[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of New
Buffalo 4-18-1995 by Ord. No. 101. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning
of terms used in this ordinance shall be as follows:
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation
of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days
at 20° C., expressed in milligrams per liter.
The sewage disposal system established by the County of Berrien,
pursuant to Act No. 185 of Michigan Public Acts of 1957, as amended,[1] by contracts, dated as of January 8, 1976, as amended
April 29, 1976, and as may be further amended, between the County
and the Local units.
That part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system
which receives the discharge from soil, waste, and other drainage
pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building
sewer, beginning five feet outside the inner face of the building
wall.
The extension from the building drain to the public sanitary
sewer main, or other place of disposal, whether on public or private
property.
A sewer receiving both surface runoff and sewage.
That unit or district as established through contracts by
and between Berrien County, Chikaming Township, New Buffalo Township,
and the City of New Buffalo, dated as of October 13, 1971, as amended.
Solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation,
cooking, and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage, and
sale of produce.
The liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing processes,
trade, or business as distinct from sanitary sewage.
One or more of the following governmental units: Chikaming
Township, New Buffalo Township, City of New Buffalo.
Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake, or other
body of surface or ground water.
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation,
or group.
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen
ions in grams per liter of solution.
The wastes from the preparation, cooking, and dispensing
of food that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles
will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing
in public sewers, with no particle greater than 1/2 inch in any dimension.
A sewer main located in a public street or right-of-way in
which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights and is controlled
by a public authority and includes all sewers in the City, but shall
not include a building sewer or any connection thereto which serves
only one building or owner.
[Amended 10-18-2021 by Ord. No. 251]
A sewer which carries sewage and to which storm, surface,
and ground waters are not intentionally admitted.
A combination of the water carried wastes from residences,
business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments, together
with such ground, surface, and stormwaters as may be present.
Any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating
sewage and specifically the treatment plant serving the City and its
residents and located in New Buffalo Township.
All the facilities for collecting, pumping, treating, and
disposing of sewage and includes all such facilities in the City.
A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
"Shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissive.
Any discharge of water, sewage, or industrial waste which
in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow exceeds
for any period of duration longer than 15 minutes more than five times
the average twenty-four hour concentration of flows during normal
operation.
A sewer which carries storm- and surface water and drainage,
but excludes sewage and industrial wastes, other than unpolluted cooling
water.
The Joint Board of the District or its authorized deputy,
agent, or representative.
Solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension
in water, sewage, or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory
filtering.
A channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously
or intermittently.
[1]
Editor's Note: See MCLA § 123.731 et seq.
The complete sewer and sewage disposal system of the City, including
all main and lateral sewers, sewage treatment plant, intercepting
and collecting sewers, and all works, instrumentalities, or properties
used or useful in the collection, treatment, and disposal of sewage
and industrial wastes, as now existing or as hereafter added to, extended,
or improved, shall be operated and maintained on a public utility
basis, as authorized by law, particularly Act No. 94, Public Acts
of 1933, as amended,[1] and Section 123.243, Compiled Laws of Michigan, 1948,
being Act No. 320, Public Acts of 1927, Section 3, as amended.[2] The area to be served by said system is hereby divided
into two parts as follows:
A.
Service Area No. 1, to consist of the area served by collecting sewers
financed by the $375,000 General Obligation Bonds, and all extensions
thereto.
B.
Service Area No. 2 to consist of the area served by collecting sewers
financed in part by the $1,335,000 Berrien County Sewage Disposal
System No. 7 Bonds (City of New Buffalo portion) (hereinafter the
"1975 Bonds") issued through Berrien County and financed in part by
governmental grants.
The City sewage disposal system shall have an operating or fiscal
year commencing on July 1 of each year and ending on June 30 of the
following year.
Subject to the provisions of the Sewage Disposal System Contract
dated January 8, 1976, between Berrien County and the City of New
Buffalo and the Townships of Chikaming and New Buffalo, regarding
the part of the system to be financed by the 1975 Bonds and related
governmental grants, the complete sewage disposal system of the City,
as defined in Section 16-1, shall be and remain under the management,
supervision, and control of the City Council which may employ or designate
such persons, in such capacities as it deems advisable, to carry on
the efficient management and operation of such system. The City Council
may make such rules, orders, and regulations as it deems advisable
and necessary to assure the efficient management and operation of
such system.
[Amended 4-15-2008 by Ord. No. 176]
The rates to be charged for sewer and sewage disposal service
furnished by the City system shall be prescribed by resolution of
the City Council, from time to time, and such rates and charges shall
be collected for the use of and the service rendered by such sewage
disposal works from the owners or occupants for each lot, parcel,
or real estate or building that is connected with or uses such works
by or through any part of the sewage system of the City.
A.
Industrial wastes. In the event a lot, parcel, or real estate or
building discharges sewage in the form of industrial waste, either
directly or indirectly, into the public sewage system of the City,
and the City finds it is not practicable to attempt to measure such
wastes by meter, it shall measure the same in such manner and by such
method as it may find practical in the light of the conditions and
attendant circumstances of the case in order to determine the rates
and charges according to the corresponding rates provided in this
chapter. If the City finds that it is practicable to attempt to measure
such wastes by meter, then the owner of the property shall install
and maintain a meter acceptable to the City upon 10 days' notice.
B.
Special rates and charges in certain cases. In order that the sewer
rates and charges may be justly and equitably adjusted to the service
rendered, the City shall have the right to base its charges not only
on volume, but also on the strength and character of the sewage and
wastes discharged, either directly or indirectly into the City's public
sewer system in such manner and by such method as it may find practical,
in the light of the conditions and attending circumstances of the
case in order to determine the proper charges. Such charges shall,
where deemed necessary, be adjusted on a flat rate basis by the month
of the year.
C.
Service to City. The City shall be subject to the terms of this chapter
and the City shall pay for the services rendered it by the public
sewer system and sewage treatment works.
D.
Charges to be billed concurrently with water billing. Such ready-to-serve
charges and sewer service charges shall be billed concurrently with
the water billing period as such billing practices may be established
by the City Council from time to time.
E.
Sewer service fee billing. Each property owner shall be responsible
for the sewer service fees for each of their properties. The City
shall not transfer responsibility for any sewer service fees to a
tenant.
F.
Free service prohibited. No free service shall be rendered by the
sewage disposal system to any person, firm, or corporation, public
or private, or to any public agency or instrumentality.
G.
Service outside City. The City Council shall also establish rates
for supplying sewage disposal service to premises located outside
the City, which rates shall not be less but may be more than the rates
provided for service furnished to premises within the City.
H.
Billing and collection generally. Sewage disposal rates shall be
billed and collected, subject to the same terms and conditions respecting
payment, as are provided for water bills. Such rates shall be shown
in a separate item on each water bill, except in such cases where
there is no water connection, in which event a separate sewage disposal
bill shall be sent. Billing shall be under the supervision and direction
of the Water Department of the City.
I.
Lien for charges. The charges for sewage disposal service which are,
under the provisions of Section 21 of Act No. 94, Public Acts of 1933,
as amended,[1] made a lien on all premises served thereby are hereby
recognized to constitute such lien, and whenever any such charge against
any piece of property shall be delinquent for six months, the City
officials in charge of the collection thereof shall certify to the
tax assessing officer of the City the fact of such delinquency, whereupon
such charge shall be entered upon the next tax roll as a charge against
such premises and shall be collected and the lien thereof enforced
in the same manner as general City taxes against such premises are
collected and the lien thereof enforced.
[1]
Editor's Note: See MCLA § 141.121.
J.
Additional collection remedies; shutting off water for nonpayment.
In addition to other remedies provided, the City shall have the right
to shut off and discontinue the supply of water to any premises for
the nonpayment of sewer and sewage disposal rates, when due, or civil
action may be brought in court in the name of the City for payment.
[Amended 4-15-2008 by Ord. No. 176]
A.
Public sanitary sewage systems are essential to the health, safety
and welfare of the people of the state and the City. Septic tank disposal
systems are subject to failure due to soil conditions or other reasons.
Failure or potential failure of septic tank disposal systems poses
a threat to the public health, safety, and welfare, presents a potential
for ill health, transmission of disease, mortality, and potential
economic blight and constitutes a threat to the quality of surface
and subsurface waters of the state and City. The connection to available
public sanitary sewer systems at the earliest, reasonable date is
a matter for the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare
and necessary in the public interest which is declared as a matter
of legislative determination.
B.
Structures in which sanitary sewage originates located in the City
in the area served by the system for which there is an available public
sanitary sewer of the system shall not be used or occupied, after
the effective date hereof, unless said structures are connected to
the sewage disposal system; provided, that structures within the City
in which sanitary sewage is originating on the effective date hereof
or in which sanitary sewage originates before availability of the
system or any part thereof to serve said structures shall be connected
to said system within 90 days after publication of a notice by the
City of the availability of the system in a newspaper of general circulation
in the City, to be designated by the City Council. Plats for premises
in the area served by the system subdivided into three or more lots
or parcels, after the effective date hereof, shall not be approved
on behalf of the City and none of said lots or parcels shall be improved
by the erection of a structure thereon unless lateral sewers to serve
all of said lots or parcels and to connect same to the system are
available as part of the system or shall be installed at private cost
(or the estimated cost thereof deposited with the City) in the manner,
size, and location approved by the City. Where a structure in which
sanitary sewage originates has not been connected to an available
public sanitary sewer within the time period provided above, the City
shall require the connection to be made forthwith after notice, which
may be by first class or certified mail or posting on the property,
to the owner of the property on which the structure is located. The
notice shall give the approximate location of the public sanitary
sewer system which is available for connection of the structure involved
and shall advise the owner of the requirements and of the enforcement
provisions of this chapter and other applicable law. The term "available
public sanitary sewer" shall be construed to mean a public sanitary
sewer system, whether publicly or privately financed, located in a
right-of-way, easement, highway, street, or public way which crosses,
adjoins, or abuts upon the premises and passing not more than 200
feet at the nearest point from a structure in which sanitary sewage
originates, provided that in the event a state agency shall require
connection to the system, the aforesaid restriction of 200 feet shall
be inapplicable and the term "available public sanitary sewer" shall
include the public sanitary sewer system at the nearest point from
a structure in which sanitary sewage originates. The term "structure
in which sanitary sewage originates" or "structure' shall be construed
to mean a building in which toilet, kitchen, laundry, bathing, or
other facilities which generate water-carried sanitary sewage, are
used or are available for use for household, commercial, industrial,
or other purposes.
The revenues of the sewage disposal system derived from the
collection of such rates as are established by and under Section 16-5
are hereby ordered to be set aside as collected in an institution
specified by the City Council, in a separate depository fund to be
designated the "sewage disposal system receiving fund" (hereinafter
referred to as the receiving fund), and the revenues in such fund
are pledged for the purpose of the following funds, and shall be transferred
from the receiving fund periodically in the manner and at the times
hereinafter specified:
A.
Out of the revenues in the receiving fund, there shall be first set
aside, monthly, into a separate depository fund designated the "operation
and maintenance fund," a sum sufficient to provide for the payment
of the next month's current expenses of administration and operation
of such system, and such current expenses for the maintenance thereof
as may be necessary to preserve the same in good repair and working
order. A budget, showing in detail the estimated costs of administration,
operation, and maintenance of the sewage disposal system for the next
ensuing fiscal year shall be prepared by the City Manager at the same
time as he/she is required by the City Charter to prepare the annual
City budget, which budget shall be approved by the City Council. The
amounts transferred into the operation and maintenance fund during
each year shall not exceed the amount set forth in such budget, unless
approved by a 2/3 vote of the City Council.
B.
Out of the revenues remaining in the receiving fund after provision
has been made for expenses of operation and maintenance of the sewage
disposal system, there shall be next set aside, monthly, into the
"debt retirement fund" of the City, all the remaining revenues of
such system, the money so set aside into such fund to be allocated
and set aside on the books and records of the City and used and applied
solely and only for the payment of the principal of and interest on
the general obligation sewage disposal system bonds in the aggregate
principal amount of $375,000 referred to in Section 16-2 of this
chapter, provided that moneys not required for said payment of principal
and interest on said bonds may be used for any other purpose connected
with the system.
The City Council shall cause to be maintained and kept proper
books of record and account, in which shall be made full and correct
entries of all transactions relating to the sewage disposal system.
Such books of record and account shall be audited annually by a certified
public accountant, to be designated by the City Council, and a certified
copy of such audit shall be filed with the City Clerk.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit, or permit
to be deposited in any unsanitary manner upon public or private property
within the City or in any area under the jurisdiction of said City,
any human or animal excrement, garbage, or other objectionable waste.
B.
It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet or drain
within the City or in any area under the jurisdiction of said City
any sewage or other polluted waters, except where suitable treatment
has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this
ordinance or the requirements of law.
C.
Except as hereinafter provided, it shall be unlawful to construct
or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool, or other
facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage in the City.
D.
Structures in which sewage originates shall be connected to any available
sanitary sewer in accordance with the provisions of Section 16-6.
E.
Any industry or structure discharging process flow to the sanitary
sewer, storm sewer, or receiving stream shall file the material listed
below with the Joint Board of the District. The District may require
each person who applies for or receives sewer service, or through
the nature of the enterprise creates a potential environmental problem,
to file the material listed below:
1.
File a written statement setting forth the nature of the enterprise,
the source and amount of water used, the amount of water to be discharged,
with its present or expected bacterial, physical, chemical, radioactive,
or other pertinent characteristics of the wastes.
2.
Provide a plan map of the building, works, or complex with each outfall
to the surface waters, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, natural watercourse,
or ground waters noted, described and the waste stream identified.
3.
Sample test and file reports with the District and the appropriate
state agencies on appropriate characteristics of wastes on a schedule,
at locations and according to methods approved by the Joint Board.
4.
Place waste treatment facilities, process facilities waste streams,
or other potential waste problems under the specific supervision and
control of persons who have been certified by an appropriate state
agency as properly qualified to supervise such facilities.
5.
Provide a report on raw materials entering the process or support
systems, intermediate materials, final products, and waste by-products
as those factors may affect waste control.
6.
Maintain records and file reports on the final disposal of specific
liquid, solid, sludges, oils, radioactive materials, solvents or other
wastes.
7.
If any industrial process is to be altered so as to include or negate
a process waste or potential waste written notification shall be given
to the District and be subject to approval.
A.
Where a public sanitary or combined sewer is not available under
the provisions of Section 16-9, the building sewer shall be connected
to a private sewage disposal system complying with the regulations
of the City and of the Berrien County Health Department.
B.
As such time as a public sewer becomes available to a property served
by a private sewage disposal system, as provided in Section 16-9,
a direct connection shall be made to the public sewer in compliance
with this chapter, and any septic tanks, cesspools, and similar private
sewage disposal facilities shall be abandoned and filled with suitable
material.
C.
The owner shall operate and maintain the private sewage disposal
facilities in a sanitary manner at all times, at no expense to the
City.
D.
No statement contained in this chapter shall be construed to interfere
with any additional requirements that may be imposed by the City or
the Berrien County Health Department.
[Amended 7-20-2020 by Ord. No. 246]
A.
No unauthorized and unlicensed person shall uncover, make any connections
with or opening into, use, alter, or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance
thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the District.
B.
There shall be two classes of building sewer permits: (1) For residential
and commercial service, and (2) For service to establishments producing
industrial wastes. In either case, the owner or their agent shall
make application on a special form furnished by the City. The permit
application will be supplemented by any plans, specifications, or
other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the Superintendent.
A permit and inspection fee for an industrial building sewer permit
shall be paid to the City Treasurer at the time the application is
filed.
C.
All costs and expense incident to the installation and connection
of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner of the property
on which the building is located. Further, such owner shall be fully
responsible for and pay all costs incurred if any portion of the building
sewer, building drain, or any related fixtures under the control of
the owner become plugged, blocked, or backed up. The owner shall be
responsible for paying all costs to correct any overflow, backup,
or damage in such fixtures and shall indemnify the City from any loss
or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by their installation,
connection, maintenance, or operation.
D.
A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every
building; except where a building stands at the rear of another on
an interior lot and no private sewer is available or can be constructed
to the rear building through an adjoining alley, court, yard, or driveway,
the building sewer from the front building may be extended to the
rear building and the whole considered as one building sewer.
E.
Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings
only when they are found, upon examination and test by the Superintendent,
to meet all requirements of this chapter.
F.
The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building
sewer, and the methods to be used in excavation, placing of the pipe,
jointing, testing, and backfilling the trench, shall all conform to
the requirements of the building and plumbing code or applicable rules
and regulations of the City. In the absence of code provisions or
in amplification thereof, the materials and procedures set forth in
appropriate specifications of the ASTM and WPCF Manual of Practice
No. 9 shall apply.
G.
Whenever possible, the building sewer shall be brought to the building
at an elevation below the basement floor. In all buildings in which
any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public
sewer, sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an
approved means and discharged to the building sewer.
H.
No person shall make connection of roof downspouts, exterior foundation
drains, areaway drains, or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater
to a building sewer of building drain which in turn is connected directly
or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer.
I.
The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall
conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other
applicable rules and regulations of the City, or the procedures set
forth in appropriate specifications of the ASTM and WPCF Manual of
Practice No. 9. All such connections shall be made gastight and watertight.
Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be
approved by the District before installation.
J.
The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the District
when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to
the public sewer. The connection shall be made under the supervision
of the Superintendent or his/her representative.
K.
All excavations for building sewer installation shall be adequately
guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from
hazard. Streets, sidewalks, parkways, and other public property disturbed
in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory
to the Superintendent.
A.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater,
surface water, ground water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated
cooling water, or unpolluted industrial process waters into any sanitary
sewer.
B.
Stormwater and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged
to such sewers as are specifically designated as combined sewers or
storm sewers, or to a natural outlet approved by the appropriate state
and county agency. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process
waters may be discharged, upon the approval of the appropriate state
or county agency, to a storm sewer or natural outlet.
C.
Except as hereinafter provided by specific limits, no person shall
discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described
waters or wastes to any public sewer:
1.
BOD in excess of 300 milligrams per liter.
2.
COD in excess of 450 mg/l.
3.
Chlorine demand in excess of 15 mg/l.
4.
Color, as from but not limited to dyes, inks, vegetable tanning solutions,
shall be controlled to prevent light absorbency which would interfere
with treatment plant processes or that prevent analytical determinations.
5.
Explosive liquid, solid, or gas, gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel
oil, or other flammable liquid shall not be admitted.
6.
Garbage not properly shredded (greater than 1/2 inch) shall not be
allowed.
7.
Grease, oils, wax, fat, whether emulsified or not, in excess of 50
mg/l, or other substances which may solidify or become viscous at
temperatures between 32° F., and 150° F. shall not
be admitted to the sanitary sewer.
8.
Industrial wastes in concentrations above limitations set forth by
appropriate state agencies to comply with federal guidelines for protection
of treatment plant and receiving watercourse shall not be allowed
to enter sanitary sewers in sufficient quantity to impair the operation
of the sewage treatment processes.
9.
Inert suspended solids (such as but not limited to Fullers earth,
lime slurry, and lime residues) or of dissolved solids (such as but
not limited to sodium chloride and sodium sulfate) in unusual concentrations
shall not be allowed.
10.
Noxious or malodorous gas, such as but not limited to hydrogen sulfide,
sulfur dioxide, or oxides of nitrogen and other substances capable
of producing a public nuisance shall not be allowed.
11.
pH less than 5.5 and greater than 9.5 shall not be allowed.
12.
Radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration
which may exceed limits established by applicable state and federal
regulations, shall not be allowed.
13.
Suspended solids in excess of 350 mg/l.
14.
Temperature of wastes less than 32° F. and greater than
150° F. shall not be allowed.
15.
Waters or wastes containing substances, which are not amenable to
treatment, only to such degree that the sewage treatment plant effluent
cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction
over discharge to the receiving waters.
D.
If any waters or wastes are discharged or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in Subsection C of this section, and which in the judgment of the District, may have deleterious effect upon the sewage works, processes, equipment, or receiving waters, or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the District may:
1.
Reject the wastes.
2.
Require pre-treatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to
the public sewers.
3.
Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge.
4.
Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating
the wastes not covered by existing taxes and/or sewer charges under
the provisions of Section 16-9 of this chapter.
E.
If the District permits the pre-treatment or equalization of waste
flows, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall
be subject to the review and approval of the Superintendent and subject
to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances, and laws.
Grease, oil, and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the
judgment of the District, they are necessary for the proper handling
of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts or any flammable
wastes, sand, or other harmful ingredients except that such interceptors
shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units.
All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the District,
and accessible for cleaning and inspection.
F.
Where preliminary treatment or flow equalizing facilities are provided
for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in
satisfactory and effective operation, by the owner at their expense.
G.
When required by the District, the owner of any property serviced
by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable
control manhole together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances
in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling, and measurement
of the wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessibly and
safely located, and shall be constructed in accordance with plans
approved by the Superintendent. The manhole shall be installed by
the owner at his expense and shall be maintained by the owner so as
to be safe and accessible at all times.
H.
All measurements, tests and analysis of the characteristics of waters
and wastes to which reference is made in this chapter shall be determined
in accordance with the most recent edition of "Standard Methods for
the Examination of Water and Sewage" and shall be determined at the
control manhole provided for or upon suitable samples taken at said
control manhole. In the event that no special manhole has been required,
the control manhole shall be considered to be the nearest downstream
manhole in the public sewer to the point at which the building sewer
is connected. Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted
methods to reflect the effect of constituent upon the sewage works
and determine the existence of hazards to life, limb, and property.
The particular analysis involved will determine whether a twenty-four-hour
composite of all outfalls of a premise is appropriate or whether grab
sample or samples should be taken.
I.
No statement contained in this chapter shall be construed as preventing
any special agreement or arrangement between the District and any
industrial concern whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength
or character may be accepted by the District for treatment, subject
to payment therefor, by the industrial concern.
J.
The City is party to a Sanitary Sewage Disposal System Agreement
dated October 13, 1971, and an Amendment to Sanitary Sewage Disposal
System Agreement dated February 17, 1976, among the City of New Buffalo,
Township of Chikaming, and Township of New Buffalo, as contracting
parties and a Second Amendment to Sanitary Sewage Disposal Agreement,
dated December 19, 1978, in which the County of Berrien has joined
with the contracting parties. The Agreement and Amendments create
the District and place the system under the control and management
of the District. Exhibit A to the Second Amendment sets forth rates,
fees, and charges to be imposed upon and collected from the users
of the system and provides for review of said rates, fees, and charges
from time to time and the automatic incorporation of all such current
or changed user rates and charges in this chapter without formal amendment
thereof. Said rates, fees, and charges, from time to time, in effect
as provided in said Agreement and Amendments, are hereby approved
and adopted and all users of the system of the District in the City
shall pay said rates, fees, and charges for use of and connection
to any public sewer available to a user as provided within this chapter.
No free service shall be furnished by the system to the City or to
any person, firm, corporation, public or private, or to any public
agency or instrumentality. Rates, fees, and charges for services furnished
by the system shall be billed and collected in accordance with the
provisions of this chapter.
K.
If any rates, fees, and charges are not paid on or before the due
date then a penalty of 10% shall be added thereto in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter.
L.
Rates, fees, and charges for services furnished by the system to
any premises shall be a lien thereon also in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter.
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 the municipal sewage
works. Any person violating this provision shall be subject to immediate
arrest under charge of disorderly conduct.
[Amended 12-16-2019 by Ord. No. 245]
A.
The Superintendent
and other duly authorized employees of the District or the City, bearing
proper credentials and identification, shall be permitted to enter
upon all properties for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement,
sampling, and testing in accordance with the provisions of this chapter,
including the provisions of this chapter regarding unlawful sump pump
connections or other prohibited discharges into the sanitary sewer
system.
B.
In the
absence of exigent circumstances, the owner of any dwelling, building,
or other structure shall have a period of 30 days from the date the
District of the City sends a written notice to the owner requesting
admittance to the owner's property for an inspection to either allow
the inspection or to contract with a licensed plumber to perform the
inspection, and certify the requesting agency of the results thereof.
If the inspection reveals that the property is improperly discharging
stormwater into the City sanitary sewer system, then the owner shall
have a period of 30 days from the date the City sends such written
notice to the owner to obtain a plumbing permit and to disconnect
the owner's sump pump or other prohibited discharge into the City
sanitary sewer system and to request reinspection, certifying that
all work necessary to disconnect the owner's sump pump or other prohibited
discharge from said property into the City sanitary sewer system has
been completed. All work that is necessary to comply with the provisions
of this section that require the issuance of any plumbing, building,
or other permit under shall be inspected by the City, the District,
or a licensed plumber for compliance with all applicable code requirements.
C.
If a property owner refuses to submit to an inspection as required by Subsection B above, or fails to take corrective action as required by that subsection, an inflow/infiltration surcharge of $100 per month shall be added to the sewer account for the property until compliance is achieved. This monthly surcharge is intended to offset the added cost to the City associated with having the City wastewater collection, conveyance, and treatment system process clear or clean water (inflow/infiltration).
D.
If the
owner leases the subject property, the owner has a duty to provide
these notices to every tenant of the property. No lease or other contract
purporting to shift maintenance or repair obligations to a tenant
shall relieve owner's obligations to comply with these regulations.
Tenants in any property within the City have an obligation to cooperate
with the owner and the City, the District, and their designees with
respect to the completion of any required inspections or necessary
modifications.
E.
The Superintendent
or his/her representatives shall have no authority to inquire into
any processes, including metallurgical, chemical, oil, refining, ceramic,
paper, or other industries beyond that point having a direct bearing
on the kind and source of discharge to the sewers or waterways or
facilities for waste treatment.
A.
Any person found to be violating any provision of this chapter except
Section 16-13 shall be served by the Superintendent with written
notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable
time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall,
within the period of time stated in such notice, permanently cease
all violations.
B.
Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit
provided for in Section 16-15A shall be guilty of a municipal
civil infraction and upon conviction thereof subject to the penalties
provided in Section 1-6 of this Code. Each day in which any such
violation shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense.
C.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall
become liable to the City for any expense, loss, or damage occasioned
by the system or District by reason of such violation.
D.
The provisions of this chapter shall be enforceable through the bringing
of appropriate action for injunction, mandamus, superintending control,
or otherwise, in any court having jurisdiction. Any violation of this
ordinance is deemed to be a nuisance per se.
