A.
There
is hereby established for all users of the Town wastewater treatment
system a system of sewer charges which shall be used for payment of
the cost of management, maintenance, operation, repair of and amortization
of the capital construction costs of the wastewater treatment system.
B.
There are three types of users as defined in the definitions section: the commercial user, the industrial user and the residential user. The industrial user may be subject to an industrial surcharge as outlined in § 135-50B of this article. The three wastewater-related charges which are explained in § 135-50 are:
The sewer charge system shall take precedence over any in consistencies in special agreements between the Town and users. Pursuant to § 135-34, all revisions shall be in accordance with this chapter and requirements of the Act. The Town will review the wastewater contributions, total costs of O&M and facilities charges at least every two years, which review will be performed as part of the annual Town budget review.
The sewer charge shall be comprised of three possible components:
A.
Operation and maintenance charge: shall be levied on all users of the wastewater treatment system. This charge shall cover the total costs necessary to properly maintain the wastewater treatment system. The operation and maintenance charges will result in the distribution of the cost of operation and maintenance, including the creation of a reserve fund for the replacement of equipment for the wastewater treatment system, to each user in proportion to such user's contribution to the total wastewater loading of the treatment works as required by the Act and set forth in § 135-58. Each user's contribution shall be based on sewer use unless the discharge contains excessive compatible pollutants as described in Article V, in which case an industrial surcharge shall be levied to cover the additional operation and maintenance costs necessary to transport and treat these wastes in accordance with Subsection B below. The cost of the operation and maintenance for all extraneous infiltration and inflow into the treatment system will be distributed evenly among all the users of the system based on one or a combination of the following methods: sewer usage, front footage, land area or assessment as set forth in § 135-58. A minimum charge shall be established which will be based on a minimum billable flow. The minimum billable flow will be as set forth in § 135-59. For each year of operation, the operation and maintenance rate (cost per 1,000 gallons) shall be computed based on the most recent yearly sewer use data and the rate shall be applied to the most recent quarterly sewer use to determine the quarterly operation and maintenance charge. The Town Board, as per § 135-49, reserves the right to revise this rate at any time, if it becomes necessary to do so.
B.
Industrial operation and maintenance surcharge. A surcharge shall be levied on all industrial users discharging excessive compatible pollutants as defined in Article V. This charge shall represent the proportionate share of the Town's operation and maintenance costs based on wastewater flow and mass emission rate as required by the Act. In the case that any user discharges toxic pollutants into the wastewater treatment system, and said pollutants damage the system or increase the cost of managing the sludge, this user will pay for these increased costs for managing the sludge and shall also pay the total cost of the repairs to the wastewater treatment system.
(1)
The industrial operation and maintenance surcharge will be based
on pounds discharged which will be determined as described below.
(2)
The excess pounds of compatible pollutants will be completed by multiplying the person's wastewater volume in million gallons per day by the constant 8.345 and then multiplying this product by the difference between the user's actual concentrations of the compatible pollutants and the nonexcessive concentration in mg/l by weight. The surcharge for each constituent will then be determined by multiplying the excess pounds of each constituent by the appropriate rate of surcharge as set forth in § 135-60. This product will then be multiplied by the number of days in the billing period to determine the surcharge. Concentration figures in the above calculations shall be daily averages determined in accordance with the provisions of Article VII.
(4)
The Town may add additional compatible pollutants to this list if
approved by the applicable review agencies and if in accordance with
the Act.
C.
Facility charge: shall be levied on all users of the Town wastewater treatment system. This charge shall be the basis of the financing of all the Town wastewater treatment system capital construction costs either for new facilities or rehabilitation of existing facilities. The actual basis whether sewer use, assessment, front footage or other measures of use or benefit will be set forth in § 135-61. If use of the system is the basis, or part of the basis, selected, the charge shall represent the typical user's proportionate share based on sewer use and/or excessive compatible pollutants if applicable. In the case of industrial users, the Board shall determine if a surcharge above the normal facility charge is warranted. This surcharge may be based on contractual obligations for a level of use in excess of current actual use.
A.
The amount due each quarter for the operation and maintenance charge,
and the industrial operation and maintenance surcharge, shall be stated
on the regular water bill. All or portions of the facility charge
will be either on the quarterly water bill or annual tax bill as determined
by the Town Board. The Town Board has the right to combine all charges
based on sewer use into one rate in order to simplify billing.
B.
All quarterly sewer charges in Subsection A shall be due and payable at the same time water bills are due and payable.
C.
Any portions of the facility charge due annually shall be a special
assessment tax stated on the annual tax bill and shall be due and
payable at the same time as the Town tax.
D.
Responsibility for payment of sewer charges and any other fees provided
for by this chapter shall be with the property owner and in the case
of an industrial or commercial facility, shall also be with the operator
of such facility.
E.
A ten-percent penalty shall be added for nonpayment within 30 days
after the bill is rendered. Any charge or fee not paid shall be a
lien upon the premises served and shall be collectible as provided
by the Town Law and the New York State Real Property Tax Law.
Except as herein provided in this article, the sewer use shall
be the total water use.
A.
In the event the owner of a lot, parcel of land, building or other
premises discharging wastewater into a sanitary sewer, either directly
or indirectly, uses metered Town water in excess of 15,000 gallons
per quarter year and claims a significant portion of the metered water
does not return to the sanitary sewer, such owners shall file a written
statement to that effect with the Superintendent. Upon receipt of
such statement, the Superintendent has the right to require the installation,
at the owner's expense, of a separate meter or meters to measure the
metered water returning to the sanitary sewer or to meter the water
which is not returning to the sanitary sewer.
B.
The significant undischarged portion of the metered water must be
in excess of that quantity of water use that a similar water user
does not discharge into the sewer and the agreed-upon water use reduction
will only reflect that amount of undischarged water use that is in
excess of what is typical.
In the event the owner of a lot, parcel of land, building or
other premises discharging wastewater to the sanitary sewer, either
directly or indirectly, uses metered Town water and water other than
metered Town water, or uses water other than metered Town water exclusively,
the Superintendent shall estimate the wastewater entering the sanitary
sewer by comparison with a similar metered user of the system.
All expenses in connection with metering shall be charged to
the owner of the land.
