[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Freedom
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 10-12-1994 as part of Ord. No.
494]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any natural person, association, partnership, firm or corporation.
The singular shall include the plural and the masculine shall include the
feminine and the neuter.
Every owner of property in the Borough of Freedom whose property abuts
upon any line of the sanitary sewers of the Borough of Freedom which drains
into the sewage treatment plant of the Rochester Area Joint Sewer Authority
or which adjoins or abuts upon any street or alley in which a public sewer
is now or shall hereafter be located shall connect, at his own cost, the building,
buildings or other structures located on said property with said sanitary
sewers of the Borough in such manner and within such time as the Borough shall
order, for the purpose of the discharge of all fecal matter, human excrement,
kitchen and laundry waste and such other sewage as is customarily disposed
of in a sanitary sewer system. All such sewage shall, after such connection,
be conducted into such sewer. Every such property shall be connected separately
and independently with the sewer through the tap-in connection branch directly
opposite the building or nearest in a downstream direction.
It shall be unlawful for any owner, lessee or occupier of any property
abutting on any line of the sanitary sewer system of said borough to employ
any means, either by septic tank or otherwise, for the disposal of sanitary
sewage other than into and through the sanitary sewers of the Borough.
Where any structure is now or hereafter may be connected to any septic
tank or using any method by which sanitary sewage is disposed of or eliminated
other than through the sanitary sewer system of said borough, it shall be
the duty of the Borough Secretary or other authorized person to notify the
owner, lessee or occupier of such structure, in writing, either by personal
service or certified mail, to disconnect the same and make proper connections
for the discharge and disposal of sewage throughout the sanitary sewer system
of the Borough, as hereinafter provided, within 60 days after receipt of such
notice.
In case any owner of property adjoining or adjacent to such sewers shall
neglect or refuse to connect with and use said sewers within such period of
60 days after notice to do so has been served upon him, either by personal
service or by certified mail as aforesaid, the Borough Council or its agents
may enter upon such property and construct such connection. In such case,
the Secretary or other authorized person on behalf of the Borough Council
shall forthwith upon completion of the work send an itemized bill of the cost
of construction of such connection to the owner of the property to which connection
has been so made, which bill shall be payable forthwith. In case of neglect
or refusal by the owner of such property to pay said bill, a municipal lien
for said construction shall be filed within six months of the date of completion
of the construction of said connection, the same to be subject in all respects
to the general law providing for the filing and recovery of municipal liens.
Any person owning property who is required to connect with the sewer
system of the Borough shall not do so until he has fulfilled all the following
conditions:
A.
He shall advise the Borough of his desire and intention
to make such connection by making application for a tapping permit to the
Borough Secretary on forms furnished by the Borough and shall set forth in
said application the character of structure and use, the lot number and location
and the name of the person who is to make the connection.
B.
He shall pay a sewer connection fee of $1,000, which
shall be payable to the Borough Secretary for the use of the Borough.
C.
He shall have applied for and obtained a permit to excavate
in the street, except that the sewer connecting fee of $1,000, as hereinbefore
provided, shall include the cost of a street opening permit for an excavation
up to 25 feet in length. All other terms and conditions regulating the granting
of street opening permits must be complied with, including additional fees
for excavations in excess of 25 feet in length and the filing with the Borough
Secretary of appropriate security.
D.
He shall have given the Borough Secretary at least 24
hours' notice of the time when such connections shall be made in order
that the Borough Engineer or his authorized agent can be present to supervise
the work of connection.
All work of making connections to any of the Borough sewers shall be
done under the personal supervision of the Borough Engineer or his authorized
agent and shall conform to the following requirements: All sewer connections
shall be made at the place where the Y in the Borough sewer is provided, but
if no Y is provided in the Borough sewer, then the property owner making such
connection shall, at his expense, put in a tapping saddle in order to make
such connection. All joints shall be sealed and made airtight and shall be
made smooth and clean inside, with all sewers in straight alignment and of
proper grade, so as to provide free flow of sewage matter without any obstructions
and to be in accordance with the Borough's specification for its sanitary
sewers. All work pertaining to the connection with the Borough's sewers
shall be, financially and otherwise, the responsibility of the owner of the
property with which connection is made, subject to the right of supervision
hereby reserved by the Borough.
A.
No person shall connect or cause to be connected with
any of the public sewers in the Borough, directly or indirectly, any steam
exhaust, boiler blow off, sediment drip or any pipe carrying or constructed
to carry acid, germicide, grease, brewery mash, gasoline, naphtha, benzene,
oil or any other substance detrimental to the sewers or to the operation of
the sewerage system or the sewage disposal works of the Borough.
B.
No privy vault, cesspool, septic tank or similar receptacle
for human excrement shall at any time, now or hereafter, be connected with
the sanitary sewers of the Borough.
No privy vault, cesspool, septic tank or similar receptacle for human
excrement shall hereafter be maintained upon any premises from which connection
with any of the Borough sewers shall have been made. Every such privy vault,
cesspool, septic tank or other receptacle shall, within 30 days after final
enactment of this chapter, in the case of premises now connected with a sewer,
and within 30 days after connection with a sewer, in the case of premises
hereafter so connected, be abandoned, cleansed and filled under the direction
and supervision of the Borough Council. Any such privy vault, cesspool, septic
tank or other receptacle not abandoned, cleaned and filled as required by
this section shall constitute a nuisance and may be abated on order of the
Borough as provided by law, at the expense of the owner of such property.
The construction of all private sewers or laterals and their connections
with any lines of the sewer system shall be done in accordance with rules
and regulations established by the Borough and shall be inspected by the Borough
Engineer before being covered.
Any person, persons, partnership or any agents or executive officers
of any corporation violating the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction
for each and every violation, be subject to a fine not to exceed $600 and
costs of prosecution and, in default of payment of fine and costs, be subject
to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 30 days.
[Adopted 3-8-2006 by Ord. No. 542]
All owners of property connected to or connecting with the sanitary
sewer lines and the public sewage system, and all of the owners of property
who may hereafter connect with and use the same, shall pay annual sewer rentals
or charges in quarterly installments as hereinafter provided for the use of
such sewage facilities based upon the following schedule of rates:
A.
Residential: For each single dwelling, $30 per quarter
of each year for each connection shall be paid as a quarterly user fee. (For
the purposes of this section, each dwelling unit of a multiple dwelling shall
be deemed a single dwelling, except rooming houses where each tenant occupies
only one or two rooms using common toilet facilities.)
B.
Commercial and industrial sanitary waste: For each commercial
and industrial connection, $60 per quarter of each year for each connection
shall be paid as a quarterly user fee.
C.
Industrial waste: Additional charges for toxic or strong
industrial waste shall be made from time to time as the Council of the Borough
of Freedom may determine based upon an analysis of the waste.
A.
Sewer rentals or charges shall be paid quarterly in accordance
with billings for water services, except that during the first quarter that
a residential, commercial or industrial user begins to discharge sewage into
the public sewage system, said charge shall begin in the month of such sewer
connection and each month thereafter until the next following quarterly billing
period. All charges for sewer rentals shall be subject to a ten-percent penalty
if not paid within 30 days after they are due. If not paid within 60 days
of the due date, the net bill plus penalties shall bear interest at the rate
of 1/2% per month or a fraction thereof until paid.
B.
The Borough reserves as its right any and all remedies
available to it under the laws of this commonwealth to enforce payment of
these charges, including the right to shut off water service for nonpayment
after proper reasonable notice. Any charges associated with this shut off
of service will be passed on to the delinquent customer, will be included
in the amount due to the Borough and must be paid prior to having service
restored.
Annual sewer rental charges shall be a lien on the properties charged
with payment thereof, from the effective date of this article, and, if not
paid after the 30 days' notice, may be collected in any manner provided
by law.
No statement contained in this article shall be construed as to prevent
any special agreement or arrangement between the Borough and any industrial
users whereby an industrial waste of any strength or character may be accepted
by the Borough for collection and treatment, subject to payment therefor by
the industrial user.
