[Ord. No. 121 § 1, 3-9-2009]
It is determined and declared to be necessary and conducive
to the protection of the public health, safety, welfare, and convenience
of the City of Duquesne to collect charges from all users who contribute
wastewater to the City of Duquesne's treatment works. The proceeds
of such charges so derived will be used for the purpose of operating,
maintaining, and retiring the debt for such public wastewater treatment
works.
[Ord. No. 121 § 1, 3-9-2009; Ord. No. 142 § 1, 12-18-2009]
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning
of terms used in this Chapter shall be as follows:
- BOD (DENOTING BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND)
- The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five (5) days at twenty degrees Celsius (20° C.), expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l).
- EXISTING CUSTOMERS ON SEWER
- Those customers whose sewer service was installed prior to the installation of the Citywide collection system and whose sewer service did not require use of the bonded indebtedness used to finance the Citywide collection system.
- IN-TOWN USER
- Any contributor to the City's collection system whose source of wastewater is located within the corporate limits of the City of Duquesne.
- NEW CITYWIDE COLLECTION CUSTOMERS
- Any collection customer who was not connected to a sewer collection system prior to the installation of the Citywide collection system.
- NORMAL DOMESTIC WASTEWATER
- Wastewater that has a BOD concentration of not more than two hundred fifty milligrams per liter (250 mg/l) and a suspended solids concentration of not more than three hundred (300) mg/l. (Additional pollutants and concentrations may be added later.)
- OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
- All expenditures during the useful life of the treatment works for materials, labor, utilities, and other items which are necessary for managing and maintaining the sewage works to achieve the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed.
- OUT-OF-TOWN USER
- Any contributor to the City's collection system whose source of wastewater is located outside the corporate limits of the City of Duquesne.
- REPLACEMENT
- Expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories, or appurtenances which are necessary during the useful life of the treatment works to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed. The term "operation and maintenance" includes replacement.
- RESIDENTIAL CONTRIBUTOR
- Any contributor to the City of Duquesne's treatment works whose lot, parcel of real estate, or building is used for domestic dwelling purposes only.
- SHALL
- Is mandatory; "may" is permissive.
- SS (DENOTING SUSPENDED SOLIDS)
- The 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.
- TREATMENT WORKS
- Any devices and systems for the storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal sewage, domestic sewage, or liquid industrial wastes. These include: interceptor sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, individual systems, pumping, power, and other equipment and their appurtenances; extensions, improvements, remodeling, additions, and alterations thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable recycled supply, such as standby treatment units and clear well facilities; and any works, including site acquisition of land that will be an integral part of the treatment process or is used for ultimate disposal of residues resulting from such treatment (including land for composting sludge, temporary storage of such compost, and land used for storage of treated wastewater in land treatment systems before land application); or any other method or system for preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating, or disposing of municipal waste or industrial waste, including waste in combined storm water and sanitary sewer systems.
- USEFUL LIFE
- The estimated period during which the treatment works will be operated.
- USER CHARGE
- That portion of the total wastewater service charge which is levied in a proportional and adequate manner for the cost of operation, debt retirement, maintenance, and replacement of the wastewater treatment works.
- WATER METER
- A water volume measuring and recording device, furnished and/or installed by the City of Duquesne or Missouri American Water Company or furnished and/or installed by a user and approved by the City of Duquesne.
[Ord. No. 121 § 1, 3-9-2009]
A.
The user charge system shall generate adequate annual revenues to
pay the costs of annual operation and maintenance, including replacement,
applicable costs to the City of Joplin for handling and treatment
of the wastewater, and cost associated with debt retirement of bonded
capital associated with financing the treatment works which the City
of Duquesne may by ordinance designate to be paid by the user charge
system. That portion of the total user charge which is designated
for operation and maintenance, including replacement of the treatment
works, shall be established by this Chapter.
B.
That portion of the total user charge collected which is designated for the operation and maintenance, including replacement purposes as established in Section 705.040, shall be deposited in a separate non-lapsing fund known as the "Operation, Maintenance and Replacement Fund" and will be kept in two (2) primary accounts as follows:
1.
The Operation and Maintenance Account shall be an account designated
for the specific purpose of defraying operation and maintenance costs
(excluding replacement) of the treatment works. Deposits in the Operation
and Maintenance Account shall be made monthly from the operation and
maintenance revenue in the amount of twenty-six thousand seven hundred
forty dollars ($26,740.00) annually.
2.
The Replacement Account shall be an account designated for the
purpose of ensuring replacement needs over the useful life of the
treatment works. Deposits in the Replacement Account shall be made
annually from the replacement revenue in the amount of thirteen thousand
one hundred thirty dollars ($3,130.00) annually. (See Appendix B[1] for calculation).
[1]
Editor's Note: Said appendix is on file in the City offices.
C.
Fiscal year-end balances in the Operation and Maintenance Account
and the Replacement Account shall be carried over to the same accounts
in each subsequent fiscal year, and shall be used for no other purposes
than those designated for these accounts. Monies which have been transferred
from other sources to meet temporary shortages in the Operation, Maintenance,
and Replacement Fund shall be returned to their respective accounts
upon appropriate adjustment of the user charge rates for operation,
maintenance, and replacement. The user charge rate(s) shall be adjusted
such that the transferred monies will be returned to their respective
accounts within the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which
the monies were borrowed.
[Ord. No. 121 § 1, 3-9-2009; Ord. No. 142 § 2, 12-18-2009]
A.
Each user shall pay for the services provided by the City of Duquesne
based on their use of the treatment works as determined by water meter(s)
acceptable to the City of Duquesne.
B.
Basis For Monthly User Charges.
1.
For residential contributors, monthly user charges will be based
on average monthly water usage during the months of December, January
and February. (Water usage for these months includes little use for
such activities as lawn watering, car washing, and other seasonal
consumptive uses. This average should not be used in areas that experience
large seasonal fluctuations in population and/or usage.) If a residential
contributor has not established a December, January and February average,
their monthly bill shall be the median charge of all other residential
contributors.
2.
For industrial and commercial contributors, user charges shall
be based on water used during the current month. If a commercial or
industrial contributor has a consumptive use of water, or in some
other manner uses water which is not returned to the wastewater collection
system, the user charge for that contributor may be based on wastewater
meter(s) or separate water meter(s) installed and maintained at the
contributor's expense, and in a manner acceptable to the City
of Duquesne.
C.
Charges For Sewer Service.
[Ord. No. 163 § 1, 1-10-2011; Ord. No. 185 § 1, 11-14-2011; Ord. No. 208 § 1, 12-10-2012; Ord. No. 229 § 1, 1-13-2014; Ord.
No. 422, 2-10-2020]
1.
(Reference is made to Appendix A which is on file in the City
offices.) The minimum charge per month for new City-wide collection
customers who are in-town users shall be forty-six dollars and fifty-five
cents ($46.55). This minimum charge shall be separated such that thirteen
dollars and forty-one cents ($13.41) shall be allocated to the City
of Duquesne, and thirty-three dollars and fourteen cents ($33.14)
shall be allocated to the City of Joplin. The minimum charge per month
for new City-wide collection customers who are out-of-town users shall
be sixty-one dollars and forty-nine cents ($61.49). This minimum charge
for out-of-town users shall be separated such that eighteen dollars
and forty-one cents ($18.41) shall be allocated to the City of Duquesne,
and forty-three dollars and eight cents ($43.08) shall be allocated
to the City of Joplin. In addition, each new City-wide collection
customer, whether an in-town or out-of-town user, shall pay a user
charge for one third (1/3) of the system's debt service, and
for operation and maintenance, including replacement, in the amount
of three dollars and thirty-seven cents ($3.37) per one thousand (1,000)
gallons of water (or wastewater) as determined in the preceding section.
This per-1,000-gallon usage fee shall be separated such that one dollar
and twenty cents ($1.20) per one thousand (1,000) gallons shall be
allocated to the City of Duquesne, and two dollars and seventeen cents
($2.17) per one thousand (1,000) gallons shall be allocated to the
City of Joplin.
2.
The minimum charge per month for existing customers on sewer
who are in-town users shall be forty-six dollars and fifty-five cents
($46.55). This minimum charge shall be separated such that thirteen
dollars and forty-one cents ($13.41) shall be allocated to the City
of Duquesne, and thirty-three dollars and fourteen cents ($33.14)
shall be allocated to the City of Joplin. The minimum charge per month
for existing customers on sewer who are out-of-town users shall be
sixty-one dollars and forty-nine cents ($61.49). This minimum charge
for out-of-town users shall be separated such that eighteen dollars
and forty-one cents ($18.41) shall be allocated to the City of Duquesne,
and forty-three dollars and eight cents ($43.08) shall be allocated
to the City of Joplin. In addition, each existing customer on sewer,
whether an in-town or out-of town user, shall pay a user charge for
operation and maintenance, including replacement, in the amount of
one dollar and ninety cents ($1.90) per one thousand (1,000) gallons
of water (or wastewater) as determined in the preceding section. This
per-1,000-gallon usage fee shall be separated such that twenty-two
cents ($0.22) per one thousand (1,000) gallons shall be allocated
to the City of Duquesne, and one dollar and sixty-eight cents ($1.68)
per one thousand (1,000) gallons shall be allocated to the City of
Joplin.
3.
The user charge rates outlined within this Section are based
upon the use of a three-quarter-inch water meter. User charges for
the City of Duquesne remain the same regardless of water meter size.
User charges for the City of Joplin may differ from the rates presented
above if a meter larger than three-quarter-inch is used with the respective
user charge rates for the City of Joplin modified accordingly as set
forth in City of Joplin ordinances for the water meter size being
utilized. If user charges for the City of Joplin are modified in such
fashion, the total charges to such user under this Section of the
Code is hereby also modified to include such additional charges, and
such additional charges shall be remitted to the City of Joplin.
D.
(Reference is made to Appendix A which is on file in the City offices.)
For those contributors which contribute wastewater, the strength of
which is greater than normal domestic sewage, a surcharge in addition
to the normal user charge will be collected. The surcharge for operation
and maintenance, including replacement is:
[Ord. No. 163 § 1, 1-10-2011; Ord. No. 185 § 1, 11-14-2011]
|
New Citywide Collection Customers.
| ||
|
$0.8226 per pound of BOD
($0.1726 per pound Duquesne,
$0.6500 per pound Joplin)
| ||
|
$0.5138 per pound of SS
($0.1438 per pound Duquesne,
$0.3700 per pound Joplin)
| ||
|
Existing Customers On Sewer
| ||
|
$0.6807 per pound of BOD
($0.0307 per pound Duquesne,
$0.6500 per pound Joplin)
| ||
|
$0.3956 per pound of SS
($0.0256 per pound Duquesne,
$0.3700 per pound Joplin)
| ||
E.
Any user which discharges any toxic pollutants which cause an increase
in the cost of managing the effluent or the sludge from the City's
treatment works, or any user which discharges any substance which
singly or by interaction with other substances causes identifiable
increases in the cost of operation, maintenance, or replacement of
the treatment works, shall pay for such increased costs. The charge
to each user shall be as determined by the responsible plant operating
personnel and approved by the City Board of Aldermen.
F.
The user charge rates established in this Section apply to all users
of the City's treatment works, regardless of the user's
location.
[Ord. No. 121 § 1, 3-9-2009; Ord. No. 290 § 1, 7-11-2016]
A.
All sewer service charges shall be paid to the City, or its authorized
agent, at the location or locations designated by the City. Sewer
service charges shall be paid within fifteen (15) days of the date
of their billing.
B.
Every sewer service charge specified in this Section remaining unpaid
for thirty (30) days after the date of its billing may be increased
by ten percent (10%) for the current month outstanding balance.
C.
Sewer services shall be deemed to be furnished to both the occupant
and owner of all residential properties receiving sewer service, and
the occupant and owner of such properties shall be severally and jointly
liable to the City for payment of the charges for such service rendered
on or to premises upon thirty (30) days from the date of such bill,
the City may sue the occupant, the owner, or both, of the properties
receiving such service, or for which such service has been made available,
and receive any sums due for such services plus reasonable attorney's
fees to be fixed by the court and the costs of such suit. In addition,
the City may use other such means now or hereafter available to it
under the statutes of Missouri and the ordinances of the City to effect
the collection of any bill for sewer service remaining unpaid upon
the expiration of thirty (30) days from the date of such bill.
D.
Payment May Be Made Under Protest.
1.
In the event either the occupant or owner of property which
receives sewer service furnished by the City has reason to dispute
the amount or nature of any bill, the recipient shall be permitted
to make payment under protest, provided that the recipient of service
provides to the City at the time of payment the following information:
2.
Nothing contained herein shall in any way forgive or avoid any
payment to the City as outlined in this Chapter for sewer services.
Upon receipt of any such payment under protest, the City shall respond
in writing to the recipient of the service with a response to their
complaint and a copy shall be forwarded to the Board of Aldermen and
a reply shall be forthcoming within a reasonable period of time.
E.
In addition to any fees or charges established pursuant to this Chapter,
there shall be a fee for the termination of water service due to a
delinquent sewer bill that remains unpaid or in arrears for at least
thirty (30) days. The fee shall be established by the water company
for:
F.
When the occupant of rental property is delinquent in payment of
sewer fees, the City shall make a good faith effort to notify the
owner of the premises receiving such service of the delinquency and
the amount thereof. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section
to the contrary, when an occupant of rental property is delinquent
more than ninety (90) days, the owner shall not be liable for sums
due for more than ninety (90) days of service. The City shall make
a good faith effort to notify both the occupant and owner of the premises
of any termination of service.
[Ord. No. 121 § 1, 3-9-2009]
A.
The City of Duquesne shall review the user charge system annually
and revise user charge rates as necessary to ensure that the system
generates adequate revenues to pay the debt service, to pay costs
of operation and maintenance, including replacement, to pay the City
of Joplin the required wastewater fees set forth for each customer
in accordance with the intermunicipal agreement between the City of
Duquesne and the City of Joplin, and such that the system continues
to provide for the proportional distribution of operation and maintenance,
including replacement costs among users and user classes.
B.
The City of Duquesne will notify each user at least annually, in
conjunction with a regular bill, of the rate being charged for operation
and maintenance, including replacement of the treatment works.
