[Amended 8-27-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985; 5-27-1986 by L.L. No. 4-1986; 1-23-1990 by L.L. No. 1-1990]
A. 
Users within the City. All persons owning, having or occupying lots, parcels or tracts of land situated within the City of Gloversville having thereon buildings or structures of any kind connected to the City-owned sanitary sewer and wastewater treatment system shall pay to the City, at the times hereafter provided, sewer user charges as set forth in this chapter.
B. 
Users outside the City. All persons owning, having or occupying lots, parcels or tracts of land which are not situate within the corporate limits of the City of Gloversville, but which have on said lots, parcels or tracts of land buildings or structures of any kind which are connected to or serviced by the City-owned sanitary sewer and wastewater treatment system, shall pay to a sewer assessment district a sewer user charge which can be no lower than and must be calculated in the same manner as a similarly situated user located within the City. The sewer assessment district must pay over to the City those funds it collects based on the sewer user charge system set forth below. The sewer assessment district must have a monitoring facility located at the point where all of the flow from its constituent sewer users converges with the City sanitary sewer line. This monitoring facility must consist of a sewer flow measuring device and provisions for monitoring of BOD5, suspended solids and TKN, in the event that the monitoring of such waste characteristics is required by the Joint Sewer Board. In the event that any parcel is serviced directly by the City in the absence of a sewer assessment district, payment shall be made directly to the City, and said user shall be subject to all of the terms and conditions of this chapter.
A. 
In general. Revenues for retiring debt service, capital expenditures, planning costs, operation and maintenance of the jointly owned wastewater facilities shall be derived from the sewer user charge. For purposes of this Article, all sewer users shall be designated as either MCI (a major contributing industry, as defined in § 236-201) or non-MCI, which shall include all residential, commercial, industrial or other users which do not meet the criteria of § 236-201. Sewer user charges shall be levied on MCI and non-MCI users.
B. 
MCI users specifically. Annual user charges for a major contributing industry shall be based on those factors which significantly influence the costs of the treatment facilities. The volume of flow and quantities of BOD5, suspended solids and TKN shall be measured and analyzed in accordance with § 236-903. The amount the MCI user must pay shall be calculated annually by the Gloversville-Johnstown Joint Sewer Board utilizing the sewer user charge system as set forth hereafter.
C. 
Non-MCI users specifically. Annual user charges for non-MCI users shall be based on volume of flow only, since wastewater characteristics of their wastes are similar. Charges for BOD5, suspended solids and TKN shall be imputed to and incorporated in the volume charge by the Joint Sewer Board. Except as provided in § 236-903, set forth hereafter, the volume of wastewater shall be determined by metered water consumption. The amount the non-MCI user must pay shall be calculated annually by the Gloversville-Johnstown Joint Sewer Board utilizing the sewer user charge system as set forth hereinafter.
[Amended 11-27-1990 by L.L. No. 11-1990]
[Amended 11-27-1990 by L.L. No. 11-1990]
A. 
Flow measurement of MCI wastewater volume. The measurement of volume of major contributing industrial wastewaters discharged to the sewer system shall be accomplished on a continuous basis in accordance with a protocol to be established by the Joint Sewer Board. Where the user has a monitoring facility constructed in accordance with § 236-709B, the volume of wastewater discharged will be that as determined by the measurements and samples taken at such monitoring facility. Users utilizing the flow monitoring equipment in a wastewater monitoring station to determine the volume of flow for billing purposes shall pay a wastewater flow monitoring fee of $30 monthly. Where no such facility is provided, measurement of water discharged shall be determined by metered water consumption. Data thus collected shall be used to compute the flow charge.
B. 
Flow measurement of non-MCI wastewater volume. Flow measurement of non-MCI waste volume of wastewater received from a non-MCI user may be determined using metered wastewater discharge upon that user's compliance with the following:
(1) 
The measurement of volume of wastewater discharge shall be accomplished on a continuous basis in accordance with a protocol to be established by the Joint Sewer Board.
(2) 
The user shall comply with the requirements of § 236-709 of this chapter and regulations established pursuant to § 236-709 of this chapter.
(3) 
The user shall pay a wastewater flow monitoring fee of $360 per year. One-half (1/2) of said fee shall be payable with each semiannual sewer billing.
C. 
Other waste characteristics. The measurement of BOD5, suspended solids, TKN and other waste characteristics shall be through sampling of MCI waters or wastes in accordance with § 236-716 and the MCI's discharge permit and shall be performed by the Joint Sewer Board. Data thus collected shall be used to compute the BOD5 charge, the suspended solids charge and the TKN charge.
D. 
Malfunctioning monitoring facility/missing data. In the event of the malfunction of any monitoring equipment or water meter or the loss of monitoring or meter data during any billing period or one or more occurrences during a billing period where peak flow in the monitoring station exceeds the user's permit limit for peak flow, or whenever, under low flow conditions, the average daily flow with a given flume size is as follows, the Joint Sewer Board shall have the right to utilize flow, BOD5, suspended solids and TKN data from the previous and following billing periods and water meter data from the billing periods and to extrapolate from said data and the MCI user's operational days a fair and equitable sewer use billing for the period in question.
Size of Flume
Gallons per Day
(inches)
9
Less than 64,700
6
Less than 32,300
3
Less than 19,400
E. 
Split samples. Upon request, split samples of all samples collected for billing purposes will be provided to the MCI user. The MCI user must provide its own suitable containers for this purpose. The Joint Sewer Board may, upon request, provide suitable containers for this purpose and shall be authorized to charge the user on his next bill for said containers.
A. 
All users shall be entitled to a hearing before the Joint Sewer Board concerning their sewer bill. Said hearing shall be presided over by the Chairman of the Joint Sewer Board and shall be held pursuant to procedures to be adopted by the Joint Sewer Board in its rules and regulations. There shall be a presumption that all sewer bills are fair and accurate. The burden of proof of rebutting this presumption shall be with the MCI user requesting the hearing. The Joint Sewer Board shall have the authority to hear all evidence regarding sewer billings which is relevant, competent and material. The Joint Sewer Board, in making a decision, may accord greater weight to analytical data of waste characteristics which is derived from a sample or split sample which is taken by the equipment in a monitoring station and which is analyzed by a laboratory licensed by the State of New York to analyze water samples in a manner and time framework consistent with the standard sampling procedure established by the Joint Sewer Board than to other evidence not obtained in the aforesaid manner. In the event that the state certifies certain laboratories to analyze wastewater samples, this certification shall be substituted as the standard in the foregoing subsection.
B. 
In order to assert surcharging as the grounds for disputing a bill, the MCI user must notify the Joint Sewer Board within 24 hours of its occurrence.
C. 
Any request for a review of a sewer bill must be made in writing to the Joint Sewer Board within 30 days of the receipt of the sewer bill.
A. 
In general.
(1) 
Sewer revenue collected for any fiscal year shall not be less than the actual expenditure of the Joint Sewer Board for all costs allocable to that fiscal year. Sewer user charges are established to pay costs incurred as allocated to two major categories:
(a) 
Capital.
[1] 
Debt service.
[2] 
All ancillary costs related to projects which are bonded or anticipated to be bonded.
(b) 
Operation and maintenance (O & M) costs.
[1] 
Facility O & M budget.
[2] 
Administrative and billing costs.
[3] 
Ancillary costs not associated with bonded projects.
(2) 
Both capital costs and O & M costs, as incurred, are assessed proportionally to those factors, as defined in § 236-902B, which influence cost.
B. 
Components of user charge.
(1) 
Annual allocation of plant capacity. The capacity of the sewage treatment plant is a function of the ability to the plant operating within its design parameters to receive influent of flow, BOD5, suspended solids and TKN and to treat said influent so that the plant's effluent will be within the State Pollution Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit. On or before April 30 of each year, the Joint Sewer Board shall allocate plant capacity and charges to users as follows:
(a) 
MCI users. The sewer user charge for MCI's consists of four component parts: the capital portion, the O & M portion, the infiltration/inflow portion and the monitoring portion.
[1] 
Allocated capacity. Allocated capacity for purposes of determining the capital portion of the rate shall be as follows: flow, BOD5, suspended solids and TKN contributions shall be determined using annual average workday loading allocations, as defined in the rules and regulations of the Joint Sewer Board issued for each MCI user in its industrial wastewater discharge permit.
[2] 
Anticipated plant usage/rate. The O & M portion of the rate for this class of user shall be determined by the Joint Sewer Board by the making of an estimate based upon past usage of the sewer treatment plant by the MCI's and all available data which reflects on probable future usage. This calculation shall be known as "anticipated plant usage."
(b) 
Non-MCI users. The sewer user charge for non-MCI's consists of three component parts: the capital portion, the O & M portion and the infiltration/inflow portion.
[1] 
The capital portion of the rate for this class of user shall be based on a prorated share of the total allocated capacity which reflects the contribution of this class of user.
[2] 
The O & M portion of the rate for this class of user shall be a prorated share of the total cost to operate the plant for the year in question, based upon relative loadings of MCI's and non-MCI's in the aggregate.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection B(1)(c), Retroactive adjustments, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 6-26-2001 by L.L. No. 3-2001.
(2) 
Infiltration and inflow (I/I) for MCI and non-MCI users. A sanitary sewer and wastewater treatment system experiences a certain percentage of its total flow which is not accounted for by the sum of total metered water and/or metered sewage flow of all users. This unaccounted-for contribution to flow is called infiltration and inflow. For the purpose of determining the annual allocation of plant capacity, infiltration and inflow shall be determined by the Joint Sewer Board based upon all available flow data. I/I costs will be as follows:
(a) 
Forty-five percent of the I/I figure as determined by the Joint Sewer Board shall be assessed on the basis of the volume of flow estimated to be contributed by each user during the year, and costs for treating this portion of the I/I shall be incorporated in the volume rate of the sewer charge system for both MCI's and non-MCI's.
(b) 
Fifty-five percent of the I/I figure as determined by the Joint Sewer Board will be assessed on the basis of the number of connections to the sanitary sewer. The foregoing I/I calculation shall result in a charge separate from the sewer use rate. This charge shall be known as the "I/I fee." The charge per connection shall be the same for all MCI and non-MCI users, and it shall be determined by the Joint Sewer Board on an annual basis.
(3) 
Scheduled compliance monitoring, MCI users only.
(a) 
In general. Scheduled industrial monitoring is necessary to meet the general requirements of the Gloversville and Johnstown Pretreatment Program. Each year the Joint Sewer Board shall establish a sampling schedule for the following pollutants:
[1] 
Metals.
[2] 
Volatile organics.
[3] 
Acid, base and neutral organics.
[4] 
Pesticides.
[5] 
Cyanide.
[6] 
Phenol.
[7] 
Oil and grease.
[8] 
Sulfide.
(b) 
Classes of MCI users.
[1] 
Class A users shall be those MCI users who have no industrial wastewater monitoring station.
[2] 
Class B users shall be all other MCI users.
(c) 
Monitoring charges.
[1] 
The Joint Sewer Board shall have the authority to determine the frequency and extent to which MCI users in either class defined in § 236-905B(3)(b) are monitored for the pollutants enumerated in § 236-905B(3)(a).
[2] 
The Joint Sewer Board shall have the authority to assess a charge which shall be known as the "monitoring fee" to each class of MCI user based upon the cost of performing the analyses for pollutants enumerated in § 236-905B(3)(a) and the frequency they are performed.
[3] 
This monitoring fee shall be added to the I/I fee to be assessed to each MCI user. Where an MCI user has more than one sampling point, a separate fee shall be charged for each sampling point.
C. 
Assessing capital costs. Capital costs are assessed proportionally to flow, BOD5, suspended solids and TKN as these factors influence the cost of each project or improvement at the wastewater treatment plant.
(1) 
Project cost percentages. For all projects which are bonded or anticipated to be bonded, the Joint Sewer Board shall determine what percentage of the total project costs shall be assessed to flow, BOD5, suspended solids and TKN.
(2) 
Annual allocation of capital costs.
(a) 
Debt service. Annual debt service costs shall be assessed to flow, BOD5, suspended solids and TKN using the project cost percentages determined by the Joint Sewer Board.
(b) 
Ancillary costs. All ancillary costs related to the project which are bonded or anticipated to be bonded shall be assessed to flow, BOD5, suspended solids and TKN in the same proportion as the sum of all debt service costs.
(3) 
Annual capital charge rate. The annual capital charge rate shall be determined by dividing the allocated capital costs computed in § 236-905C(2) by the allocated plant capacity computed in § 236-905B.
D. 
Assessing operation and maintenance (O & M) costs. O & M costs are assessed proportionately to flow, BOD5, suspended solids and TKN factors which influence the cost of operation and maintenance.
(1) 
Annual allocation of O & M costs.
(a) 
The Joint Sewer Board shall determine annually what percentage of each major category in the wastewater facility O & M budget shall be assessed to flow, BOD5, suspended solids and TKN. The costs of scheduled industrial monitoring as required in § 236-905B(3) and as determined by the Joint Sewer Board shall not be included in this allocation.
(b) 
Administrative, billing and ancillary costs. All other O & M costs shall be assessed to flow, BOD5, suspended solids and TKN in the same proportion as the wastewater facility O & M costs in the preceding subsection.
(2) 
Annual O & M charge rate. The annual O & M charge rate shall be determined by dividing the allocated O & M costs computed in § 236-905D(1) by the anticipated plant usage computed in § 236-905B(1)(a)[2] and § 236-905B(1)(b).
[Amended 6-26-2001 by L.L. No. 3-2001]
E. 
Annual adoption of new rates.
(1) 
New rates will be adopted annually by Joint Sewer Board resolution, after a public hearing, on at least five days' public notice, held by the Joint Sewer Board on or before April 30 of each year, in accordance with the foregoing sewer user charge system.
(2) 
It shall be the obligation of the Joint Sewer Board to provide that each sewer user be notified, at least once per year in conjunction with their regular bill, of the sewer grant and that portion of the user charges which are attributable to wastewater treatment services.
F. 
Surcharge: exceeding permitted flows and loadings. In addition to other penalties as set forth in this chapter, the following penalties shall apply:
(1) 
In general. Consistent with § 236-705 of this chapter, the rules and regulations of the Gloversville-Johnstown Joint Sewer Board and the wastewater discharge permit issued to each MCI, no MCI may exceed the allocated capacities for flow, BOD5, suspended solids or TKN which have been assigned to them in their discharge permit without the imposition of a surcharge, as follows:
(a) 
Exceeding any permitted annual allocated capacity shall result in a mandatory adjustment of the violating MCI's discharge permit, together with the imposition of a surcharge to the MCI's sewer bill which shall be equivalent to a recalculation of the capital charges based on the actual usage plus a twenty-five-percent penalty of the difference between the permit discharge and the actual discharge. The adjusted actual discharge shall be equal to the MCI user's actual discharge less any discharges for which a surcharge to the MCI user's sewer bill has previously been paid under Subsection F(1)(b) of this section.
(b) 
Exceeding any maximum monthly limit as set forth in the MCI user's discharge permit and rules and regulations of the Joint Sewer Board shall result in the imposition of a surcharge to the MCI's sewer bill equivalent to 75% of the difference between the permit discharge and the actual discharge for that month.
(2) 
Imposition of surcharge.
(a) 
The amount of any surcharge in the preceding section shall be determined by the Joint Sewer Board, and said surcharge shall be included in the next regular monthly billing after it is imposed.
(b) 
An appeal from any surcharge imposed pursuant to this section shall be in accordance with the procedures set forth in § 236-802 of this chapter.
A. 
All MCI's shall be billed on a monthly basis with the I/I fee and monitoring fee in the first billing of the fiscal year.
B. 
All non-MCI's shall be billed on a semiannual basis, with the I/I fee equally divided between the two billings.
C. 
A penalty of 5% will be on all sewer bills unpaid 30 days after billing, and an additional penalty of 1% shall be added for each additional thirty-day period thereafter.
[Amended 2-27-1990 by L.L No. 2-1990]
The foregoing sewer use charge system set forth in Article IX shall take precedence over any terms or conditions of agreements or contracts which are inconsistent with the requirements of Section 204(b)(1)(A) of the Federal Clean Water Act and USEPA regulations 40 CFR 35.2 140.