Editor's Note: See also Chapter 18, Sewers, of the Revised General Ordinances of the Borough of Watchung.
[1972 Code § 157-1; Ord. No. BH 12-01]
As used in this chapter:
BOROUGH
Shall mean the Borough of Watchung.
DOMESTIC SEWAGE
Shall mean waste and wastewater from humans or household operations.
GARBAGE
Shall mean solid wastes from the preparation, cooking and the dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE
Shall mean nondomestic waste, including, but not limited to, those pollutants regulated under Section 307(a), (b), or (c) of the Federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317 (a), (b), or (c)).
MAIN SEWER
Shall mean the sewer laid along the center line or other part of the streets or other rights-of-way, and to which all owners have equal rights and which is controlled by public authority.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4)
Shall mean a conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains) that is owned or operated by the Borough of Watchung or other public body, and is designed and used for collecting and conveying stormwater.
PUBLIC SEWER
Shall mean a sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights and which is controlled by public authority.
SANITARY SEWER
Shall mean a sewer which carries sewage and to which surface or groundwaters are not admitted.
SEWAGE
Shall mean a combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments.
SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT
Shall mean any arrangement of devices and structures used for the treatment of sewage.
SEWERAGE WORKS
Shall mean all facilities for collecting, pumping and disposing of sewage.
SHREDDED GARBAGE
Shall mean the wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that has been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in the public sewers, and no particle greater than 1/2 inch.
[1972 Code § 157-2; Ord. No. BH 12-01]
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit or permit to be deposited in an unsanitary manner upon a public or private property within the Borough of Watchung, or in any area under the jurisdiction of the Borough, any human or animal excrement, garbage or other objectionable waste.
[1972 Code § 157-3; Ord. No. BH 12-01]
It shall be unlawful for any owner of any house, building or structure used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other human use within the Borough of Watchung to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool or other similar facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage, where a public sewer is located within 200 feet of the property line of said premises, except as provided in Section BH8-2.3.
[1972 Code § 157-4; Ord. No. BH 12-01]
a. 
Upon acceptance of any public sewer by the Governing Body of the Borough of Watchung, the owner or owners of all houses, buildings or structures used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other human use, which house, building or structure is located within 200 feet of said accepted public sewer, shall, at his own expense, connect directly with said public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this chapter; and such connection shall be accomplished within 180 days after the date of acceptance of said public sewer by the Governing Body of the Borough of Watchung.
b. 
Pursuant to Section 18-3 of the Revised General Ordinances of the Borough of Watchung, no authorization for the repair, alteration or replacement of an individual disposal system shall be granted where public sanitary sewer is available. However, where the existing individual subsurface sewage disposal system is failing, the connection to the public sewer shall be accomplished immediately and the 180 day connection period specified in paragraph a above, shall not apply.
c. 
The Board of Health may, after written application therefor, hearing thereon and good cause shown, by formal resolution, grant exemptions from the requirement for connection to the public sewer provided for under paragraph a above, if, due to physical conditions upon the property, connection to the public sewer would be impracticable and result in substantial hardship to the owner because of the need for blasting of bedrock, provided, however, that the conditions set forth in paragraph f below, shall have been met.
d. 
The Board of Health may, after written application therefor, hearing thereon and good cause shown, by formal resolution, grant exemptions from the requirement for connection to the public sewer provided for under paragraph a above, if, the connection requires an individual property owner to obtain an easement or right-of-way to cross an adjoining property, or requires crossing a watercourse, railway, major highway or other significant obstacle and would be impracticable and result in substantial hardship to the owner, provided, however, that the conditions set forth in paragraph f below, shall have been met.
e. 
The Board of Health may, after written application therefor, hearing thereon and good cause shown, by formal resolution, grant deferrals in the requirement for connection to the sewer provided for under paragraph a above if the conditions set forth in paragraph f below, shall have been met and the following grounds for deferral exist:
1. 
That the individual sewage disposal system serving the property has been installed new or altered within 36 months prior to the date of acceptance of said public sewer by the Governing Body of the Borough of Watchung, and the installation or alteration has been approved and permitted by the Board of Health. In such case, the Board of Health may grant a deferral for a period not to exceed seven years. In no case shall the period of deferral of the requirement for connection to the sewer granted under this subparagraph extend beyond the time at which ownership or occupancy of the property shall have changed.
f. 
The Board of Health shall not grant exemptions under paragraphs c or d above, or deferrals under paragraph e above, unless the owner establishes to the satisfaction of the Board of Health that the septic tank has been pumped within three years of the date of the application for exemption or deferral; that the individual sewage disposal system serving the property is functioning properly, safely, and in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations; and can be expected to provide long-term reliable service.
g. 
The requirement for connection to the sewer within 180 days as set forth in paragraph a above shall automatically be extended, by the filing of an application for exemption or deferral with the Board of Health, to a date 180 days from the date of the Board of Health's formal action on such application, or as specified by the Board of Health.
h. 
All applications for exemption or deferral shall be made on forms provided by the Board of Health and shall be accompanied by documentation of all technical data necessary to support them.
i. 
The applicant shall have the burden of establishing entitlement to exemption or deferral and the applicant's failure to sustain this burden shall result in a denial of the application.
[1972 Code § 157-20; Ord. No. BH 12-01]
Stormwater and any other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged into such sewers as are specifically designated as storm sewers, or to a natural outlet approved by the Borough Engineer. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged to a storm sewer or stream as approved by the proper authority of the Borough.
[1972 Code § 157-25; Ord. No. BH 12-01]
The Health Officer and/or designee and other duly authorized employees of the Borough bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter upon all properties for the purpose of inspections, observation, measurement, sampling and testing in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
[1972 Code § 157-26; Ord. No. BH 12-01]
The Health Officer and/or designee of the Borough of Watchung shall serve written notice on the owner of any property violating any provision of this chapter ordering said person to comply therewith within the time prescribed by this chapter. Any person who fails to comply with the notice within the time set forth, shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a penalty of not less than $5 nor more than $500. Such notice may be served on the owner personally or by registered mail.