[Adopted 12-13-1977 by Ord. No. 3253 (Ch. 434, Art. III, of the 2004 Code)]
"Joint Meeting" shall mean the municipalities of the City of East Orange, the Township of Hillside, the Township of Irvington, the Township of Maplewood, the Township of Millburn, the City of Newark, the Borough of Roselle Park, the Village of South Orange, the City of Summit, the Township of Union and the Town of West Orange, organized in Joint Meeting pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:63-68 et seq., under the terms of a contract dated June 1, 1926, as amended, and supplemented, in the matter of a joint trunk and outlet sewer and treatment plant for the sewage wastewater emanating from said municipalities.
The purpose of this article is to impose an annual user charge, as hereinafter defined, on all domestic, commercial, industrial, institutional and governmental users of the sewer system of the Township of Union, which sewage, contributed to and flowing therein, is collected and treated by said Joint Meeting.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
USER CHARGE
The charge levied upon all users of the treatment works for the annual cost of operation and maintenance (including replacements) of such trunk lines and such works, all as defined in the federal rules and regulations.
[Amended 4-10-1979 by Ord. No. 3367]
A. 
Residential, commercial and industrial.
[Last amended 2-28-2023 by Ord. No. 5753]
(1) 
All residential users shall be charged at a uniform rate for domestic waste contributed to said system. The charge of the aforementioned use shall be billed annually on or about April 1, and shall be based on the amount of water consumed in gallons as read on the water meter during the previous calendar year at a rate of $4.02 per 100 cubic feet (equivalent to $5.38 per 1,000 gallons), with a minimum annual charge of $50.
(2) 
All commercial, industrial (excluding Joint-Meeting-defined industrial users charged under Subsection C herein), institutional and government users shall be charged at a uniform rate for domestic waste contributed to said system. The charge for these users shall be billed annually on or about April 1, and shall be based on the aggregate of the amount of water consumed in gallons as read of the water meter during the previous calendar year at the rate of $4.02 per 100 cubic feet (equivalent to $5.38 per 1,000 gallons), with a minimum annual charge of $50.
B. 
"Domestic use or waste" is hereby defined to be domestic wastewater from sanitary conveniences.
C. 
Basis for determination; cost of sampling.
(1) 
User charges for industrial waste shall be charged industrial waste contributors who discharge industrial waste into the system. User charges for industrial waste shall be based upon the flow, suspended solids and biochemical oxygen demand of the waste as determined by the Joint Meeting. Sampling and measurement shall be accomplished by each industrial discharger at its own expense, and the results thereof shall be monitored by the Joint Meeting staff. Where deemed necessary by the Joint Meeting, permanent measurement and sampling facilities shall be installed by the industrial user at its own expense.
(2) 
The rate of charges shall be determined annually by resolution of the Joint Meeting. For the first year of operation of the secondary treatment facilities, the Joint Meeting shall make an estimate of the rate of charges based upon the results of an industrial cost recovery, heavy metals survey, and shall embody the estimated first year of operation charges in a resolution to be adopted.
(3) 
User charges for industrial waste shall be assessed only where sampling and testing show that industrial waste from a particular industrial waste contributor exceeds 2,000 gallons per day, or where the suspended solids contribution exceeds 50 pounds per day, or where the biochemical oxygen demand contribution exceeds 50 pounds per day.
(4) 
User charges for industrial waste shall include payment for operational costs of the Township of Union Sewer Utility, which include but are not limited to the operation and maintenance of the Township of Union Sanitary System. Payment for said costs is identified by the Township of Union as administrative costs and is computed by developing a percentage from dividing industrial waste flow by total system flow, applying the developed percentage from to the total administrative charge and apportioning that amount to the industrial user charge as a percentage of its Joint Meeting flow.
[Added 4-12-1994 by Ord. No. 4309; amended 5-23-1995 by Ord. No. 4388]
(5) 
User charges for industrial users shall include an assessment equal to 25% of the sum of the regular Joint Meeting charges as described in Subsections C(1) and (2) of this article, plus the industrial user administrative charge as described in Subsection C(4) of this article. The purpose of the assessment is for the payment of costs associated with but not limited to Joint Meeting capital improvement assessments and other such assessments and for purpose of the funding of Township capital and emergency improvements and rate stabilization.
[Added 4-9-2002 by Ord. No. 4710]
D. 
The cost of sampling and testing by the Joint Meeting, as referred to in Subsection C herein, shall be assessed against each industrial waste contributor on the basis of the actual cost thereof.
E. 
"Industrial waste" is hereby defined to be nondomestic wastewater flow resulting from industrial processing and manufacturing and including cooling water discharge.
F. 
Where an industry has both domestic wastes and industrial wastes and said wastes are commingled and so discharged into the sewer system, the industrial waste charge as set forth in Subsection C(1) shall apply. Any industry may, at its option and at its own cost and expense, separate its industrial waste from its domestic waste and provide separate connections to the municipal sewer system for each such type of waste. If any industry exercises this option of separation of wastes as herein set forth, the schedule as set forth in Subsection A of this section shall be applicable to its domestic waste flow, and the rates set forth in Subsection C(1) and (2) shall be applicable to its industrial waste flow and use.
G. 
The user charge assessed against the Township of Union shall be determined annually by resolution of Joint Meeting and shall be based upon actual usage for the preceding year. For the first year of operation of the system, said charge shall be based upon an estimate of the cost of operation thereof which shall be set forth in the resolution to be adopted by Joint Meeting.
[Amended 4-10-1979 by Ord. No. 3367]
A. 
All charges established and provided for herein shall be assessed against the owners of the property from which said sewage or wastewater emanates, respectively, and shall be collected annually by the Collector of Taxes of the Township of Union.
B. 
Such charges shall draw the same interest from the time they become due, as taxes upon real estate in the municipality, and shall be a lien upon the premises until paid, and the municipality shall have the same remedies for the collection thereof, with interest, costs and penalties, as it has by law for the collection of taxes upon real estate.
C. 
All sums collected under the terms of this article shall be applied by the Collector of Taxes to and paid over by him to the Township's municipal sewer utility for the purpose of paying the assessment of Joint Meeting and other operating costs of said utility.
For the purpose of determining said user charges, the number and classification of all users of said sewage system shall be made by the Township of Union. Said determination shall be subject to audit, review and redetermination by the Joint Meeting.
[Amended 4-10-1979 by Ord. No. 3367]
The user charges provided for herein shall be due and payable on the first day of September 1979 and annually thereafter on the first day of July.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this article and the Federal Water Pollution Act of 1972, requiring the imposition of user charges as defined herein, as set forth in said Act and as provided for in the rules and regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency and without intending to interfere with or contravene the provisions and requirements of the imposition of said user charges as herein and therein defined, it is the express intention of the Township of Union to adhere to and comply with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:63-116 providing for annual expenses, estimated and apportioned, and additional expenses, if necessary, in order that the Joint Meeting may thereby be enabled to continue and perform its normal functions.