[Adopted 12-20-2010 by Ord. No. 679; amended in its entirety 12-18-2023 by Ord. No. 726]
A. 
Imposition of charges. Beginning on January 1, 2014, there are hereby imposed sewer rentals or charges for the use of the Borough sewers to be payable by the owners or occupants of all properties served thereby.
B. 
Sewer rental schedule. In order to apportion such sewer rentals or charges equitably among the several properties served by the Borough sewers, the following schedule of sewer rentals or charges based upon the most recent available water meter reading is hereby adopted:
(1) 
$4.66 per 1,000 gallons plus a customer service line charge of $15 per quarter per account for operations and $45 per quarter per equivalent dwelling unit (EDU), equal to 350 gallons per day, for the Squaw Run Interceptor Project.
C. 
Calculation of quantity of water used: use of approved water meter authorized. The quantity of water used by water users other than those referred to in Subsection B(1), shall be estimated by the Borough at 25,000 gallons per quarter, and such water users' sewage charges shall be calculated by applying the schedule of rates set forth in Subsection B(1), to the aforesaid estimated quantity. In the event such a water user desires, he may, at no expense to the Borough, install and maintain a water meter approved by the representative of the Borough authorized for the purpose. In addition, the Borough, in its sole discretion, shall have the right to require that an approved water meter be installed to measure water usage by each separate user. Included in this shall be the right of the Borough to require separate water meters for each of multiple users occupying separate premises on the same property (for example, the landlord and a tenant). The sewage charges shall then be calculated upon actual water consumption recorded on this meter. Nothing in this Section shall prevent the Borough from collecting charges from either landlord or tenant, as and to the extent permitted by law.
D. 
Additional water meter may be installed at the expense of the property owner. The owner of any property subject hereto may install and maintain, at no expense to the Borough of Fox Chapel, a water meter approved by the representative of the Borough authorized to measure the water used for lawn care and other purposes so that such water does not enter the sanitary sewer system. In such a case, the charges imposed hereby will be based upon the water consumption indicated by the difference between the reading on the main water meter and the reading on the secondary water meter located on such property.
E. 
Authorization to install sewage meter. With the prior written approval of the representative of the Borough authorized for the purpose, the owner of any property subject hereto may install a sewage meter, in which event the sewer rentals or charges hereby imposed will be based upon the quantity of sewage so metered.
F. 
Billing schedule: when payable, penalty and interest added to delinquent bills. Bills for sewer rentals or charges imposed by this article shall be rendered quarterly by the representative so designated by the Borough on the basis of the most recent quarterly water meter reading or estimate. All sewage charges billed shall be payable within 20 days after the bill is rendered. If the bill remains unpaid after 20 days from the billing date, a penalty of 5% shall be paid plus interest on the overdue bills at the rate of 0.5% per month or part thereof upon 105% of the sewage charge, which interest shall begin on the 60th day after the due date.
G. 
Unpaid sewer rentals and charges constitute lien; collection. Any sewer rental or charge not paid within 30 days from the billing date shall be a lien upon the property charged with the payment thereof from the first day of the following month. Such sewer rentals or charges, if not paid after 30 days' notice, may be collected as provided by law, by an action in assumpsit, or by distress of personal property on the premises, or by lien filed in the nature of a municipal lien, or by requesting and directing the Fox Chapel Authority to shut off, after compliance with the General Municipal Law, particularly 53 P.S. § 2261, the supply of water to said premises until all such rentals and charges, together with any penalties and interest thereon, shall be paid.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: 53 P.S. §§ 2261 to 2265 were repealed by the Act of April 14, 2006, P.L. 85, No. 28, § 4001(2). See now 53 P.S. § 3102.502.
H. 
Access to premises served by water meters or sewage meters. The Borough, through its authorized representatives, shall be permitted to enter all properties serviced by water meters or sewage meters for the purpose of inspection, observation, measurements, and testing. No owner or occupant may perform any grading, construction, or other work which has the effect of a) burying or making inaccessible any water meter, sewage meter, meter pit, manhole, or other elements of the water or sewage system, b) causing stormwater or surface water to drain into or to collect upon or around any such water meter, sewage meter, meter pit, manhole or other elements, or c) placing fill or overburden upon any water or sewer line or pipe so as to overload or otherwise compromise such line or pipe. In the event an owner or occupant performs such work and fails or refuses to remove or correct it after notice from the Borough, the Borough may perform the removal or correction work for the account of the owner or occupant and may recover its direct and indirect costs (including customary overhead) of such work from the owner or occupant by any available legal means, including but not limited to placing a municipal lien against the property upon which the Borough performs such work.
A. 
ALCOSAN charges established. The charges of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) for sewage service to properties located in the Borough of Fox Chapel, the sewage from which enters the sewer system of ALCOSAN, shall be added to the sewage charges imposed by the Borough as previously set forth and are as follows:
(1) 
Metered water users. The following schedule of rates shall be applicable to users of metered water during the time periods listed below. Charges shall be based upon the quantity of water delivered to each water user as measured by the most recent available water meter reading:
Time Periods
Sewage Charges for Water Used Per Quarter Year
January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024
$11.14 per 1,000 gallons plus a customer service charge of $23.41 per bill
January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025
$11.92 per 1,000 gallons plus a customer service charge of $25.05 per bill
January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026
$12.76 per 1,000 gallons plus a customer service charge of $26.80 per bill
(2) 
Flat-rate water users. The following schedule of rates shall be applicable to water users whose water bills are based upon a flat rate as distinguished from those whose water bills are based on meter readings. All flat-rate water residential customers will be billed upon an equivalent residential unit base (ERU). The average residential usage becomes the basis on which flat-rate residential water users are charged. The average residential usage is estimated at 20,000 gallons per quarter. Each residential flat-rate account will be billed for sewer services based upon this average and the schedule of rates set forth in Subsection A(1) above unless proof is provided that the customer's usage is more or less.
(3) 
Other water users. The quantity of water used by water users other than those referred to in Subsections A(1) and (2) above shall be estimated by ALCOSAN, and each such water user's sewage charge shall be calculated by applying the schedule of rates set forth in Subsection A(1) above to the estimated quantity.
B. 
Surcharges applicable to high-strength sewage discharges. In any case in which a discharger's wastes have an unusually high concentration of suspended solids and/or biochemical oxygen demand, the sewage charges calculated as hereinbefore set forth shall be increased according to the following formulae:
(1) 
Suspended Solids Charge Calculation
(S.S. minus 275) times .008345 times $0.2464 times consumption (1,000 gallons)
Where:
S.S. = Suspended solids of particular wastes in milligrams per liter (mg/L)
0.008345 = Conversion factor from mg/L to pounds per 1,000 gallons
$0.2464 = Treatment cost per pound of suspended solids Biochemical Oxygen Demand Calculation
(BOD - 300) times .008345 times $0.2184 times consumption (1,000 gallons)
Where:
BOD = Biochemical oxygen demand of particular wastes in milligrams per Liter (mg/L)
.008345 = Conversion factor from mg/L to pounds per 1,000 gallons
$0.2184 = Treatment costs per pound of biochemical oxygen demand
C. 
Additional charges for commercial garbage disposals. For each commercial (i.e., non-residential) garbage disposal, ALCOSAN shall charge users as follows: $172.37 times the horsepower capacity of garbage disposal per quarter.
D. 
Rate of Discharge of Construction Site Groundwater.
(1) 
The following rates will apply to the temporary discharge of accumulated groundwater from construction excavation sites provided that:
(a) 
The need to discharge to the sewage collection system will not exceed nine months; and
(b) 
No toxic pollutant listed in the ALCOSAN pretreatment regulations is present in untreated groundwater above detection limits established for USEPA-approved analytical methods for such pollutants; and
(c) 
The concentration of suspended solids in the discharged water is less than 135 mg/L, and the concentration of biochemical oxygen demand is less than 150 mg/L; and
(d) 
ALCOSAN has determined in its judgment (which shall be final and absolute) that reasonable efforts have been made to obtain a permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to discharge such groundwater to the nearest waterway and that the application for such permit has been denied or that discharge under such permit is not feasible.
(2) 
A fee equal to 1/2 of the existing charge per 1,000 gallons shall be charged for each pump used for the purpose of discharging groundwater and shall be based upon the pumping capacity of each pump used, in 1,000 gallons per day (kgd). This fee shall be applied daily for each day pumping occurs.
E. 
Certain water excluded in calculating charges. The quantity of water which does not reach a metered water user's sewer, if separately metered, will not be included in the quantity upon which the sewage charge is calculated.
F. 
Authorization to install sewage meter. With the prior written approval of ALCOSAN, a non-residential water user may install a sewage meter, in which event the sewage charges will be based upon the quantity of sewage so metered. For the reading of the sewage meter and the account maintenance required to bill based on such meter, a charge per meter will be made according to the unit cost for auxiliary meters.
G. 
Use of well water in addition to public water. For accounts that use well water in addition to public water and where the well water is metered, the metered well usage will be added to the public water usage to produce the sewage charge. For the reading of the well water meter and the account maintenance required to bill based on such meter, a charge per meter will be made according to the unit cost for auxiliary meters.
H. 
Unit cost for auxiliary meters. The unit cost for auxiliary meters is $110 per year.
A. 
Harmar/AVJSA charges established. The charges of Harmar Township and the Allegheny Valley Joint Sewage Authority for sewage service to properties located in the Borough of Fox Chapel, the sewage from which enters the sewer system of Harmar Township with treatment facilities owned and operated by the Allegheny Valley Joint Sewage Authority, shall be added to the sewage charges imposed by the Borough of Fox Chapel as previously set forth in § 285-34B and are as follows for bills rendered beginning April 23, 2021.
B. 
Metered water users:
Harmar Township
AVJSA
$3/quarter
$10.05/1,000 gallons
Section 285-36 takes effect on April 25, 2022. The remainder of this Ordinance takes effect upon enactment and approval.