Town of Tolland, CT Inspections; Enforcement

Duly authorized employees of the Town, bearing proper credentials and identification, shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purpose of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing in accordance with the provisions of this regulation. The Town representative(s) shall have no authority to inquire into any processes, including metallurgical, chemical, oil, refining, ceramic, paper or other industries, beyond that point that has a direct bearing on the kind and source of discharge to the sewers or waterways or facilities for waste treatment.

While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to in Subsection A above, duly authorized employees of the Town shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the owner, and the owner shall be held harmless for injury or death to the Town employees and against liability claims and demands for personal injury or property damage asserted against the owner and growing out of the gauging and sampling operation, except as such may be caused by negligence or failure of the owner to maintain safe conditions as required in § 164-7B.

All duly authorized employees and/or representatives of the Town, bearing proper credentials and identifications, shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the Town holds a duly negotiated easement for the purposes of, but limited to, inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, repair and maintenance of any portion of the sewage works 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.

If any person shall construct, install, alter or repair any sanitary sewer or sanitary sewer connection to any public sanitary sewer of the Town in violation of the requirements of these regulations or, having obtained a permit as provided by these regulations, shall construct, install, alter or repair a sanitary sewer or sanitary sewer connection thereto without having given the Director of Public Works or an authorized agent thereof or their representatives ample notice, time, opportunity and assistance during regular working hours to inspect such sanitary sewer, sanitary sewer connection and the work and materials used thereon, said Director of Public Works or an authorized agent thereof may, in his/her discretion, order to direct the person who constructed, installed, altered or repaired said sanitary sewer, etc., and the owner of any property in which such sanitary sewer, etc., may be located or which may be served thereby or in whose interest and employ said work was done to uncover and fully expose any and all portions of such sanitary sewer and sanitary sewer connection and afford said Manager or an authorized agent thereof adequate opportunity to examine and inspect such sanitary sewer, etc., and to secure such records thereof as may be proper. If such sanitary sewer, sanitary sewer connection and the appurtenance thereof shall be found not to be in full accord with the requirements of these regulations and the standards established under their provisions, then said Manager or an authorized agent thereof may order and direct such person, owner or lessee to make such changes in or additions to or remove portions of appurtenances of such sanitary sewer, etc., as may be necessary to ensure that such sanitary sewer will conform to the requirements of these regulations and of the standards established under their provisions. All of such work shall be performed by said person, owner or lessee without delay and without expense to the Town.

If the Director of Public Works or an authorized agent thereof shall have evidence that a sanitary sewer, sanitary sewer connection or any part of an appurtenance thereof which is connected to or discharges into any public sanitary sewer of the Town has been constructed, repaired or altered or is or has been used, operated or maintained, or that substances are being or recently have been discharged through the same in violation of the requirements of these regulations or of the standards established under their provisions, said Director of Public Works or an authorized agent thereof shall inquire into the matter. Said Director of Public Works or an authorized agent thereof may require that the owner, lessee or tenant of the property where such sanitary sewer, etc., may be located or of property served by such sanitary sewer, etc., assist said Director of Public Works or an authorized agent thereof in such inquiry and permit him/her to examine such sanitary sewer, etc., and observe the manner in which such sanitary sewer, etc., is used, operated or maintained and the wastes discharged through the same. If said Director of Public Works or an authorized agent thereof shall find on such inquiry that there exists good reason to believe that the requirements of these regulations have not been or are not being complied with, he may require adequate proof that said requirements are being conformed to and will continue to be complied with. If it shall appear that said requirements have not been or are not being conformed to or complied with or that good reason exists to believe that they may not thereafter be conformed to or complied with, said Manager or an authorized agent thereof may order and require that such owner, lessee or tenant shall immediately take such measures, provide and install such appurtenances, or make such changes in such sanitary sewer, etc., or the manner of using and maintaining the same as will ensure that said requirements will be conformed to or complied with thereafter. All assistance, proof, changes and new appurtenances required by this section to be furnished or provided by the owner, lessee or tenant of property in question shall be promptly furnished by such owner, lessee or tenant without expense to the Town.

If any person, after proper order or direction from the Director of Public Works or authorized agent thereof, fails to take the remedial steps or perform the acts required by Subsections A and B of this section or fails thereafter to use, operate and maintain any connection with the public sanitary sewers of the Town or appurtenances thereof, as required by this regulation, the Director of Environmental Maintenance, by such agents and/or facilities as he may choose, may disconnect the house connection which was wrongfully connected, altered or discharging into the public sanitary sewer system from the public sanitary sewer of the Town. In disconnecting such house connections, the Town may, if necessary, interfere with or cut off drainage from other portions of the property whereon such violation of the article has occurred or of any adjacent property which is served by such house connection.

If the Town shall have disconnected a house connection from the public sanitary sewer system, as above provided, the Town may collect the cost of making such disconnection from any person responsible for or willfully concerned in or who profited by such violation of the requirements of these regulations.

If the Town has disconnected any property from the public sanitary sewer system, as above provided, it may thereafter refuse to permit the restoration of the former connection or of any new connection to the property concerned in the violation of these regulations until the claim of the Town for the cost of making such disconnection shall have been paid in full, plus interest and the reasonable overhead and any legal expense incurred by the Town in connection therewith.