Chapter 13.15
SEWER UTILITY
Sections:
13.15.020 Use of public sewers required.
13.15.030 Building sewers and connections.
13.15.040 Use of the public sewers.
13.15.050 Protection from damage.
13.15.060 Powers and authority of inspectors.
13.15.070 Sewer service charges and fees.
13.15.080 Special sewer improvement account.
13.15.090 Appeal of inequitable rates.
13.15.100 Repair and replacement.
13.15.110 Lien against property.
13.15.010 Definitions.
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this chapter shall be as follows:
“BOD” (denoting biochemical oxygen demand) shall mean the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20 degrees Celsius, expressed in milligrams per liter.
“Building drain” shall mean that part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste, and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning five feet (one and one-half meters) outside the inner face of the building wall.
“Building sewer” shall mean the extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.
“Combined sewer” shall mean a sewer receiving both surface run-off and sewage.
“Director” shall mean the City Manager of the City of Monmouth or his authorized agent, deputy or representative.
“Garbage” shall mean solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage, and sale of produce.
“Industrial wastes” shall mean the liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing processes, trade, or business as distinct from sanitary sewage.
“Natural outlet” shall mean any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake, or other body of surface or ground water.
“Person” shall mean any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation, or group.
“pH” shall mean the logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.
“Properly shredded garbage” shall mean the wastes from the preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than one-half inch (1.27 centimeters) in any dimension.
“Public sewer” shall mean a sewer in which all owners abutting properties have equal rights, and is controlled by public authority.
“Sanitary sewer” shall mean a sewer which carries sewage and to which storm, surface, and groundwaters are not intentionally admitted.
“Sewage” shall mean a combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments, together with such ground, surface, and stormwaters as may be present.
“Sewage treatment plant” shall mean any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating sewage.
“Sewage works” shall mean all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating, and disposing of sewage.
“Sewer” shall mean a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
“Shall” is mandatory; “may” is permissive.
“Slug” shall mean any discharge of water, sewage, or industrial waste which in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow exceeds for any period of duration longer than 15 minutes more than five times the average 24-hour concentration of flows during normal operation.
“Storm drain” (sometimes termed “storm sewer”) shall mean a sewer which carries storm and surface waters and drainage, but excludes sewage and industrial wastes, other than unpolluted cooling water.
“Suspended solids” shall mean solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in, water, sewage, or other liquids, and which are removable by laboratory filtering.
“Watercourse” shall mean a channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently. (Ord. 885, § 1, May 5, 1981. Code 1983 § 72.100.)
13.15.020 Use of public sewers required.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit, or permit to be deposited in an unsanitary manner on public or private property within the City of Monmouth, or in any area under the jurisdiction of said City, any human or animal excrement, garbage, or other objectionable waste.
(2) It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the City of Monmouth or in any area under the jurisdiction of said City, any sewage or other polluted waters, except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this chapter.
(3) It shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool, or other facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage within the City of Monmouth.
(4) The owner of all houses, buildings, or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation, or other purposes, situated within the City and abutting on any street, alley, or right-of-way in which there is now located or may in the future be located a public sanitary sewer of the City, is hereby required at his expense to install suitable toilet facilities therein, and to connect such facilities directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, within 90 days after date of official notice to do so; provided, that said public sewer is within 200 feet of the property line. (Ord. 466, § 2; amended by Ord. 885, § 1, May 5, 1981. Code 1983 § 72.120.)
13.15.030 Building sewers and connections.
(1) No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter, or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Director.
(2) There shall be two classes of building sewer permits: (a) for residential and commercial service, and (b) 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 city. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications, or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the Director.
(3) All costs and expense incident to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the City from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.
(4) A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every building; except where one building stands at the rear of another on an interior lot and no private 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.
(5) Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test by the Director, to meet all requirements of this chapter.
(6) The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building sewer, and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing and backfilling the trench, shall all conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules and regulations of the City.
(7) 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, sanitary sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer.
(8) No person shall make 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 directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer.
(9) The connection of the building sewer into a public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules and regulations of the City. All such connections shall be made gastight and watertight. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the Director before installation.
(10) The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the Director when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. The connection shall be made under the supervision of the Director or his representative.
(11) All excavations for building sewer installation 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 the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the City.
(12) All building sewers shall be provided with a two-way cleanout, meeting City standards, brought to within six inches of grade, at the property line. This requirement shall apply to all newly constructed building sewers and to existing building sewers when ordered by the Director of Public Works or when said existing building sewers are substantially repaired or reconstructed. Additional cleanouts shall be provided at changes in direction or slope as otherwise may be required by the Oregon State Plumbing Code.
(13) Building sewers shall be constructed, reconstructed and/or repaired using the following materials unless otherwise specifically approved, in writing, by the Director:
|
Pipe Material |
Reference Specification |
|---|---|
|
Ductile Iron Pipe – CL.50 |
ANSI A21.51 AWWA C-151 |
|
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) – SDR 35 |
ASTMD 3034, SDR-35 or ASTMD 1785 |
|
ABS Single Wall |
ASTMD 2751 |
(Ord. 703; amended by Ord. 885, § 1, May 5, 1981; Ord. 941, § 1, Feb. 7, 1984; Ord. 1334, § 1, December 3, 2013; Ord. 1353, § 1, January 20, 2015. Code 1983 § 72.130.)
13.15.040 Use of the public sewers.
(1) No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof run-off, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water, or unpolluted industrial process waters to any sanitary sewer.
(2) Stormwater and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated as combined sewers or storm sewers, or to a natural outlet approved by the Director. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged, on approval of the Director, to a storm sewer, combined sewer, or natural outlet.
(3) No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes to any public sewers:
(a) Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil, or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid, or gas.
(b) Any waters or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids, or gases in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a public nuisance, or create any hazard in the receiving waters of the sewage treatment plant, including but not limited to cyanides in excess of two mg/l as CN in the wastes as discharged to the public sewer.
(c) Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 5.5, or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment, and personnel of the sewage works.
(d) Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers, or other interference with the proper operation of the sewage works such as, but not limited to, ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, unground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entrails and paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc., either whole or ground by garbage grinders.
(4) No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged the following described substances, materials, waters, or wastes if it appears likely in the opinion of the Director that such wastes can harm either the sewers, sewage treatment process, or equipment, have an adverse effect on the receiving stream, or can otherwise endanger life, limb, public property, or constitute a nuisance. In forming his opinion as to the acceptability of these wastes, the Director will give consideration to such factors as to quantities of subject wastes in relation to flows and velocities in the sewers, materials of construction of the sewers, nature of the sewage treatment process, capacity of sewage treatment plant, degree of treatability of wastes in the sewage treatment plant, and other pertinent factors. The substances prohibited are:
(a) Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than 150 degrees Fahrenheit (65 degrees Celsius).
(b) Any water or waste containing fats, grease, or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of 100 mg/l or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 32 and 150 degrees Fahrenheit (zero and 65 degrees Celsius).
(c) Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor of three-fourths horsepower (0.76 hp metric) or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the Director.
(d) Any waters or wastes containing strong acid iron pickling wastes, or concentrated plating solutions whether neutralized or not.
(e) Any waters or wastes containing iron, chromium, copper, zinc, and similar objectionable or toxic substances; or wastes exerting an excessive chlorine requirement, to such degree that any such material received in the composite sewage at the sewage treatment works exceeds the limits established by the Director for such materials.
(f) Any waters or wastes containing phenols or other taste- or odor-producing substances, in such concentrations exceeding limits which may be established by the Director as necessary, after treatment of the composite sewage, to meet the requirements of the State, Federal, or other public agencies of jurisdiction for such discharge to the receiving waters.
(g) Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life of concentration as may exceed limits established by the Director in compliance with applicable State or Federal regulations.
(h) Any waters or wastes having a pH in excess of 9.5.
(i) Materials which exert or cause:
(i) Unusual concentrations of inert suspended solids (such as, but not limited to, Fuller’s earth, lime slurries, and lime residues) or of dissolved solids (such as, but not limited to, sodium chloride and sodium sulfate).
(ii) Excessive discoloration (such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions).
(iii) Unusual BOD, chemical oxygen demand, or chlorine requirements in such quantities as to constitute a significant load on the sewage treatment works.
(iv) Unusual volume of flow or concentration of wastes constituting “slugs” as defined in MCC 13.15.010.
(j) Waters or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction by the sewage treatment processes employed, or are amenable to treatment only to such degree that the sewage treatment plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction over discharge to the receiving waters.
(5) When any waters or wastes are discharged, or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in subsection (4) of this section, or which in the judgment of the Director may have a deleterious effect upon the sewage works, processes, equipment, or receiving waters, or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the Director may:
(a) Reject the wastes;
(b) Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers;
(c) Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge; and/or
(d) Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sewer charges under the provisions of subsection (10) of this section.
If the Director permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the Director, and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances, and laws.
(6) Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the Director, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts, or any flammable wastes, sand, or other harmful ingredients; except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the Director, and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
(7) Where preliminary treatment or flow-equalizing facilities are provided for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner at his expense.
(8) When required by the Director, the owner of any property served by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling, and measurement of the wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessibly and safely located, and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the Director. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his expense, and shall be maintained by him so as to be safe and accessible at all times.
(9) All measurements, tests, and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this chapter shall be determined in accordance with 40 CFR 136, and shall be determined at the control manhole provided, or upon suitable samples taken at said control manhole. In the event that no special manhole has been required, the control manhole shall be considered to be the nearest downstream manhole in the public sewer to the point at which the building sewer is connected. Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted methods to reflect the effect of constituents upon the sewage works and to determine the existence of hazards to life, limb, and property. The particular analyses involved will determine whether a 24-hour composite of all outfalls of a premises is appropriate or whether a grab sample or samples should be taken. Normally, but not always, BOD and suspended solids analyses will be obtained from 24-hour composites of all outfalls whereas pHs will be determined from periodic grab samples.
(10) No statement contained in this section shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the City and any industrial concern whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the City for treatment, subject to payment therefor, by the industrial concern. (Ord. 428, § 5; amended by Ord. 885, § 1, May 5, 1981; Ord. 1335, § 1, December 3, 2013. Code 1983 § 72.140.)
13.15.050 Protection from damage.
No unauthorized person shall maliciously, willfully, or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface, or tamper with any structure, appurtenance, or equipment which is a part of the sewage works. Any person violating this provision shall be subject to immediate arrest under charge of disorderly conduct. (Ord. 428, § 6; amended by Ord. 885, § 1, May 5, 1981. Code 1983 § 72.150.)
13.15.060 Powers and authority of inspectors.
(1) The Director and other duly authorized employees of the City bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, and testing in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The Director or his representatives shall have no authority to inquire into any processes including metallurgical, chemical, oil, refining, ceramic, paper, or other industries beyond that point having a direct bearing on the kind and source of discharge to the sewers or waterways or facilities for waste treatment.
(2) While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to in subsection (1) of this section, the Director or duly authorized employees of the City shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the company and the company shall be held harmless for injury or death to the City employees and the City shall indemnify the company against loss or damage to its property by City employees and against liability claims and demands for personal injury or property damage asserted against the company and growing out of the gauging and sampling operation, except as such may be caused by negligence or failure of the company to maintain safe conditions as required in MCC 13.15.040(8).
(3) The Director, and other duly authorized employees of the City, bearing proper identification, shall be permitted to enter upon any private property for the purposes of inspection, testing, measurement, sampling, repair and/or maintenance of any building sewer, sewer cleanout, sampling station or other parts of the sewerage works. Except in emergencies, such entry upon private property shall be preceded by notice to the property owner and shall be made at reasonable times and in such manner as to cause a minimum of inconvenience or damage to the private property owner. (Ord. 428, § 7; amended by Ord. 885, § 1, May 5, 1981; Ord. 941, § 1, Feb. 7, 1984. Code 1983 § 72.160.)
13.15.070 Sewer service charges and fees.
(1) Sewer Service Charges. All sewer users shall pay a monthly sewer service charge. Such charge shall be set by resolution of the City Council.
(2) Connection Fees. The owner of any property to be served by any building sewer shall pay, upon application for such connection, a fee therefor. The schedule of such fees shall be set by resolution of the City Council.
(3) Collection of Sewer Service Charges. All collections of sewer service charges under this section shall be made by and through the Common Council and shall be computed monthly at the same time as the water bills and be added thereto and be payable on the dates and at the place as provided for the payment of water bills. Where the first water bill after the sewer service charge becomes effective is computed as of a date of less than one month after said sewer service charge has become effective, said sewer service charge shall be proportioned according to the portion of the month for which it is effective.
(4) Delinquent Accounts.
(a) All sewer service charges shall be paid by the operator or occupant of business or dwelling and may be deducted from any deposits held in the Electric or Water Department of the City, and said ledger record shall be made accessible for inspection by anyone interested in ascertaining the amount of such charges against the property.
(b) All charges or fees for sewer service shall be chargeable to the premises to which the service is provided. Whenever any account for sewer service to any building or premises shall become due and payable by reason of the occupant in said building or upon said premises vacating the same, or by reason of the discontinuance of service by the City for nonpayment of account, water service shall not be furnished to said building or at said premises until all outstanding obligations or charges are paid. Water service may be discontinued to water users having delinquent sewer service accounts when the Common Council deems such action necessary to enforce collection of such delinquent accounts. Otherwise, the manner and method of collection and payment of sewer service charges or accounts shall be the same as provided by the Common Council for the collection and payment of accounts for water service. (Ord. 428, § 8; amended by Ord. 885, § 1, May 5, 1981; Ord. 1336, § 1, December 3, 2013. Code 1983 § 72.170.)
13.15.080 Special sewer improvement account.
All funds derived from the collection of service shall be credited to a special account and shall be expended only for the purposes designated below:
(1) For the construction of a sewage treatment plant or plants;
(2) For the construction of lateral sewers, intercepting sewers, sewage pumping plants or other sewage facilities;
(3) For the operation, maintenance, repair, replacement or reconstruction of any of the above sewage facilities. (Ord. 885, § 1, May 5, 1981. Code 1983 § 72.180.)
13.15.090 Appeal of inequitable rates.
Whenever any sewer user shall in writing protest the application of any charge provided for herein on the grounds that the rate computation thereof is inequitable or unreasonable, the Common Council shall make or cause to be made an investigation of such protest and determine the reasonableness of such charge, and if the Council shall find such unreasonable in any given case, it shall fix a fair and reasonable rate and charge to be based on the use made of the sewers and sewage facilities by the protesting sewer user. (Ord. 885, § 1, May 5, 1981. Code 1983 § 72.190.)
13.15.100 Repair and replacement.
(1) Any building sewer, whether upon private property or within the street or other public right-of-way, found to be damaged, obstructed or permitting infiltration of ground or surface waters shall be repaired or replaced when so ordered by the Director. All repair work must be inspected by the City. The cost of such repair or replacement for that portion of the building sewer which is on private property shall be borne by the owner of the property served by the building sewer. Costs of repair within public rights-of-way shall be borne by the City.
(2) Property owners notified to repair or replace building sewers shall do so within the time specified in the notice. If property owners fail to make repairs the City may make or cause to be made the repairs, in which case the costs of such repair work shall become a lien against the property which may be satisfied as set forth in MCC 13.15.110. Such lien would accrue interest.
(3) The City shall have the power to repair or replace building sewers found to be defective in any case where the property owner has failed to make the ordered repairs in a timely manner. Such repairs or replacement shall be made at property owner’s expense.
(4) For violations of this chapter due to failure to obey an order of the Director to repair or replace, and in addition to the remedies provided in MCC 13.15.120, the City may impose a penalty in an amount not to exceed $100.00 for each monthly billing period during which such violation continues.
(5) Appeal from enforcement of these regulations imposed by the Director of Public Works under this chapter may be made to the City Manager. (Ord. 885, § 1, May 5, 1981; amended by Ord. 941, § 1, Feb. 7, 1984. Code 1983 § 72.200.)
13.15.110 Lien against property.
Any charge or fee required by this chapter for the construction, replacement or repair of any building connection which shall remain unpaid shall be a lien against the property served by such connection and shall be docketed, shall draw interest, and shall be foreclosed in the manner of any City lien. (Ord. 445, § 1; amended by Ord. 885, § 1, May 5, 1981. Code 1983 § 72.210.)
13.15.120 Penalties.
(1) Any person found to be violating any provision of this chapter except MCC 13.15.050 shall be served by the City with written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in such notice, permanently cease all violations.
(2) Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit provided for in subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be fined in the amount not exceeding $100.00 for each violation. Each day in which any such violation shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense.
(3) Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall become liable to the City for any expense, loss, or damage occasioned by the City by reason of such violation. (Ord. 445, § 2; amended by Ord. 885, § 1, May 5, 1981. Code 1983 § 72.220.)
13.15.130 Severability.
The invalidity of any section, clause, sentence, or provision of this chapter shall not affect the validity of any other part of this chapter which can be given effect without such invalid part or parts. (Ord. 885, § 1, May 5, 1981. Code 1983 § 72.230.)