A.
Connection. The connection of a sanitary sewer service into the public
sanitary sewer system shall conform to the requirements of the Minnesota
Building and Plumbing Codes, as adopted by the City. All such connections
shall be made gastight and watertight, and verified with the proper
testing to prevent infiltration/inflow. All installation and materials
shall be approved by the City.
[Amended 7-20-2021 by Ord. No. 763]
B.
Capacity. New connection(s) to the public sanitary sewer utility
system shall be permitted as long as sufficient capacity is available
in the public sanitary sewer system, including capacity for flow,
BODs, nutrient levels and suspended solids, as determined by the City
Engineer.
Trunk utility charges have been established for new subdivided
areas of the City that did not pay for the original sanitary sewer
system. No system connection shall be made to the City public sanitary
sewer system unless all trunk utility charges have been paid and developer-installed
public improvements have been accepted or, if applicable, the lot
has been fully assessed for the cost of public sanitary sewer improvements.
All users who operate and maintain a private water supply system
shall install a meter for recording water used for domestic purposes
and all water discharged to the public sanitary sewer system. The
meter shall be provided by the City with the cost of the meter and
installation by a licensed plumber paid by the owner.
No person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening
into, use, alter, repair or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance
thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Building
Official or City Administrator or their designee and otherwise complying
with the terms of this chapter and the conditions accompanying the
permit.
Applications for permits shall be made in the name of the owner
or authorized agent and the licensed plumber or contractor. The permit
shall state the location, name of owner, street number of the building
or premises to be connected and how occupied. No person shall extend
any private building drain or sanitary service connection beyond the
approved scope of work for which the sanitary sewer connection permit
has been given.
B.
In either case, the application shall be supplemented by any plans,
specifications or any other information considered pertinent in the
judgement of the City. An industrial user, as a condition of permit
issuance, must provide information describing its wastewater constituents,
characteristics, volume and type of activity.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
In addition to any usage fees, trunk fees or special assessments, the sewer access fee (SAC) established by the City Council as set forth in Chapter 160, Fees, shall be payable prior to the issuance of a building permit.[1] Any applicable building or connection permit fees shall
also be paid at the time the permit application is submitted to the
City.
[Amended 7-20-2021 by Ord. No. 763]
Upon connection of any building or premises to the public sanitary sewer system, the owner shall pay usage charges each month at rates fixed by the City Council. The sewer service charge shall be payable as of the day of approval by the City of the connection between the building drain and building sewer or the connection between the building sewer and the public sanitary sewer system, whichever connection would permit use of the public sanitary sewer system. The owner is responsible for payment of usage charges, and if unpaid the charges shall be a lien on the property pursuant to § 260-45B.
All costs and expense incidental to the installation and connection
to the public sanitary sewer system shall be borne by the owner of
the building or premises. The owner shall indemnify the City from
any loss or damage to the public sanitary sewer system that may be
directly or indirectly caused by the installation of the building
sewer. Once installed, it shall be the responsibility of the owner
to keep the sewer connection and building/premises sewer plumbing
in working condition. New sanitary sewer service lines, upon approval
by the City Administrator, may be placed under an existing driveway.
The owner is liable for any repairs for the service line under the
driveway.
After initial service connection has been made to the sanitary sewer main, the owner of the building or premises shall be liable for all repairs required to the sanitary sewer service. This includes all sewer connection plumbing and piping from the building drain and/or connection to the sanitary sewer main, including any driveway, landscaping, sidewalk and street repairs. This also includes the thawing of frozen service lines to the sanitary sewer service main. The owner shall complete all repairs as directed by the City. Each day after three calendar days that the owner neglects or fails to act to make or procure services for repairs shall constitute a separate violation of this chapter. After three calendar days of no action by the owner, the City may then cause the work to be done and recover from the owner the costs of repair work, pursuant to § 260-45B of this chapter.
Every building shall have its own independent connection with
a private or public sanitary sewer collection system, except that
a group of buildings on a single property may be connected to one
or more manholes which are constructed on the premises and connected
to a private or public sanitary sewer system. These connections and
collection systems shall be approved by the City Engineer. Easements
shall be granted to the City for any manhole or private sanitary collection
system. When one or more buildings are served by a joint sanitary
sewer service line and the opportunity to separate connections is
made available by the City, the owner(s) shall connect to an independent
connection at their cost and expense.
Existing older building sewers may be used in conjunction with
new buildings or structures only when they are found, on examination
and test by the Building Official or their designee, to meet all the
requirements of this chapter.
Only an authorized licensed contractor, plumber, or City crews
may tap or make connections from the building drain or building sewer
into a public sanitary sewer service line. A building sewer shall
be constructed under the following conditions:
A.
OSHA regulations incorporated by reference. The Safety and Health
Regulations for Construction, Department of Labor, Occupational Safety
and Health Administration regarding excavations, trenching and shoring,
are hereby adopted by the City and incorporated as part of this chapter
as completely as if set out here in full. If any personnel shall fail
to comply with the requirements of the regulations, the Building Official
may, by written notice, stop all work in the trench until there is
compliance, including sheeting and bracing if ordered. Each 1/2 hour
of work in the trench after written directive to stop shall constitute
a separate violation herein.
B.
Construction. The size, slopes, alignment, materials of construction
of a building sanitary sewer and methods of excavating, placing of
the pipe, jointing, testing and backfilling of the trench shall all
conform to the requirements of the State of Minnesota Building and
Plumbing Codes or other applicable rules and regulations of the City.
[Amended 7-20-2021 by Ord. No. 763]
C.
Connection point. The connection of the building sewer with the public
sewer shall be made at the "Y" branch designated for the property,
if suitable. Any other location for the connection shall be only as
directed by the City.
D.
Inspection. Before covering or backfilling such building sewer, the
contractor or plumber must obtain inspection and approval of said
sewer construction by the Building Official or their designee.
E.
Cost and liability. All costs and expenses incidental to the installation
and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner(s).
The owner(s) shall indemnify the City from any loss or damage that
may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the
building sewer and/or sanitary sewer service line.
