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Town of Dover, NJ
Morris County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
[Adopted 7-27-1970 as Art. 35 of the 1969 Revised Ordinances]
A. 
The sanitary sewer system of the Town of Dover consists of the main sewer lines, house laterals, house connections and other necessary accessories. They are designed to carry off exclusively all liquid house wastes.
B. 
The sewers laid longitudinally along the center line or other part of the streets are termed "main sewers;" the branch sewers extending from the main sewer to within six feet of the building are termed "house laterals;" between the main sewer and the curbline is termed "house connection."
C. 
The plumbing work within the building and to the end of the iron pipe six feet outside the building is termed the "house plumbing system" and shall be under the control of the Board of Health of the Town of Dover.
The house plumbing system shall be connected with the house lateral in accordance with the provisions of this Article and the rules and regulations of the Board of Health.
A. 
The Sewer Committee of the Board of Aldermen shall be agents of the Board in all matters relating to the operation of this Article.
B. 
The Superintendent of Sewers shall have complete control, under the Sewer Committee, of the sewer system and every part thereof.
No person, firm or corporation shall lay, alter or repair any part of the sewer system, or make any connection whatsoever therewith, unless duly authorized as hereinafter provided.
A. 
Any person, firm or corporation desiring to perform any work in connection with the sewer system, or any part thereof, shall file in the office of the Town Clerk an application for a license, signed by the applicant, giving the name, residence and place of business of the applicant and the name under which the business is to be transacted and giving further the experience of said applicant in sewer work. Said application shall contain an agreement that the applicant will be governed in all respects by the ordinances, rules and regulations of the town now existing or which may hereafter be adopted.
B. 
Every applicant for a license desiring to perform any work in connection with the sewer system shall execute and enter into a bond with the Town of Dover in the penal sum of $500 with two or more freehold sureties, or a surety company, to be approved by the Sewer Committee, conditioned that the applicant shall indemnify and save harmless said town from all suits for accidents and damages caused by any negligence in protecting his, their or its work, or by any unfaithful, inadequate, negligent or imperfect work done by said applicant, and that said applicant will pay all fines and damages imposed upon him, them or it for violations of this Article or any ordinance or regulation of the Town of Dover. Said bond shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk.
C. 
On receiving a license, said applicant shall record in the office of the Town Clerk his, their or its actual place of business and the name under which the business is transacted and shall pay to the Town Clerk as a license fee the sum of $1 and shall keep the Town Clerk informed of any change of address or of first name.
D. 
No license shall be granted for more than one year, and all licenses shall expire on the 31st day of December in each year.
A. 
Application for permission to connect with the sewer system, or any part thereof, or to do any work thereon, must be made in writing by the owner of the property to be sewered, or his other duly authorized agent, to the Superintendent. Said application shall give the precise location of the property, the name and address of the owner, the name and address of the plumber or contractor and shall state what work is to be performed and shall be accompanied by a sketch showing the relative position of the sewer, the property and proposed work. This application shall be marked on forms furnished by the town for the purpose and shall be countersigned by the plumber or contractor.
B. 
Said application shall be accompanied by a duplicate receipt of the Town Clerk showing the deposit by the applicant of the sum required by the town for permission to open the street and also accompanied by a receipt showing the payment of the fee required by the town to cover the cost of inspecting the work. This fee shall be $5 for the first 70 feet of pipe and $5 for every additional 70 feet or fraction thereof.
C. 
No permit shall be deemed to authorize anything not stated in the application, and for any misrepresentation in said application the permit may be revoked.
D. 
Permits to complete the connection between the house plumbing system and the sanitary sewer system will not be issued until the main trunk sewer and disposal plant is in operation.
A. 
The trenches shall be dug in a careful manner and properly sheathed where required. The road materials shall be placed in a separate pile and not mixed with the rest of the excavated materials which must be piled in a compact heap, so placed as to cause the least possible inconvenience to the public. Proper barricades and lights must be maintained around the trench to guard against accidents.
B. 
In backfilling, the material for the two feet immediately over the pipe shall be selected so it contains no stones. This must be carefully tamped, the balance of the trench to be backfilled in a workmanlike manner, tamping the filling in eight-inch layers so as to avoid any settlement. When the trench has been filled to the proper height, the road material is to be replaced and heavily tamped or rolled.
C. 
Where the trench is excavated in rock, the rock must be carefully excavated to a depth of six inches below the grade line of the sewer and the trench brought to the proper elevation with gravel or other material satisfactory to the Superintendent. The remainder of the trench must be backfilled with suitable material.
D. 
Nothing in this section shall be construed as abrogating any of the existing requirements of the town relating to the excavation and backfill of trenches, but the requirements herein contained shall be in addition there to.
A. 
The house laterals from the main sewer to within six feet of the house shall be made of the best quality of salt glazed vestry pipes, free from blisters and cracks, not less than five inches in diameter, of the hub and spigot pattern, sound and cylindrical; all hubs must be of sufficient diameter to receive to their full depth the spigot end of the next pipe with any chipping of either and leave sufficient room for jointing material.
B. 
The joints of the vitrified pipes shall be watertight with a gasket of oakum, dipped in cement grout and carefully caulked into position and the remainder of the joint completely filled with a portland cement mortar made in the proportion of one part of cement to one part clear sand; where subsoil conditions are based such special precaution must be taken to secure a watertight job as may be directed by the Superintendent. In quicksand, all pipes must be laid on planking, two inches thick by at least six inches wide.
C. 
Said house laterals may be made of extra heavy-cast iron pipe not less than four inches in diameter, laid in a manner to be approved by the Superintendent of Sewers.
D. 
The pipes shall be laid on a uniform grade wherever practicable, but the grade must not be less than one-fourth (1/4) inch to one foot unless by written permission of the Superintendent, in which case special provision must be made for efficient flushing.
E. 
The cover in the Y-branch on the main sewer must be carefully removed so as not to injure the hub and socket, and care must be taken to prevent any foreign material from dropping into the main sewer while the Y-branch is uncovered.
F. 
The dead ends of all pipes not immediately connected to the house plumbing system must be securely closed by a watertight cover of imperishable material.
G. 
The house laterals, and every part thereof, if within six feet of a building, must be of cast-iron pipe, with leaded joints in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Board of Health.
H. 
Clean outs or handholes or lamp holes are required at changes of grade or alignments are where house laterals are over 100 feet long, one for every fifty-foot interval, and shall be of cast-iron pipe with a brass screw ferrule top and shall be placed at an angle of 45° supported in an approved manner.
I. 
No connection shall be made with the main sewer except at the Y-branch; no cutting of the main sewer or manholes will be permitted, unless with the written permission and under the direction of the Superintendent of Sewers and at the expense of the town.
A. 
The Superintendent is to be given notice when any work is ready for inspection, and all work must be left uncovered and convenient for examination until after inspection of the same by the Superintendent or his authorized assistants.
B. 
Said inspection shall be made as soon as practicable after such notification.
C. 
The Superintendent may apply any appropriate test to the pipes, and the plumber or contractor at his own cost shall furnish all the necessary tools, labor and assistants for such tests and shall remove or repair any defective labor or material when so ordered by the Superintendent.
The plumber or contractor shall, on completion of the work, file in the office of the Superintendent, on blanks furnished for that purpose by the town, a complete and correct statement of the work done by him under the permission.
No person or persons, firm or corporation shall injure, break or remove any portion of any manhole, lamp hole, flush tank, flushing manhole, ejector chamber or any part of the sewer system.
Before any old house lateral shall be connected to the sewer system, the owner of said house lateral shall prove to the satisfaction of the Superintendent and of the Board of Health that it is clean and conforms in every respect to the requirements of this Article and the rules and regulations of the Board of Health.
It shall be unlawful for a firm, person or corporation to:
A. 
Cause, allow or permit the discharge of sewage from any house or building in the Town of Dover into or upon any road, highway, public pond, stream, watercourse, ditch, surface or subsurface groundwater drain or stormwater drain.
B. 
Discharge or cause, permit or allow to be discharged into any public sewer, directly or indirectly, any groundwater, surface water or water from yards, areas, courts or roofs.
C. 
Discharge or cause, permit or allow to be discharged into any public sewer, directly or indirectly, any overflow or drainage from man pits, cesspools or other receptacles storing or to store organic wastes.
D. 
Connect or cause, permit or allow to be connected to any public sewer, directly or indirectly, any cesspool, privy vault, cellar or rainwater leader or any other thing excepting only the house plumbing system.
E. 
Connect or cause, permit or allow to be connected to any public sewer, directly or indirectly, any steam exhaust, boiler, blow sediment drips or any pipes carrying or causing to carry hot water, acid dyes, germicides, brewing trash, gasoline, naphtha, benzine, oil trade wastes, factory wastes or garage wastes or any other substance detrimental to the sewer or to the operation of the sewerage system or sewage disposal works.
F. 
Throw or deposit or to cause, permit or allow to be thrown or deposited in any sewer openings, sinks, water closets, fixture vessels, receptacles, inlet or opening connecting directly or indirectly to any public sewer any garbage, offal, dead animals, vegetable parings, ashes, cinders, rags, matches or anything liable to injure the sewers or to interfere with their nominal operation or any other matter or thing whatsoever, except feces, urine, necessary toilet paper (which shall be tissue paper) and liquid house or mill slops; or to allow or permit any house sewer connected to the public sewer to be likewise connected to any privy vaults or cesspool or underground drain or with any chemical conveying water or filth, except such soil pipes and other plumbing work as shall have been duly inspected and approved, as in and by this Article or the Board of Health rules and regulations provided.
G. 
Allow any inflow or infiltration from whatever source into any sanitary sewer line from the curbline into and including the piping system in the house or building.
[Added 5-24-1988 by Ord. No. 11-1988]
When any stoppage shall occur in any house connection, an application may be made to the Superintendent to have the same remedied; the party so applying shall deposit $5 to be used toward paying the expense of said work. If the labor and material used in the work shall amount to less than $5, the cost of the work shall be deducted from the deposit and the balance returned to the party who made the deposit, but if the labor and material used in the work exceeds the deposit, then the party who made the deposit shall pay to the town, through the Superintendent, any deficiency that exists between the deposit and the cost of the work.
In all cases where owners desire to discharge any surface water or drainage other than sewage into any stormwater drain heretofore or hereafter to be built by the town, they will be allowed to do so on obtaining the required permits, but so much of the drain as lies between the street line and the main stormwater drain shall be built under the supervision and in accordance with the direction of the Superintendent.
[Amended 3-26-1973; 12-27-1983 by Ord. No. 35-1983; 11-26-1991 by Ord. No. 34-1991]
Any person residing outside of the corporate limits of Dover and who now or may hereafter be supplied with water by the Town of Dover, desiring to connect with the town sewers for sewerage service, may (at his own expense) connect with the sewer system in the manner prescribed and subject to all the requirements, rules, regulations and conditions contained in this Article and in addition upon the following further conditions and requirements:
A. 
An initial payment shall be made by the applicant to the town as follows:
(1) 
Five hundred dollars for each one-family house and for each family dwelling unit of a two-family house.
(2) 
Two hundred fifty dollars for each and every one-bedroom apartment unit contained in an entire apartment house to be connected (in the case of an efficiency apartment where no bedroom might be delineated, such apartment shall be considered to be a one-bedroom apartment), plus $150 per bedroom in excess of one bedroom for each and every apartment unit containing more than one bedroom contained in an entire apartment house to be connected.
B. 
The applicant or his successors in interest shall pay the Town of Dover annually on or before the first day of April of each year a service charge of $50 for a one-family house and $50 for each family dwelling unit of a two-family house, $40 for a two-bedroom apartment and $30 for a one-bedroom apartment. A three-bedroom apartment is hereby determined to be the equivalent of a single-family home. The charge set forth herein shall be deemed liens on the property serviced until the same are paid.
C. 
The sewer connection line shall become the property of the Town of Dover.
D. 
The applicant shall procure such consent for the connection as may be necessary from the Town of Dover, the municipality in which the applicant resides, consent from the Rockaway Valley Regional Sewerage Authority and the Superior Court of New Jersey during the duration of the court-imposed building ban.
E. 
Every structure containing no more than two families shall be considered one unit. Any structure containing more than two families shall be considered a separate unit for each family over two families in number.
F. 
In commercial or industrial structures, each five persons employed or using said premises shall be considered a unit.
G. 
There shall be an initial payment of $175 and an annual service charge of $10 for each unit.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Chapter 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
[Amended 3-25-1986 by Ord. No. 7-1986[1]]
Any person, firm or corporation violating this Article shall, upon conviction, be subject to one or more of the following: a fine not exceeding $1,000, a term of imprisonment not exceeding 90 days or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days. Each violation of this Article shall be deemed to be a separate and distinct offense. Said fine and penalty shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any other remedy or penalty provided by law.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Chapter 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
[Added 3-25-1986 by Ord. No. 7-1986; amended 12-13-1988 by Ord. No. 43-1988]
A. 
A new sewer charge for the Dover General Hospital Medical Center will be imposed starting with the year 1986 and will be calculated as follows:
(1) 
Certified gallonage from the Dover Water Commissioners for the prior years' water use by Dover General Hospital.
(2) 
Divide Subsection A(1) by the number of gallons of water used by all water users in the Town of Dover as certified by the Dover Water Commission for the prior year.
(3) 
Multiply the fraction obtained in Subsection A(2) above by the Rockaway Valley Regional Sewerage Authority (RVRSA) charges to Dover for operation, maintenance and debt service.
(4) 
Multiply the result of Subsection A(3) by 65%, which will equal the charge to Dover General Hospital for sewer usage.
B. 
The payment shall be made in equal quarterly payments on February 15, May 15, August 15, and November 15 of each year.
C. 
The purpose of this section is to obtain a fair share payment from Dover General Hospital Medical Center which currently is the largest water user in the Town of Dover, but which pays no part of the sewer transmission charges inasmuch as such charges are paid through ad valorem taxes for which Dover General Hospital Medical Center is exempt.
[Added 5-24-1988 by Ord. No. 11-1988]
A. 
The commission of any prohibited act as set forth in § 311-13 of this Article is hereby declared to be a nuisance. The Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Town of Dover by resolution may abate such nuisance by correcting a defect or making repairs, reconstructing or constructing the sanitary sewer connections or appurtenances thereto in order to comply with the provisions of § 311-13 of this Article. Such corrections shall be at the cost of the owner or lessor, and the town may expend municipal funds for such purpose and charge the same against the premises. The amount thereof as may be required to accomplish this task shall be a lien against the premises and collectible as provided in N.J.S.A. 40:48-1 et seq. In addition, the municipality shall be entitled to costs of court and reasonable attorney's fees in collecting the amount expended by it to abate any nuisance as defined hereunder.
B. 
The municipality must first give notice to the property owner or lessor to perform the work required to abate the nuisance. If within 30 days after receipt of notice the nuisance has not been abated, the municipality may proceed to abate the nuisance at the expense of the owner or lessor.
[Added 10-13-1992 by Ord. No. 22-1992; amended 1-26-1993 by Ord. No. 1-1993]
A. 
There is hereby established a sewer user charge effective January 1, 1993, for the use, operation, maintenance and replacement of the sanitary sewer system of the town and for collecting, treating and disposing of sewage to be imposed upon the owner of real property within the town limits served thereby at the rates hereinafter set forth.
B. 
The user charge for discharging sewage into the sanitary sewer system and subsequently into the Rockaway Valley Regional Sewerage Authority (RVRSA) sewer system shall consist of two parts:
(1) 
First, all cost and expenses, including salaries associated with the town sewer system shall be determined. Such amount shall be increased by an uncollectible factor to be determined annually. The total of these two figures shall be divided by the estimated consumption and multiplied by 100 to obtain a cost per 100 cubic feet.
[Amended 2-24-1998 by Ord. No. 5-1998]
(2) 
Second, a service charge based upon water consumption will be charged to pay for the actual cost for treatment by RVRSA and will be calculated as follows:
STEP 1: Establish cost to RVRSA for upcoming year. As per RVRSA letter dated October 23, 1992, the cost for sewage treatment for 1993 will be $780,971.
STEP 2: Estimate water billing for upcoming year. For 1993, that is projected to be 60,160,420 cubic feet.
STEP 3: Determine cost per cubic foot to be charged by RVRSA. Calculation for 1993 cost. (Must be determined each year.)
$780,971. cost to RVRSA
60,160,420 cubic feet =
$0.0130 per cubic foot or $1.30 per 100 cubic feet
(3) 
The total sewer user fee (per 100 cubic feet of water) shall be the sum of Subsection B(1) plus Subsection B(2) above.
[Amended 2-24-1998 by Ord. No. 5-1998]
C. 
The sewer user fee will be calculated each year to reflect the actual cost to RVRSA, the estimated water usage and the cost for operation of the Sewer Department. Required action by the Mayor and the Board of Aldermen will be completed prior to the end of each calendar year.
D. 
All special sewer agreements now in existence with the Town of Dover are hereby rescinded.
E. 
Payment of user charges.
(1) 
Sanitary sewer use fees shall be billed concurrent and in conjunction with the water bill and shall be due and payable immediately. If any bill or part thereof rendered for sewer usage is not paid within 20 days, the bill or unpaid part shall be considered delinquent and subject to interest at the prevailing rate fixed for interest on delinquent real estate taxes from the due date until the bill is paid in full.
[Amended 5-23-1993 by Ord. No. 17-1993]
(2) 
Whenever sewer service commences after the first day of any quarterly period, sanitary sewer user fees for the first quarterly period shall be prorated equitably.
(3) 
Every owner of improved property which is connected to the sanitary sewer system shall provide the town with a correct and current mailing address. Failure of any owner to receive quarterly bills for sewer use shall not be considered an excuse for nonpayment, nor shall this failure result in an extension of the period of time during which the bill is payable.
(4) 
Unpaid claims; liens. Unpaid charges for connection with and use of the sanitary sewer system shall be liens upon the premises connected until paid. The town shall have the same remedies for the collection therefor with interest, costs and penalties as it has by law for collection of taxes upon real estate.
F. 
Flows not directly attributable to users. The user fees shall provide for flow not directly attributable to users (i.e., infiltration/inflow) and shall be distributed among all users of the sewer system in accordance with the formula set forth herein.
G. 
The sewer user fee is applicable to all owners of real property, inclusive of both taxable and tax-exempt properties.
H. 
Wastes not discharged into system. Whenever a property upon which a sewer use charge is imposed uses water that is not discharged into the sanitary sewer system, upon approval by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, the quantity of water used and not discharged into the system shall be excluded in determining the sewage service charge for the property. The quantity of water used and not discharged into the system shall be measured by a device or meter approved by the town and installed without cost to the town, or by other means approved by the town. The sewer user fee based upon service shall be computed at the rates provided for, less the quantity of water not discharged into the system.
I. 
Duly authorized employees or agents of the town bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter upon all properties for the purpose of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing to assure proper use of the sewer system.