[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Northbridge as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Wells — See Ch. 9, § 9-800.
Sewers — See Ch. 10, § 10-100.
Sewers and sewage — See Ch. 220.
[Adopted 9-8-2003]
On May 5, 2001, the Northbridge Board of Selectmen signed an Administrative Consent Order (ACO) issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The DEP executed the ACO on May 15, 2001, which is the effective date of the order. The ACO requires the Town to address certain deficiencies in its sanitary sewer system. Included among these deficiencies are sources of inflow and infiltration (I&I) that allow large volumes of ground water to enter into the sanitary sewer system. The ACO, in conjunction with existing DEP regulations, outlines procedures to be followed for obtaining a permit for extensions to the sewer collection system of the Town of Northbridge. This policy is intended to clarify and summarize the requirements to obtain a sewer extension permit.
The following documents, containing guidance and direction relative to the extension of sanitary sewers in the Town of Northbridge, are incorporated into this policy by reference.
1. 
314 CMR 7.00 SEWER SYSTEM EXTENSION AND CONNECTION PERMIT PROGRAM
2. 
MGL c. 21, § 43. Permit proceedings and determinations; regulations; necessity and requirements of permit; application; forms; fees.
3. 
Administrative Consent Order (ACO) and Notice of Noncompliance, File Number ACO-CE-01-1010 dated 5/15/01 and issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, Department of Environmental Protection
4. 
Town of Northbridge, Massachusetts, Inflow and Infiltration Reduction Program Sewer Connection Policy (I&I Policy), Current Edition
No person shall construct, effect, maintain, modify or use any sewer system extension or connection without a currently valid permit from the Director of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to MGL c. 21, § 43 and 314 CMR 7.00, unless exempted in 314 CMR 7.05. Exemptions under this provision must be fully documented by the project proponent in writing to the Town. Any person who proposes to construct, effect, maintain, modify or use a sewer system extension or connection must obtain a permit by filing the application form in accordance with 314 CMR 7.00 and 2.00. Permit applications shall be prepared by the person proposing the extension or connection or their representative.
The application, in three copies, shall be submitted for review, complete with all supporting information to the Northbridge Department of Public Works (DPW), prior to requesting the approval of the Town. The DPW shall annotate on the application such special conditions as may be deemed necessary to insure the application is in compliance with DEP regulations and the requirements of the above referenced documents. The application then shall be submitted to the Northbridge Board of Selectmen for review and approval. The Board of Selectmen may require the project proponent to make such presentations and/or provide such additional information as it may determine necessary to properly evaluate the application. Upon majority vote of the Board of Selectmen to approve the application, the Chairperson shall sign the application recommending approval. The project proponent may then transmit the signed application to the DEP for review and final approval. The normal processing time for review and approval of applications will be two to four weeks from receipt of the application. In the event that additional information is required to fully evaluate the application, the processing time will be extended accordingly until all issues have been resolved. The project proponent shall provide the Northbridge DPW with copies of all correspondence to and from the DEP on all matters relative to the application after submission.
The following are some, but not necessarily all, of the special conditions that may be applied to permit applications:
1. 
No connection or extension will be permitted if it will introduce new flow into an existing sewer system component that has been listed in the ACO as a Deficient System Component. As identified Deficient System Components are upgraded and they are removed by the DEP from the list of Deficient System Components the restriction on new connections will be removed.
2. 
For every one gallon of new flow introduced into the sewer system there must be a reduction of four gallons of excess inflow and infiltration in the system. The project proponent must fully comply with the terms of the above reference I&I Policy.
3. 
No sewer connection permit shall be issued for any individual connection if there are not sufficient I&I reduction credits available in the Town of Northbridge "Sewer Bank" to meet the 4:1 I&I reduction requirement of the ACO. The Board of Selectmen will impose a moratorium on all new connections that are governed by the ACO if the issuance of such a connection permit would result in a violation of the ACO or any other applicable regulation. Authority to initiate such a moratorium is delegated to the Town Manager subject to ratification by vote of the board.
Applications for sewer extensions shall be accompanied by a processing fee of not less than $25 nor more than $250. The fee shall be based upon the total estimated daily flow in gallons per day (gpd) times $0.10. Fee shall be by check made payable to "Northbridge Sewer Enterprise Fund". All fees collected shall be deposited into the I&I contribution account.
This policy shall become effective on the date adopted by the Northbridge Board of Selectmen.
[Adopted 6-18-2007; effective 7-1-2007]
A. 
The rates for sewer services that are billed quarterly will be:
(1) 
For usage of 800 cubic feet or less per quarter: $50.
(2) 
For the first 900 to 2,000 cubic feet used or fraction thereof: $73.70.
(3) 
For each additional 100 cubic feet thereafter: $4.62.
(4) 
For residential customers only, the rate for each additional 100 cubic feet used in excess of 4,000 cubic feet shall be reduced by 25% to: $3.46.
B. 
Each sewer service shall be billed in accordance with the above rate schedule. Quarterly usage shall be determined using 100% of the quarterly metered water consumption figure to arrive at sewer usage.
A connection fee for a new service connection to Residential, Commercial or Industrial premises will be charged by the Northbridge Sewer System at the time application is made for service, as follows:
Type of Connection
Fee
Existing single-family residence
$924.00
Existing multifamily residence (first unit)
$924.00
Each additional existing unit
$528.00
New single-family residence
$7,920.00
New multifamily residence (first unit)
$7,920.00
Each additional unit
$6,600.00
Commercial or Industrial (minimum)
$9,240.00
Commercial or Industrial (whichever is greater)
$462.00 per fixture
A. 
The term "fixture" as used above is defined as: water closets, urinals, lavatories, service sinks, laundry sinks, washing machines, dishwashers, garbage disposal units, etc.
B. 
The term "existing residence" as used above is defined as one that was occupied prior to July 1, 1997.
Whenever a commercial or industrial premises is served by more than one connection to the Town's mains, the connection fee schedule above shall apply to each connection. The total number of fixtures will not be added together to determine the connection fee.