[Adopted 2-20-1964 by Ord. No. 263 (Ch. XX, Part 2, of the 1971 Code
of Ordinances)]
Unless the context clearly and specifically indicates otherwise,
the meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
The Tamaqua Borough Authority, a municipality authority of
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Includes, as applicable, each of the following: a "commercial
establishment," a "dwelling unit," an "industrial establishment" and
an "institutional establishment."
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation
of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure for five days
at 20° C., expressed in parts per million by weight.
The Borough of Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania,
a municipality of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, acting by and
through its Council or, in appropriate cases, acting by and through
its authorized representatives.
The platinum-cobalt standard result from using the Hach DR/2000
spectrophotometer DEP-approved equivalent procedure to the Standard
Methods 2120B test.
[Added 3-18-1997 by Ord.
No. 508]
Each room, group of rooms, building or other enclosure connected
directly or indirectly to the sewer system and used or intended for
use in the operation of one business enterprise for the sale and distribution
of any product, commodity, article or service.
The group of elected officials acting as the governing body
of the Borough.
Each room, group of rooms, building or other enclosure connected
directly or indirectly to the sewer system and occupied or intended
for occupancy as separate living quarters by a family or other group
of persons living together or by a person living alone.
Any property upon which there is erected a structure or structures
intended for continuous or periodic habitation, occupancy or use by
human beings or animals and from which structure sanitary sewage and/or
industrial wastes shall be or may be discharged.
Any room, group of rooms, building or other enclosure connected
directly or indirectly to the sewer system and used or intended for
use in the operation of one business enterprise for manufacturing,
processing, cleaning, laundering or assembling any product, commodity
or article.
Any solid, liquid or gaseous substance or form of energy
ejected or escaping in the course of any industrial, manufacturing,
trade or business process or in the course of the development, recovery
or processing of natural resources, and shall be considered distinct
from sanitary sewage.
Any room, group of rooms, building or other enclosure connected
directly or indirectly to the sewer system which does not constitute
a "commercial establishment," "dwelling unit" or "industrial establishment."
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any improved property.
Any individual, firm, partnership, company, association,
society, trust, corporation or other group or entity.
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen
ions in grams per liter of solution and is an indication of acidity
or alkalinity of a solution.
Elemental phosphorus in its combined or uncombined forms
as determined by using standard laboratory procedures.
[Added 5-6-1975 by Ord.
No. 347]
Parts per million by weight.
[Amended 5-6-1975 by Ord.
No. 347]
The normal, water-carried household and toilet wastes discharged
into the sewer system from an improved property.
Both sanitary sewage and industrial wastes.
Any pipe, main or conduit constituting a part of the sewer
system used or usable for sewage collection purposes.
All facilities, as of any particular time, for collecting,
transporting, pumping, treating and disposing of sanitary sewage and
industrial wastes situate in or adjacent to the Borough, owned by
the Authority and leased to the Borough for operation and use.
Solids that either settle to the bottom of, float on the
surface of or are in suspension in water, wastewater or other liquids
and are largely removable by laboratory filtering.
[Amended 5-6-1975 by Ord.
No. 347]
Solids that either float on the surface of or are in suspension
or dissolved in water, sewage or other liquids and which shall be
determined by laboratory analysis.
All facilities and properties utilized in the supply of water
to the public in and adjacent to this Borough, whether such facilities
and properties shall be owned and/or operated by the Authority, this
Borough or a private corporation.
[Amended 2-9-1971 by Ord.
No. 302]
A.
Annual sewer rentals or charges for use of the sewers and sewer system
hereby are fixed and imposed upon and shall be collected from the
owner of each improved property upon which shall be located a billing
unit or billing units, as defined herein,[1] irrespective of whether such use of the sewers and sewer
system or the connection thereto or the benefit resulting therefrom
shall be direct or indirect.
B.
Such sewer rentals or charges shall commence and shall be effective
on March 1, 1971, or on the date of connection of any such billing
unit to the sewer system, or on the date when this Borough first shall
be capable of accepting sanitary sewage and industrial wastes from
a billing unit for transportation, whichever date last shall occur.
D.
Each billing unit, located on one improved property or in one building,
shall be billed and considered as a separate billing unit, irrespective
of the fact that each such room, group of rooms or enclosure on such
improved property or in such building shall be owned by the same person
and irrespective of the fact that each such billing unit is not connected
separately and independently with the sewer system.
A.
Dwelling units. The sewer rental or charge for sewage discharged
into the sewer system for each billing unit constituting a dwelling
unit shall be at the rate of $520 per annum, payable at the rate of
$130 per quarter annum, effective March 1, 2021.
[Amended 3-1-1974 by Ord.
No. 333; 5-6-1975 by Ord. No. 347; 4-30-1991 by Ord. No. 466; 5-21-2003 by Ord. No. 567; 2-17-2004 by Ord. No. 577; 11-15-2016 by Ord. No. 687; 2-16-2021 by Ord. No. 721]
B.
Commercial, industrial and institutional establishments.
(1)
Except as otherwise provided in this article, sewer rentals or charges
for sewage discharged into the sewers and sewer system from any billing
unit constituting a commercial establishment, industrial establishment
or institutional establishment shall be based upon the volume of metered
water usage, adjusted, if appropriate, as provided in this article,
or upon the actual metered volume of sewage discharged into such sewers
and the sewer system, as applicable and as permitted in this article.
Such sewer rentals or charges shall be computed in accordance with
the following metered rate schedule:
[Amended 3-1-1974 by Ord.
No. 333; 5-6-1975 by Ord. No. 347; 4-30-1991 by Ord. No. 466; 3-5-2002 by Ord. No. 550; 2-17-2004 by Ord. No. 576; 11-15-2016 by Ord. No. 688; 2-16-2021 by Ord. No. 721]
|
Metered Rate Schedule[1]
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
Consumption of Water or Discharge of Sanitary Sewage and
Industrial Waste into the Sewer System, as Applicable
(gallons per quarter)
|
Rental Rate per Quarter
| |
|
15,000 or less
|
$130
| |
|
Next 85,000
|
$7.86 per 1,000 gallons
| |
|
Next 100,000
|
$6.75 per 1,000 gallons
| |
|
Over 200,000
|
$5.63 per 1,000 gallons
| |
[1]
Editor's Note: Effective 3-1-2021.
(2)
Absence of water meter or sewer meter.
(a)
If any billing unit constituting a commercial establishment,
industrial establishment or institutional establishment shall not
have installed therein a water meter or meters or, at the option of
this Borough, a sewer meter or meters for the purpose of making possible
the determination of sewer rentals or charges under provisions of
this article, then and in that event the sewer rentals or charges
imposed upon any such establishment, until such meter or meters shall
be installed, shall be based upon water consumption or sewage discharge,
as estimated by this Borough; provided, however, that the minimum
sewer rental or charge imposed upon any such establishment shall be
not less than $520 per annum, payable at the rate of $130 per quarter
beginning March 1, 2021, and for every year thereafter until modified
by the Tamaqua Borough Council by ordinance.
[Amended 5-6-1975 by Ord.
No. 347; 4-3-1991 by Ord. No. 466; 3-5-2002 by Ord. No. 550; 2-17-2004 by Ord. No. 576; 11-15-2016 by Ord. No. 688; 2-16-2021 by Ord. No. 721]
(b)
The foregoing rates for sewer rentals and charges shall be applicable
to all bills for sewer services rendered for the calendar year specified
therein.
[Added 5-6-1975 by Ord.
No. 347; amended 4-3-1991 by Ord. No. 466; 3-5-2002 by Ord. No. 550; 2-17-2004 by Ord. No. 576; 11-15-2016 by Ord. No. 688]
(3)
The owner of an industrial establishment discharging sanitary sewage
and/or industrial wastes to the sewer system having an average five-day
BOD greater than 200 PPM, a suspended solids content greater than
240 PPM, or a total phosphorus as P content greater than 10 PPM shall
pay a strength-of-waste surcharge, in addition to applicable volume
charges, equal to 2/10 of 1% for each PPM by which the BOD exceeds
200 PPM plus 1/10 of 1% for each PPM by which the suspended solids
exceed 240 PPM, plus 1% for each PPM by which the phosphorus exceeds
10 PPM. Surcharges shall be applicable to all sewer rental billings.
The strength of wastewaters to be used for establishing the amount
of surcharges shall be determined at least once annually either a)
by suitable sampling and analysis of the wastewaters for three consecutive
days during a period of normal plant operation; or b) from estimates
made by the Borough; or c) from known relationships of products produced
to strengths of wastewaters for those industries where such factors
have been established. In establishing wastewater strengths for surcharge
purposes by analysis, analyses shall be made in accordance with procedures
outlined in the latest edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination
of Water and Wastewater," published by the American Public Health
Association, Inc. Owners of industrial establishments discharging
sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes to the sewer system shall
furnish the Borough upon request all information deemed essential
by the Borough for the determination of applicable sewer rental surcharges
for excess strength wastes. The cost of obtaining such information
shall be borne by the owner of the industrial establishment.
[Amended 5-6-1975 by Ord.
No. 347]
[Amended 4-16-2013 by Ord. No. 663]
A.
All bills for sewer service shall be due and payable as of the date
thereof. If bills for sewer services shall not be paid within 25 days
after such shall become due and payable, a penalty of 10% per quarter
shall be added. Payments mailed and postmarked on or before the 25th
day shall be deemed to be payments within the period allowed for payment
without penalty. If such 25th day shall be a legal holiday or a Sunday,
payments made on or mailed and postmarked on the next succeeding business
day not a legal holiday shall be deemed to be payments within the
period allowed for payment without penalty.
[Amended 2-19-2019 by Ord. No. 702; 3-3-2020 by Ord. No. 715]
B.
Every owner of improved property which is connected to the sewer
system initially shall provide this Borough with and thereafter shall
keep this Borough advised of his correct address. Failure of any person
to receive bills for sewer rentals or charges shall not be considered
an excuse for nonpayment nor shall such failure result in an extension
of the period of time during which such bills shall be payable without
penalty.
C.
Whenever service to any billing unit shall begin after the first
day or shall terminate before the last day of any billing period,
the sewer rental or charge for such period shall be prorated equitably
for that portion of the billing period during which service was provided
by this Borough.
[Amended 2-20-1964 by Ord. No. 263]
The sewer rentals or charges hereby imposed shall be a lien on the premises connected to and served by the sewer system from the date such sewer rental or charge becomes due and payable under provisions of this article. All sewer rentals or charges hereby imposed which shall not be paid after 15 days, as provided in § 260-30B of this article shall be entered as a lien against the premises connected to and served by the sewer system, which lien shall be filed in the office of the Prothonotary of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, in the manner provided by law for the filing of municipal claims. All delinquent bills shall be collected by this Borough in any manner permitted and authorized by law.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the
sewer system any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff
or subsurface drainage, or any sanitary sewage or industrial wastes,
unless otherwise specifically permitted, authorized or approved by
this Borough, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any duly constituted
board, commission or department thereof having jurisdiction in the
premises:
A.
Having a temperature higher than 140° F.;
[Amended 5-6-1975 by Ord.
No. 347]
B.
Containing more than 100 PPM by weight of fat, oil, or grease;
C.
Containing any gasoline, benzine, naphtha, fuel oil or other inflammable
or explosive liquid, solid or gas;
D.
Containing any unground garbage;
E.
Containing any ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal,
glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, paunch manure or any other
solid or viscous substance capable of causing obstruction or other
interference with the proper operation of the sewage treatment plant
where such wastes are to be treated;
F.
Having a pH (as determined by consulting engineers for this Borough)
lower than 6.5 or higher than 9.0 or having any other corrosive property
capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment or personnel
of said sewage treatment plant;
G.
Containing a toxic or poisonous substance in sufficient quantity
to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, to constitute
a hazard to humans or animals, or to create any hazard in the receiving
water of said sewage treatment plant. Toxic wastes shall include,
but shall not be limited to, wastes containing cyanide, copper, nickel
and/or chromium ions;
H.
Containing total solids of such character and quantity that unusual
attention or expense is required to handle such materials for sewage
treatment processes; or
I.
Containing noxious or malodorous gas or substance capable of creating
a public nuisance;
J.
Containing an average monthly color less than or equal to 2,000 platinum-cobalt
units and an average weekly color less than or equal to 2,500 platinum-cobalt
units.
[Added 3-18-1997 by Ord.
No. 508]
A.
Whenever the entire water supply of any commercial establishment,
industrial establishment or institutional establishment discharging
sewage into the sewers and sewer system shall be supplied by the water
system, the volume of water furnished, as determined from meter readings
of the water system, shall be used as the volume of water consumed
in computing sewer rentals or charges, subject to adjustment, if appropriate,
as provided in this article.
B.
Whenever any commercial establishment, industrial establishment or
institutional establishment discharging sewage into the sewers and
sewer system shall have a source or sources of water supply in addition
to or other than the water system, a meter shall be installed on such
additional or other source or sources of water supply. The total volume
of water consumed, as determined from the meter readings of the water
system and the meter readings of the meter or meters on such additional
source or sources of water supply or the meter readings of the meter
or meters on such other source or sources of water supply, as appropriate,
shall be used as the volume of water consumed in computing sewer rentals
or charges, subject to adjustment, if appropriate, as provided in
this article.
C.
Whenever any commercial establishment, industrial establishment of institutional establishment shall have installed, as required by this Borough, or as may be elected at the option of any commercial establishment, industrial establishment or institutional establishment, a meter or meters for measuring the volume of sewage discharged into the sewers and sewer system, sewer rentals or charges shall be based upon the actual metered volume of sewage so being discharged into the sewers and sewer system. Such sewer rentals or charges shall be computed at the applicable rates set forth in § 260-29 hereof.
[Amended 5-6-1975 by Ord.
No. 347]
D.
Exclusion from the sewer system of noncontaminated wastewaters and
waters used for cooling purposes may be required by this Borough or
such exclusion may be optional with the owner if not required by this
Borough. When such waters are excluded, the volume of water or other
measure to be used for computation of sewer rentals or charges shall
be computed in one of the following methods:
(1)
By installing a meter or other measuring device on the connection to the sewer system. The readings from such meter or other measuring device shall be used as the measure of discharge of sewage in computing sewer rentals or charges in accordance with the applicable rates set forth in § 260-29 hereof.
(2)
By installing a meter or other measuring device to measure the volume of water not being discharged into the sewer system. The readings from such meter or other measuring device shall be deducted from the total water meter readings and the remainder shall be the volume of water to be used in computing sewer rentals or charges in accordance with the applicable rates set forth in § 260-29 hereof.
(3)
If it is not practical, in the opinion of this Borough, to install a meter or other measuring device to determine continuously the volume of water not discharged into the sewer system, this Borough may determine, in such manner and by such method as it may prescribe, the percentage of metered water which is being discharged into the sewer system. The volume of water to be used in computing sewer rentals or charges in accordance with the applicable rates set forth in § 260-29 hereof shall be the percentage so determined of the volume of water measured by the water meter or meters. Any dispute as to such estimated percentage shall be submitted to this Borough, after notice of such estimate. The decision of this Borough with respect to the matter shall be final for the then current calendar year.
E.
The furnishing and installation of meters or other measuring devices
which shall not be owned as a part of the water system, but which
shall be required or permitted under provisions of this article, shall
be the sole responsibility of the owner. The installation or use of
such meters or other measuring devices at all times shall be subject
to the approval of this Borough and may be tested and inspected by
this Borough whenever necessary. The owner shall be responsible for
the maintenance, safekeeping and repair of any such meter, whether
such repairs shall be made necessary by ordinary wear and tear or
other causes.
A.
When directed by the Borough, owners of industrial establishments
shall install, pay for, and maintain a manhole and such other devices
as may be approved by the Borough to facilitate observation, measurement,
and sampling of wastewaters discharged to the sewer system. The Borough
or its duly authorized representatives shall, at all reasonable times,
be permitted to enter upon any and all properties for the purpose
of inspecting, observing, measuring, and sampling wastewaters discharged
to the sewer system. The owner of any industrial establishment that
desires to connect to the sewer system shall notify the Borough, in
writing, at least 10 days before making such connection.
[Amended 5-6-1975 by Ord.
No. 347]
B.
Industrial establishments shall install fine screens to remove husks,
hulls, vegetable skins, peelings, threads, lint, grease and other
such nonsettleable and floating solids, or other organic or inorganic
substances, determined by this Borough to overload, impair the efficiency
of or cause difficulties in operation of the sewage treatment plant
used to treat and dispose of the wastes or in maintaining required
quality of treatment plant effluent.
C.
Any improved property discharging 50,000 gallons or more of sewage
per day into the sewers and sewer system and having large variations
in the rate of discharge of such within a twenty-four-hour period
shall install suitable holding tanks for equalizing the rate of discharge
uniformly over the entire twenty-four-hour period. The average rate
of discharge during any twenty-four-hour period shall not be exceeded
by more than 50% at any time during such twenty-four-hour period.
D.
If the owner of any industrial establishment from which industrial
wastes are discharged into the sewers and sewer system shall propose
to change methods of operation so as to alter the type of industrial
wastes then being discharged into the sewers and sewer system, such
owner shall notify this Borough, in writing, at least 10 days prior
to such change, so that this Borough may sample the industrial wastes
immediately after such change takes place in order to make the determinations
provided for or required by this article.
E.
No provision of this article shall be construed as preventing any
special arrangement or agreement between this Borough and any person
whereby industrial wastes of unusual strength or character may be
accepted into the sewers and sewer system, subject to equitable payment
in connection therewith by the person concerned.
F.
Owners of industrial establishments desiring to discharge industrial
wastes to the sewer system shall obtain a permit from the Borough
to do so upon notification by the Borough. Applications for a permit
to discharge industrial wastes shall be accompanied by all information
requested by the Borough for the determination of industrial wastes
volumes, characteristics and constituents. The cost for obtaining
such information shall be borne by the industrial establishment.
[Added 5-6-1975 by Ord.
No. 347]
This Borough reserves the right to refuse to any person the
privilege of connection of any improved property to the sewers and
sewer system, or to compel the discontinuance of use of a sewer and
the sewer system by any person or to compel the pretreatment of any
industrial wastes, in order to prevent discharges into the sewer system
of any wastes deemed to be harmful to the sewer system or to have
a deleterious effect on sewage treatment processes.
Representatives of this Borough shall have access at all times
to any improved property which shall be connected to the sewers and
sewer system and to any meters used for purposes of establishing or
determining water consumption, water excluded from the sewer system
or sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes discharged to the sewers
and sewer system for the purpose of inspection, observation, measurement,
sampling and testing in accordance with provisions of this article.
A.
This Borough reserves the right to adopt and promulgate and, from
time to time, this Borough may adopt and promulgate, as it shall deem
necessary, additional classifications and sewer rentals or charges
therefor, or modifications of the schedule of sewer rentals or charges
as set forth in this article, which additional classifications and
sewer rentals or charges, or modifications, as the case may be, shall
be, shall become and shall be construed as a part of this article.
B.
This Borough reserves the right to adopt and promulgate and, from
time to time, this Borough may adopt and promulgate such additional
rules and regulations as it shall deem necessary and proper for the
use and operation of the sewer system, which rules and regulations
shall be, shall become and shall be construed as a part of this article.
It hereby is declared that the enactment of this article is
necessary for the protection, benefit and preservation of the health,
safety and welfare of the inhabitants of this Borough.
