers shall be installed
and maintained by the user at the user's expense when they are necessary
for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease, oil or
sand in excessive amounts or any other harmful ingredients. The interceptors
shall be a type and capacity approved by the Plumbing Services Division
of the Harford County Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits
and the Harford County Health Department. They shall be accessible
for cleaning by the user and for inspection by the Department of Public
Works.
A.
Inspection rights. Any duly authorized employee or agent of the Town
bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted at
any time to enter upon all properties within the corporate limits
of the Town which have contracted for wastewater treatment service
for the purpose of inspecting, observing, measuring, sampling and
testing as may be pursuant of the implementation and enforcement of
the terms and provisions of this article.
C.
Injunctive relief. The Town reserves the right to seek injunctive
relief from discharge to the sewer system of substances which it deems
harmful.
