[Adopted 8-2-2011 by Ord. No. 1660[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided for the repeal of former Part 3, Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, adopted 2-18-1986 by Ord. No. 980.
The implementation of this Part 3 will aid the Township by limiting and reducing the inflow of additional water into the sanitary sewer system. By prohibiting the discharge of water from any roof, surface, ground, sump pump, swimming pool, other natural precipitation, and other sources of inflow into the Township’s sanitary sewer system, the Township is seeking to reduce costs as well as protect against other damaging effects. The Township’s sanitary sewer system will be, and has on occasions in the past been, overloaded and flooded, thereby creating the potential for property damage and public health hazards. Further, all water that enters the system must be treated at the sewage treatment plant. Therefore, by reducing and eliminating this inflow of “clean water” into the sanitary sewer system and the subsequent unnecessary treatment, the expenses to the Township will be reduced, and it will assist in protecting the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Township.
A. 
Prohibited discharges. No person or entity shall discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater, groundwater, roof runoff, yard drainage, yard fountain, pond overflow, or any other substance other than sanitary sewage into the sanitary sewer collection system. No person, business or other entity shall discharge or cause to be discharged any hazardous substances into any public sewers.
B. 
Amnesty period for disconnection.
(1) 
On or before December 31, 2011, any person, business, or other entity who shall have a connection described above and who shall voluntarily report said connection to the Township, so that said illicit connection shall be remedied, shall have any and all permit, connection and inspection fees waived by the Township. This waiver of fees applies only to Township fees and does not include the actual cost of remediation.
(2) 
After December 31, 2011, any person, business, or other entity who shall have a connection described above, and shall fail to voluntarily report such connection by December 31, 2011, shall be liable for all permit fees, inspection fees, and connection fees, as required by the Township, to remedy the illicit connection.
C. 
Manner of disconnection.
(1) 
Any property owner, tenant, landlord, or other person with a property interest who shall have a connection in violation of this Part 3, or who shall have not obtained a waiver pursuant to § 157-74, shall immediately remove such connection and correct such situation. If not removed or corrected within 120 calendar days after receiving a notice of violation which has been personally delivered or delivered via certified mail, the Township shall impose a surcharge in the amount provided for in § 157-71.
(2) 
All disconnections of said illicit connections shall be accomplished by a complete and permanent method and shall be performed in a competent manner and be approved and inspected by the Township Building Inspector, any Township subcode inspector, the Township Fire Code Official and/or the Township Engineer. Any disconnection, plugging, capping, rerouting, altering, or modifying must be done in accordance with all applicable state and municipal building codes.
(3) 
Upon issuance of the surcharge pursuant to § 157-71, if the property owner, tenant, landlord, or other person with a property interest remedies the illicit connection, said property owner, tenant, landlord, or other person with a property interest shall call the Township’s Building Department for an inspection of the connection by the Township’s Building Inspector, a Township subcode inspector, the Township Fire Code Official or the Township Engineer; and upon certification that the illicit connection has been remedied, the surcharge shall be lifted, beginning the month following the inspection and certification. If, however, on a subsequent and periodic inspection for which a property was subject to the surcharge, the illicit connection exists, the surcharge amount as provided for in § 157-71 shall be calculated from the previous inspection date.
A. 
The Building Inspector, Engineer, Fire Code Official and/or a subcode inspector of the Township, as long as they display the proper credentials and identification, shall be permitted to request entrance to any property for the purpose of inspecting, observing, testing and sampling to confirm that there is no sump pump or other prohibited discharge into the sanitary sewer system in accordance with this Part 3.
B. 
Any owner, tenant, landlord, or other person with a property interest who shall refuse entrance to the Inspector, Engineer, Fire Code Official or subcode inspector shall immediately become subject to the monthly surcharge noted in § 157-71 of this Part 3 10 calendar days following official notice to the property owner of record. Said property shall remain subject to the monthly surcharge until such time as an inspection is permitted to ensure compliance by the Township with all terms of this Part 3.
A. 
A surcharge of $50 per month is hereby imposed upon every sewer utility bill to property owners, tenants, landlords, or other persons with a property interest for the following conditions:
(1) 
Failure to comply with this Part 3;
(2) 
Refusal of property inspection.
B. 
If the surcharge is not paid and received by the Township of Wyckoff, a lien shall be imposed upon the property as per N.J.S.A. 40:14B-42.
C. 
Said surcharge shall remain on the property and sewer utility bill until such time as the Township Building Inspector or Township Engineer certifies that the property owner, tenant, landlord, or other person with a property interest is in full compliance with this Part 3.
Any property owner who shall be assessed a surcharge pursuant to this Part 3 shall have a right to appeal to the Municipal Court for the purposes of proving compliance with this Part 3.
The Township shall assist and provide guidance to any property owner, tenant, landlord, or other person with a property interest in remedying the situation as it involves a matter of public concern to the residents' health, safety and welfare of the community in remedying the illicit connection. Except as specifically set forth in this Part 3, all costs associated to comply with this Part 3 shall be borne by the property owner, tenant, landlord, or other person with a property interest.
Any person, business, or other entity who or which, by inspection or voluntary reporting, is determined to be in violation of any section of this Part 3 shall be permitted to file for a waiver of the surcharge requirement of § 157-71 if he/she/it can prove that he/she/it has exhausted all possible remedial measures. Remedial measures include but are not limited to the installation of a dry well, the connection to a storm sewer, and/or use of one’s own property for discharge of the water, so long as such discharge does not adversely affect any neighboring property owner. Upon certification of the Building Inspector and/or Township Engineer, the person, business, or other entity shall be granted such waiver, but only for such time as to when a remedy becomes available. If such remedy is made available by the Township, the Township shall notify the person, business, or other entity that he/she/it shall comply with this Part 3 within 120 days of receiving said notice. Failure to comply will result in the imposition of a surcharge as per § 157-71.
Each section of this Part 3 is an independent section; and the holding of any section or part thereof to be unconstitutional, void, or ineffective for any cause shall not be deemed to affect the validity or constitutionality of any other sections or parts thereof.
This Part 3 shall take effect immediately after final approval and publication according to law.