No person shall uncover, make any connections with, or opening
into, use, alter, disturb, or discharge into any public sewer or appurtenance
thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Administrator
or Town Board where designated.
There shall be two classes of building sewer permits: 1) for
residential and commercial service; and 2) for service to establishments
producing industrial wastes. In either case, the owner or his agent
shall make application on a special form furnished by the Administrator.
The permit application shall be accompanied by plans, profiles, specifications,
or other information considered pertinent by the Administrator. All
permit applications for service to establishments producing industrial
wastes shall be subject to Town Board approval after a public hearing.
A permit and inspection fee for a residential or commercial building
sewer permit or for an industrial building sewer permit in the amount
prescribed in a fee schedule adopted by the Town Board shall be paid
to that sewer district in which the property is located at the time
that the application is filed.
A.
The owner of any public sewage system located within any sewer district,
other than a system owned and operated by that sewer district, must
receive the written approval of the Administrator before a connection
of all or any part of the system can be made to the sewer system.
Where the public sewage system is operating, a condition of approval
shall require the owner to provide the Administrator with "as-built
drawings" of the sewage system to be connected, as well as any additional
data he may require to determine the quantity and character of sewage
flow to be discharged to the sewage system. Where the public sewage
system is not operating, and initial service will be provided by that sewer
district, "as-built drawings" of the sewage system for which connection
approval is requested shall be furnished to the Administrator, as
well as the results of infiltration and exfiltration tests made under
the supervision of, and certified by, a professional engineer licensed
in the State of New York, prior to the connection of any system thereto.
Infiltration of such sewer shall not exceed 200 gallons per inch of
diameter per mile of sewer per day. The owner of the public sewage
system shall, before the system is accepted, make repairs as necessary
when excessive infiltration is located. Such repairs shall be subject
to the approval of the Administrator.
B.
The Administrator reserves the right to perform studies, measurements,
and tests to ensure compliance with the requirements of this article.
All costs and expenses in installing and connecting a public
sewage system or building sewer to the Town sewage system shall be
borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify that sewer district
in which the property is located for any loss or damage that might
be occasioned by the installation and connection of such public sewage
system or building sewer.
A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided
for every building; except where one building stands at the rear of
another on a separate interior lot, and no 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; but each shall be considered a separate unit for
the purpose of sewage service charges.
Existing building sewers may be used in conjunction with new
buildings only when they are found, upon inspection and testing by
the Administrator, to meet all requirements of this chapter and any
other specifications adopted by the Administrator.
A.
No building sewer shall be laid parallel to or within three feet
of any bearing wall which might thereby be weakened. The depth shall
be sufficient to afford protection from frost. The building sewer
shall be laid at uniform grade and in straight alignment insofar as
possible. Changes in direction shall be made only with properly curved
pipe and fittings.
B.
The size and slope of the building sewer from the building drain
to the main public sewer shall be subject to the approval of the Administrator.
In no case shall the diameter of the building sewer be less than four
inches between the building drain and the main public sewer or public
septic tank. The slope of the pipe shall be not less than 1/4 inch
per foot. Proper reducer or increaser fittings shall be used between
all changes of pipe sizes and materials so as to make a water- and
gas-tight joint.
C.
Old building sewers. The lines outside the building leading to the
curb connections or public sewer may be used by property owners only
if they are water-tight, gas-tight, and meet all other specifications,
and if not meeting said specifications in their entirety may be used
with special approval of the Administrator.
D.
All excavations required for the installation of a building sewer
shall be open trench work, unless otherwise approved by the Administrator.
Pipe laying and backfilling shall be performed in accordance with
the pipe manufacturer's recommendation; but in any event shall
conform to the following minimum standards:
(1)
Ditch shall be straight and true, and to uniform grade insofar as
possible.
(2)
Bottom of trench shall be shaped by hand to receive pipe, or a minimum
of three inches of compacted sand shall be placed in the trench bottom
to receive the pipe.
(3)
Where rock is encountered in the excavation of the trench, the rock
shall be excavated at least four inches below the grade of the pipe.
(4)
After placing pipe and making joints as per requirements, earth backfill
shall be placed to the height of the top of the pipe and tamped.
(5)
One foot of earth fill free from rocks will then be placed and tamped.
(6)
The remainder of the trench shall then be backfilled, but all such
trenches in Town roads shall be filled in one-inch layers and tamped
before additional dirt is added.
E.
Where it is necessary to connect the building sewer directly to the
public sewer, such connections shall be made by a qualified plumber
or sewer contractor under the direction of and in the method specified
by the Administrator. The connection shall be made by carefully making
a hole in the upper half of the public sewer; inserting a special
branch connection or saddle-like adapter; and properly securing this
branch connection to the public sewer so that this branch connection
is firm and water-tight. All such building sewers shall meet the same
leakage test as specified for sanitary sewers; and such test shall
be performed at the expense of the owner, and witnessed by an inspector
before backfill is permitted. No backfill shall be placed until the
work has been inspected by the Administrator or his representative.
Building sewers and water service branches or connections will not
be laid in the same trench.
F.
All joints shall be water-tight and gas-tight.
G.
New materials and methods of construction.
(1)
Alternate materials and methods may be used only if they have been
specifically approved by the Administrator. He may approve any alternate,
provided that the proposed design is satisfactory and complies with
the intent of this chapter and that the material or method of work
offered is for the purpose intended, at least the equivalent of that
here prescribed in quality, strength, effectiveness, durability and
safety.
(2)
Repairs to sewage connections shall be made with such material as
is provided for by this article for new work insofar as it is practical.
(3)
The size, slope, alignment, materials or construction of a building
sewer, appurtenances, and the methods to be used in excavating, placing
of the building sewer pipe, jointing, testing, and backfilling the
trench shall conform to the requirements of the specification for
the installation of building sewers as adopted by the Town Board and
all applicable provisions of any other rules and regulations of the
Town of Tusten, or of the County of Sullivan, and the State of New
York, whichever requirement is more strict. In the absence of any
requirements, or in amplification thereof, the materials and procedures
set forth in appropriate specifications of the American Society for
Testing and Materials (ASTM) and Water Pollution Control Federation
(WPCF),[2] Manual of Practice No. 9, shall apply. All connections
of building sewers to a public sewage system shall be gas-tight and
water-tight. Any deviations from the prescribed materials and construction
procedures must be approved by the Administrator prior to installation.
[2]
Editor's Note: Now the Water Environment Federation.
H.
The building sewer shall be constructed of vitrified clay sewer pipe,
cast iron soil pipe or cement-asbestos sewer pipe. A strength classification
will be selected on the basis of depth of burial in accordance with
the standards of the manufacturer or product association.
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, sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted
by a method approved by the Administrator and discharged to a gravity
flow building sewer.
No person shall make a 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 to a public sewer.
A.
The applicant for the connection of any building sewer to a public
sewage system owned or maintained by any sewer district shall notify
the Administrator when the building sewer is ready for inspection
and connection to the public sewer. In no case shall any underground
portions of the building sewer be covered, or connection to the public
sewer made, without the approval and/or supervision of the Administrator,
or his representative. Permission to activate the building sewer will
be given only after satisfactory final inspection has been made and
approval given by the Administrator.
B.
Trench water will not be allowed to enter the public sewer unless
specifically authorized by the Administrator. The building sewer trench
shall be completely dewatered before the tap is made into the public
sewer system.
All excavations for building sewer excavations shall comply
with all federal, state and local safety regulations, and 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 work shall be restored in a manner
satisfactory to the Administrator and appropriate municipal authorities.
Building sewers shall be maintained, serviced, and repaired
by the owner of the property served from the building drain to a point
within one foot of the septic tank, if connected to a public sewer
in a public right-of-way, and to within two feet of the public sewer
located in an easement across private property. In the event that
a property is unable to discharge sewage into the public sewer, it
will be presumed that the fault is in the private building sewer unless
contrary facts are in evidence. Evidence of willful damage to a building
sewer being served by a public sewer shall be considered a violation
of this chapter.
In any sewer district where public septic tanks are used as
a part of the treatment and disposal process, such septic tanks shall
be pumped out a minimum of every four years in a staggered program
such that at least 25% are pumped out every year. Inspection of septic
tanks, both for their sludge content and their physical condition
and condition of appurtenances, shall be performed annually. Annual
inspection will be used to determine the need, if any, for more frequent
pumping of certain tanks. The landowner shall be notified by written
communication of the Town's intent to enter upon the property
for the purpose of monitoring and/or pumping of septic tank and/or
appurtenances. Such notice shall give the landowner no less than two
weeks' notice of such intent and shall indicate, to the extent
practicable, the specific date or dates of such entrance upon the
property.
Before any building whose building sewer is connected to a public
sewer is demolished, the owner thereof shall conform with the requirements
established by the Administrator. The cutoff, or plugging, of the
building sewer shall be done with the permission and under the supervision
of the Administrator.
