[Adopted 5-4-1976 as Ord. No. 91]
[Amended 4-9-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-05]
It is the objective of the Snow Hill Mayor and Council to:
A. 
Eliminate privies, septic tanks, cesspools, open sewer outlets, connection of stormwater outlets to sanitary sewers and hazardous or objectionable methods of liquid waste disposal wherever the public sewerage system is available for service.
B. 
Require the use of collection and treatment facilities in a manner reasonable consistent with the purpose and capacities for which they were designed.
C. 
Forbid any misuse of the municipal sewerage works and wastewater treatment plant that may result in physical damage to the structures, interference with operation or unreasonable maintenance attention and/or expense.
D. 
Equitably recover original construction and operating costs in proportion to rate of flow and strength of the various liquid wastes.
[Amended 4-9-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-05]
A. 
As used in Article III and IV, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BOD (DENOTING "BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND")
The amount of oxygen consumed in a standard BOD5 test without the use of a nitrification inhibitor at 20 degrees centigrade on an unfiltered sample.
BUILDING DRAIN
That part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning 10 feet outside the inner face of the building wall.
BUILDING SEWER
The extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.
CESSPOOL
A lined or partially lined pit into which raw household wastewater is discharged and from which the liquid seeps into the surrounding soil.
CHLORINE DEMAND
The amount of chlorine which must be added to liquid waste to produce a residual chlorine content in the liquid waste.
COLOR
The true color due to substance in solution expressed in color units on a platinum-cobalt scale.
COMBINED SEWER
A sewer receiving both surface runoff and sewage.
COMPOSITE SAMPLE
A sample of wastewater, consisting of a number of individual samples collected at uniform intervals over a given time span, collected and preserved in accordance with the latest issue of the APHA Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater.
DOMESTIC SEWAGE OR SANITARY SEWAGE
The liquid waste derived principally from residential, institutional, commercial and other nonindustrial sources.
ENGINEER
The Director of Public Works of the Town of Snow Hill or his duly authorized representative.
FLOATABLE GREASE
Grease, fat, wax or oil in a physical state such that it will separate by gravity from wastewater by treatment in an approved facility. A wastewater shall be considered free of "floatable grease" if it is pretreated for floatable grease removal in a facility which is designed, constructed and operated as approved by the Town.
GARBAGE
Solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.
GREASE, FATS, WAX OR OILS
Those substances, whether emulsified or not, which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 32° F. and 150° F. (0° and 65° C.).
HAULED WASTE
Waste transported by haulers and discharged to a publicly owned treatment works by a conveyance other than a pipe (e.g., by truck or rail). Hauled waste might be sewage or domestic waste, or it might include non-domestic waste, or a combination of both types of waste.
HEALTH DEPARTMENT
Either the local or State of Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Office having jurisdiction over local health and sewage disposal.
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
The liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing processes, trade or business as distinct from sanitary sewage.
INDUSTRY
Any person, establishment, firm, company, association or group, whether public or private, engaged in a manufacturing or service enterprise which produces liquid wastes which are excessive in biological strength, toxic, hazardous, nonbiodegradable or otherwise harmful to the sewage works or which would interfere with operation of the sewage works to require unreasonable operating attention or expense.
NATURAL OUTLET
Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or ground water.
PARTS PER MILLION (PPM) OR MILLIGRAMS PER LITER (MG/L)
The relative concentration of substance in a sample of waste, by weight, in terms of the weight of such substance per unit volume of the waste.
PERSON, ESTABLISHMENT OR OWNER
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation or group, public or private.
pH
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration measured at 25°C or measured at another temperature and then converted to an equivalent value at 25°C.
PRIVY
An earth or watertight pit or receptacle for receiving non-water-carried human wastes over which is placed a privy house containing a toilet seat or seats.
PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE
The wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers.
PUBLIC SEWER
A sewer which is owned or controlled by the Town of Snow Hill or its duly authorized representatives and in which all owners of abutting property have equal rights. It shall include that portion of the building sewer within the street right-of-way or public easement, up to but not including the cleanout (if any), adjacent to the curb, sidewalk or edge of paving.
SANITARY SEWER
A sewer which carries sewage and to which storm-, surface and ground waters are not intentionally admitted.
SCREENING
The removal of solid from liquid wastes by straining through twenty-mesh screens or finer.
SEPTIC TANK
A settling tank in which settled sludge is in immediate contact with the wastewater flowing through the tank and the organic solids are decomposed by anaerobic bacterial action.
SEWAGE OR WASTEWATER
A combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments, together with such ground-, surface and storm waters as may be present.
SEWAGE WORKS
All facilities for collecting, transporting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage and sludge.
SEWER
A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
SLUDGE
Any thickened liquid, suspension, settled solid, or dried residue that a sewage treatment plant extracts from sewage.
STORM DRAIN (SOMETIMES TERMED "STORM SEWER")
A sewer which carries storm and surface waters and drainage, but excludes sewage and industrial wastes other than unpolluted cooling water.
SUPERINTENDENT
The Water and Wastewater Treatment Superintendent of the Town of Snow Hill or his authorized deputy, agent or representative.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
Solids that either float on the surface or are in suspension in water, sewage or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory filtering, as determined in accordance with the latest issue of the APHA Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater.
TOWN
The governing body of the Town of Snow Hill or its duly appointed officers or representatives.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
A facility designed and constructed to receive, treat, or store sewage or sewage combined with other waterborne waste.
WATERCOURSE
A channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.
B. 
"Shall" is mandatory, and "may" is permissive.
A. 
Connections to the public sewers shall be made only by the Town.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit or permit to be deposited in any unsanitary manner on public or private property within the Town of Snow Hill any human or animal excrement, garbage or other objectionable waste.
C. 
It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the Town of Snow Hill any sewage or other pollutants, except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this Article.
D. 
Except as provided in the State Plumbing Code, it shall be unlawful to erect or maintain any privy, septic tank, cesspool or other facility intended or used for disposal of sewage.
E. 
The owners of all houses, buildings or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purposes situated within the Town and abutting on any street, alley or right-of-way in which there is now located or may in the future be located a public sanitary or combined sewer of the Town are hereby required at their expense to install suitable toilet facilities therein and to connect such facilities directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions of the requirements of the State Plumbing Code.
F. 
Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged on approval by the responsible regulatory agency to a storm sewer or natural outlet.
[Amended 4-9-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-05]
A. 
No person or user other than authorized Town employees shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof.
B. 
Permits for connections to the public sewers shall be obtained from the Code Compliance Officer of Snow Hill and shall be made on forms provided by the Code Compliance Officer of Snow Hill. In all applications involving industrial wastes, as defined by this Article, additional information, plans, specifications or other pertinent information will be required for review and approval by the Director of Public Works. Such data shall be in a form acceptable to the Director of Public Works.
C. 
All costs and expense incident to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the Town from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.
D. 
Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test by proper Town authority, to meet all requirements of the Maryland State Plumbing Code.
E. 
The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building sewer and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing and backfilling the trench shall all conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules and regulations of the Town.
F. 
Whenever possible, the building sewer shall be brought to the building at an elevation below the basement floor. In all buildings in which any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewers, sanitary sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer at the owner's entire cost.
G. 
The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules and regulations of the Town.
[Amended 4-9-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-05]
A. 
Stormwater, surface water, groundwater, uncontaminated cooling water or unpolluted process water shall not be permitted to be discharged into sanitary sewers. In residential construction, floor drains may not be connected to the building sewers.
B. 
No person or user shall contribute or cause to be contributed, directly or indirectly, any pollutant, sewage or wastewater which will damage and/or interfere with the operation or performance of the Town of Snow Hill sewage works or pass through the Town of Snow Hill wastewater treatment plant and pollute the waters of the state. These prohibitions apply to all such persons and users of the Town of Snow Hill sewage works and WWTP, whether or not the person and user is subject to categorical pretreatment standards set by the EPA or any other federal, state or local pretreatment standards or requirements.
C. 
Specifically, no person or user shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes to any public sewers or contribute the following substances to the sewage works and wastewater treatment plant:
(1) 
Any liquid or vapor having a temperature in excess of 150° F. (65° C.) or any heat that will inhibit the biological treatment activity of the wastewater treatment plant. Heat in such quantities that could cause the temperature of the influent wastewater into the wastewater treatment plant to 104° F. (40° C.), unless the state (MDE), upon request of the city approves alternate temperature limits.
(2) 
Any waters or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids or gases in sufficient quantity, either singly or by an interaction with other wastes, to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, to constitute a hazard to humans or animals, to create a public nuisance or to create any hazard in the receiving waters of the wastewater treatment plant. The following substances are not permitted in concentrations above those listed. By amendment to this Article, restrictions may also be placed on other substances or the present concentration limits revised when it is shown that the presence of these substances or concentrations at a treatment plant is sufficient to adversely affect any portion of the treatment process:
Maximum Allowable Concentration
Substance
(mg/l)
Arsenic as As
0.5
Cadmium as Cd
0.4
Chromium (Hexavalent) as Cr
0.2
Copper as Cu
1.0
Cyanides or cyanogen compounds as Cn
0.5
Lead as Pb
0.5
Mercury or mercury compounds as Hg
0.5
Nickel as Ni
2.0
Zinc as Zn
5.0
(3) 
Any discharge having a pH value of less than 6.0 or higher than 10.0, or otherwise causing corrosive structural damage to the sewage works, wastewater treatment plant or endangering Town of Snow Hill employees.
(4) 
Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size capable of causing obstructions to the flow in sewers, the sewage works and wastewater treatment plant but in no case solids greater than 1/2 inch in any dimension, such as but not limited to rubber, paint, hair and fleshings, paper dishes or containers, floating grease, fats, wax and/or oils, garbage, animal guts and/or tissues, whole blood, entrails, bones, hides, ashes, cinders, sand, mud straw, spent lime, stone or marble dust, metal, grass clippings, shavings, glass, glass grinding or polishing waste, rags, feathers, tar, gas, asphalt residues, residues from refining or processing of fuel and/or lubricating oils, plastics, wood, spent grains, spent hops, waste paper, paunch or manure.
(5) 
Any waters or wastes containing discharge of strong acid, iron pickling wastes or concentrated plating solutions, whether neutralized or not.
(6) 
Any waters or wastes containing phenols or other taste or odor-producing substances, in such concentrations exceeding the limits which may be established by higher regulatory agencies for discharge to the receiving waters.
(7) 
Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by applicable state or federal regulations.
(8) 
Any waters or wastes containing iron, manganese and similar objectionable or toxic substances; or wastes exerting an excessive chlorine requirement to such degree that any such material received in the composite sewage at the wastewater treatment works exceeds the limits established by the Town for such materials.
(9) 
Any noxious or malodorous liquid, gas, solid or substance which, singly or by interaction with other wastes, is capable of creating a public nuisance or hazard.
(10) 
Materials which exert or cause unusual concentrations of inert suspended solids, such as but not limited to fullers earth, lime slurries and lime residues, or dissolved solids such as but not limited to sodium chloride and sodium sulfate.
(11) 
Any wastewater which causes discoloration which cannot be removed by the treatment process, such as, but not limited to dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions.
(12) 
Any wastewater containing pollutants, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.), released in a discharge as a slug load, at a release (flow) rate and/or concentration which, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, will cause interference with either the WWTP, or any wastewater treatment or sludge process, or which will constitute a hazard to humans or animals, or create a public nuisance. In no case shall the maximum daily average concentration limit of 300 mg/l for five-day Biochemical Oxygen Demand be exceeded. The Town may permit the discharge of sewage from a given user containing a higher concentration of BOD, subject to the levying of a surcharge over and above the normal rates for sewer services,. Such surcharge to be fixed by the Town to achieve equitable recovery of capital and operating costs in proportion to the rate of flow and strength of the particular waste.
(13) 
Any industrial wastes that will not pass a twenty-mesh screen or equivalent.
(14) 
Any unusual volume of flow that would materially affect the sewage works adversely.
(15) 
Any substances, materials, water or wastes that, after treatment of the composite sewage, cause violation of the requirements or permits of the state, federal or other public agencies having jurisdiction over the quality of wastewater treatment plant discharge to the receiving waters, including whole effluent quality standards.
(16) 
Pollutants which cause pass through or interference.
(17) 
Hauled waste, except as approved by the Town and disposed of at a location approved by the Town. The Town may by resolution, adopt regulations to permit the disposal of hauled waste to include permitting process and fees.
D. 
Pretreatment standards and requirements.
(1) 
All industrial users shall comply with the federal general pretreatment regulations found in 40 CFR Part 403 and the applicable national categorical pretreatment regulations set out in 40 CFR Subchapter N, Parts 401 through 471 upon promulgation and all applicable federal, state or local requirements or standards.
(2) 
Limitations imposed on users at the point of application shall be the most stringent limitations applicable. These may be federal, state or local requirements or standards.
E. 
Specific pollutant limitations.
(1) 
The following pollutant limits are established to protect against pass through and interference. No person or user shall cause to be discharged wastewater containing in excess of the following:
Pollutant
Concentration
Limitation
Total phosphorus
11 mg/l
Maximum daily average
Total mercury
0.5 mg/l
Maximum daily average
Total arsenic
0.5 mg/l
Maximum daily average
Total cadmium
0.4 mg/l
Maximum daily average
Hexavalent Chromium
0.2 mg/l
Maximum daily average
Total copper
1.0 mg/l
Maximum daily average
Total cyanide
0.5 mg/l
Maximum daily average
Total lead
0.5 mg/l
Maximum daily average
Total nickel
2.0 mg/l
Maximum daily average
Total zinc
5.0 mg/l
Maximum daily average
(2) 
Limitations for other pollutants will be set as established by a technically based local limits study and approved by the Town of Snow Hill and the Maryland Department of the Environment. The Town of Snow Hill reserves the right to establish in wastewater discharge permits, more stringent standards or requirements on discharges to the sewage works if deemed necessary to comply with the objectives in § 193-30 or prohibitions in § 193-35.
F. 
Dilution/excessive discharge. No user shall ever increase the use of process water, or in any way attempt to dilute a discharge, as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with a discharge limitation. The Town of Snow Hill may impose mass limitations on users who are using dilution to meet applicable pretreatment standards or requirements, or in other cases when the imposition of mass limitations is appropriate.
G. 
Where pretreatment or flow-equalizing facilities are provided for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner at his expense, in such manner that a public nuisance or health hazard does not occur.
H. 
When required by the Town Engineer or Superintendent, the owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling and measurement of the wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessibly and safely located and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the Town Engineer or Superintendent. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his expense and shall be maintained by him as to be safe and accessible to the Town at all times.
I. 
All measurements, tests and analysis of the characteristic of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this Article shall be determined in accordance with the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, published by the American Public Health Association, and shall be determined at the control manhole provided or upon suitable samples taken at said control manhole. Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted methods to reflect the effect of constituents upon the sewage works and to determine the existence of hazards to life, limb and property.
J. 
Enforcement.
(1) 
If any waters or wastes are discharged or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, sewage works or at the wastewater treatment plant which waters contain any of the substances or possess any of the characteristics enumerated in § 103-35, the Town may:
(a) 
Deny service;
(b) 
Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers;
(c) 
Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge; and/or
(d) 
Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating high-strength wastes in accordance with the provisions of Subsection C(15).
(2) 
If the Town requires or permits the pretreatment or flow equalization of waste flows from any industry, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the Director of Public Works and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances, laws and regulations of the local, state and federal regulatory agencies.
[Amended 4-9-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-05]
The Town Engineer, Superintendent and other duly authorized employees of the Town bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted access to pretreatment or flow-equalization facilities, flow-measuring devices and/or control manholes. While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to above, authorized employees of the Town shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the company and the company shall be held harmless for injury or death to the Town employees, and the Town shall indemnify the company against loss or damage to its property by Town employees and against liability claims and demands for personal injury or property damage asserted against the company and growing out of the flow measuring and sampling operation except as such may be caused by negligence or failure of the company to maintain safe conditions as required in § 193-35.
[Amended 4-9-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-05]
No unauthorized persons or users shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is a part of the sewage works. Any person or user violating this provision shall be subject to immediate arrest under charge of disorderly conduct.
[Amended 4-9-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-05; 6-11-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-10]
A. 
Any person or user found to be violating any provision of this Article, except § 193-37, and the permit shall be served by the Town with written notice stating the nature of the violation and a statement that the violation shall cease immediately. The notice may include steps the offender shall take to remedy the violation. In the event that the violation has caused or can potentially cause physical damage to the sewage works and/or degradation of the treatment plant effluent to the degree that it does not meet the current requirements of appropriate state or federal regulatory agencies, the Town shall require immediate correction of the violation or denial of service by the offender until satisfactory corrections are made.
B. 
Any person or user who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit provided for in Subsection A shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by a minimum fine in an amount of $500 but not exceeding $1,000 for each violation or by imprisonment for a period not to exceed 20 days, or by both such fine or imprisonment. Each day in which any such violation shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense.
C. 
Any person or user violating any of the provisions of this Article shall become liable to the Town for any expense, loss or damage occasioned the Town by reason of such violation.