Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning
of the terms used in this article shall be as follows:
The Borough of Palmyra, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, or
the duly constituted and elected municipal authorities thereof.
Any structure or any portion thereof intended to be used
wholly or in part for the purposes of carrying on a trade, business
or profession or for social, amusement, religious, educational, charitable
or public uses, and which contains plumbing for kitchens, toilet or
washing facilities. Commercial establishment includes all occupied
structures which are not dwelling units or industrial establishments.
The governing body of the Borough.
The owner of a property connected to or able to be connect
to the sewer system; any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable,
sole or partial, of any such property. No person other than the owner
of a property may be a customer of the sewer system.
The normal water-carried household and toilet wastes from
residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments.
Any room, group of rooms, mobile home, building or other
enclosure connected, directly or indirectly, to the sewer system and
occupied or intended for occupancy as a separate living quarters by
a family or any other group of persons living together or by a person
or persons living alone.
Any improved property located within this Borough and used
or intended for use, wholly or in part, for the manufacturing, processing,
cleaning, laundering or assembling of any product, commodity or article,
or any other improved property located within this Borough, from which
wastes, in addition to or other than sanitary sewage, shall be discharged.
The liquid, gaseous or solid waste from industrial processes
as distinct from domestic sewage.
That part of the sewer system extending from a public main
or street sewer to curbline or property line if there is no curb,
and where the main or street sewer line is laid under a sidewalk,
the word "lateral" shall mean and refer to the Y connection from the
main or street sewer line.
An improved property other than a dwelling unit. Nonresidential
establishments shall include but not be limited to all improved properties
used as commercial establishments, industrial establishments, or for
institutional purposes.
Any individual, partnership, company, association, society,
trust, corporation, municipality, municipality authority or other
group or entity, and the members of such partnership or association
and the officers of such corporation.
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 wastewater shall be or may be
discharged. A "property" may include one or more dwelling units and/or
nonresidential establishments, each of which shall be subject to all
provisions of this article and each of which shall be assessed rates
and changes imposed by this article.
Any property containing only one or more dwelling units.
Any property which contains both a dwelling unit and a nonresidential
establishment shall be considered a nonresidential establishment.
The normal water-carried household and toilet wastes from
residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments.
The sanitary sewer collection system and conveyance system
together with appurtenant facilities constructed in and for the Borough
and the capacity acquired by the Borough in any wastewater treatment
plant and any improvements, additions or extensions that hereafter
may be made thereto by the Borough or to any part or parts of any
or all thereof.
The Pennsylvania American Water Company or any successor
thereto providing public water service within the Borough.
There is hereby imposed upon each property located within the
Borough limits, served by the sewer system and having the use thereof,
a quarterly sewer rent or charge payable as hereinafter provided for
the use of, whether direct or indirect, or the ability to use the
sewer system based on the rates hereinafter set forth.
A.Â
Nonresidential metered water users. All persons owning property used
for a nonresidential establishment, which property is connected to
the sewer system and served with metered water service by the water
company, shall pay a quarterly rental for sanitary sewage service
based on the quantity of water used as evidenced by meter readings
of water meters installed and maintained by the water company for
the purpose of measuring water purchased from said water company and
such other meters as may be installed pursuant to any provisions of
this article and subject to the minimum charges effective January
1, 2023, and thereafter, as follows:
[Amended 12-13-2016 by Ord. No. 772; 12-26-2017 by Ord. No. 782; 12-13-2022 by Ord. No. 821]
B.Â
Flat rate for residential and nonmetered nonresidential water users.
All persons owning a residential property or a nonresidential property
connected to the sewer system and served with unmetered water service
by the water company shall pay a quarterly rental for sanitary sewage
services of $98 for each dwelling unit and each nonresidential establishment.
[Amended 12-13-2016 by Ord. No. 772; 12-26-2017 by Ord. No. 782; 12-13-2022 by Ord. No. 821]
C.Â
Multiple nonresidential establishments. In the case of two or more
nonresidential establishments are served with water through one water
meter, each and every nonresidential establishment shall be charged
the foregoing flat rate per quarter, the same as if such nonresidential
establishment had a direct and separate water meter sewer services
to public or nonprofit elderly housing shall not be considered a multiple
use.
D.Â
Additional charges for delinquent accounts. The Borough may take
all actions necessary or desirable to collect delinquent accounts
when a customer fails or refuses to pay bills for water rates and/or
sewer rates. The customer shall be responsible for the payment of
all fees the Borough must pay and costs which the Borough incurs in
the collection of delinquent accounts including, but not limited to,
postage fees for mailing of notices of delinquency (including costs
of certified mail); filing fees for collection actions filed with
a Magisterial District Judge; costs to serve a complaint filed with
a Magisterial District Judge; filing fees to file a Magisterial District
Judge judgment with the Prothonotary of Lebanon County; and all costs
associated with the preparation and filing of a municipal lien. Any
such fee or costs shall be added and become part of the customer's
account.
A.Â
Whenever any nonresidential establishment which obtains all water
used from the water company discharges domestic sewage into the sewer
system, the volume of water consumed, as determined from meter readings
by or for the Borough, shall be used in computing the sewer rental.
B.Â
Any nonresidential establishment which has a source of water supply
other than the water company shall provide a meter on such additional
or other source of water. The total amount of water consumed as shown
by the meter readings of the water company and the readings of the
meters on such additional sources of water shall be used in computing
the sewer rental.
C.Â
Any nonresidential establishment which has a source of water supply
other than the water company shall provide a meter on such additional
or other source of water. The total amount of water consumed as shown
by the meter readings of the water company and the readings of the
meters on such additional sources of water shall be used in computing
the sewer rental.
D.Â
In cases where nonresidential establishments use water from the water
company and/or from an independent supply for industrial purposes,
such that the water so used is not discharged into the sewer system,
the quantity of water used to determine the sewer rental shall be
computed by one of the following methods:
(1)Â
Method No. 1: By placing a meter or measuring device on the sewer
connection. The readings from this meter or measuring device shall
be used in computing the sewer rental.
(2)Â
Method No. 2: By placing a meter or measuring device on the effluent
not discharging into the sewer system. The readings from this meter
or measuring device will then be deducted from the total water meter
readings, and the remainder will be used in computing the sewer rental.
(3)Â
Method No. 3: When in the opinion of the Borough it is not practical
to install measuring devices to continuously determine the quantity
of water not discharged to the sewer system, the Borough will determine,
in such manner and by such method as it may prescribe, the percentage
of metered water discharged into the sewer system, and the quantity
of water used to compute the sewer rental shall be the percentage
so determined of the quantity measured by the water meter or meters.
Any dispute as to the estimated amount shall be submitted to Council
after notice of the estimate, whose decision on the matter shall be
final for the current year.
E.Â
All meters or other measuring devices not provided by the water company
but required to be used under the provisions of this article shall
be furnished and installed by the customer and shall be under the
control of Council, and may be tested, inspected or repaired by Borough
employees whenever Council deems necessary. The owner of the property
upon which such other measuring device is installed shall be responsible
for its maintenance and safekeeping, and all repairs thereto shall
be made at the customer's expense, whether such repairs are made necessary
by ordinary wear and tear or other causes. Bills for such repairs,
if made by the Borough, shall be due and payable at the same time
and collected in the same manner as are the bills for sewer services.
Such bills from and after the date due shall constitute a lien upon
the property upon which such measuring device is installed.
F.Â
Council shall be responsible for the reading of meters or measuring
devices, and they shall be available to Borough employees for meter
reading at any time.
A.Â
Surcharge limits. Any nonresidential establishment discharging wastewater
into the sewer system, when such wastewater contains pollutant concentrations
in excess of the surcharge limits listed below, will be subject to
a strength of waste surcharge for each pollutant concentration in
excess of the surcharge limits.
|
Pollutant
|
Surcharge Limit
(mg/l)
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
|
300
| |
|
Total suspended solids
|
210
| |
|
Total phosphorus, as P
|
7
| |
|
Ammonia nitrogen, as N
|
25
|
B.Â
Calculation of surcharge amount.
(1)Â
Users discharging wastewater to the sewer system subject to the provision of Subsection A shall pay a strength of waste surcharge, in addition to applicable volume charges, for each milligram per liter (mg/l) by which the BOD, total suspended solids, total phosphorus or ammonia nitrogen exceeds surcharge limits established Subsection A. Each surcharge amount shall be considered a separate charge, additive to the quarterly sewer rental billing amount of the user. The following formula shall be used to calculate the strength of waste surcharge:
|
SQ = 8.34*Q*[(BOD - 300)*TCBOD + (TSS - 201)*(TP - 7)*TCTP + (NH3 - N - 25)*TCTP]
|
|
Where:
| ||
|
SQ is the quarterly surcharge billing
amount.
| ||
|
8.34 is a constant to convert waste strength expressed in mg/L
to pounds.
| ||
|
Q is the quarterly volume of nonresidential wastewater flow
expressed in million gallons.
| ||
|
BOD is the average measured concentration of five-day biochemical
oxygen demand in the wastewater sampled during the billing quarter.
| ||
|
TSS is the average measured concentration of total suspended
solids in the wastewater sampled during the billing quarter.
| ||
|
NH3-N is the average measured concentration
of ammonia-nitrogen in the wastewater sampled during the billing quarter.
| ||
|
TP is the average measured concentration of total phosphorus
in the wastewater sampled during the billing quarter.
| ||
|
TCBOD is the treatment cost associated
with BOD expressed in $/lb or BOD.
| ||
|
TCTSS is the treatment cost associated
with TSS expressed in $/lb of TSS.
| ||
|
TCNH3-N is the treatment cost associated
with NH3-N expressed in $/lb of NH3-N.
| ||
|
TCTP is the treatment cost associated
with TP expressed in $/lb of TP.
| ||
(2)Â
The 300, 210, 7, and 25 are constants which express the surcharge
concentration limits in mg/L for BOD, TSS, TP, AND NH3-N respectively.
(3)Â
When the average measured concentration for BOD, total suspended
solids, total phosphorus, and/or ammonia-nitrogen is less than the
surcharge concentration limit set forth in the strength of waste surcharge
formula, then the strength of waste surcharge concentration shall
be substituted for the measured waste concentration in the formula.
C.Â
Determining the strength of wastewater.
(1)Â
The strength of wastewater (i.e., concentration of pollutants) to
be used for establishing the amount of surcharge shall be determined
by the Borough at least once every billing quarter either:
(2)Â
When the strength of wastewater is determined by analysis, the analyses
shall be performed in accordance with the procedures outlined in the
latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and
Wastewater; published jointly by the American Public Health Association,
the American Water Works Association and the Water Environment Federation.
The concentration to be used to calculate the surcharge amount shall
be the arithmetic average of the individual samples analyzed over
each of the three consecutive days of sampling.
D.Â
Costs associated with monitoring and enforcement of the surcharge
provisions.
(1)Â
The cost of monitoring activities performed by the Borough, in accordance
with the provisions of this article, shall be the responsibility of
the customer, regardless of whether the monitoring results identify
concentrations of pollutants in the user's discharge in excess of
the Borough's surcharge limits. Such costs shall include, but not
be limited to, the following:
(a)Â
The costs for the analyses;
(b)Â
Rental of Borough equipment used in performing the monitoring
(i.e. vehicles, samplers, flow meters, etc.);
(c)Â
Labor costs associated with the installation of monitoring equipment
and sample transport; and
(d)Â
Administrative costs associated with tabulation of the surcharge
amount and billing.
(2)Â
All costs associated with enforcement of the provisions of this article
shall be borne by the customer. These costs may include legal and
engineering fees, as well as filing fees and other court costs.
The rentals and charges established in this article shall commence
on the date the particular connection is made to the sewer system.
All bills shall be rendered and payable quarterly or any other periodical
billing as provided by resolution of Council. The owners of properties
connecting during the first calendar half of any such quarterly period
shall be billed retroactively to the first day of such quarter. The
owners of properties connecting during the second calendar half of
any such quarterly period shall be billed from the first day of the
next following quarterly period. All bills for sewer rates and other
charges shall be rendered on or before the due date noted on the quarterly
invoice.
A.Â
The date of payment shall be the date the payment is received at
the Borough office.
[Amended 3-12-2020 by Ord. No. 803]
B.Â
The owners of all properties connected to the sewer system must give
the Borough their current address. Failure to receive bills will not
be considered an excuse for nonpayment nor permit an extension of
the period during which bills are payable at face.
C.Â
The sewer rentals herein provided shall be collected and enforced
in the manner provided by law for the assessment and collection of
charges and the enforcement of municipal liens under the laws of the
State of Pennsylvania.
A.Â
Delinquent sewer rentals shall be defined as any balance that is
in the amount of a minimum quarterly charge or higher not paid on
or before the due date noted on the quarterly invoice. All delinquent
sewer rentals and all penalties thereon shall be a lien on the property
served and may be entered as a lien against such property in the Office
of the Prothonotary of Lebanon County and collected in the manner
provided by law for the filing and collection of municipal liens.
B.Â
The Borough may take other action as appropriate when sewer rentals
are delinquent, including, but not limited to, the termination of
water supply to the delinquent property until satisfaction in full
of all arrearages, penalties, interest, costs and charges. If water
service is terminated under these conditions, payment of any termination
fee and reconnection fee assessed by the water company will be the
responsibility of the property owner.
C.Â
All sewer rentals not paid within 30 days of the invoice date shall
be subject to an initial penalty of 1.5% of the amount of the unpaid
balance. All sewer rentals not paid within 60 days of the date of
the invoice shall be subject to an additional penalty of 6% of the
amount of the unpaid balance.
The funds received by the Borough from the collection of the
connection charges and rentals and all penalties thereon as herein
provided for and any fines collected by the Borough in connection
with the sewer system shall be segregated and kept separate and apart
from all other funds of the Borough and shall be used only for the
purpose of defraying the expenses of the Borough in the operation,
maintenance, repair, alteration, inspection, depreciation or other
expenses in relation to such sewer system, and for such payments as
the Borough may be required to make under any lease or agreement it
may enter into for and of, or in connection with, said sewer system.
The Borough reserves the right to, and may from time to time,
adopt, revise, amend and readopt such rules and regulations as it
deem necessary and proper for the use and operation of the sewer system
and all such rules and regulations shall be and become a part of this
article.
