A.
This article may be known and cited as the "Central Wastewater Disposal District Law."
B.
This article is enacted pursuant to § 198 of Article 12 of the Town Law of the State of New York.
[Adopted 9-15-1987 by L.L. No. 3-1987]
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows. "Shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissive.
The Town Board of the Town of Woodstock, New York, or its authorized agent or representative.
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 three feet outside the inner face of the building wall.
The extension from the building drain to the septic tank.
The Central Wastewater Disposal District as established by resolution of the Town Board September 29, 1980.
An on-site wastewater disposal system, or portion thereof, designed and constructed by the District or the Town of Woodstock or by contract to which the District or Town is a party or for which a transference of ownership to the District or Town has been made and legally recorded on the deed for the property on which the system is located.
An acquired legal right for the specific use of land owned by others.
The animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and serving of foods.
The wastewater from industrial processes, trade or business as distinct from domestic or sanitary wastes.
An arrangement of devices, structures and equipment for the treatment and disposal of wastewater, located on or near the site of the buildings serviced by the system.
Any outlet, including storm sewers, discharging into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface water or groundwater.
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation or group.
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration. The concentration is the weight of hydrogen ions, in grams, per liter of solution. Neutral water, for example, has a pH value of seven and a hydrogen ion concentration of 10-7.
The waste from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that has been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than 1/2 inch (1.27 centimeters) in any dimension.
A watertight receptacle which receives the discharge of sewage from a building sewer or part thereof and is designed and constructed so as to permit settling of settleable solids from the liquid entrapment of floatable oil, digestion of the organic matter by detention, and discharge of the liquid portion into a subsequent component of a wastewater disposal system.
A drain or sewer for conveying water, groundwater, subsurface water or unpolluted water from any source.
Total suspended matter that either floats on the surface of or is in suspension in water, wastewater, or other liquids and that is removable by the laboratory filtering as prescribed in Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, latest edition, and referred to as "nonfilterable residue."
The legally constituted Town Board of the Town of Woodstock, New York.
Water of quality equal to or better than the effluent criteria in effect, or water that would not cause violation of receiving water quality standards and/or would not be benefitted by discharge to the wastewater disposal system provided.
The liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water and stormwater that may be present.
See "on-site wastewater disposal system."
A natural or artificial channel for the passage of water either continuously or intermittently.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit, or permit to be deposited in any manner on public or private property within the District, or in any area under the jurisdiction of said District, any human or animal excrement, garbage or waste. This section shall not be construed to prohibit or prevent the storage, use and spreading of manure, fertilizer, compost or other similar materials for purposes of farming, gardening or horticulture.
B.
It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the District, or in any area under the jurisdiction of said District, any wastewater or other polluted waters, except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with provisions of this article or subsequent laws passed by the District.
C.
Except as hereinafter provided, it shall be unlawful for any person to connect to, construct, replace, reconstruct, repair, alter or maintain and/or use any District-owned wastewater disposal system.
D.
All house sewers and wastewater disposal systems shall be kept in sanitary condition at all times and be so constructed and maintained as to prevent the escape of odors and to exclude animals and insects.
A.
All sewage shall be disposed of by connection to a wastewater disposal system in accordance with the requirements of this article or subsequent laws passed by the District.
B.
Inspection, monitoring and maintenance.
(1)
All District-owned systems shall be inspected, monitored and maintained by the District. For each District-owned system, the District will notify the property owner(s) and resident(s) not less than seven days prior to a routine visit. Except as hereinafter provided, inspection, monitoring and maintenance will be conducted once every five years.
(2)
It may be necessary for the District to perform more frequent inspection, monitoring and maintenance. The District shall notify the owner of its requirements and the revised frequency for inspection, monitoring and maintenance and the reasons for such revisions.
C.
The owners/residents of all properties served by District-owned systems shall notify the District as soon as practicable after the discovery of any occurrence which may be cause for maintenance or repair. Occurrences which may be deemed cause for maintenance include, but are not limited to, sewage backups into the home, detection of sewage odors, persistent wet spots and/or lush growth in the area of or adjacent to the wastewater disposal system, unusual noise emanating from the pump chamber during pump operation, sounding of pump or high water alarms. The District-owned system shall not be repaired, uncovered or in any way disturbed or altered except as authorized by the District.
D.
Repairs and alterations; ownership.
(1)
The repair, replacement, modification or alteration of a system will not affect the ownership of a system.
(2)
Systems repaired with wastewater management project funds are the property of the District and, as such, are operated and maintained by the District. A Town of Woodstock operating permit shall not be necessary for these systems.
(3)
Systems not repaired with wastewater management project funds are owned by the property owner and, as such, are operated and maintained by the property owner. A Town of Woodstock operating permit shall be necessary for these systems.
(4)
The owner of a non-project-funded system may petition the District for transference of ownership to the District. Such systems must be in proper functioning order and of suitable technical specifications to meet the stated property use and terrain constraints. If the above conditions are not satisfied, the petition shall not be approved. All costs of transference, inspection and repair shall be borne by the property owner.
A.
No unauthorized person shall uncover or make any connections with or opening into any District-owned system without first obtaining a written permit from the Administrator.
B.
All costs and expenses incidental to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner(s). The owner(s) shall indemnify the District from any loss or damage that may directly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.
C.
Preexisting building sewers may be used in connection with District-owned systems only when they are found, on examination and test by the Administrator, to meet all requirements of this article.
D.
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 of Woodstock, the County of Ulster and the State of New York.
E.
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 District-owned system, sanitary sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer.
F.
No person(s) shall make connection of roof downspouts, foundation drains, cellar drains (including but not limited to sump discharge), areaway drains, or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which, in turn, is connected directly or indirectly to a District-owned system unless such connection is approved by the Administrator for purposes of disposal of polluted surface drainage.
G.
Connection to District-owned systems shall be at the inlet end of a septic tank. Connection shall be made using nonshrinking hydraulic cement or neoprene boot affixed to the wall of the septic tank. Connection shall be gastight and watertight. Building sewers shall discharge into the septic tank through a sanitary tee connected directly to the building sewer and extending 16 inches below the liquid level of the septic tank.
H.
The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the Administrator when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the District-owned system. Backfilling of the building sewer shall not proceed without approval of the Administrator. The connection and testing shall be made under the supervision of the Administrator or its representative.
I.
All excavations for building sewer installation shall be adequately guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from hazard. Streets, sidewalks, parkways, and other public property disturbed in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the District and applicable Town, county and state agencies.
A.
No person(s) shall discharge or cause to be discharged into a District-owned system any unpolluted waters such as stormwater or groundwater or water which may originate from foundation or footing drains, roof drains, cellar drains, sump discharge or garage drains.
B.
Only sanitary sewage and normal domestic wastes shall be discharged into a District-owned system. The following wastes shall not be discharged into the system:
(1)
Industrial wastes, unless special approval is granted by the District, the Ulster County Health Department and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
(2)
Automobile oil and other noncooking oils.
(3)
Any gasoline, benzene, naptha, fuel oil or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.
(4)
Toxic and hazardous substances and chemicals, including but not limited to pesticides, acids, paint, paint thinner, herbicides, solvents, photographic chemicals and water-softening agents.
(5)
Cesspool or septic tank cleaning and drain operating products, including halogenated and aromatic hydrocarbons (organic chemicals), including but not limited to methylene chloride, 1-trichloroethane and orthodichlorobenzene.
(6)
Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 5.5 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structure, equipment and personnel of the wastewater works.
(7)
Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size capable of causing obstruction to the flow into or through septic tanks or other interference with the proper operation of the wastewater facilities, such as, but not limited to, ashes, bones, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, unground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entrails and paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc., either whole or ground by garbage grinders.
C.
All recreational vehicles with sanitary facilities will discharge the holding tank at the treatment plant under the supervision of the plant operator. There will be no charge for Town of Woodstock residents and a nominal charge for all others. Fees may be determined annually.
No person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is a part of a District-owned system. The Administrator shall have the authority on behalf of the District to civilly or criminally prosecute anyone who damages District property.
A.
Upon reasonable advance notice having attempted to be given, the Administrator and other duly authorized employees of the District bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purposes of inspection, observation, maintaining, repairing, measuring, sampling and testing pertinent to discharge to the District-owned system in accordance with the provisions of this article.
B.
The Administrator and other duly authorized employees of the District bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the District holds a duly negotiated easement for the purposes of, but not limited to, inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, repair and maintenance of any portion of the wastewater facilities lying within said easement. All entry and subsequent work, if any, on said easement shall be done in full accordance with the terms of the duly negotiated easement pertaining to the private property involved.
The Town Board of the Town of Woodstock may set a user charge schedule, as necessary.
A.
Any person found to be violating any prevision of this article, except § 245-7, shall be served by the District with written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in such notice, permanently cease all violations.
B.
C.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall become liable to the District for any expense, loss or damage occasioned the District by reason of such violation, which monetary liability shall be added to the property owner's tax bill as a municipal lien.
D.
In the event that a violation of this article shall, in the opinion of the Town Board, constitute a public nuisance, the Town may take the following measures:
(1)
Provide personal notice of the offensive condition to the owner thereof, by personal service as provided by the Civil Practice Law and Rules, or, where the owner cannot be ascertained with a reasonable amount of effort, by publication or another form of substituted service; and
(2)
Provide the owner with a reasonable amount of time within which to remove or abate the offensive condition. Upon the owner's failure to remove or abate the condition within the prescribed time, the Town shall be authorized to do so and charge the reasonable costs thereof against the property rolls as a municipal lien or cause such costs to be added to the tax roll as an assessment or to be levied as a special tax against the property or to be recovered in a suit at law against the owner.