(A) 
A sewer connection permit shall be obtained from the department before any connections are made to the county sanitary sewer system.
(B) 
When a property owner connects into the sanitary sewer, any existing on-site disposal system shall be abandoned in accordance with the requirements of the UPC.
(Ordinance 1998-16 adopted 12/8/98)
(A) 
When an application for a permit to connect to the existing county sewer system is made, the person, company or corporation making the application shall submit for the county’s approval adequate plans, drawings, specifications and descriptions of the proposed work. These submittals must meet with the appropriate standards for approval by the county.
(B) 
The department shall have ultimate authority to issue a construction permit.
(Ordinance 1998-16 adopted 12/8/98)
(A) 
The department shall be notified when a sewer connection is completed and ready for inspection. All work shall be left uncovered for examination until inspected and approved by the department’s duly authorized representative.
(B) 
For each sewer line connection inspection made by the inspector, an inspection fee shall be charged as described in appendix A to this chapter.[1]
[1]
Editor’s note–Said appendix is included as an attachment to this chapter.
(C) 
The inspector shall be the sole judge of the total number of inspections necessary.
(Ordinance 1998-16 adopted 12/8/98)
A utility expansion charge shall be paid as described in subsection (C) of appendix A.
(Ordinance 1998-16 adopted 12/8/98; Ordinance 2021-06 adopted 11/30/21)
(A) 
When the county pays for construction of a new sewer main, the governing body may establish a special sewer connection assessment district by ordinance.
(B) 
The connection district shall not be applied to sewer line replacements or to lines funded out of an improvement district under NMSA, section 4-55A-1 et seq.
(C) 
If a special sewer connection assessment district is established, the ordinance shall:
(1) 
Define the geographic area to be benefitted by the sewer main;
(2) 
State the projected number of residential units and describe projected commercial development within the defined service area, based on the developer’s county approved plans and zoning (The potential number of commercial outlets shall be estimated based on comparable existing structures and applicable code requirements.);
(3) 
Project the “residential unit equivalents” within the service area (This figure shall be calculated by dividing the estimated number of commercial outlets by four and adding the projected number of residential units to be served by the new sewer main.);
(4) 
State the projected cost of the sewer main, based on accepted construction bids, design costs and bonding costs and state the percentage of this cost which directly benefits the service area;
(5) 
Set a base year special sewer connection assessment, based on total projected cost which directly benefits the service area divided by the number of “residential unit equivalents,” projected within the service area;
(6) 
Set an annual interest rate to be applied to the base year assessment (This interest shall be compounded each 12 months following the effective date of the assignment of this chapter. The interest rate shall be equal to the interest rate paid by the county on bonds issued to pay for the sewer main construction. If no bonds are issued for the project, the interest rate shall be equal to the rate paid by the county for the most recent bond issued before the effective date of the chapter.); and
(7) 
Assess each property owner who is required to connect or voluntarily connects to the sewers within the service area, a fee equal to the base year special sewer connection, plus interest compounded as set out above. This fee shall be assessed for each residential unit and for every four outlets or fraction thereof in a commercial structure connecting to the sewer. This fee shall be assessed in addition to the sewer service connection fee set out in section 52.69.
(Ordinance 1998-16 adopted 12/8/98)
(A) 
(1) 
New commercial establishments or existing buildings being remodeled into commercial establishments, in which the existing sewer service is adequately sized and in good condition, and where grease traps or sand and grease interceptors are not required by this chapter or by the UPC, and which can be classified as either commercial retail businesses or office buildings, shall not be required to construct a county standard monitoring manhole, provided the establishment has no more than 160 FUEs connected, as determined in the UPC.
(2) 
Sewer connections pursuant hereto shall be made with clean-out or sampling ports as required by the county.
(B) 
Nothing in this section shall be construed to relax or modify the building requirements of the UPC.
(Ordinance 1998-16 adopted 12/8/98)
Service connections to the county sanitary sewer system which are found to be constructed without county permit or otherwise have been undertaken without county authorization or have not been billed for service in accordance with rates established in this subchapter, are deemed illegal and are hereby prohibited.
(Ordinance 1998-16 adopted 12/8/98 Penalty, see section 10.99)
(A) 
Upon discovery of an illegal connection, the county shall inform the owner in writing of the property being serviced by such a connection that:
(1) 
The property is served by an illegal connection;
(2) 
Within 30 days of receipt of the county’s letter, the owner shall remove the illegal connection and shall be billed in arrears for 24 months of service charges at the current authorized rates and shall make the payments;
(3) 
Within 30 days of receipt of the county’s letter, the connection shall be excavated and a reconnection made in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter and the owner shall be billed in arrears for 24 months of service charges at the current authorized rates for one year of service charges at the current authorized rates and shall make the payments; or
(4) 
At the county’s discretion, the county may not require reconnection provided the owner is billed in arrears for a period of service agreed upon by the county and the owner that is greater than 24 months and shall make the payment.
(B) 
In the event that the owner can demonstrate, to the county’s satisfaction, the actual time period that the illegal connection has been in existence, the county may adjust the billing in arrears for service charges to the period of actual connection.
(Ordinance 1998-16 adopted 12/8/98 Penalty, see section 10.99)