[Added 12-8-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-14[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided that it would
take effect with the adoption of the 2015 operating budget of the
Borough of Chambersburg and that fees will be assessed in the first
utility billing cycle following January 1, 2015.
The Town Council of the Borough of Chambersburg is responsible
for the protection and preservation of the public health, safety,
and welfare of the community and the environment and finds that it
is in the best interest of the health, safety, and welfare of the
citizens of the Borough and the community at large and the environment
to proceed with the development, implementation, and operation of
a utility for stormwater management accounted for in the Borough budget
as a separate enterprise fund dedicated solely to stormwater management
and to institute funding methods associated therewith.
The following definitions shall apply to this Article IX. Any word or phrase not defined below but otherwise defined in the Code of Ordinances shall be given that meaning. All other words or phrases shall be given their common ordinary meaning unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
The Borough of Chambersburg rules, policies, procedures,
regulations and ordinances that govern water quality and water quantity,
including but not limited to the Subdivision and Land Development
Ordinance,[1] the Zoning Ordinance,[2] and any Stormwater Design Manual, together with all procedures,
rules, regulations and policies pertaining thereto as these may be
updated or amended from time to time.
A conditional reduction allowed against the storm sewer service
fee charged to an individual customer based upon the technical requirements
and the design and performance standards contained in the Borough's
Storm Sewer Credits Manual as may be adopted, updated, or amended
from time to time.
All persons, parcels, trusts, corporations, partnerships,
companies and entities served by the utility's acquisition, management,
maintenance, extension, and improvement of the public stormwater management
systems and facilities and regulation of public and private stormwater
systems, facilities, and activities related thereto, and persons,
parcels, trusts, corporations, partnerships, companies and entities
which will ultimately be served or benefited as a result of the stormwater
management program.
All parcels not deemed as undeveloped land as defined herein.
A lien enforced against an individual or parcel prior to
obtaining a judgment against the individual or parcel, such as liens
established by operation of law for unpaid taxes.
Those natural and man-made channels, swales, ditches, rivers,
streams, creeks, branches, reservoirs, ponds, drainageways, inlets,
catch basins, pipes, headwalls, storm drains, lakes and other physical
works, properties and improvements which transfer, control, convey
or otherwise influence the movement of stormwater runoff or water
quality, which are not public.
Those natural and man-made channels, swales, ditches, rivers,
streams, creeks, branches, reservoirs, ponds, drainageways, inlets,
catch basins, pipes, headwalls, storm drains, public streets, curbs
and gutters, lakes and other physical works, properties and improvements
which transfer, control, convey or otherwise influence either the
movement of stormwater runoff or water quality, which are either owned
by the Borough or over which the Borough has accepted an offer of
dedication of an easement or other legally binding permanent right
of use for stormwater drainage, and for which the Borough has the
obligation of maintenance for stormwater drainage purposes.
The periodic service charge imposed by the Borough of Chambersburg to a customer pursuant to this Article IX for providing the storm sewer system, the stormwater management services and stormwater management systems and facilities, which fees shall be used only for the purpose of funding the Borough of Chambersburg's Storm Sewer Utility's cost of providing stormwater management services and stormwater management systems and facilities. Said fee may be alternatively referred to as a "pollution control fee" or a "storm sewer system maintenance and operation fee."
Addresses the quality and the quantity of stormwater runoff
and includes all services provided by the Borough which relate to
the:
Operation, maintenance, repair, enhancement and replacement
of existing public stormwater management systems and facilities.
Planning, development, design and construction of additional
stormwater management and facilities to meet current and anticipated
needs.
Regulation of the use of stormwater management services or of
stormwater management systems and facilities.
Education of the public as to stormwater issues.
Development plan review to require compliance with Borough standards.
Inspection for water quantity and water quality to require compliance
with generally accepted standards.
Monitoring for water quantity and water quality to determine
compliance with generally accepted standards, state water quality
standards and stormwater management programs.
Other services as may be deemed appropriate.
A parcel that has less than 100 square feet of impervious
surface.
The Borough hereby establishes and creates the Storm Sewer Utility
as a department of the Borough of Chambersburg. The Storm Sewer Utility
shall be responsible for providing stormwater management services,
for providing stormwater management systems and facilities and for
determining labor, material and administrative fees for the operation
of the Storm Sewer Utility in the Borough of Chambersburg.
The Town Council of the Borough of Chambersburg hereby transfers
responsibility for stormwater management services over the existing
municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) and facilities and other
related assets, including but not limited to properties upon which
such facilities are located, easements, rights-of-entry and access,
and certain equipment to the Storm Sewer Utility.
A.
The Storm Sewer Utility shall provide stormwater management services for existing and proposed public stormwater management systems and facilities as defined in this Article IX, subject to funding availability and to policy determinations made in the best interest of the public health, welfare and safety and the environment. Additionally, the Storm Sewer Utility, at the Borough's sole discretion, may accept the responsibility for providing stormwater management services to private stormwater management systems and facilities, acceptance of which conforms to policies, rules and/or regulations established by Town Council of the Borough of Chambersburg or those persons or entities designated by the Town Council to set such policies, rules and/or regulations.
B.
The Storm Sewer Utility may, subject to the approval of an intermunicipal
cooperation agreement, provide similar or same such services to the
other municipalities of the County of Franklin, pursuant to the laws
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
C.
The Borough of Chambersburg shall own or has rights established by
written agreements which allow the Storm Sewer Utility to provide
stormwater management services and access to those stormwater management
systems and facilities and the storm sewer system which are located
i) within public road rights-of-way and public road easements, ii)
on private property but within easements granted to and accepted by
the Borough, or are otherwise permitted to be located on such private
property by written agreements for rights of entry, rights of access,
rights of use or other permanent provisions, or iii) on public land
which is owned by the Borough or by another governmental entity and
with which the Borough has written agreements to provide stormwater
management services and access to the stormwater management systems
and facilities and/or storm sewer system.
D.
The Storm Sewer Utility may provide stormwater management services
to privately owned stormwater management systems and facilities to
ascertain that said facilities are functioning as designed and approved.
The Storm Sewer Utility may provide for remedial maintenance of said
private facilities based upon the severity of stormwater and/or storm
sewer problems and potential hazard to the public health, safety,
and welfare and the environment, and in cases where such remedial
maintenance is required, the Borough shall bill the owner or owners
of said private facility for the costs of such maintenance.
E.
It is the express intent of this Article IX to protect the public health, safety and welfare of people, property and the environment, in general, but not to create any special duty or relationship with any individual person, trust, corporation, partnership, company, entity or to any specific parcel within or outside the boundaries of the Borough of Chambersburg. The Borough expressly reserves the right to assert any and all available immunities, privileges, limits of liability and defenses in any action seeking to impose monetary damages or equitable remedies upon the Borough, its elected or appointed officials, officers, employees and agents arising out of any alleged failure or breach of duty or relationship.
A.
Director of Utilities.
(1)
As with the water, sanitary sewer, electric, natural gas, municipal
solid waste utilities, the Director of Utilities shall supervise all
municipal utility functions of the Storm Sewer Utility, including
but not limited to planning, developing and implementing proposals
and programs, administration of revenues and expenses, maintenance
and expansion of services, conferring with residents and public officials
and the supervision and direction of the activities of supervisory,
technical, and clerical staff. The Director of Utilities shall serve
at the pleasure of the Borough Manager.
(2)
The Borough Manager shall establish a stormwater enterprise fund
in the Borough budget and accounting system for the purpose of dedicating
and protecting funding applicable to the purposes and responsibilities
of the Storm Sewer Utility, including but not limited to rentals,
rates, charges, fees, and licenses as may be established by resolution
of the Town Council and amended from time to time.
B.
Any revenues and receipts of the Storm Sewer Utility shall be placed
in the stormwater enterprise funds, and all expenses of the Storm
Sewer Utility shall be paid from the stormwater enterprise funds,
except that other revenues, receipts, and resources not in the stormwater
enterprise funds may be applied to stormwater management operations
and capital investments as deemed appropriate by the Town Council,
upon recommendation of the Borough Manager, or those funds dedicated
to the internal administrative services of the Borough of Chambersburg.
[Amended 11-22-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-11]
The Town Council hereby establishes the rate structure set forth
herein as its storm sewer service fee, which shall apply to all parcels
of real estate located within the Borough of Chambersburg, and is
based on the relative contribution of each parcel to the demand for
stormwater management services and bears a substantial relationship
to the costs of providing stormwater management services and stormwater
management systems and facilities for the Storm Sewer Utility. The
Town Council may, by resolution, establish and amend the storm sewer
service fee per ERU. The costs of operating expenses, capital investments
and reserve accounts may be included in the storm sewer service fee.
A.
All single-family residential properties: one ERU.
B.
All non-single-family residential properties: The number of ERUs
equivalent to the impervious area on the property, calculated as whole
or half numbers only. A fraction of a whole number less than 0.25
will be rounded down to a whole number; a fraction of whole number
0.25 and greater will be rounded up to half number, a fraction of
whole number less than 0.75 will be rounded down to a half number
and a fraction of whole number 0.75 and greater rounded up to the
next whole number.
A.
In addition to the imposition of a storm sewer service fee, the Borough
may request reimbursement for expenses associated with storm sewer
service provided to benefit any one particular customer and/or parcel.
The fees and charges to reimburse the Borough's expenses for each
individual customer shall be based on the cost of providing the services.
These service charges shall be based on the cost to the Borough to
provide individual services to each customer and shall be billed to
the customer upon the rendering of services. The cost shall be the
total of:
(1)
The direct payroll for Borough employees undertaking inspections,
sampling and/or laboratory work multiplied by a factor of 2.0 (so
as to also cover benefits and other overhead related to the sampling
and inspections); and
(2)
Laboratory and consulting charges multiplied by a factor of 1.15;
and
(3)
Engineering and design charges multiplied by a factor of 1.5; and
(4)
Construction or physical improvement expenses multiplied by a factor
of 1.1.
B.
All invoices and bills shall be due and payable upon receipt.
[Amended 11-22-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-11]
A.
The Town Council of the Borough of Chambersburg hereby establishes
a credit system for on-site systems or facilities. The Borough Storm
Sewer System Manager, or his designee, shall review credit applications
and determine such credits based on the technical requirements, design
and performance standards, and a survey of all parcels, together and
to be contained in the Borough Storm Sewer Management Program Credit
Policy Manual, which is attached hereto and incorporated herein as
Appendix E.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix E is on file in the Borough offices.
B.
Owners of property for which a credit to the storm sewer service
fee has been applied shall be required to enter into a maintenance
agreement, substantially in the form attached to Appendix E, outlining
the maintenance requirements for a property to annually qualify for
a credit.
C.
Pursuant to the Borough Storm Sewer Management Program Credit Policy
Manual, owners of real property assessed with a storm sewer service
fee shall have the right to appeal the impervious area calculation
for their property. Appeals shall be made on the appeal form attached
to Appendix E, which is also available on the Borough website and
at the Borough office.
[Amended 2-26-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-04]
A.
Terms and conditions of service, including, but not limited to: establishing
service, billing for service, interest and penalties, payment requirements,
and termination of service shall be in accordance with the Utility
Service Manual, as may be revised from time to time by the Mayor and
Town Council, and shall be available for public inspection at the
Utility Offices at Borough Hall, the Utilities Service Center at 80
South Franklin Street, and online at www.chambersburgpa.gov.
B.
Where, as a result of equipment malfunction, estimated billing, billing
error, or other circumstances, storm sewer service is not billed,
the unbilled storm sewer service may be retroactively charged to the
customer for service rendered within the last three years. The charges
for service shall be determined in accordance with the Utility Service
Manual adopted by Town Council from time to time.
C.
Town Council shall have the right to establish, from time to time,
by resolution, rules, regulations, provisions, terms or standards
under which storm sewer service shall be rendered, which shall be
supplemental to the standards set forth in the Utility Service Manual.
D.
Each customer shall pay a storm sewer service fee regardless if any
other utility services are furnished to said property or parcel. For
example, disconnection of water or sanitary sewer service does not
remove the requirement to pay the storm sewer service fee. Only undeveloped
land may be exempt.
E.
The owner of the real estate served shall be responsible to the Borough
for payment of the storm sewer service fees herein provided, regardless
of to whom the bills are rendered.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 251-51, Penalty for delinquency,
§ 251-52, Storm sewer fees constitute lien on property,
and § 251-53, Interest on unpaid storm sewer service fees,
were repealed 2-26-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-04.
