Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning
of the terms used in this chapter shall be as follows:
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation
of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days
at 20° C., expressed in parts per million by weight.
The extension from a commercial or industrial building drain
to the public sewer or other place of disposal.
Any pipe, together with necessary connections, conveying
sewage from a single building of any kind or sort to the sewer system
at the curbline.
The plumbing work within the building and to a point five
feet outside of the building, under the control of the County Health
Officer and subject to ordinances, conditions, rules and regulations.
Any concern engaged primarily in manufacturing or processing
operations.
The liquid wastes from industrial processes as distinct from
sanitary sewage.
The Middlesex County Utilities Authority.
The Plainfield Area Regional Sewerage Authority.
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen
ions in grams per liter of solution.
The person duly appointed to and occupying such position
in the Borough.
A sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal
rights and which is controlled by public authority.
The person duly appointed to and occupying such position
in the Borough, and, if none, shall mean the Borough Engineer.
A sewer which carries sewage and to which stormwater, surface
water and groundwater are not intentionally admitted.
A combination of the water-carried wastes from residences,
business buildings, institutions, industrial establishments and other
buildings, together with such groundwater, surface water and stormwater
as may be present.
A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
The person duly appointed to and occupying such position
in the Borough.
All interceptors, trunks, branches, laterals and all other
sewer appurtenances, in the streets or in easements and rights-of-way,
either publicly or privately owned, except house connections, the
sewage from which is delivered to be treated by the Borough of Dunellen
or under contract of the Borough of Dunellen providing for such treatment.
The Dunellen Borough Sanitary Sewer Utility.
Solids that either float on the surface or are in suspension
in water, sewage or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory
filtering.
No connection of any kind or nature shall be made to the sanitary sewer system until the owner of the property sought to be connected shall have obtained a sewer service form from the Municipal Clerk and shall have paid the charge therefor as hereinafter set forth in this chapter. Such form shall state the name of the owner, the street and number of the premises to be connected and the Tax Map lot and block of such premises and shall contain such other information as may be required by the Borough Sewer Utility. (See also § 233-5.)
Prior to the issuance of a permit to the licensed plumber who
is to make the house connection pursuant to the provisions of the
Plumbing Code, the owner of the property to be connected shall pay
to the Borough Sewer Utility the sewer service connection charge as
hereinafter set forth, which charge shall be payable only one time
for any single connection. The charge for a single house connection
for a one-family domestic unit shall be $500, and the charge for a
single house connection for domestic units in excess of one family
shall be $500 for each domestic unit on connection. The charge for
other uses shall be determined by the Borough Sewer Utility after
recommendation of the Borough Engineer and shall be based upon the
estimated use to be made of the sewer by such connection as compared
to the normal usage expected from a single-family domestic connection,
but in no event less than $500. Notwithstanding the foregoing, where
the connection is made after the mandatory connection time for the
property to be connected, the charge, as computed above, shall include
interest at 8% per annum, computed from the date the connection should
have been made pursuant to the mandatory connection notice.
Wherever an owner of property hereafter seeks to connect to the sanitary sewer system of the Borough and the property to be connected is within an area of the Borough included in an ordinance or contract under which sanitary sewers were constructed as a local improvement assessed against properties specially benefited hereby and said particular property sought to be connected was not specially assessed for the benefits of said sewers (whether by reason of not having been a separate lot at the time of such assessment or for any other reason), then, in addition to the connection fee set forth in § 233-3 of this chapter, said owner shall pay, toward the construction costs of the interceptor sewer and other construction, maintenance, acquisition of capacity rights and treatment costs and toward any costs of said previously assessed sewer which were absorbed by the Borough as a whole, the following fee:
A.
Where the particular property sought to be connected is a single
lot, involving connection directly to an interceptor or lateral sewer,
a sum equal to the assessment levied upon neighboring properties which
were assessed under the ordinance or contract for the area in which
the proposed connection is to be made, together with interest at the
rate of 8% per annum on such sum computed from February 1 next following
the date of confirmation of such assessment; or
B.
Where the particular property is part of a subdivision of lands made after the confirmation of the assessments for neighboring properties which were assessed under an ordinance or contract for the area in which the proposed connection is to be made, and which subdivision includes the construction of an internal sewer system to connect to an interceptor or lateral sewer, a sum determined by resolution of the Borough Council, which shall take into consideration the amount of said assessment levied upon such neighboring properties, the costs to the developer of installing the new internal sewer system in the development and the number of properties included within the subdivision. In no event, however, shall such sum, for any single lot within the subdivision, exceed the amount for a single lot computed under Subsection A above.
After the owner of the property to be connected has obtained the sewer service form, as set forth in § 233-2 of this chapter, the owner shall furnish a copy thereof to the licensed plumber who will make said connection, and said licensed plumber shall then proceed to obtain the permit required under the Plumbing Code of the Borough of Dunellen.
A.
A licensed plumber shall install the house connection, make the connection
between the building sewer and the lateral sewer or house connection
at the curb, subject to the inspection of the Borough Plumbing Inspector
or Sewer Inspector and in accordance with this chapter, the Borough
Plumbing Code and such other statutes, ordinances, rules and regulations
as may be applicable.
B.
The Plumbing Inspector appointed by the County Health Officer may
be authorized by the Borough Council to make the inspections required
under this chapter. In addition thereto, and as an alternative to
the use of said Plumbing Inspector, the Borough Council may annually
appoint a Sewer Inspector to perform the inspections required under
this chapter involving connections to the sanitary sewer system, it
being specifically understood that the house plumbing system is not
part of this chapter and is under the jurisdiction of the County Health
Officer.
All costs and expenses incident to the installation and connection
of the building sewer or house connection shall be borne by the owner.
The owner shall indemnify and hold harmless the Borough and the Borough
Sewer Utility from any loss or damage that may indirectly or directly
be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer or house connection.
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 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 building
sewer. No building connection shall be made to a manhole on the sewer
system.
Old building sewers or house connections may be used in connection
with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test
by the Borough or its duly authorized representative, to meet all
the requirements of this chapter.
In addition to the requirements of this chapter, where the applicant
for the permit must connect to a public sewer discharging into the
sewerage system of an adjacent municipality or governing body, the
provisions of any ordinance or ordinances, rules and regulations of
such municipality or governing body concerning the connection to a
public sewer shall govern and apply, as well as the applicable terms
of any agreement in connection therewith entered into between this
Borough and such adjoining municipality or governing body.
All permits for connections with public sewers are given on
the condition that the owners of the property served assume all risk
of damages that may result from water getting into the premises from
the public sewers or their connections. Any drain subject to backflow
or back pressure shall be equipped with an approved type backwater
valve as approved by the Plumbing Inspector or Sewer Inspector.
No house connection shall be less than four inches nor greater
than six inches internal diameter. Each house sewer shall be laid
on a straight line, if possible, and on an even grade. The grade of
a house sewer, whenever possible, shall not be flatter than 2% but,
in every case, shall be subject to the judgment of the Plumbing Inspector
or Sewer Inspector.
All house or building sewer connections shall be of PVC of a
minimum of SDR-35 or greater strength, jointed with rubber O-ring
seals. The approved bed materials shall be a minimum of six inches
in depth and comply with the requirements of PARSA and MCUA. If it
is impossible to make a connection to a Y- or T-branch, making it
necessary to cut into the main sewer, the connection shall be made
as directed by the Borough Sewer Utility or its duly authorized agent,
at the expense of the person to whom the permit was issued.
No house connection shall be covered until so ordered by the
Plumbing Inspector or Sewer Inspector. Ample notice must be given
in order that work may be examined before ordering the backfilling.
Any part of the work which may have been covered without previously
obtaining the consent of the Plumbing Inspector or Sewer Inspector
shall be uncovered for his examination if so ordered by him. The backfilling
around a house connection or building sewer shall be so executed as
not to injure the joints of the pipes, and the backfilling generally
shall be so compacted as to permit the restoration of the surface
of the street to its former condition.
A.
No washings from vehicles of any type shall be admitted to the sewer
system except through a slit-basin of suitable size, properly protected
by a grating and trapped, from which the deposits shall be removed
by hand as often as may be required by the Plumbing Inspector or Sewer
Inspector.
B.
House connections when connected with garages and stables shall be
properly trapped under the floor and protected by suitable gratings
and screens.
C.
No gasoline, naphtha, oil or other explosive or flammable material
or acids shall be permitted to discharge into the sanitary sewer.
A.
Steam exhausts shall not discharge into the sewer system, and no
blowoff from boilers or from steam-heating plants shall be directly
connected therewith but shall, in every case, discharge into a tank
of suitable size from which a trapped overflow may lead to the sewer.
B.
No refrigeration or air-conditioning water shall be allowed to discharge
into the sewer system.
Except as herein provided, no person shall discharge or cause
or allow to be discharged any of the following described waters or
wastes to or in any public sewer:
A.
Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than 150° F.
B.
Any water or waste which may contain more than 100 parts per million,
by weight, of fat, oil or grease.
C.
Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil or other flammable or explosive
liquid, solid or gas.
D.
Any ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags,
feathers, tar, wood or any other solid or viscous substance capable
of causing obstructions to the flow in sewers or other interference
with the proper operation of the sewage treatment plant.
E.
Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 6.0 or higher than 8.0
or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or
hazard to structures, equipment and personnel of the sewage works.
F.
Any waters or wastes containing a toxic or poisonous substance in
sufficient quantity to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment
process or to constitute a hazard in the receiving waters of the sewage
plant.
G.
Any waters or wastes containing suspended solids of such character
and quantity that unusual attention or expense is required to handle
such material at the sewage treatment plant.
H.
Any noxious or malodorous gas or substance capable of creating a
public nuisance.
I.
Any waste, liquid, solid or other substance, the discharge of which
is prohibited by PARSA or the MCUA or which will not be accepted by
PARSA or the MCUA.
The admission into the public sewers of any waters or wastes having a BOD greater than 300 parts per million, by weight, or containing any quantity of substance having the characteristics described in § 233-18 or having an average daily flow greater than 2% of the average daily sewage flow of the Borough shall be subject to the review and approval of the Borough Engineer. Where necessary in the opinion of the Borough Engineer or required by PARSA or the MCUA, the owner shall provide, at his expense, such preliminary treatment as may be necessary to reduce the BOD to 300 parts per million and the suspended solids to 350 parts per million by weight or to reduce objectionable characteristics or constituents to within the maximum limits provided for in § 233-18 or to control the quantities and rates of discharge of such waters or wastes. Plans, specifications and any other pertinent information relating to proposed preliminary treatment facilities shall be submitted for the approval of the Borough Engineer and of the State Department of Health of New Jersey, and no construction of such facilities shall be commenced until said approvals are obtained in writing.
Where preliminary treatment facilities are provided for any
waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory
and effective operation by the owner at his expense.
When required by the Borough Engineer, the owner of any property
served by a building sewer carrying industrial waste shall install
a suitable control manhole in the building sewer to facilitate observation,
sampling and measurement of the wastes. Such manhole, when required,
shall be accessibly and safely located and shall be constructed in
accordance with plans approved by the Borough Engineer. 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.
All measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in §§ 233-18 and 233-19 shall be determined in accordance with Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Sewage, latest edition, and shall be determined at the control manhole provided for in § 233-21 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 to be the nearest downstream manhole in the public sewer to the point at which the building sewer is connected.
Readily accessible means shall be provided by the owner, tenant
or occupant of the premises to allow the municipality or its representatives
to make periodic examination and determination of the volume, character
and concentration of waste being discharged into the sewers or laterals
tributary thereto.
The Plumbing Inspector, Sewer Inspector, Borough Engineer, members
of the Borough Sewer Utility, County Health Officer, and any other
duly authorized employee of the Borough bearing proper credentials
and identification shall be permitted to enter upon all properties
for the purpose of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling
and testing at any reasonable hour in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter.
The right is reserved by the Borough of Dunellen to stop and
prevent at any time the discharge into the sewers or laterals of any
waste which may injure the sewers or adversely affect sewage treatment
or which is not in conformity with the requirements and standards
now or hereinafter made by the Borough of North Plainfield (in cases
where the sewage will pass through the internal system of the Borough
of North Plainfield), PARSA or the MCUA, and the Borough of Dunellen
may, at any time without notice and without recourse, sever the connection
and cause removal of any sewer or drain through which such waste may
be discharged.
No statement contained in this chapter shall be construed as
preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the Borough
and any industrial or large concern or any other municipality whereby
a waste of unusual volume, strength and/or character may be accepted
by the Borough, subject to payment therefor by said concern and subject
to the provisions of any agreement with PARSA or the MCUA.
The sewer system of the Borough of Dunellen has been designed
to admit sewage leaving the basement of a normal building a minimum
distance of six inches above the basement floor, measured from the
underside of the sewer pipe whenever possible. No representation is
made to any property owner that sewage leaving a building below said
point will have sufficient slope to be accepted into the sewer system.
Where there is available slope to permit connection with the street
sewer, a house connection may leave the basement of a building below
the above-mentioned six inches above the floor; provided, however,
that no cleanout shall be located below the minimum prescribed in
the Plumbing Code of the Borough of Dunellen, and provided, further,
that there shall be no floor drain or other opening at basement floor
level to which subsoil water from the cellar or other drainage water
may be admitted to the sewer system.
House or building sewer connections shall be so laid and protected
so as not to be injured from subsequent action on the surface above
the same, such as passage of motor vehicles over such surface.
No two house or building sewers shall be closer than three feet
apart at the point of connection to the sewer system.
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit or permit
to be deposited in an unsanitary manner upon public or private property
within the Borough, or in any area under the jurisdiction of said
Borough, any human or animal excrement, garbage or other objectionable
waste.
It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within
the Borough, or in or upon any area under the jurisdiction of said
Borough, any sanitary sewage, industrial wastes or other polluted
waters except as herein provided.
It shall be unlawful for any person to break, damage, destroy,
uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment
which is part of the sewer system, including house connections, except
pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
All permits, deposits, bonds, inspections, approvals, etc.,
referred to in this chapter shall be in addition to any such items
now or hereafter required by the Borough or the County Health Officer,
and each failure to comply fully with the terms of this chapter shall
constitute a separate and distinct offense.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to abrogate the rules,
regulations or requirements of the owners of any public water supply
system or public sewer system. All persons connecting to or making
use of any sewer in the Borough of Dunellen shall comply with and
abide by any and all present or future regulations and requirements
of the Department of Health of the State of New Jersey, the County
Health Officer and, where applicable, the MCUA, PARSA and the Borough
of North Plainfield; and where the regulations or requirements of
said State Department of Health, County Health Officer, MCUA, PARSA
or Borough of North Plainfield, where applicable, are more restrictive
than the restrictions in this chapter, such regulations or requirements
of any or all of said bodies shall control.
A.
Any person or persons, firm or corporation who or which shall violate
any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a fine not
exceeding $500 or imprisonment not more than 90 days, or both, in
the discretion of the court. Each day which a violation is permitted
to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
B.
The penalties stated in Subsection A above shall not preclude the rights of the Borough to remove or sever any connection, as provided herein, or to revoke or suspend any permit or license, as provided herein or under any other applicable ordinance or code of this Borough or the County Health Officer, or to recover damages in a civil action against any person, firm or corporation which causes damage or injury to any part of the sewer system or additional expenses to the Borough of Dunellen in maintaining or using said system.
C.
The owner of a building or structure, or portion thereof, or of any
lot or land or part thereof or of the premises where anything in violation
of this chapter shall be done or shall exist and any engineer, builder,
contractor, agent, plumber, person or corporation employed in connection
therewith and who assists in the commission of such violation shall
each be guilty of a separate offense and be subject to the penalties
herein prescribed.
A.
The Dunellen Borough Sanitary Sewer Utility shall fix all public
sewer fees, rentals and charges.
B.
The owner of each building connected to the public sewer system shall
be responsible for the payment of bills for sewer service, as rendered
by the Dunellen Borough Sanitary Sewer Utility. All sewer rentals,
fees and other charges incurred in the installation and building of
the sewer shall be a lien against the property until paid.
C.
User fees; termination of service upon nonpayment.
(1)
User fees for sewer service shall be paid as set forth in § 233-37 below. The amount charged shall be paid within 10 days of the date on which the fee is to be paid. If user fees are not paid within 10 days from that date, interest at a rate set by the Borough Council, as authorized by statute, for delinquent property taxes shall be added to the amount of the fees. Notice shall be served or mailed that unless the fee is paid within 15 days from the date of the notice, the sewer service will be terminated, as permitted under state and health guidelines.
(2)
Termination of sewer service shall be achieved by a turn off of water
service or by stoppage of the sewage flow by the Sewer Utility. When
sewer service is terminated under such conditions, it shall remain
terminated until the total amount due, including interest, has been
paid in full.
[Amended 12-19-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-19; 3-4-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-03; 3-2-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-04]
The sanitary sewer rates shall be as follows:
A.
Owners of single-family residential properties connected to the Borough
sanitary sewer system shall pay a flat annual rate in the amount of
$350 to be paid in equal installments semi-annually to the Dunellen
Borough Sanitary Sewer Utility on the 15th day of April and the 1st
day of September, following each period for which sewer service has
been provided.
B.
Owners of multifamily residential properties (properties with two,
three or four residential units) connected to the Borough sanitary
sewer system shall pay a flat annual rate for each residential unit
in the amount of $350 to be paid in equal installments semi-annually
to the Dunellen Borough Sanitary Sewer Utility on the 15th day of
April and the 1st day of September, following each period for which
sewer service has been provided.
C.
Owners of nonresidential properties, including residential properties
with five or more units and mixed residential/commercial properties
connected to the Borough sanitary sewer system, shall be charged,
except as otherwise stated herein, for sewer service based upon the
amount of water supplied to the commercial property as determined
by meter readings supplied by New Jersey American Water of the previous
year, payable semi-annually. The apartments or rental units above
or adjacent to the commercial property shall be billed at a flat rate
of $350 to be paid in equal installments semi-annually. The sewer
fee for the commercial parts of a mixed-use commercial/residential
property, or of an entirely nonresidential property, shall be $4.25
per 1,000 gallons of water used at the property (whether determined
by meter or estimate), but no less than the minimum annual usage charge
of $350. Where water usage cannot be determined by meter reading,
the Sewer Utility fee shall be based on the property's estimated
water usage, which estimate shall be calculated using best engineering
practices for the property in question. Sewer user fees are to be
paid to the Dunellen Borough Sanitary Sewer Utility on the 15th day
of April and 1st day of September, following each period for which
sewer service has been provided or available.
D.
There shall be an annual sewer administrative/facility charge for all nonresidential improved properties, residential properties with five or more units, and mixed residential/commercial properties, of $150 in addition to the above rates described in Subsection C above. This charge is payable semi-annually in the amount of $75 and is to be paid in concert with the sewer service charges.
E.
Any single family residential property that qualifies for the senior citizen tax deduction shall also be afforded a discount of $100 from the residential property fee set forth in Subsection A above.
F.
The foregoing rates and charges have been calculated in accordance with § 230-7 and shall be subject to annual revision based upon the Borough and its Sewer Utility's financial obligation to PARSA and/or MCUA. In addition, separate fees or charges may be imposed by the Borough's Sewer Utility upon specific users or one or more categories of users to defray fines, penalties or other extraordinary charges that may be imposed by PARSA and/or MCUA. Payment of such separate fees or charges shall be in accordance with the requirements set forth in § 233-36. The Borough Sewer Utility may also in its sole discretion and upon application of a user demonstrating special circumstances adjust a user's sewer use charges.
