Chapter 216 Sewage Disposal Systems

Improved lots. In particular cases in which a disposal field located upon an improved lot has become defective or has otherwise failed, a variance may be granted if the benefits of the deviation from the requirements of this Code would substantially outweigh any detriments associated with said variance.

§ 216-7 Order to stop work; compliance required.

Vacant lots. In particular cases in which a disposal field proposed for location upon a vacant lot fails to meet the requirements outlined in this Code, a variance will be granted if there exists: a) exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific piece of property; or b) exceptional topographic conditions or physical features uniquely affecting a specific piece of property; or c) an extraordinary and exceptional situation uniquely affecting a specific piece of property which would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to, or exceptional and undue hardship upon, the owner of such property; and d) the benefits of granting such a variance substantially outweigh the detriments associated with same. The term "buildable vacant lot" means a lot which has been lawfully approved as of the time of the adoption of this chapter.

[Added 5-27-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-5]

[1]In the event the Township Engineer is required to perform the tasks set forth in Subsection D above, the applicant shall first be required to post an escrow fee as set forth in § 110-216 to be charged at the Township Engineer's contractual hourly rate for the services outlined in said sections.

[Added 5-27-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-5; amended 3-25-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4; 4-26-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-7]

[1]

Editor's Note: Former Subsection E, regarding soil types, was repealed 4-26-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-7. This ordinance also redesignated former Subsection F as Subsection E.

§ 216-6 Hearings on denied permits.

In case any permit or certification required by this chapter is denied by the Board of Health of the Township of Chesterfield, a hearing shall be held thereon before the Board within 15 days after request therefor is made by the applicant. Upon such hearing, the Board of Health of the Township of Chesterfield shall affirm, alter or rescind its previous determination and take action accordingly within 15 days after the date of such hearing.

The Board of Health of the Township of Chesterfield may order all further work in and about any individual sewage disposal system which is being erected or installed in violation of the code to be stopped forthwith, except such work as shall be necessary to remedy such violation, and, thereafter, the work continued without any violation of any of the provisions of the code, and, after issuance, of any such order and the service of a copy thereof upon any person connected with or working in and about the erection or installation of any such disposal system or any part thereof, no further work shall be done thereon except as aforesaid.

§ 216-8 Fees.

[Amended 5-4-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-5; 12-10-1992 by Ord. No. 1992-9A; 3-25-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4]

The fees and charges are herewith established as set forth in § 110-216:

§ 216-9 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 5-10-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-6]

Any person who violates or neglects to comply with any provision of this chapter or code established herein, or notice issued pursuant thereto, shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable to a penalty of not less than $50 nor more than $1,000 for each violation. In case a person shall have been twice convicted within the space of one year for the violation of the same offense, the court having jurisdiction over the matter may cause a penalty to be assessed not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment of said person in the county jail for a period not exceeding 90 days or for 90 days of community service.

In the event that a violation of this code or any of the provisions of this chapter or code established herein requires the Township to undertake judicial proceedings to enforce the provisions of this code or the provisions contained herein, then the violating party, upon determination that a violation has in fact occurred, shall be responsible for all reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred by the Board of Health and the Township of Chesterfield in pursuit of said legal remedies.

Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to modify or substitute for the penalties set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:9A-1.7, but instead all penalties are designed and intended to be supplemental and separate.

§ 216-9.1 Approval of new construction or alterations to existing system by Burlington County Health Department; review of submissions by Township Engineer.

[Added 4-26-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-7]

Compliance with the provisions of N.J.A.C. 7:9A, "Standards for Individual Subsurface Sewage Disposal System," shall be determined by the Burlington County Health Department.

Applications for approval to construct a new individual subsurface sewage disposal system, as defined by N.J.A.C. 7:9A-2.1, and/or applications for approval to alter, repair, or replace components to an existing septic system, must be made to the Burlington County Health Department on the prescribed form to be obtained from the county.

Applicants seeking approval and permitting from the Health Department shall simultaneously file with the Township Engineer a site plan demonstrating the distances between features of the proposed and/or existing individual subsurface sewage disposal system and wells on the subject and surrounding properties, as well as surrounding property lines and structures.

The Township Engineer shall provide written reports to the Board of Health of Chesterfield Township on an as-needed basis to keep the Board apprised of applications pertaining to the construction of a new individual subsurface sewage disposal system within the Township and/or applications for approval to alter, repair, or replace components to an existing septic system in the Township.

The Township Engineer's report to the Township Board of Health shall state whether the application complies with the distance requirements of N.J.A.C. 7:9A-4.3, and/or whether a waiver from the requirements of this article is required. Should a waiver from the requirements of this article be necessary, the applicant shall seek relief from the Township Board of Health.

Article II Sewer Use and User Charge System

[Adopted 12-14-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-22]

§ 216-10 Establishment of utility.

Creation. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:26A-1 et. seq., a self-liquidating sewer utility has previously been created in and for the Township of Chesterfield and shall be known as the "Chesterfield Township Sewer Division of the Department of Public Works."

Accounting. The Township Chief Financial Officer or his or her designee is responsible for establishing a financial management system to accurately account for revenues generated by the system and expenditures for operation and maintenance, including replacement of the treatment system. All future revenue and accounting from said sewer utility shall be on a dedicated utility basis in conformity with N.J.S.A. 40A:4-35, and all money derived from the operation of said sewer utility shall be kept segregated in a separate fund, which shall be known as the "Sewer Utility Fund," and all disbursements for the operations and maintenance, including replacement, of the sewer utility shall be taken from said Sewer Utility Fund.

Budget. The dedicated budget of this sewer utility shall include appropriations for operating expenses, capital improvements, debt service and for the payment of all bonds, principal and interest and all other deferred charges and statutory expenses as may be required.

Administration. The administration of the sewer utility system shall be under the Township Clerk or his or her designee.

§ 216-11 Definitions.

Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following words, terms and phrases shall have the following meanings when used in this article:

CUSTOMER or OWNER

Any person, corporation or organization contracting for water or sewer connections or use, products or services or who use said services, or who is the owner or occupant, or both, of any real property which directly or indirectly has been connected to the sewer system or to which directly or indirectly has been furnished or supplied the use, products or services of the sewer system or sewer services, facilities oy products.

DIVISION

The Chesterfield Township Sewer Division of the Department of Public Works.

DOMESTIC SEWAGE

Waste and wastewater comprising the discharge of household, commercial or otherwise wastes from bathroom toilet facilities, home laundries and kitchens which are predominantly the result of natural human waste elimination associated with bodily function and food preparation; and sewage from commercial restaurants and commercial laundries subject, however, to the terms of the "Operations Agreement for Sewage Services" entered into by and among the Township of Chesterfield, the New Jersey Department of Corrections and the State of New Jersey, Department of Treasury.

ENFORCING OFFICIAL

The Township Committee or his or her designee in the Department of Public Works.

MAIN

The Township-owned or leased piping and appurtenances in or along public highways and streets or along privately owned rights-of-way, used for the collection of domestic sewage or industrial wastes from its customers.

NONRESIDENTIAL USE

All users and connections other than those defined as residential use, including but not limited to business, commercial, industry, restaurants, taverns, theaters, camps, churches, schools, hospitals, boarding homes, nursing homes, etc.

PERSON

An individual, corporation, partnership or other entity or organization, and includes the plural thereof as well as the singular.

RESIDENTIAL USE

A single-family or multifamily dwelling, apartment, trailer, mobile home, hotel or motel unit which is designed and used exclusively for providing living accommodations.

TOWNSHIP

The Township of Chesterfield.

UNIT

In the case of a residential use, each dwelling unit, e.g., a single-family residential dwelling, an apartment, a townhouse unit, etc., and in the case of a nonresidential use, a single nonresidential use drawing a maximum of 300 gallons of water per day, and for any usage in excess of 300 gallons per day, an additional unit shall be calculated in accordance with the flow criteria contained at N.J.A.C. 7:14A-23.3.

§ 216-12 General regulations.

Connection required.

The owners of all houses, buildings or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purposes, situated within the Township and abutting on any street, alley or right-of-way in which there is now located or may in the future be located a sanitary sewer, are hereby required, at the owner's expense, to connect the drainage of all sources of sewage to the sewer in accordance with the provisions of this article, and except as otherwise provided herein, within 120 days after date of official notice to do so, provided that the sewer is within two hundred feet of the property line.

New sewers and connections to the system shall be properly designed and constructed.

All costs and expenses incidental to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the Township from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.

Connection fee; permit. The Township Committee hereby establishes a fee to be paid by each user to assist the municipality in financing the capital cost of construction of both its infrastructure and its obligations to the Department of Corrections arising from the costs associated with the upgrades required for the plant to which the Townships sewage flow is to be directed. The fee schedule established herein will allow the Township to meet its obligations with regard to the repayment of those capital costs.

[Amended 9-12-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-11]

Each applicant for a connection from a single-family residential dwelling to the sewer system shall pay to the Township a fee of $4,850 to make the connection. The connection fee shall be a first lien or charge against the property benefitted therefrom, which may be levied and shall be enforceable in the manner provided for real property tax liens.

The fee shall be due and payable as follows: for existing houses, the fee shall be paid at the time of the issuance of the plumbing permit. For new development whether residential or nonresidential, the fee shall be paid 1/2 at the time of the issuance of preliminary approval of the lot and 1/2 upon the issuance of a building permit.

Interest. Interest upon a connection fee which remains unpaid for 30 days after the amount is due shall accrue at a rate of 6% per annum or at a rate of interest equal to the monthly index for the immediately preceding month for twenty-year tax exempt bond yields as compiled by the Bond Buyer, whichever is greater.

(c)

Installment payments for amounts that remain unpaid. Any residential user that fails to pay the connection fee within 30 days of the date due, but instead submits a first payment of $1,000, along with a written notice indicating his or her intent to pay in a total of five installments, who also satisfies the conditions stated herein, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 545-19, may pay the connection fee by way of an installment plan consisting of a total of five payments. If a user who has failed to pay the total amount due within 30 days of the date it is due and payable elects to pay the connection fee in five installments and makes such payments in a timely fashion, the Township and its Tax Collector will not exercise its right to enforce its lien during this time. Interest will, however, continue to accrue as set forth in Subsection B(1)(b) above until the final payment is made. The first payment which shall be due at the time specified in Subsection B(1)(a) above must be $1000.00 (which will be credited towards principal), with the remainder to be paid in four equal installments due on September 1 of each year. Assuming an interest rate of 6%, each of the four remaining payments, including interest will be in the amount of $1,111.08. An individual is only eligible to pay in installments as set forth herein, provided that the connection fee does not apply to any parcel of property which has been included in any plan adopted by any municipality of the state or under any statute of the state whereunder prior extensions for the payment of delinquent taxes were authorized; provided, further, that the right of any person interested in paying in installments shall be conditioned upon prompt payment of installments of taxes for the current year and all subsequent taxes and assessments and other municipal liens imposed or becoming a lien thereafter, including all installments thereafter payable on assessments theretofore levied, and also prompt and full payment of all installments of arrears as herein authorized; and provided, further, that in case any such installment of arrears under this plan or of any new taxes, assessments or other liens are not promptly paid, that is to say, within 30 days after the date when the same is due and payable, then such installment plan shall be void, and the Township shall enforce its lien in the manner set forth for tax sales.

(d)

Time for connection for residential users and discontinuance of septic systems:

[1]

For residential users currently served by a septic system which is deemed to be failing or otherwise presents any health dangers to the community, then connection shall be made immediately upon the availability of same.

[2]

For residential users currently serviced by septic systems which do not present immediate health concerns, all such septic systems shall be discontinued and terminated and connection shall be made within 120 days after date of official notice to do so.

Each applicant for a connection from a nonresidential source to the sewer system shall pay the township a fee of $4,850 per unit as defined in § 216-11 of this article. The connection fee shall be a first lien or charge against the property benefitted therefrom, which may be levied and shall be enforceable in the manner provided for real property tax liens.

The fee shall be payable as follows: for existing nonresidential uses, at the time of issuance of the plumbing permit, and for new nonresidential uses, 1/2 at the time of preliminary approval and 1/2 at the time of issuance of the building permit.

Individual pumps.

[Amended 6-23-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-11]

Any pump provided by the Township which is owned and exists at the time of this ordinance which is required to pump sewage from the user to the system will be maintained, repaired, and/or replaced by the Township, and the property owner shall provide and maintain an easement in favor of the Township to facilitate same. The property owner is responsible for the lateral from the house to the pumping chamber and all electric required to operate the pump as well as any alarm or other electrical system associated with same.

Property owners, where a Township pump is present as indicated in § 216-12C(1) of this chapter, shall be responsible for proper use of the waste system from their house to the pump, and any damage to the pump caused by the misuse of the system will be the responsibility of the property owner, and the property owner will be required to pay for the repair or replacement of the pump.

For all new construction and additions requiring a sewer pump or an upgraded sewer pump where it is required to pump sewage from the user to the system, said pump and related equipment shall be purchased and installed by the property owner or developer of the site and ownership of the pump and related components shall remain that of the property owner. Where an existing Township-owned sewer pump and related components are required to be upgraded due to a property owner adding additional load or where upgraded capacity of the pump is based on an addition, expansion, or any other modifications at the property; ownership, repair, and maintenance of said pump shall be entirely the responsibility of the property owner and transfer of ownership shall be memorialized by resolution of the Township Committee and any and all easements associated with access and maintenance to the sewer pump shall be extinguished.

In the case of a private sewer pump, the property owner is responsible for all system components from the house to the pump system and beyond the pump system to the final connection at the sewer main. Such responsibility includes all electric required to operate the pump as well as any alarm or other electrical system associated with same. The manufacturer, design, capacity, and operation of private sewer pumps is the sole responsibility of the property owner who shall retain such professional service as may be necessary to ensure the private pump system is adequate to pump into the Township sewer force mains and gravity mains.

Department of Corrections charges; responsibility.

Each applicant is responsible for any and all fees charged by the Department of Corrections, including fees for review of their application for connection to the sewer system.

If a user violates the Department of Corrections' permit parameters, either by quality, excess in quantity or otherwise, the user will be charged for the violation. Any fines or fees charged to the Township shall be recouped from those users causing the imposition of the fines or fees.

Prohibited connections.

The construction or maintenance of any privy, cesspool, septic or other individual sewage disposal system within areas of the Township adequately serviced by the Township sewer system is declared to be a nuisance and is hereby prohibited.

None of the following shall be connected, either directly or indirectly, to the Township sewer system:

Floor drain, area drain or yard drain.

Rain conductor or downspout.

(c)

Grease pit.

(d)

Air-conditioning equipment.

(e)

Sump pumps.

(f)

Stormwater inlets or catch basins.

(g)

Industrial waste.

All wastewater introduced into the treatment works shall not contain toxics or other pollutants in amount or concentration that endangers public safety and physical integrity of the treatment works or cause violation of a permit or preclude the selection of the most cost-effective alternative for wastewater treatment and sludge disposal.

All nondomestic users are hereby prohibited from introducing any waste that will interfere with the operation or performance of publicly owned treatment works. This specifically includes:

Waste that creates a fire or explosion hazard in the treatment works.

Waste which causes corrosive structural damage to the treatment works, including any wastes with a pH of less than 5.0.

(c)

Solid or viscous waste in amounts which would cause obstruction to the flow in sewers or their interference with the proper operation of the works.

(d)

Any pollutant, including oxygen-demanding pollutants, released in a discharge of such volume or strength as to cause interference in the treatment works.

(e)

Heat in amounts which will inhibit biological activity in the treatment works resulting but in no case heat in such quantities that the temperature at the treatment works influent exceeds 40° C (104° F.).

Access to system. Employees and representatives of the Township may, at all reasonable hours and at any time in the case of emergency, have free access to the sewer and water system, including lines, pipes and fixtures upon the premises or within the building for the purpose of tests, inspection, emergency repairs, meter readings and such further acts as may be necessary to properly operate and maintain the sewer and water system. Nothing herein contained, however, shall relieve the owner of the property of responsibility for the costs and expenses incurred by the Township in undertaking said emergency repairs, tests, inspections, readings, or other acts, where the situation giving rise to the emergency was caused or precipitated by the actions, negligence or inactions of the owner or the owner’s agents, contractors, or representatives.

[Amended 3-8-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-5]

Nonliability of Township. The Township shall not be held liable or accountable for any damage which may result from leaks, burst pipes, sewer backups or from any other causes connected with discharge or sewage in occupied or unoccupied buildings.

Maintenance.

[Amended 5-13-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-6; 3-8-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-5]

The property owner shall be responsible for the maintenance of the service lines between the sewer connection line cleanout and the premises and shall keep the same in good repair and protected at all times from damage of any kind and shall be held liable for loss of sewer service for failure to do so. All leaks in the service lines shall be promptly reported to the Division and Township sewer operator and repaired within three working days by the property owner, unless advised by the Division or Township sewer operator of the need for emergent repair, in which case, the timeline set by the Division or Township sewer operator shall control.

In the event of damage to the municipal service lines, or other municipal infrastructure, caused or created by the negligence, actions or inactions of a property owner of the property owner’s agents, contractors or representatives; and/or in the further event that said damage presents an imminent and/or immediate danger to the public health, safety and welfare and the stability and integrity of the sewer infrastructure system, (which decision shall be made in the sole discretion of the Township Sewer Operator), the Township reserves the right, either through its own personnel, or through contractors, to undertake such actions as are necessary to abate the situation, repair the system, and take any and all other acts deemed by the sewer operator to be necessary to protect the municipal infrastructure and/or surrounding properties and/or the public health, safety and welfare. Nothing herein contained shall require the Township to first offer the opportunity to the owner of the property the opportunity to effectuate said repairs; the Township reserves the right in its sole discretion to undertake the emergency repairs it deems necessary to meet the purposes set forth herein.

If emergency repairs to the system are required, the Township may undertake the work. If said repairs are determined by the Township's Sewer Operator to be the responsibility of the property owner, the Township may charge the costs of the repair work to the property owner. The Township may also charge the property owner with the costs of repairing damage on Township property or other property owners' properties, if the Township's sewer operator determines that the damage was caused by the property owner's failure to make timely repairs on his/her property. Said payment shall be due with the next quarterly tax bill thereafter issued, or, if a sewer connection permit has not yet been issued, shall be due prior to the issuance of said permit, and should the property owner fail to pay for the repair work, the Township may, in its sole discretion, either withhold the issuance of the sewer connection permit and/or file a lien against the property in the amount owed, plus administrative and legal costs; and/or may take such other action as it deems appropriate to recover the costs of the repairs, and ensure compliance with the rules and regulations of this chapter by the owner.

Improvements to system. All extensions, mains and other improvements to the sewer systems made at the expense of any person shall become the property of the Township of Chesterfield and shall, after inspection and approval by the Township Engineer and the Division and acceptance by the Township Committee, become the responsibility of the Township for care, maintenance and repair.

Discontinuance of service. Sewer service may be discontinued for any of the following reasons:

The use of sewer service for any property or purpose other than as described in the application or in violation of the terms of this article.

Willful waste of sewer service through improper or imperfect pipes, fixtures or otherwise.

Failure to maintain in good order the connections, service lines or fixtures owned by the property owner.

Molesting, tampering with or attempting to molest or tamper with any service pipe, collection pipe, cleanout or any other fixtures or appliances of the Department.

(5)

For such other reasons as may be permitted by state statute or other applicable laws, and in accordance with any remedies relating thereto.

[Added 9-12-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-11]

Other sewage. With respect to any other establishment located in the Township which desires to transmit anything other than domestic sewage to the Department of Corrections facility for treatment and disposal, said proposal and the nature of the sewage to be received must be approved by the Department of Corrections' Engineer and must meet all prevailing state and federal treatment standards. If additional costs are incurred by the Department of Corrections to treat the sewage generated by the establishment, the additional costs incurred by the Department of Corrections for same shall be based upon the established rates which reflect the actual cost of additional service by the Department of Corrections. The additional costs required by the Department of Corrections will be borne solely by the applicant customer.

§ 216-13 Specific requirements.

Significant industrial user. Any new source significant industrial user (SIU), as defined by N.J.A.C. 7:14A-1 et seq., shall obtain a State NJPDES/SIU permit prior to commencing discharge into the treatment works.

Federal standards. Where any federal categorical pretreatment standard applicable to a particular industrial subcategory is more stringent than limitations imposed under this article for sources in that subcategory, the federal standard shall supersede the limitations under this article. Affected industrial users shall comply with the applicable standard(s) by the compliance deadlines specified in 40 CFR 403.6(b). All industrial users subject to federal categorical pretreatment standards shall, at a minimum, comply with the reporting requirements contained in 40 CFR 403.12.

§ 216-14 User charge system.

Each user that discharges pollutants into the system that causes an increase in the cost of managing the effluent or sludge from the treatment works shall pay for such increased cost.

Each user shall be notified annually of the rate and portion of the charges or ad valorem taxes attributable to wastewater treatment services.

The cost of all extraneous flow treated shall be distributed among all users.

Any agreements between applicant and users that is inconsistent with this article shall be disregarded.

Metered services. Sewer service charges for all ratepayers (residential and nonresidential users) serviced by a water utility are calculated based on water consumption as measured by the ratepayer's water meter in the following manner, depending on the quarterly billing period, as follows:

[Amended 12-28-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-25; 7-26-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-13; 12-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-24]

First quarter (January, February, March) sewer service charges shall be billed by the Township in April, and invoices will be based on the actual amount of water used during the first quarter, calculated using the ratepayer's water meter readings as such information is provided to the Township by the water utility;

Second quarter (April, May, June) sewer service charges shall be billed by the Township in July, and invoices will be based on the ratepayer's average water usage during the immediately preceding first and fourth quarters;

Third quarter (July, August, September) sewer service charges shall be billed by the Township in October, and invoices will be based on the ratepayer's average water usage during the immediately preceding first and fourth quarters;