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Township of Bloomfield, NJ
Essex County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
[Adopted 11-19-1962 as Ch. 23 of the 1962 Code (Ch. 219, Art. I, of the 1987 Code)]
This article is intended to provide for all matters concerning, affecting or relating to the management and use of the sewers and works of the sewerage system and as to connections therewith.
[Amended 11-2-1987; 3-16-2009 by Ord. No. 09-25]
A. 
All connections to the Township sewer mains shall be performed by the owner of the property at their own expense. Before any building or premises shall be connected with any sewer lateral or drain, the owner thereof must obtain a written permit authorizing such connection to be made.
B. 
The application must be accompanied by the permit fee specified in § 454-4. Application fees are nonrefundable.
C. 
Upon the receipt of the application, the Township Engineer shall make or cause to be made an inspection of the premises and shall review the engineering report prepared by the applicant.
D. 
Upon review and approval of the engineer's report by the Township Engineer, and deposit of all applicable fees and performance bonds, the applicant shall proceed with the work upon 48 hours' notice to the Engineering Department.
[Amended 11-2-1987; 3-16-2009 by Ord. No. 09-25]
A. 
Every application for a permit required by § 454-2 shall be signed by the owner of the building or by their authorized agent. It shall state the name and address of the owner, describe the building sufficiently to identify the same and specify as nearly as possible, by ground plans or otherwise, the exact point in the wall of the building where it is desired that connection with the building shall be made.
B. 
All applications must be filed with the Township Engineer.
C. 
Applications may be returned and action suspended or rejected for any reason satisfactory to the Township Engineer, and they shall grant permits in proper cases.
[Amended 4-19-1971; 11-2-1987; 3-16-2009 by Ord. No. 09-25]
A. 
The permit fees for sanitary sewer connections shall be as follows:
[Amended 11-18-2013 by Ord. No. 13-38]
Single- and two-family residential units
$75 per connection
Three-family residential or greater
$2 per gpd*
Nonresidential uses
$2 per gpd* (maximum fee shall be $2,500)
Note:
*Gallons per day; flow estimates shall be based upon the criteria specified in N.J.A.C. 7:14A-23.3, Projected flow criteria.
(1) 
All fees are subject to review and approval of/by the Township Engineer. The Township Engineer reserves the right to adjust fee amounts based upon the above schedule.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B. 
Performance bond.
(1) 
Each applicant will be required to provide a performance bond in the following amounts:
Single- and two-family residential units
$5,000
Three-family residential units or greater and nonresidential units
120% of estimated cost of construction** of the connection or a minimum of $10,000 00 whichever is greater
Note:
**Estimate of construction costs, where applicable, shall be provided by the applicant and shall be certified by a licensed professional engineer in the State of New Jersey.
(2) 
Performance bonds shall be in a form acceptable to the Township Attorney and shall be returned upon approval of the completed work by the Township Engineer.
C. 
Fees related to review and endorsement of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection treatment works approval. When required by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the review, endorsement and preparation of an authorizing resolution by the Engineering Department will require a nonrefundable fee of $500.
[Amended 11-2-1987; 3-16-2009 by Ord. No. 09-25]
A. 
The Township of Engineer may, for satisfactory causes, revoke any sewer lateral connection permit.
B. 
All fees for sewer connections and treatment works approval review are nonrefundable regardless of whether an application is approved, rejected or revoked.
C. 
Every application and permit shall be subject to regulations and conditions created and imposed by ordinance, and no applicant or person to whom a permit shall be granted or their successors in interest shall have the right to claim or demand any damages against the Township or its agents and servants in consequence of the refusal or revocation of a permit or delay in action on an application or for not cutting off of a lateral connection under the provisions of any ordinance.
A. 
The agents and employees of the Department of Public Works and Park Maintenance shall have the right to enter the buildings and premises mentioned in any application whenever necessary and to examine the same or to do any work thereon or therein.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to interfere with any agent or employee of the Department of Public Works and Park Maintenance while such agent or employee is acting in the course of their duty.
A permit may, in the discretion of the Township Engineer, embrace special provisions and conditions as to the use of flush tanks, size of pipe, method of construction, mode of use and similar details.
[Amended 11-2-1987; 3-16-2009 by Ord. No. 09-25]
All sewer connections shall be constructed by the property owner at their own expense and are subject to the application requirements of § 454-2.
[Amended 4-19-1971; 11-2-1987; 3-16-2009 by Ord. No. 09-25]
Sewer laterals shall be constructed by the property owner at their own expense and are subject to the application requirements of § 454-2.
[Amended 6-15-1987; 2-6-2012 by Ord. No. 12-02; 9-17-2012 by Ord. No. 12-60]
A. 
When any stoppage shall occur in any building lateral connection between the building and the public sewer, it shall be the owner or tenant's responsibility to remedy the same. The stoppage shall be cleared from the cleanout located in the building or at the curbline by use of hand rods, mechanical sewer rods and cutters or hydraulic cleaning machines at the expense of the owner/tenant.
B. 
If it has been determined that the stoppage cannot be cleared from the cleanout as described, the responsibility for excavating, removing the stoppage and replacing the pipe lateral section shall be as follows:
(1) 
Where the stoppage located between the building and street curbline cannot be cleared through the cleanout and requires excavation, all cost for this repair work shall be at the expense of the owner/tenant. Prior to excavation, a permit from the Community Development Department must be obtained at the prevailing permit fee schedule in effect at the time of application.
(2) 
Where the stoppage located between the curbline and the sanitary sewer main located in the street between curblines cannot be cleared through the cleanout and requires excavation, all cost for this repair work shall be at the expense of the Township. When a stoppage shall be located at the curbline and it has been determined that excavation is necessary, it shall be determined by the Township Engineer whether it is the responsibility of the owner/tenant or the Township to make the repair.
[Amended 11-2-1987]
No water, gas or other pipes shall be within two feet of a sewer connection.
[Amended 11-2-1987; 3-16-2009 by Ord. No. 09-25]
In all cases where an owner of real estate shall desire to discharge any drainage of surface water into any stormwater drain or Township-owned drainage facility, they shall be at liberty to do so, subject to the following requirements:
A. 
Applicability. These requirements shall not apply to developments that require major or minor subdivision and site plan approval by either the Township Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment. These requirements shall not apply to those projects that require New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection stream encroachment permits, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection freshwater wetlands permits or New Jersey Soil Conservation District certification.
B. 
All connections to the Township storm sewers shall be performed by the owner of the property at their own expense. Before storm drain connection is made, the owner thereof must obtain a written permit authorizing such connection to be made.
C. 
The application must be accompanied by the permit fee specified in § 454-12H. Application fees are nonrefundable.
D. 
Upon the receipt of the application, the Township Engineer shall make or cause to be made an inspection of the premises and shall review the engineering report prepared by the applicant.
E. 
Depending upon the size, location and number of proposed connections, it shall be at the discretion of the Township Engineer to require additional technical information from the applicant, including drainage calculations, stormwater impact analysis, downstream capacity calculations, etc.
F. 
Upon review and approval of the engineer's report by the Township Engineer, and deposit of all applicable fees and performance bonds, the applicant shall proceed with the work upon 48 hours' notice to the Engineering Department.
G. 
Application for permit.
(1) 
Every application for a permit required by § 454-12 shall be signed by the owner of the building or by their authorized agent. It shall state the name and address of the owner, describe the building sufficiently to identify the same and specify as nearly as possible, by ground plans or otherwise, the exact point of connection to Township facilities.
(2) 
All applications must be filed with the Township Engineer.
(3) 
Applications may be returned and action suspended or rejected for any reason satisfactory to the Township Engineer, and they shall grant permits in proper cases.
H. 
Permit and inspection fees; performance bonds.
(1) 
The permit fees for storm sewer connections shall be as follows:
(a) 
Roof leader to gutter: $50 per connection.
(b) 
Storm sewer to catch basin or manhole: $75 per connection.
(c) 
Storm sewer to main: $100 per connection.
(2) 
Performance bond. Depending upon the scope of work, it shall be at the discretion of the Township Engineer to require a performance bond to guarantee that the work is performed and completed to the requirements of the approved application. Bonds will be returned to the applicant upon inspection and approval by the Engineering Department of the completed installation.
(3) 
Inspection fees. Depending upon the scope of work, it shall be at the discretion of the Township Engineer to require an escrow deposit for inspection of the work by the Engineering Department related to the work being performed under the approved application. Such escrow fees will be determined by the Township Engineer based upon the estimated cost of the construction of the facility.
I. 
Revocation of permits; refunds; claims.
(1) 
The Township of Engineer may, for satisfactory causes, revoke any stormwater connection permit.
(2) 
All fees for stormwater connection permits are nonrefundable regardless of whether an application is approved, rejected or revoked.
(3) 
Every application and permit shall be subject to regulations and conditions created and imposed by ordinance, and no applicant or person to whom a permit shall be granted or their successors in interest shall have the right to claim or demand any damages against the Township or its agents and servants in consequence of the refusal or revocation of a permit or delay in action on an application.
J. 
Supervision of construction. All storm sewer connections shall be constructed by the property owner at their own expense and are subject to the application requirements of this chapter.
A. 
No person shall throw or deposit any substance in any sewer, stormwater drain, manhole, catch basin or inlet basin which may, in any manner, tend to interfere with the free passage of water or sewage in the sewer or drain.
[Amended 11-2-1987]
B. 
No person shall deposit or discharge or cause or allow to be deposited or discharged into any sanitary sewer any volatile, flammable or explosive liquid or solid or any substance or material of any kind which may cause damage to or obstruct such sewer or any part thereof.
C. 
No person shall deposit or discharge or allow to be deposited or discharged into any storm sewer any volatile, flammable, explosive, odorous or offensive-smelling liquid or solid or any substance or material of any kind which emits foul or noxious odors, gases or vapors or which may cause damage to such sewer or any part thereof.
D. 
No person shall disturb any sewer, stormwater drain, manhole, catch basin or inlet basin without a proper permit therefor from the Township.
[Amended 11-2-1987]
[Amended 11-2-1987; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
No permit shall be granted to connect with the public sewer main any building in which the plumbing does not comply with the requirements of the State Uniform Construction Code.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 149, Building Construction, Art. II.
[Amended 11-2-1987]
A. 
No permit shall be granted to connect any cesspool or septic tank to a public sewer main.
B. 
Buildings which are found to be connected to any cesspool or septic tank shall be disconnected, and a new lateral connection for the building shall be made into the public sewer main as required under §§ 454-4 and 454-9.
C. 
No sewer lateral constructed in any street or highway in the Township shall be connected to the public sewer main unless the same shall have been constructed by the Township or its agents or contractors or by the owner as required under § 454-9.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
No rainwater leader or other pipe for the drainage of any cellar or for the conveyance of stormwater or surface water shall be connected, directly or indirectly, to a sanitary sewer.
[Amended 11-2-1987; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
If it shall appear that a building not provided with ventilating apparatus, as required by the rules of the Division of Health, is connected to a public sewer main or that any privy, privy vault or cesspool is connected to a public sewer main or that any building or premises has been connected to a public sewer main without a permit or in violation of this article or in a manner different from that authorized by permit or contrary to the provisions of an ordinance regulating the plumbing and drainage of buildings as required under the State Uniform Construction Code, it shall be the duty of the Township Engineer to cause such lateral to be cut off. Upon compliance of the owner with the provisions of this article and payment of an additional sum of $600, the sewer lateral connection shall be restored by the owner.
[Added 11-2-1987; amended 5-5-2008 by Ord. No. 08-18]
Any person who violates any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished as provided in § 1-15, General penalty, of this Code.