(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)
All connections to the county sewers shall be made by a licensed
plumber authorized to do business in the county, in accordance with
the UPC.
(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.
(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)