[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Town of Rock Hall 10-6-1977
by Ord. No. 26. (The provisions of this chapter are derived
from Chapter 11 of the former Code of Ordinances of the Town of Rock Hall
adopted 10-6-1977 by Ord. No. 26. Subsection
D of Section 1105 of this former Chapter 11, concerning the Plumbing Board,
was included in a separate chapter; see Chapter 40, Plumbing Board.) Amendments
noted where applicable.]
A.
It is the objective of the Mayor and Council of Rock
Hall, Maryland, to provide basic and uniform plumbing rules and regulations,
establishing reasonable safeguards for sanitation in and adjacent to buildings
to protect the public health against the hazards of inadequate or insanitary
plumbing installations.
B.
The provisions of this chapter shall be held to include
and govern all work done and materials used:
(1)
In introducing, extending or maintaining a supply of
water or any appurtenances thereof in any building, lot, premises or establishment.
(2)
In connecting or repairing any system of domestic sewage
disposal where the sewage is discharged or proposed to be discharged from
any building, lot, premises or establishment into any public sewer or into
any pit, box or disposal field or other receptacle or into any natural or
artificial watercourse.
(3)
In ventilating any house sewer or any fixtures or appurtenances
connected thereto.
(4)
In excavating any public or private street, avenue, road,
alley, thoroughfare, highway or space for the purpose of connecting any building,
lot, premises or establishment with any service pipe, house sewer, public
or private sewer or drain or other underground structure and in general.
(5)
In performing all classes of work usually done by plumbers.
(6)
Nothing in this chapter, however, shall be construed
to mean the repairing of leaks in water pipes, provided that there is no interference
thereby with the original design or construction.
Except as specifically set forth in this chapter, the meaning of terms
used in this chapter shall be as provided in the Code of the Building Officials
and Code Administrators International and the State Plumbing Code, specifically:
That part of a house connection not less than 10 feet from the inner
wall of the building to the point of discharge into the public or private
sewer or drain in any street, alley or right-of-way or into a residential
sewage disposal plant or other similar receptacle.
A continuation of the house sewer, extending from a point not less
than 10 feet outside the inner wall of the building through or under the foundation
walls and as far as the last soil stack, which receives the discharge from
all soil stacks and waste pipes within the building and conveys this discharge
to the house sewer.
A person who holds a master plumber's certificate issued by
the authority contained in Article 43 of the Code of Public Local Laws of
Maryland, containing his business address, and who represents the industry
of plumbing and now engages in or works at the plumbing business on his own
account or directs other workmen in this line and who has an established place
of business in the State of Maryland other than his residence or the building
in which he may be employed. This chapter shall not, however, prevent a master
plumber from having his store and dwelling combined, provided that the store
fronts on a public thoroughfare and has proper signs displayed and a separate
entrance provided.
The name applied to sewers and drains located in streets, alleys,
thoroughfares or rights-of-way but which are not owned by the municipality.
The pipes that convey rainwater from the roofs of buildings to their
points of discharge on the ground or into a storm drain.
One which conveys only household sewage, industrial or other polluted
wastes.
Any pipe that receives the discharge from one or more water closets,
with or without the discharge from other fixtures, and conveys this discharge
to the house soil line.
One which conveys only surface water, stormwater or wastes of a similar
nonpolluted character.
Any pipe provided to ventilate a plumbing or drainage system and
which is the continuation of any soil or waste pipe used to prevent siphonage
or back pressure but does not receive the discharge from any fixture or fixtures.
Any pipe which receives the discharge from any fixture except a water
closet and conveys the same to the house soil line.
A.
All plumbing or drainage work shall be under the supervision
of the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall, Maryland, who shall issue permits therefor.
(1)
The Mayor and Council of Rock Hall shall formulate such
rules and regulations, not inconsistent with this chapter, as shall be necessary
for the public safety.
(2)
No building operation shall be undertaken unless and
until satisfactory evidence shall be furnished to the Mayor and Council that
adequate and approved sewerage and a water supply are available or can be
provided for said building or structure.
B.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all public
or private sewers or drains, wherever situated, and all municipal ordinances
pertaining to the work herein governed must be complied with. When it is necessary
to make connection to any private sewer or drain, permission of the owner
of said sewer or drain must be obtained in writing.
(1)
No person, firm or corporation shall open, tap, repair
or close any sewer, public or private, without a proper permit so to do from
the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall.
(2)
No person, firm or corporation shall enter any manhole
or any sewer or stormwater drain or appurtenance thereto without a permit
so to do from the Mayor and Council.
C.
All plumbing work done in the Town of Rock Hall, in and
about or in connection with any building, must conform to the State of Maryland
Plumbing Code, this chapter and the rules and regulations set by the Mayor
and Council. In the absence of a regulation contained therein, the Building
Code of the Building Officials Conference of America, Inc., shall govern.
It shall be the master plumber's duty to exhibit his certificate
of competency as a master plumber to the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall, where
he shall be registered in a book provided for that purpose, giving his full
name, residence and place of business. It shall be the duty of every such
person to display at his or their place of business, in a conspicuous place,
a sign with the full registered name or names and the words "registered plumber"
or "registered plumbers" in letters not less than two inches in height.
A.
The use of a cesspool, privy or privy vault as part of
a plumbing or drainage system shall be abandoned as soon as possible after
a public sewer has been constructed in any street, alley, thoroughfare or
right-of-way adjoining the premises in question, and such use shall in all
cases be abandoned within the time so set to discontinue such use, stated
in a notice so to do from the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall.
B.
All such vaults and cesspools allowed to be used shall
be so constructed that no offensive or injurious odor or gas can escape, either
directly or through the fixtures connecting thereto. Every abandoned cesspool
shall be emptied, cleaned, disinfected and permanently filled with clean fresh
earth; provided, however, that clean ashes or other approved material may
be used with permission of the Mayor and Council.
C.
Every well or cesspool shall be covered with stone or
reinforced concrete slab not less than four inches thick and shall be at least
20 feet deep and not less than five feet in diameter and walled up with brick
or stone, properly and satisfactorily built. If such wall or cesspool is used
as a drop privy, the full length and width of the floor thereof shall be covered
with material of a kind and thickness prescribed above. All drop privies shall
be watertight, with a minimum of 10 feet in depth.
A.
No plumbing system, tub, washbowl, sink, water closet,
urinal, hot water storage tank for domestic use or other plumbing or drainage
fixture shall be installed, altered or removed; no sanitary drainage connection
of any kind shall be made; no sewer, house drain, soil pipe, waste pipe, vent
pipe or water supply pipe shall be placed, connected, altered or removed in
or about any building or structure within the corporate limits of Rock Hall,
unless a plumbing permit has been issued for the installation of the final
waste pipe connection or connections made directly to the sanitary or stormwater
sewers or to branches from the same; provided, however, that the above provisions
of this section shall not apply to water piping in high or low pressure steam
systems, water piping for steam, hot water and vapor heating systems and automatic
sprinkler systems.
(1)
The Mayor and Council of Rock Hall shall charge an amount as provided in Chapter 102, Fees, for every permit issued which shall authorize the installation of all plumbing work or the replacement of plumbing work in any one building.
[Amended 8-10-1979 by Ord. No. 79-6]
(2)
The Mayor and Council of Rock Hall shall require a connection
charge for every permit issued by it which shall authorize the installation
of the house sewer line and the connection of the house sewer line with the
sanitary sewerage system.
(3)
Blank forms of applications shall be furnished by the
Mayor and Council of Rock Hall to qualified master plumbers.
(4)
Applicants for a permit shall be required to give the
location and description of the property, including, if applicable, the name
of the subdivision, lot number, size of lot and the nature and size of the
building or extent of additions or alterations to existing buildings and the
method of water supply and sewage disposal and the number and kind of plumbing
fixtures and/or appliances connected with the water or sewage systems to be
installed, on an application form obtainable at the office of the Mayor and
Council of Rock Hall. Said application must be accompanied by a rough sketch
showing the size, shape and general location of the owner's property
and the location of the existing or proposed building thereon and the water
supply and sewage disposal system in existence or proposed.[1]
(5)
All applications must be signed by the owner of the premises
or his authorized representative or agent, and his address must be written
under his signature.
(6)
The conditions of such permits must be strictly complied
with, and the work shall be done by the registered master plumber to whom
the permit shall have been issued or under his supervision and by journeymen
in his employ.
(7)
All plumbers doing work in Rock Hall must be licensed
in accordance with the laws of Maryland and must be licensed also by Kent
County.
B.
No person, firm or corporation carrying on the plumbing
business shall allow his, their or its name to be used by any other person,
firm or corporation, directly or indirectly, either to obtain a permit or
permits, send in notices, make returns or do any work under his, their or
its license. Violations of this provision shall be deemed sufficient cause
for withholding all permits from the person or persons guilty thereof and
may also be deemed sufficient cause for recommendation for the permanent revocation
of the license held by the violator.
(1)
No permit shall be issued to any registered master plumber
during the time that he shall fail to remedy any defective work after the
sending of a written notice to him at his address as shown in the Register
of Licensed Master Plumbers by the Clerk-Treasurer of Rock Hall, such notice
to state that he has been held responsible for such defective work under the
stipulations of this chapter.
(2)
Bad faith or unreasonable delay in the performance of
plumbing work or failure promptly to respond to official communications shall
be deemed a sufficient reason for withholding permits, and the master plumber
shall be held responsible for the violations of this chapter or the rules
and regulations of the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall.
(3)
Before any plumbing or drainage work is undertaken, the
master plumber in charge of the work shall notify the Mayor and Council when
the work will commence. Such notices shall be given on blank forms to be furnished
by the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall.
(4)
Any person undertaking any plumbing or drainage work
before the time stated in such notice shall be liable to a penalty of not
less than $5 for each and every offense.
(5)
Permits shall be obtained from the Mayor and Council
of Rock Hall for tapping sewers in private streets, private alleys or private
ways and shall be approved by the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall.[2] Such permits shall contain the condition that the recipients thereof
shall take all risk arising therefrom and shall indemnify and save harmless
the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall from all damage or costs arising out of
or in connection with said work.
(6)
Under no circumstances whatsoever shall oral permission,
whether given by a person employed by or connected with the Mayor and Council
of Rock Hall or by any other person, be considered a justification for any
deviation whatsoever from or violation of this chapter or the rules and regulations
of the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall.
C.
Persons applying for a homeowner's permit to do
work on property or properties which they own or in which they reside must
apply in the same manner as a plumber with one exception: a sketch of work
to be done must have preliminary approval of the Plumbing Inspector before
a permit will be issued. All inspections as provided in this chapter shall
also prevail for the homeowner.
D.
The Mayor and Council shall appoint an Inspector of Plumbing,
whose duties shall consist of enforcing the provisions of this chapter and
the related rules and regulations of the Mayor and Council.
Before any portion of the drainage system of any building, premises
or establishment shall be laid or constructed, there shall be filed by the
owner or his authorized agent with the Clerk-Treasurer of Rock Hall plans
and specifications therefor, in triplicate, showing said system in its entirety
from its connection with such public or private sewers as may be available
or to such temporary system of sewage disposal as may be installed with the
approval of the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall.
A.
When, in the opinion of the Mayor and Council, the interests
of the Town of Rock Hall are best served by so doing, they may consider the
description of the work as stated by the owner or his authorized agent in
his application for permit thereof as sufficient plans and specifications
for such work. In general, no other or further plans or specifications will
be required for repair jobs, the installation of single fixtures or new installations
in small residential projects.
B.
The Mayor and Council shall promptly examine such plans
and specifications and either approve or reject the same. If approved, one
copy of such plans and specifications shall be retained in the files of the
Mayor and Council and the remaining copies shall be returned to the owner
or his authorized representative, upon demand. The approval of plans and specifications
shall be made in writing by the Mayor and Council before any portion of the
work shall be executed. No subsequent alterations shall be made in plans and
specifications without the written approval of the Mayor and Council, and
all work shall be done in strict accordance with such plans and specifications
so approved as aforesaid.
C.
One certified set of said plumbing plans and specifications
shall be in the custody of the master plumber installing the work and shall
be kept on the site of the work at all times. It shall be unlawful to do any
work of plumbing or drainage on any building, except in accordance with the
approved drawings and specifications therefor as required above.
A.
Every plumbing and drainage system, immediately after
its completion and before any of the pipes, fixtures, connections or any of
the other features of its construction have been enclosed with other materials
of construction or covered from view, shall be inspected by the Mayor and
Council.
B.
All work must receive a final inspection after the work
is complete and covered. In addition to these two required inspections, the
Mayor and Council may make such other inspections as deemed necessary.
C.
The plumbing and drainage system of any building in the
Town of Rock Hall may be inspected by the Mayor and Council or a duly authorized
representative of the Mayor and Council at any time. If any defects are found
in the sanitary conditions of said building due to the condition of the plumbing,
the Mayor and Council shall have the power to order the reconstruction of
such plumbing in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the rules
and regulations of the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall.
A.
During the construction of every soil, waste, vent or
water supply opening of any character, as a test for the same, it shall be
closed by means of a test plug, screw cap or other appropriate fitting, and
no paper, wood, brick, plaster or other substitute shall be allowed for such
plug. The system shall then be filled with water for a test, and the approval
of the Mayor and Council shall be obtained. Plugs shall not be removed from
the pipe opening except during the time that the opening in the pipe is actually
worked upon, and upon completion of the work all joints shall be permanently
sealed.
B.
If the tests fail or if defects or imperfections of any
kind shall be found at any such inspections, the Mayor and Council shall determine
and direct what changes or repairs are to be made, and the master plumber
in charge of the work shall provide the materials and do the work required;
and in case such changes are not made and the work so required is not done
within 15 days from the date of written notice of such inspection, the master
plumber shall be liable to the penalties stipulated for disregard of such
notice, etc., and the Mayor and Council shall be empowered to replace or repair
such defective work.
C.
Whenever such test or tests as herein referred to shall
have been completed in conformity with the provisions of this chapter and
the rules and regulations of the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall, it shall
be the duty of the Mayor and Council to issue to the master plumber completing
such work a certificate to the effect that such work has been inspected and
approved, such certificate being signed by the Mayor and Council.
A.
Before any master plumber shall be allowed to receive
permits to do the plumbing or drainage work in the Town of Rock Hall, he shall
be required to give bond to the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall in an amount
within the discretion of the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall, but in no event
to be less than $1,000, provided that he shall comply, in all respects, with
each and every rule and regulation of the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall in
regard to said plumbing and drainage work and his obligations thereunder,
including all laws and ordinances of the Town of Rock Hall, may be subjected
by reason of any wrongdoing, misconduct, want of care or skill, negligence
or default on the part of said master plumber, his agents or employees, in
or about the execution or performance of such plumbing or drainage work. Whenever
the sureties on the bond so furnished shall be deemed by the Mayor and Council
of Rock Hall to be insufficient or unsatisfactory, the plumber, after 10 days'
written notice to that effect, shall furnish and deliver a new bond to the
Mayor and Council of Rock Hall, in the same penalty and on the same conditions,
with surety satisfactory to the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall. If the master
plumber shall fail to furnish such new bond within 10 days after written notice
has been mailed to his address as registered with the Mayor and Council, the
Mayor and Council may revoke all permits previously issued to such plumber,
and no further permits shall be issued to him until a satisfactory bond has
been furnished.
B.
Should the master plumber fail or refuse to remove and
renew any materials or work which shall have been found not to be in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter and the rules and regulations or requirements
of the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall or to make any necessary repairs in
an acceptable manner and in accordance with the requirements of this chapter
and the rules and regulations of the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall within
the time indicated for such removal and renewal in the notice from the Mayor
and Council that such work or materials, or both, are in violation of this
chapter or the rules and regulations or requirements of the Mayor and Council
of Rock Hall, then the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall shall have the authority
to cause such defective materials or work to be removed and renewed or such
repairs to be made as the Mayor and Council may deem necessary or in keeping
with this chapter and the rules and regulations of the Mayor and Council of
Rock Hall, at the expense of the plumber. All costs and expenses incurred
thereby shall be chargeable and collectible from the surety on the bond furnished
by the plumber, as hereinbefore prescribed. Any work performed by the Mayor
and Council of Rock Hall, as set forth in the provisions of this section,
shall not relieve the plumber in any way from responsibility for any work
performed by him; and any remedies or penalties herein mentioned are specifically
intended to be and are, in addition to any other remedies or penalties provided
by the laws of Maryland and ordinances of the Town of Rock Hall.
C.
The liability of the surety or sureties on any bond given
under this section shall not extend to defects in materials and workmanship
discovered more than 12 months after the completion of the work.
A.
In the clearing of soil from waste pipes, all holes cut
in such pipes shall be tapped, threaded and closed with a metal plug made
gas- and watertight or repaired with a special repair plate of approved design.
B.
When a registered master plumber is unable to relieve
a chokage nuisance in any plumbing or drainage system on account of such chokage
nuisance being located in some street, alley, lane or thoroughfare outside
of the property, he shall immediately notify the Mayor and Council of his
inability so to do. The Mayor and Council shall thereupon, through their agent
or agents, make relief of such chokage nuisance, and the proper costs thereof
shall be paid by the town.
Any available information in regard to size, location and/or depth of
public and private sewers and drains shall be furnished to licensed master
plumbers upon application in person or in writing. All reasonable care shall
be taken to ensure the correctness of such information, but the municipality
shall make no guarantee of the correctness of information so given.
A.
If a drainage or plumbing system becomes inadequate and
a nuisance is created, the Mayor and Council shall order such fixtures as
are connected to the same to be removed and the pipes capped until such inadequate
sewer or drainage system is remedied. If, after failure to comply with such
orders and after five days' written notice has been given, the work has
not begun, the Mayor and Council shall have the right to enter such premises
and remove such fixtures, and the expenses incurred incident to such order
and removal or other work necessary to the abatement of such nuisance shall
become a lien against said property, collectible as other public liens are
collectible.
B.
When any property, land or premises or group of any of the foregoing which, individually or collectively, has more than one connection to the sanitary sewer system is altered, repaired or razed in such a manner as to make connection to the sanitary sewer system unnecessary, then, upon notice from the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall, the owner thereof shall remove or cut off the pipe from the unused connections and properly plug such connections. Refusal or failure to comply with such notice is punishable by a fine as provided in § 167-15, and the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall are empowered, in case of such refusal or failure, to do the above-mentioned work and collect the cost thereof from the owners of the property in question.
[Amended 8-10-1979 by Ord. No. 79-6]
C.
It shall be the duty of any master plumber, in connection
with his work in or about any building, land or premises as hereinbefore mentioned,
to see that all abandoned or unused connections are properly plugged in keeping
with the above provision.
Permits may be issued by the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall at its discretion
and when proper application is made for the installation of plumbing fixtures
or floor drains in the cellars or basements of buildings, the floor levels
of which are below the grade of the street, lane, alley or thoroughfare on
which the property abuts, provided that all such permits shall be subject
to the condition that the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall, in consideration
of issuance of such permits, shall not be responsible for any damages whatsoever
resulting from flooding of property due to such installations below the grade,
but shall be saved harmless therefrom and that a bond so conditioned shall
be given by the person or persons obtaining such permit to the Mayor and Council
of Rock Hall, provided further that if a bond shall be given in accordance
with the requirements of this chapter, such condition may be included in said
bond in lieu of the requirement of an additional bond.
[Amended 8-10-1979 by Ord. No. 79-6; 5-5-1994
by Ord. No. 94-4]
Violations of this chapter shall be punishable as a municipal infraction.
Violators shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $100. Repeat offenders
may be assessed a fine not to exceed $200 for each offense.
