[Adopted 6-21-1973 by Ord. No. 217 (Ch. 18, Part 2, of the 1983 Code
of Ordinances)]
Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise,
the meaning of the terms used in this article shall be as follows:
Municipal Sewer Authority of the Borough of Catawissa, Columbia
County, Pennsylvania, a Pennsylvania municipality authority.
The Borough of Catawissa, Columbia County, Pennsylvania.
Any premises used wholly or in part for the manufacturing,
processing, cleaning, washing, laundering or assembly of any product,
commodity or article.
Any solid, liquid or gaseous substance or waterborne wastes
or form of energy rejected or escaping from any industrial, manufacturing,
commercial, trade, business or research process or from the development,
recovery or processing of natural resources, as distinct from sanitary
sewage.
Any nonresidential establishment which, as determined by
the Borough in its sole discretion, based upon actual or anticipated
sewer system use, should be billed upon a water consumption basis
in order to arrive at a fair and equitable charge for such sewer system
use.
Any establishment now or hereafter served by the sewer system
other than a residential establishment, and includes any industrial
establishment.
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation
(whether public or private) or group, and shall include schools, churches,
hospitals and all charitable institutions.
Any room, group of rooms, house trailer or enclosure or other
establishment used, occupied or intended for occupancy as separate
living quarters by a family or other group of persons living together
or by persons living alone.
The normal water-carried household and toilet wastes from
residential establishments and nonresidential establishments.
For sewer service charges purposes, the length of time for
which sewer service charges are billed.
All the facilities now or hereafter operated by the Borough
and now existing or hereafter to be constructed in the Borough or
the collection and treatment of sanitary sewage and acceptable industrial
wastes.
Sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes.
[Amended 1-13-1976 by Ord. No. 234; 2-5-1990 by Ord. No. 306; 12-28-1992 by Ord. No. 321; 12-11-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-05; 2-11-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-01; 12-8-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-07]
Sewer service charges are hereby imposed upon all owners of
property now or hereafter served by the sewer system, payable for
each service period as provided herein, for the use, whether direct
or indirect, of such sewer system as follows:
A.
Residential establishments: $40 per month.
[Amended 9-12-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-04; 5-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-01; at time of adoption
of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B.
Nonresidential establishments.
[Amended 9-12-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-04; 5-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-01]
(1)
Except as provided in Subsection C(1) of this section, owners of nonresidential establishments shall pay a sewer rental equal to $40 per month multiplied by the number of equivalent dwelling units indicated in the following schedule.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
|
Category
|
Equivalent Dwelling Units
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Each retail store
|
1
| |
|
Each business or professional office
|
1
| |
|
Each business or professional office attached to or part of
the principal dwelling of the businessman or professional individual
wherein the general public enters to transact business
|
1
| |
|
With separate sanitary facilities
|
1
| |
|
Without separate sanitary facilities
|
1/2
| |
|
Each hotel or motel (in addition to restaurant facilities) per
rental room
|
1/2
| |
|
Each restaurant, club, tavern or drugstore, per 18 seats
|
1
| |
|
Each church
|
1/2
| |
|
Each service station or automobile repair garage
|
2
| |
|
Each school, per 18 pupils and employees
|
1
| |
|
Each industrial establishment, per 18 employees
|
1
| |
|
Each bowling alley (in addition to restaurant facilities or
other facilities therein) per 6 lanes or major fraction thereof
|
1
| |
|
Each barbershop or beauty shop, whether or not attached to or
part of owner's residence
|
1
| |
C.
Metered water service.
(1)
Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection B(1) of this section, owners of major nonresidential establishments and industrial establishments shall pay sewer rental based upon the actual water consumption, with exceptions as hereinafter noted in Subsection E, computed at a rate of $4.64 per 1,000 gallons per month, with a minimum monthly charge of $40.
[Amended 9-12-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-04; 5-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-01; at time of adoption
of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
(2)
The volume of water to be used for billing sewer rentals under this
subsection shall include any and all metered water purchased from
the Authority or any other private or public water company, and in
addition, all water obtained from any other source (wells, streams,
etc.,) as determined by meters installed and maintained by the Borough,
by meters maintained and installed by the user as approved by the
Borough, or from estimates or measurements made by the Borough.
D.
Multiple-residential and nonresidential establishments. In the case of owners of property from which wastewaters that originate in more than one residential and/or nonresidential establishment located on the property are discharged to the sewer system, sewer rentals shall be computed for each individual establishment as set forth in Subsections A and B and, as may be applicable, Subsections E, F and G. Individual sewer rentals thus computed for each establishment shall be totaled for purposes of determining the aggregate sewer rental billing to the property owner.
E.
Sewered nonresidential establishments that exclude wastewaters from
sewer systems:
(1)
Exclusion from the sewage system of noncontaminated wastewaters may be required of a nonresidential establishment by the Borough, or such exclusion may be optional with the property owner if not required by the Borough. When such wastewaters are excluded, or when any other portion of the water consumption of a nonresidential establishment does not reach the sewer system, sewer rentals shall be based upon total water consumption, less water excluded, at a rate of $3.47 per 1,000 gallons per month, and, as may be applicable, as set forth in Subsection G. Water excluded shall be determined from meters installed and maintained by the property owner as required and approved by the Borough or from estimates made by the Borough, or the property owner may elect to measure wastewater volumes actually discharged to the sewage system as hereinafter provided.
(2)
The Borough may require the owner of an industrial establishment or the owner of an industrial establishment may elect to install, pay for and maintain a meter approved by the Borough for measuring monthly wastewater volumes discharged to the sewer system, in which case sewer rentals shall be based upon the actual volume of wastewaters so metered and at the rate of $3.47 per 1,000 gallons per month and, as may be applicable, as set forth in Subsection G.
F.
Minimum sewer rentals. Notwithstanding any other provisions contained in this article, all owners of property connected to the sewer system shall be required to pay a minimum sewer rental of $40 per month per residential establishment and $40 per month per equivalent dwelling unit as set forth in the schedule in Subsection B hereof.
[Amended 9-12-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-04; 5-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-01; at time of adoption
of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
G.
Sewered nonresidential establishments that discharge excess strength wastes to sewer system. The owner of an industrial establishment discharging wastewaters to the sewer system having an average five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) greater than 200 parts per million (ppm) and a suspended solids content greater than 250 ppm shall pay a strength-of-waste surcharge, in addition to applicable volume charges, equal to 1/10 of 1% for each ppm by which the BOD exceeds 200 ppm plus 1/10 of 1% for each ppm by which the suspended solids exceed 250 ppm. Surcharges shall be applicable to all sewer rental billings made under Subsections B, C, D and E hereof. The strength of wastewaters to be used for establishing the amount of surcharge shall be determined at least once annually either by suitable sampling and analysis of the wastewaters for three consecutive days during a period of normal plant operation; from estimates made by the Borough; or from known relationships of products produced to strengths of wastewaters from those industries where such factors have been established. In establishing wastewater strengths for surcharge purposes by analysis, analyses shall be made in accordance with procedures outlined in the latest edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater," published by the American Public Health Association, Inc. Owners of 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 for excess strength wastes. The cost of obtaining such information shall be borne by the owner of the industrial establishment.
Additional classifications of properties connecting to the sewer
system and of sewer rentals or modifications of the above schedule
of sewer rentals may be established by the Borough from time to time
as deemed necessary.
[Amended 1-13-1976 by Ord. No. 234; 6-9-1983 by Ord. No. 268; 12-6-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-03]
Sewer rental charges set forth herein shall be effective as
of January 1, 1976, and thereafter. Sewer rental billings shall be
rendered for arrears of service provided for the monthly service period
of each year a property is connected to the sewer system. Owners of
property connected to the sewer system for more than 1/2 of a monthly
period shall pay the full monthly sewer rental with respect to such
property. All sewer rental billings shall be due and payable on or
before the 20th day of the month in which billed and, if not paid
on or before the due date, a penalty of 5% shall be added. Upon a
consumer's failure, refusal or neglect to pay the full amount
of the bill within 10 days after the final payment date thereon, the
Borough shall issue a notice to disconnect water service to the consumer,
with a copy thereof to consumer's landlord where the consumer
is a tenant. Said property shall be posted for a period five business
days prior to disconnect. Unless payment of all amounts then due shall
have been made within five business days after the issuance of such
notice and said posting, water service shall be disconnected. The
disconnection of water service shall not be regarded as a penalty,
but rather as a means of preventing future losses.
The sewer charges imposed by this article shall be and are hereby
declared to be a lien on the property served from the date the charges
become due and payable. In addition to all other rights of the Borough
herein granted, if such charges are not paid, the Borough may file
such liens against such property in the office of the Prothonotary
of Columbia County and collect the same in the manner provided by
law for the filing and collection of municipal liens and claims.[1]
A.
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 wastewaters by any industry in order
to prevent discharges deemed harmful or to have a deleterious effect
upon any portion of the sewer system.
(1)
No
wastewaters shall be discharged to the sewer system:
(a)
Having a temperature higher than 149° F.
(b)
Containing more than 100 ppm by weight of fats, oils and grease.
(c)
Containing any gasoline, benzine, naphtha, fuel oil or other
inflammable or explosive liquids, solids, or gases.
(d)
Containing any garbage that has not been ground by household
type or other suitable garbage grinders.
(e)
Containing any ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal,
glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, paunch manure, or any
other solids or viscous substances capable of causing obstructions
or other interferences with proper operation of the sewer system.
(f)
Having a pH lower than 6.5 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 system.
(g)
Containing toxic or poisonous substances in sufficient quantity
to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, or constitute
hazards to humans or animals, or to create any hazard in waters which
receive treated effluent from the Borough's sewage treatment
plant. Toxic wastes shall include, but not by way of limitation, wastes
containing cyanide, chromium, copper, and nickel ions.
(h)
Containing noxious or malodorous gases or substances capable
of creating a public nuisance.
(i)
Containing solids of such character and quantity that special
and unusual attention is required for their handling.
(2)
Suitable
pretreatment facilities shall be installed to meet these requirements.
B.
The discharge of roof water, stormwater, surface drainage, and building
foundation drainage to the sewer system is expressly prohibited.
C.
The Borough reserves the right to require industrial establishments
having large variations in rates of wastewater discharge to install
suitable regulating devices for equalizing wastewater flows to the
sewer system.
D.
When directed by the Borough, owners of industrial establishments
shall install, pay for, and maintain a manhole and such other devices
as may be approved by the Borough to facilitate observation, measurement,
and sampling of wastewaters discharged to the sewer system. The Borough
or its duly authorized representative shall, at all reasonable times,
be permitted to enter upon any and all properties for the purpose
of inspecting, observing, measuring, and sampling wastewaters discharged
to the sewer system. The owner of any industrial establishment that
desires to connect to the sewer system or any industrial establishment
which is connected to the sewer system and plans to change operations
so as to materially alter the characteristics and volumes of wastewaters
discharged to the sewer system shall notify the Borough, in writing,
at least 10 days before making such connection or changing its operations.
E.
Owners of 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 owner of the industrial establishment.
