[Adopted 7-12-2016]
A.
An ordinance establishing user charges in the Town of Farmington
for the purpose of providing funds for the operation, maintenance
and replacement expenses associated with the municipal wastewater
collection, conveyance, and treatment facilities.
B.
As provided for under § 7-255 et seq. of the Connecticut
General Statutes, the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) is
empowered to establish and revise fair and reasonable charges for
the use of the municipal sewerage system. The owner of property against
which any such use charge is levied shall be liable for the payment
thereof. Municipally owned and other tax-exempt property which uses
the sewerage system shall be subject to such charges under the same
conditions as are the owners of other property.
C.
No charge for the use of the municipal sewerage system shall be established
or revised until after a public hearing before the WPCA, at which
owners of property which use the sewerage system shall have an opportunity
to be heard concerning the proposed charges. Notice of the time, date,
and place of such hearing shall be published at least ten days before
the hearing in a newspaper having a general circulation in the municipality,
and a copy of the proposed charges shall be on file in the office
of the Town Clerk for public inspection at least ten days before the
date of the hearing.
D.
Within ten days of having established such charges, the WPCA shall
cause the same to be published in a newspaper having a general circulation
in the municipality.
A.
The total cost of the operation and maintenance of the sewerage system,
including replacement fund (OM&R cost) shall be recovered from
the users of the system. Each user's share of the OM&R cost
of the sewerage system shall be in proportion to the user's contribution
to the total wastewater loading of the sewerage system. All residential
users shall be charged on the residential basis of their total wastewater
contribution. All commercial, industrial and public agencies shall
be charged on the quantity of water consumed for the year and shall
be based upon water consumption values provided to the Town of Farmington
by the appropriate water company that supplies those users. Surcharges
shall be added to the volume-based charges for wastewater discharges
whose BOD or suspended solids concentrations are in excess of 300
ppm, or for discharges whose other constituents result in an identifiable
increase in wastewater conveyance, treatment, or disposal costs. Should
the WPCA determine that there has been a discharge that exceeds the
maximum concentration as defined within this article and/or within
other applicable state codes or other discharges that impede the daily
nutrient removal and daily workings of the plant, the person(s) who
allow the unauthorized discharge shall be responsible for any and
all costs, damages and expenses incurred to the Town of Farmington
for the removal of such discharge and rectification costs and expenses
that enable the WPCA to return the plant operation to normal nutrient
removal levels. "Normal nutrient removal levels" are defined to be
those levels of which the plant operates during any given day or time
period throughout the year.
B.
The WPCA will review the sewer user charges annually and revise the
rates as necessary to ensure that adequate revenues are generated
to recover all OM&R costs and that the rate structure continues
to distribute the costs of wastewater collection and treatment among
the users in proportion to their contribution.
A.
All sewer use charges shall be billed yearly through the Town for
the WPCA and shall be paid in full within a period of thirty days
after same is declared due and payable unless otherwise stated on
the billing form. The billing form shall state the amount owed by
the property owner for sewer use and the portion of the bill that
is dedicated to pay for debt service.
B.
Any charge for the use of a sewerage system not paid within thirty
days of the due date shall thereupon be delinquent and shall bear
interest from the due date at the rate and in the manner provided
by the general statutes for delinquent property taxes. Each addition
of interest shall be collectible as a part of such connection or use
charge. Any such unpaid connection or use charge shall constitute
a lien upon the real estate against which such charge was levied from
the date it became delinquent. Each such lien may be continued, recorded
and released in the manner provided by the general statutes for continuing,
recording and releasing property tax liens. Each such lien shall take
precedence over all other liens and encumbrances except taxes and
may be foreclosed in the same manner as a lien for property taxes.
C.
All revenues collected under the provisions of this article shall
be kept separate from any other funds of the municipality and shall
be used solely for the purposes stated in Article 1 of this chapter,
and for no other purpose. Fiscal year-end balances shall be used to
defray the following year's costs, or shall be deposited in a
nonlapsing fund established for replacement of major mechanical components
which could reasonably be expected to require replacement during the
useful life of the treatment works. If, as a result of a shortfall,
funds have been transferred from other sources into the sewerage funds
account, those funds shall be repaid at the beginning of the next
fiscal year, and the sewer user charge shall be increased to cover
the transfer of these funds.
A.
Any person aggrieved by any charge for the use of the sewerage system
may make written appeal to the WPCA within thirty days of the billing
date, requesting a review of the user charge. This request shall,
where necessary, show the actual or estimated flow and/or strength
of the discharge in comparison with the values upon which the charge
is based, including how the measurements or estimates were made.
B.
Should an agreement not be reached between the person(s) making such
a request to review their charge and the WPCA, those person(s) aggrieved
by any charge for the use of a sewerage system may appeal to the superior
court for the judicial district wherein the municipality is located
and shall bring any such appeal to a return day of said court not
less than twelve or more than thirty days after service thereof. The
judgment of the court shall be final.
The Town of Farmington WPCF does not accept for disposal or
treatment of any private septage wastewater in any manner.
Parts per million
