Chapter 13.45
SEWER USE CHARGES
Sections:
13.45.030 Review and revision of rates.
13.45.040 Responsibility for payment, delinquencies, and penalties.
13.45.050 Management of user charge revenues.
13.45.070 Validity and severability.
13.45.080 Conformity with the law.
13.45.010 Definitions.
“BOD” means biochemical oxygen demand, 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.
“Collection system” means the system of public sewers to be operated by the city designed for the collection of sanitary sewage.
“Commercial user” means any premises used for commercial or business purposes which are not an industry as defined in this chapter.
“Domestic waste” means any waste water emanating from dwellings.
“EDU” means equivalent dwelling unit, a volume of waste water which incurs the same costs for operations and maintenance as the average volume of domestic waste discharged from an average residential dwelling unit in the treatment works service area. For purposes of making this determination the city shall utilize the metered water use records of the city of Sisters. Where a user believes his waste water discharge to the treatment works is substantially different than his water consumption, an appropriate adjustment shall be made providing the user demonstrates to the satisfaction of the city the actual waste water discharge. The volume attributed to an EDU where the BOD, suspended solids (SS) or other characteristics of the waste water discharged by a user are significantly greater than a domestic waste shall be adjusted to account for the difference in the costs of treatment.
“Industrial user” means any nongovernmental, nonresidential user of the public treatment works which is identified in the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual, 1972, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, as amended and supplemented, under the following divisions:
A – Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing
B – Mining
D – Manufacturing
E – Transportation, Communications, Electric, Gas, and Sanitary Services
I – Services
A user in these divisions may be excluded from the industrial category if it is determined that primarily domestic waste and waste from sanitary conveniences will be produced.
“Industrial waste” means that portion of the waste water emanating from an industrial user which is not domestic waste or waste from sanitary conveniences.
“Operation and maintenance” means activities required to ensure the dependable and economical function of collection and treatment; that is:
(1) Operation. Control of the unit processes and equipment that make up the collection and treatment works, including financial and personnel management record keeping, laboratory control, process control, safety and emergency preparedness and planning, use of attorneys and consultants, payment of court costs, and payment of any costs or fees reasonably associated with any of the above.
(2) Maintenance. Preservation of functional integrity and efficiency of equipment and structures, including preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance, and replacement of equipment.
“Person” means any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation, or group.
“Public treatment works” means treatment works owned and operated by a public authority.
“Replacement” means obtaining and installing equipment accessories or appurtenances that are necessary during the design or useful life, whichever is longer, of the collection and treatment works to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed.
“Residential user” means any contributor to the sewage treatment system whose lot, parcel, real estate, or structure is used for domestic dwelling purposes only.
“Service area” means the area served by the treatment works for which there is one uniformly applied user charge system.
“Sewage” means a combination of water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments, together with such ground, surface, and storm waters as may be present. The term “sewage” is equivalent to “waste water.”
“Sewage treatment plant” means an arrangement of devices, equipment and structures used for treating sewage.
“Suspended solids” (SS, or TSS for total suspended solids) means solids that either float on the surface of or are suspended in water, sewage, or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory filtering.
“Treatment works” means all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating, and disposing of sewage. “Treatment system” and “sewerage system” are equivalent terms for treatment works.
“Useful life” means the period during which a treatment works is operational.
“User charge” means the monthly charges levied on all users of the public treatment works which, at a minimum, cover each user’s proportionate share of the cost of operation and maintenance (including replacement) of such works as provided under Section 204(b)(1)(A) of the Federal Clean Water Act and OAR 340-054-0035. [Ord. 322 Art. 1, 2001; Ord. 293 Art. 1, 1999. Code 2002 § 13.60.010].
13.45.020 Sewer user charges.
(1) User charges shall be levied on all users of the public treatment works. Such charges shall cover the cost of operation, maintenance including replacement, and administrative costs of the treatment works. User charges may also be levied to cover the retirement of debt incurred for financing system improvements. The user charge system shall distribute these costs in proportion to each user’s contribution to the waste water loading of the treatment works.
(2) There shall be assigned to each user an appropriate number of equivalent residential units (EDUs). This number represents a standard measurement of the average waste water characteristics of wastes from a single-family residence.
(3) The user charge shall be calculated by multiplying the total number of EDUs for each user by a constant cost factor. This cost factor shall be set by resolution.
(4) Should any user believe that he has been incorrectly assigned a number of EDUs, that user may apply for review of his user charge as provided in SMC 13.45.060.
(5) If it has been determined by the city that a user’s waste water contribution is incorrectly assigned, the city shall reassign a more appropriate value to that user and shall notify that user of such reassignment.
(6) Records of all assigned waste water contributions forming the basis of the charges shall be kept on file with the city and shall be open for public inspection.
(7) The sewer user charge for all occupied property shall begin 30 days after the sewer service becomes available or the day that connection is made to the public sewer, whichever occurs first. The sewer user charge for all unoccupied property shall begin within 30 days after the property is ready for occupancy or on the first day of occupancy, whichever occurs first. All unoccupied property which is ready for occupancy at the time the sewer service becomes available shall be treated as occupied property. Once the sewer user charge has commenced, no credit shall be given for vacancy unless it can be demonstrated that water service to that property from any and all sources has been discontinued, at which time the user charge shall be reduced to no less than $39.00 per billing period, and the regular user charge shall be reinstated as soon as water service to that property from any source has begun. If the date upon which the user charge is commenced or altered does not fall on the first day of a billing period, the rates shall be appropriately prorated. [Ord. 322 Art. 2, 2001; Ord. 293 Art. 2, 1999. Code 2002 § 13.60.020].
13.45.030 Review and revision of rates.
(1) The sewer user charges established in SMC 13.45.020 shall, at a minimum, be reviewed biennially and revised periodically to reflect actual costs of operation, maintenance, and replacement (and debt service, as applicable) for the treatment works and to maintain the equitability of the user charges with respect to proportional distribution of operation and maintenance costs relative to each user’s contribution to the total waste water loading of the treatment works.
(2) Each user shall be notified on not less than an annual basis, in conjunction with a regular billing, of that portion of the user charge revenues which are attributable to the operation, maintenance, and replacement of the waste water collection and treatment system. [Ord. 322 Art. 3, 2001; Ord. 293 Art. 3, 1999. Code 2002 § 13.60.030].
13.45.040 Responsibility for payment, delinquencies, and penalties.
(1) The owner of record of the premises served by the sewerage system shall be responsible for payment of the sewer user charge, notwithstanding the fact that the property may be occupied by a person or parties other than the owner.
(2) The users of the sewerage system shall be billed on a monthly basis for services in accordance with the rate schedule as set forth by resolution as described under SMC 13.45.020.
(3) The date of billing shall be the first day of the month following hookup.
(4) Sewer user charges shall be due and payable to the city no later than 10 days after the date of billing.
(5) Interest at the rate of one percent per month shall accrue on all delinquent accounts calculated from the date of delinquency.
(6) Failure to pay delinquent user charges and associated penalties shall result in the city action to remove or close sewer connections and gain access to the property for accomplishing such action. The expense of discontinuation of service through removal or closing, as well as the expense of restoring service, shall be a debt due to the city. Remedies for recovery of amounts owed may be made through civil action in the name of the city against the property occupant, property owner, or both. In addition to other provisions set forth in this section, the city may turn off the water supply of any person who fails to pay city utilities as billed, system development charges, sewer hookup fees as required or who fails to comply with this chapter and the rules and regulations adopted therein. When the payment is made or the violation corrected, the water may be turned on upon payment of the required charges and in accordance with the rules and regulations governing the water system.
(7) Sewer service shall not be restored until all charges, including interest accrued and penalties, disconnection and reconnection charges, have been paid.
(8) Change in ownership or occupancy of premises subject to delinquent accounts shall not be grounds for reducing or forgiving any amounts owed. [Ord. 322 Art. 4, 2001; Ord. 293 Art. 4, 1999. Code 2002 § 13.60.040].
13.45.050 Management of user charge revenues.
(1) Billings for sewer user charges shall be mailed to the address specified in the application for permit to make connection, or until a different owner or occupant of the property is reported to the city.
(2) All collections of sewer user charges shall be by the administrative/finance officer. Sewer user charges shall be computed as provided in the resolution described in SMC 13.45.020 and shall be payable as provided under SMC 13.45.040.
(3) The administrative/finance officer is hereby directed to deposit in the sewer fund all of the gross revenues received from charges, interest and penalties collected for the use of the sewerage system as herein provided.
(4) The revenues thus deposited in the sewer fund shall be used exclusively for the operation, maintenance, and repair of the treatment works; establishment and maintenance of a replacement reserve or set-aside account; administration and billing costs; expenses associated with collection of delinquent accounts; and payments of the principal and interest on any debts incurred by the sewerage system in the form of outstanding bonds or loan agreements. Interest earned on funds deposited shall be reinvested in the sewer fund and used for the purposes herein described. [Ord. 322 Art. 5, 2001; Ord. 293 Art. 5, 1999. Code 2002 § 13.60.050].
13.45.060 Appeals.
Appeal of the rate established by resolution as described under SMC 13.45.020 shall be made in writing to the city administrator within 10 days of the billing date. The city administrator shall respond in writing within 30 days of receipt of the appeal. Appeal of the city administrator decision may be made through presentation to the council at a regularly scheduled session. The decision made by the council shall be final. [Ord. 322 Art. 6, 2001; Ord. 293 Art. 6, 1999. Code 2002 § 13.60.060].
13.45.070 Validity and severability.
(1) All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent or conflicting with any part of this chapter are hereby repealed.
(2) If any section, sentence, clause, phrase or other portion of this chapter is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed as a separate, distinct, and independent provision, and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter. [Ord. 322 Art. 7, 2001; Ord. 293 Art. 7, 1999. Code 2002 § 13.60.070].
13.45.080 Conformity with the law.
This chapter shall not substitute for, nor eliminate the necessity for conformity with, any and all laws or rules of the United States or the state of Oregon or their agencies, or any applicable ordinance, rule, or regulation of Deschutes County. [Ord. 322 Art. 8, 2001; Ord. 293 Art. 8, 1999].