The implementation of this article will aid the Village by limiting and reducing the inflow of additional water into the sanitary sewer systems. By prohibiting the discharge of water from any roof, surface, ground, sump pump, swimming pool, other natural precipitation, and other sources of inflow into the Village's sanitary sewer system, the Village is seeking to reduce costs as well as protect against other damaging effects. The Village's sanitary sewer system will be and has on occasions in the past been overloaded and flooded, thereby creating the potential to cause significant damage or threat to individual's property as well as the system. Further, all water that enters the system must be treated at the sewage treatment plant. Therefore, by reducing and eliminating this inflow of "clean water" into the sanitary sewer system and the subsequent unnecessary treatment, the expenses to the Village and the citizens will be reduced and will assist in protecting the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Village.
[Adopted 6-12-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-07]
A.
Prohibited discharges. No person or entity shall discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater, groundwater, roof runoff, yard drainage, yard fountain, swimming pool, pond, overflow, or any other substance other than sanitary sewage into the sanitary sewer collection system. No person, business or other entity shall discharge or cause to be discharged any hazardous substances into any public sewers.
B.
Amnesty period for disconnection.
(1)
On or before December 31, 2012, any person, business, or other entity who shall have a connection described above and who shall voluntarily report said connection to the Village, so that said illicit connection shall be remedied, shall have any and all permit, connection and inspection fees waived by the Village. This waiver of fees applies only to Village fees and does not include the actual cost of remediation.
(2)
After December 31, 2012, any person, business, or other entity who shall have a connection described above, and shall fail to voluntarily report such connection by December 31, 2012, shall be liable for all permit fees, inspection fees, and connection fees as required by the Village to remedy the illicit connection.
C.
Manner of disconnection.
(1)
Any property owner, tenant, landlord or other person with a property interest who shall have a connection in violation of this article, or who shall not have obtained a waiver pursuant to § 312-9B, shall immediately remove such connection and correct such situation. If not removed or corrected within 120 calendar days after receiving a notice of violation which has been personally delivered or delivered via certified mail, the Village shall impose a surcharge in the amount provided for in § 312-11.
(2)
All disconnections of said illicit connections shall be accomplished by a complete and permanent method and be performed in a competent manner and be approved and inspected by the Village Building Inspector, any Village subcode inspector, the Village Fire Code Official and/or the Village Engineer. Any disconnection, plugging, capping, rerouting, altering, or modifying must be done in accordance with all applicable state and municipal building codes.
(3)
Upon issuance of the surcharge pursuant to § 312-11, if the property owner, tenant, landlord, or other person with a property interest remedies the illicit connection, said property owner, tenant, landlord, or other person with a property interest shall call the Village's Building Department for an inspection of the connection by the Village's Building Inspector, a Village subcode inspector, the Village Fire Code Official or the Village Engineer; and upon certification that the illicit connection has been remedied, the surcharge shall be lifted, beginning the month following the inspection and certification. If, however, on a subsequent and periodic inspection for which a property was subject to the surcharge, the illicit connection exists, the surcharge amount as provided for in § 312-11 shall be calculated from the previous inspection date.
A.
The Village Building Inspector, Village Engineer, Village Fire Code Official and/or a Village subcode inspector, as long as he/she displays the proper credentials and identification, shall be permitted to request entrance to any property for the purpose of inspecting, observing, testing and sampling to confirm that there is no sump pump or other prohibited discharge into the sanitary sewer system in accordance with this article.
B.
Any owner, tenant, landlord, or other person with a property interest who shall refuse entrance to the Village Building Inspector, Village Engineer, Village Fire Code Official or Village subcode inspector shall immediately become subject to the monthly surcharge noted in § 312-11 of this article. Said property shall remain subject to the monthly surcharge until such time as an inspection is permitted to ensure compliance by the Village of all terms of this article.
B.
If the surcharge is not paid and received by the Village of Ridgefield Park, a lien shall be imposed upon the property as per N.J.S.A. 40:14B-42.
C.
Said surcharge shall remain on the property and sewer utility bill until such time as the Village Building Inspector or Village Engineer certifies that the property owner, tenant, landlord or other person with a property interest is in full compliance with this article.
Any property owner who shall be assessed a surcharge pursuant to this article shall have a right to appeal to the Municipal Court for the purposes of proving compliance with this article.