Town of Sunderland, MA Sewers

BOD (denoting "biochemical oxygen demand"): The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five (5) days at twenty degrees Celsius (20° C.), expressed in milligrams per liter.

BUILDING DRAIN: That part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning five (5) feet [one and five-tenths (1.5) meters] outside of the inner face of the building wall.

BUILDING SEWER: The extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.

COMBINED SEWER: A sewer receiving both surface runoff and sewage.

EXCESSIVE: Amounts or concentration of a constituent of wastewater which, in the judgment of the Board of Selectmen:

GARBAGE: Solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking and dispensing of food from the handling, storage and sale of produce.

INDUSTRIAL WASTES: The liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing processes, trade or business, as distinct from sanitary sewage.

NATURAL OUTLET: Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or ground water.

OWNER: The person legally and lawfully possessing the land across which a particular building sewer lies or will lie.

PERSON: Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation or group.

pH: The logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.

PLANT OPERATOR: The duly appointed operator and administrator of the Sunderland Wastewater Treatment Plant or Plants, working under the direct supervision of the Board of Selectmen or its authorized deputy, agent or representative.

PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE: The wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than one-half (1/2) inch [one and twenty-seven hundredths (1.27) centimeters] in any dimension.

PUBLIC SEWER: A sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights and which is controlled by public authority.

SANITARY SEWER: A sewer which carries sewage and to which storm-, surface and ground waters are not intentionally admitted.

SEWAGE: A combination of the water-carried wastes from the residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments, together with such ground, surface and stormwaters as may be present.

SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT: Any arrangement of devices and structures used for sewage treatment.

SEWAGE WORKS: All facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage.

SEWER: A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.

SEWER MAIN: The principal pipe artery to which building sewers may be connected.

SLUG: Any discharge of water, sewage or industrial waste which, in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow, exceeds, for any period of duration longer than fifteen (15) minutes, more than five (5) times the average twenty-four-hour concentration of flows during normal operations.

STORM DRAIN (sometimes termed "storm sewer"): A sewer which carries storm and surface waters and drainage, but excludes sewage and industrial wastes, other than unpolluted cooling water.

SUMP PUMP: A pump used to remove water that has accumulated in a sump pit.
[Added 4-28-2008 ATM, Art. 28]

SUSPENDED SOLIDS: Solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in, water, sewage or other liquids, and which are removable by laboratory filtering.

WATERCOURSE: A channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.

Word usage. "Shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissive.

§ 144-2 Basis for testing.

The basis for all laboratory testing required hereunder and the definitions of all laboratory or chemical terms used herein shall be the current edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, as published by the American Public Health Association.

§ 144-3 Permits required. [1]

No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Board of Selectmen.

Any person proposing new discharge into the system or a substantial change in the volume or character of pollutants that are being discharged into the system shall file an application for such discharge.

[1]

Editor's Note: The Board of Selectmen from time to time sets fees for sewer use. These fees are on file in the office of the Town Clerk.

§ 144-4 Classes of permits; application.

There shall be two (2) classes of building sewer permits: for residential and commercial service and for service to establishments producing industrial wastes. In either case, the owner or his agent shall make application on a special form furnished by the Board of Selectmen. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the Board of Selectmen.

§ 144-5 Installation and repair of building sewer.

[Amended 4-27-2012 ATM, Art. 22]

The property owner shall construct the particular building sewer from the street line to the building drain. The property owner shall also construct the particular sewer from the common sewer to the boundary of the way. This construction shall be in accordance with the requirements of the Board of Selectmen and as herein noted. No portion of this construction shall be backfilled or otherwise covered until inspected by an authorized agent of the Board of Selectmen and written approval given thereof.

For work being carried out within the public right-of-way for laying, altering or repairing of a particular sewer, a permit from the Board of Selectmen is required pursuant to Section 8 of Chapter 83 of the General Laws, and the Board of Selectmen or its authorized agent shall have the right to specify the methods and materials used for backfilling this construction and the methods and materials used for final surface paving, where required, and a fee may be charged to cover the Town's costs of permitting and inspecting the work.

All costs and expenses for the installation or repair of the building sewer shall be borne by the applicant or property owner. The town shall be indemnified from any loss or damage that may be directly or indirectly occasioned by the installation or repair of the building sewer. The owner's contractor shall be required to carry proper and efficient insurance coverage, as determined by the Board of Selectmen, to cover any and all claims incurred by the contractor when carrying out this work within a public right-of-way.

§ 144-6 Entrance fee.

The Board of Selectmen will charge an entrance fee for the connection of the building sewer to the common sewer. The entrance fee shall be as follows:

For a single-family dwelling unit: seven hundred dollars ($700.)

[Amended 11-1993; 4-27-2001 ATM, Art. 30]

For each additional dwelling unit: seven hundred dollars ($700.)

[Amended 11-1993; 4-27-2001 ATM, Art. 30]

For commercial and industrial, total area less than or equal to two thousand (2,000) square feet: seven hundred dollars ($700.)

[Amended 11-1993; 4-27-2001 ATM, Art. 30]

For commercial and industrial, total area greater than two thousand (2,000) square feet: to be determined by the Board of Selectmen. [NOTE: The Board of Selectmen will determine the entrance fee for industrial and commercial buildings greater than two thousand (2,000) square feet in area from a consideration of the building size and the volume and strength of anticipated domestic and industrial waste.]

§ 144-7 Material and installation requirements.

The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building sewer and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing and backfilling the trench shall all conform to the requirements of the State Plumbing Code, as applicable, and the requirements of the Board of Selectmen. The following are the basic requirements:

Pipe shall be a minimum of four (4) inches.

Pipe material shall be cast iron, asbestos-cement, burned clay or similar material and subject to the approval of the Board of Selectmen; all materials shall be of sufficient strength for the particular installation.

Pipe joints shall be either factory-made, compression-type joints or shall be hot-poured, using lead or a suitable bituminous jointing compound.

All building sewers shall be laid straight to line and grade with a minimum pitch of one-fourth (1/4) inch per foot, using clay or cast iron pipe and one-eighth (1/8) inch per foot using asbestos-cement pipe.

All building sewers shall be carefully bedded in sand and backfilled to prevent damage.

All pipe, joints and connections shall be watertight and gastight.

The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the Board of Selectmen when the building sewer is ready for inspection. The inspection will be made by a representative of the Board of Selectmen, and written approval will be given if the installation is accepted. The building sewer shall not be covered or backfilled until this written approval is given.

§ 144-8 Building sewers to be separate.

A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every building, except that, where one building stands at the rear of another on an interior lot and no private sewer is available or can be constructed to the rear building through an adjoining alley, court, yard or driveway, the building sewer from the front building may be extended to the rear building and the whole considered as one (1) building sewer.

§ 144-9 Use of old building sewers.

Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test by the Board of Selectmen, to meet all requirements of these rules and regulations.

§ 144-10 Connection to be below basement level.

Whenever possible, the building sewer shall be brought to the building at an elevation below the basement floor. In all buildings in which any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewer, sanitary sewage carried by such a building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer.

§ 144-11 Prohibited connections.

[Amended 4-28-2008 ATM, Art. 29]

No person shall make connection of roof downspouts, foundation drains, areaway drains or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which, in turn, is connected, directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer. Sump or cellar pumps used for the control or relief of groundwater and/or drainage shall be hard piped to the ground surface outside the building a minimum of five (5) feet from the inner face of the building wall, and shall not be discharged to the building sewer, either directly or indirectly.

§ 144-12 Excavations to be guarded; restoration.

All excavations for building sewer installation shall be adequately guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from hazard. Streets, sidewalks, parkways and other public property disturbed in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the Board of Selectmen.

§ 144-13 Prohibited discharge.

General prohibition. No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water or unpolluted industrial process waters to any sanitary sewer.

Restrictions. Stormwater and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated as combined sewers or storm sewers to a natural outlet approved by the Board of Selectmen. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged, on approval of the Board of Selectmen, to a storm sewer, combined sewer or natural outlet.

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes to any public sewers:

(1)

Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oils or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.

(2)

Any waters or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids or gases in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a public nuisance or create any hazard in the receiving waters of the sewage treatment plant, including but not limited to cyanides in excess of two (2) milligrams per liter as CN in the wastes as discharged to the public sewer or by one (1) part per million as CN after dilution by the minimum flow in the common sewer.

(3)

Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than five point five (5.5) nor higher than nine point five (9.5) or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and personnel of the sewage works.

(4)

Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers or other interference with the proper operation of the sewage works, such as but not limited to ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, unground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entrails and paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc., either whole or ground by garbage grinders, without prior approval of the Board of Selectmen.

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged the following described substances, materials, waters or wastes if it appears likely, in the opinion of the Board of Selectmen, that such wastes can harm either the sewers, sewage treatment process or equipment; have an adverse effect on the receiving stream; or can otherwise endanger life, limb, public property or constitute a nuisance. In forming its opinion as to the acceptability of these wastes, the Board of Selectmen will give consideration to such factors as the quantities of subject wastes in relation to flows and velocities in the sewers, materials of construction of the sewers, nature of the sewage treatment process, capacity of the sewage treatment plant, degree of treatability of wastes in the sewage treatment plant and other pertinent factors. The substances which shall not be discharged to the common sewers without prior approval of the Board of Selectmen are:

(1)

Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit (150° F.) at the point of discharge.

(2)

Any water or waste containing fats, wax, grease or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of one hundred (100) milligrams per liter or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between thirty-two and one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit (32° and 150° F.) [zero and sixty-five degrees Celsius (0° and 65° C.)].

(3)

Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor of three-fourths (3/4) horsepower [seventy-six hundredths (0.76) horsepower metric] or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the Board of Selectmen.

(4)

Any waters or wastes containing strong acid iron pickling wastes or concentrated plating solutions, whether neutralized or not.

(5)

Any waters or wastes containing iron, chromium, copper, zinc and similar objectionable or toxic substances or wastes exerting an excessive chlorine requirement, to such degree that any such material received in the composite sewage at the sewage treatment works exceeds the limits established by the Board of Selectmen for such materials.

(6)

Any waters or wastes containing phenols or other taste- or odor-producing substances, in such concentrations exceeding limits which may be established by the Board of Selectmen as necessary, after treatment of the composite sewage, to meet the requirements of the State Division of Water Pollution Control.

(7)

Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the Board of Selectmen in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.

(8)

Any waters or wastes having a pH less than five point five (5.5) nor more than nine point five (9.5) in the building sewer.

(9)

Materials which exert or cause:

(a)

Unusual concentrations of inert suspended solids.

(b)

Excessive discoloration.

(c)

Unusual biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand or chlorine requirements in such quantities as to constitute a significant load on the sewage treatment works.

(d)

Unusual volume of flow or concentration of wastes constituting slugs, as defined herein.

(10)

Waters or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction by the sewage treatment processes employed or are amenable to treatment only to such degree that the sewage treatment plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction over discharge to the receiving waters.

§ 144-14 Action by Board of Selectmen.

If any waters or wastes are discharged or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in § 144-13D of this chapter and which, in the judgment of the Board of Selectmen, may have a deleterious effect upon the sewage works, process, equipment or receiving waters, or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the Board of Selectmen may:

(1)

Reject the wastes;

(2)

Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers;

(3)

Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge; and/or

(4)

Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sewer charges.

If the Board of Selectmen permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the Board of Selectmen and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances and laws.

Industries discharging to the public sewers shall perform such flow monitoring of their discharges as the Board of Selectmen may require, including installation, use and maintenance of, keeping records and reporting the results to the Board of Selectmen. The design and installation of these facilities shall be subject to the review and approval of the Board of Selectmen.

§ 144-15 Interceptors to be provided.

Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the Board of Selectmen, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts or any flammable wastes, sand or other harmful ingredients, except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the Board of Selectmen and shall be located so as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.

§ 144-16 Preliminary treatment or flow-equalizing facilities.

Where preliminary treatment or flow-equalizing facilities are provided for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner at his expense.

§ 144-17 Control manhole.

When required by the Board of Selectmen, the owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole, together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling and measurement of the wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessible and safely located and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the Board of Selectmen. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his expense and shall be maintained by him so as to be safe and accessible at all times.

§ 144-18 Sampling of wastes.

All measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this chapter shall be determined in accordance with the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, published by the American Public Health Association, and shall be determined at the control manhole provided or upon suitable samples taken at said control manhole. In the event that no special manhole has been required, the control manhole shall be considered the nearest downstream manhole in the public sewer to the point at which the building sewer is connected.

Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted methods as determined by the plant operator to reflect the effect of constituents upon the sewage works and to determine the existence of hazards to life, limb and property. (The particular analyses involved will determine whether a twenty-four-hour composite of all outfalls of a premises is appropriate or whether a grab sample or samples should be taken. Normally, but not always, biochemical oxygen demand and suspended solids analyses are obtained from twenty-four-hour composites of all outfalls, whereas pH's are determined from periodic grab samples.)

§ 144-19 Construal of provisions.

No statement contained in this chapter shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the town and any industrial concern whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the town for treatment, subject to payment therefor by the industrial concern.

§ 144-20 Discharge from septic tanks; permits for septage haulers; fees.

No septic tank contents shall be discharged into the public sewer system except at the sewage treatment plant location so designated by the plant operator.

Only septic tank contents from Sunderland shall be allowed. The Board of Selectmen reserves the right to cancel, suspend or place a limit on any permit issued for the above purpose because of the discharge of out-of-town septic tank contents into the public sewer or for the purpose of controlling the solids input to the sewage treatment plant.

Septage haulers shall obtain permits for the discharge of septic tank contents at the office of the Board of Selectmen. A fee of one dollar ($1.) per year will be charged for each permit issued. Each permit shall be valid for one (1) year, at which time it must be renewed by the applicant.

§ 144-21 Damage of sewage works.

No unauthorized person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is part of the sewage works. Any person violating this provision shall be subject to immediate arrest under charge of disorderly conduct.

§ 144-22 Entrance on private property.

The Board of Selectmen and other duly authorized employees and representatives of the town bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing in accordance with the provisions of these rules and regulations. The Board of Selectmen and its representatives shall have no authority to inquire into any processes, including metallurgical, chemical, oil, refining, ceramic, paper or any other industries beyond that point having a direct bearing on the kind and source of discharge to the sewers or waterways or facilities for waste treatment.

§ 144-23 Indemnification of company.

While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to in § 144-22 above, the Board of Selectmen or duly authorized employees and representatives of the town shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the company, and the company shall be held harmless for injury or death to the town employees, and the town shall hereby indemnify the company against loss or damage to its property by town employees and against liability claims and demands for personal injury or property damage assessed against the company and growing out of the gauging and sampling operation, except as such may be caused by negligence or failure of the company to maintain in safe conditions as required in § 144-17.

§ 144-24 Entrance on easements.

The Board of Selectmen and other duly authorized employees of the town bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the town holds a duly negotiated easement for the purpose of, but not 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.

§ 144-25 Violations and penalties.

Any person found to be violating any provisions of this chapter, except § 144-21, shall be served by the town with written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in such notice, permanently cease all violations.

Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit provided for in Subsection A above shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction thereof, shall be fined in the amount not exceeding twenty dollars ($20.) for such violation. Each day in which any such violation shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall become liable to the town for any expense, loss or damage occasioned the town by reason of such violation.