Montgomery Township is divided into separate sanitary sewer districts as designated by a plan prepared by MTMSA's Engineer and approved by the Township. This plan may be amended from time to time by the Township. A copy of the plan is on file at the Township offices. The sewer rental charges for the users in all districts are set forth in § 187-78.13 and the billing procedures are described hereinafter in § 187-78.12 of this Part 1.
A. 
Upon the completion of any public sewer to be operated by MTMSA, MTMSA shall cause notice of that fact to be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township, such notice to state that owners of property accessible to such sewer and upon which there is an occupied building are compelled to make connection therewith. A copy of such notice, together with a schedule of the sewer connection fees and rents then in effect, shall be mailed by registered mail to each person known to MTMSA to own property accessible to such sewer, but failure to mail such copies or a defect in the mailed copies or a defect in the mailing thereof shall not affect the validity of the notice.
B. 
Any person owning property accessible to a public sewer (as defined in § 187-4 of this Part 1) on which there is an occupied building shall, at his own expense, install sanitary sewer facilities in such building and connect the same to the public sewer within 60 days after publication of the notice of completion of the sewer specified in Subsection A above.
C. 
Any person owning property accessible to a public sewer on which an occupied building is hereafter erected shall, at the time of erection and at his expense, install sanitary facilities in such building and connect the same to the public sewer.
D. 
Persons owning properties not accessible to a public sewer because the principal occupied building is more than 150 feet from such sewer and persons owning properties not accessible to a public sewer who are nevertheless able to arrange for connections thereto through intermediate properties may be permitted to make such connection upon approval of MTMSA.
E. 
It shall be unlawful for any person owning or occupying a property on which there is a building required to be connected to a public sewer under the provisions of Subsection A to construct or use on such property any individual or community on-lot system or other device for the disposal of sewage. Any such prohibited systems or devices shall be abandoned in accordance with the requirements of the Montgomery County Health Department within 30 days following the date on which the aforesaid connection is required to be made. The use of any such individual or community on-lot sewage system in violation of this section shall be subject to the penalties hereof and shall also be deemed to be a nuisance which shall be abated as provided by law.
F. 
If any person required to make a connection to a public sewer by this section fails to do so after reasonable notice and opportunity, MTMSA shall report such failure to the Township, and the Township or MTMSA may proceed as permitted by law to enter upon the property, make such connection and collect the cost thereof by municipal lien or otherwise.
No connection shall be made to any public sewer except upon payment of the prescribed connection fee, customer facilities fee, tapping fee (capacity part, distribution or collection part and special purpose part), reimbursement component and permit fee and upon permit issued by MTMSA pursuant to rules and regulations regarding connections promulgated by MTMSA and approved by the Township. The fees for purchasing capacity in MTMSA's sewer system shall be adopted from time to time by resolution of MTMSA.
No unauthorized person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is a part of MTMSA's sewage system. Any person violating this provision shall be subject to immediate arrest under charge of disorderly conduct.
All sanitary sewers to be constructed within Montgomery Township and/or will discharge to the MTMSA POTW shall have all materials and details of construction and installation procedures conform to the requirements of the MTMSA's Standard Specifications for Construction of Sanitary Sewers, Force Mains, Pumping Stations and Wastewater Treatment Plants (latest edition).
All connections to the public sewage system are made upon the express understanding and agreement of the property owner and/or user that:
A. 
Neither the Township, MTMSA nor any officer, employee or agent thereof shall be liable for any damage or expenses resulting from leaks, stoppages or defective plumbing or from any other cause occurring to any premises or within any house or have resulted from stoppages, damage or defects in any building sewer or drain, nor shall the Township nor MTMSA nor any officer, employee or agent thereof, be liable for a deficiency or failure of service when occasioned by an emergency, required repairs or failure from any cause beyond its or their control.
B. 
MTMSA shall have the right to restrict the use of the sewer system whenever the public welfare may require it.
C. 
MTMSA and its duly authorized agents shall have the right of access at all reasonable hours to all parts of any property, building or structure connected with the sewer system for the purpose of examining and inspecting the connections and fixtures or for disconnecting service or for any other proper purpose.
D. 
The property owner and/or the user shall be obligated to maintain the sewer facilities, including laterals and sewer pipes and appurtenances, on its property in good repair, free from leaks of any type, and to fix, repair or replace any such facilities which are, in the sole discretion of MTMSA, causing or likely to cause inflow or infiltration (I/I) to the POTW. I/I shall include the introduction into the POTW of any of the pollutants, substances or wastewater identified in § 187-5B(12) of this Part 1 as well as I/I as defined in this Part 1. Any property owner or user who causes or allows the occurrence of I/I shall be deemed to be creating a nuisance and shall be in violation of this Part 1 and, upon receipt of reasonable notice from MTMSA, shall correct same within 30 days (or sooner if the situation presents an emergency or danger to the public health, safety and welfare). If the property owner or user does not take corrective measures, MTMSA or its authorized agents may take measures to abate the nuisance and thereafter collect the cost of such measures from the property owner and/or user. If payment is not made, MTMSA may file a municipal claim and/or a civil action.
E. 
The property owner or user must give prompt written notice to MTMSA upon any change in ownership, change in tenant or change in use of any property connected to the sewage system.
A. 
Residential users. Each residential dwelling shall be billed for one EDU of capacity. A "residential dwelling" shall be a single-family dwelling, each family unit of a multifamily dwelling (apartment, condominium, twin, townhouse, etc.) and a mobile home.
B. 
Nonresidential users.
(1) 
For all nonresidential, commercial or industrial uses, one EDU shall equal 60,000 gallons of metered water consumption per year or 15,000 gallons of metered water consumption per quarter, and the number of EDUs shall be computed by dividing the total number of gallons of water used for each quarter by 15,000 and rounding off the next lower whole number if the decimal remainder is 0.49 or less and to the next higher whole number if the decimal remainder is 0.50 or more.
(2) 
Any nonresidential, commercial or industrial use not using a metered public water supply shall be required to install metering equipment in its water supply system for the purposes of determining its sewer rental. The type of equipment and installation procedures shall be subject to the prior review and approval of MTMSA. The installation and completion of the metering equipment shall be in accordance with the MTMSA's specifications and subject to final inspection and approval by MTMSA. The user shall read the water meter quarterly and report the readings to the MTMSA at least 30 days in advance of the MTMSA's quarterly sewer rental billing. The water meter shall be calibrated by and at the expense of the owner in intervals of not less than five years by a company approved by MTMSA, and verification of the calibration shall be given to MTMSA. Representatives of MTMSA shall have the right of access into and upon the property of any user to independently verify the water meter reading and to have the water meter independently calibrated.
(3) 
For nonresidential, commercial and industrial uses, all water used on a property shall be metered for the purpose of determining the sewer rents, except as follows:
(a) 
Automatic sprinkling fire protection water can be excluded from the metering for sewer rent purposes if the water for this purpose has a separate meter.
(b) 
An industrial user utilizing a process using noncontact process water which does not flow into MTMSA's sewer system may apply to MTMSA for approval of a metering system which will exclude for billing purposes the water not introduced into MTMSA's sewer system.
(c) 
In the case of inaccurate or missing water meter readings, the succeeding annual average calculated after repair and replacement of the meter shall be used to estimate the water usage for the period having inaccurate or missing water meter readings. Payment for these quarterly periods of inaccurate or missing water meter readings shall be at least 80% of the water usage as estimated by MTMSA during the period in question. The account shall be reconciled after the year where accurate water meter readings have been determined, and the owner/user shall pay the amount due as determined by MTMSA within 30 days, together with interest at 10% per year.
(d) 
It shall be conclusively presumed that all nonresidential, commercial and industrial users discharge a minimum of 80% of their wastewater production over a twelve-hour period each day, with the remainder discharged over the remaining hours in the day.
C. 
Multiple connections to lateral. If two or more dwellings, apartments, stores, offices or industrial units are connected through a single lateral or if two or more families use separate cooking and/or toilet facilities in a single dwelling, the sewer rent shall be computed as though each such dwelling, apartment, store, office or industrial unit and each such family were a separate property or user with a separate connection to the public sewer.
D. 
Quarterly payments.
(1) 
Residential sewer rents shall be payable in advance, and rent for each calendar quarter shall be billed and payable in accordance with the due dates noted on the quarterly billing documentation issued by MTMSA. Rent for the quarter in which a new connection is made shall be prorated and shall be billed in conjunction with the next regular quarterly billing or by special billing, as the official responsible for billing may elect.
(2) 
Sewer rent for nonresidential, commercial, industrial and institutional users shall be billed and payable in accordance with the due dates noted on the quarterly billing documentation issued by MTMSA.
E. 
Interest penalty for late payment; lien.
(1) 
If any quarterly installment of sewer rent is not paid within 30 days after the date of the bill, a ten-percent penalty shall be added thereto; and if the installment plus penalty is not paid within 60 days after the date of the bill, the aggregate amount thereof shall bear interest from the penalty date at the rate of 0.83% per month (10% per year). Any unpaid sewer rent, together with penalties, interest and costs thereon to the extent permitted by law, shall be a lien on the property served which may be collected by action in assumpsit or by a lien filed in the nature of a municipal claim, as provided by law. In addition, MTMSA shall have the right to require any water utility to shut off the water supply to any property with respect to which the sewer rent imposed is unpaid until all such rents, together with interest and penalties, are paid. The property owner shall be responsible for all costs involved in shutting off the water supply as fixed by resolution of MTMSA.
(2) 
In addition to the foregoing penalty, interest and costs imposed, if MTMSA or the Township files a lien or commences litigation to collect any delinquent sewer rental billing, there shall be added to the amount billed and claimed an attorney's fee of 10% of the total delinquent amount, plus all court costs and other costs of collection.
F. 
Payment address. Bills for sewer rents shall be mailed to the address specified in the application for the connection permit unless and until a different address is reported to MTMSA by the owner or user of the property. Failure to receive a bill as the result of incorrect address or otherwise shall not excuse nonpayment of rent nor extend the time for payment.
G. 
Responsibility of owner. The owner of the property billed shall be responsible for payment of the sewer rents. If requested by a property owner, MTMSA may bill a tenant of the owner or user, but the owner shall remain responsible for payment of the sewer rents, and the property may be subject to lien by MTMSA.
H. 
Supplying information to MTMSA. The applicant or owner or user (all collectively "user") shall provide to MTMSA at any time(s) all information, plans, studies and documents requested by MTMSA necessary to determine the appropriate number of EDUs to be assigned to the user's facility.
I. 
Amendments. The Township and MTMSA reserve the right to change EDU values from time to time, to add or delete property classifications and, in cases of dispute, to determine the classification of a given property.
[Amended 1-3-2012 by Ord. No. 11-253[1]]
Charges are per quarter for all residential and nonresidential (commercial and industrial) users and customers as follows:
A. 
There shall be a fixed service charge per EDU of $87.59. A residential EDU shall include any single-family dwelling, each family unit of a multifamily dwelling (apartment, condominium, twin, townhouse), and a mobile home. For all nonresidential users and customers, one EDU shall equal up to and including 15,000 gallons of metered water consumption per quarter, and any fraction thereof shall be charged as an additional EDU.
B. 
There shall be a usage charge per 1,000 gallons, or any fraction thereof, of water consumed by all users and customers of $2.84.
C. 
For residential customers and users not having a metered water supply, there shall be a flat charge of $133.98.
D. 
There shall be a charge of $25 for any sewer certification given by the Authority.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance provided that the sewer rental charges adopted herein would commence and be effective 1-1-2012 for the first quarterly sewer billings for 2012 and for each quarterly billing thereafter.