A. 
A sewer usage fee shall be imposed upon the owner of each building space that is connected to the Groton Center Sewer System.
B. 
The sewer usage fee shall be calculated and billed on a per-water-unit basis.
C. 
Groton Center Sewer System usage fees shall be determined by the Sewer Commission, or its successors, after a public hearing.
D. 
The Sewer Commission reserves the right to assess a separate fee for the use of the common sewer by contract, or for users whose special circumstances deem that they, in the view of the Sewer Commission, require a separate fee.
E. 
The Sewer Commission shall have authority to establish various tiers of usage and to assign rates to such tiers as the Commission shall decide.
A. 
The following steps are followed to determine the per-water-unit usage fee for a fiscal year:
(1) 
Determine the total revenue required to meet all costs of the Groton Center Sewer, including but not limited to depreciation, overhead, all costs for treatment and disposal of wastewater by the Town of Pepperell, debt service, maintenance, and any and all other expected costs for the coming and future years.
(2) 
Subtract funds expected to be received from outside sources if any.
(3) 
Call the result the "Estimated Annual Preliminary Required Revenue."
(4) 
Estimate the amount of the Groton Center Sewer System connection fees expected to be received during the year; subtract the total from the Estimated Annual Preliminary Required Revenue.
(5) 
Call the result the "Annual Net Required Revenue."
(6) 
Determine the average number of water units that are expected to be used during the year. Call the results the "Estimated Average Number of Water Units."
(7) 
Divide the Annual Net Required Revenue by the Estimated Average Number of Water Units. Call the result the "Annual Per-Water-Unit Usage Fee." Adjust this fee for use with a multi-tiered rate structure.
B. 
The Sewer Commission shall make, after its public hearing, such adjustments to the calculated Annual Per-Water-Unit Usage Fee as it deems reasonable and necessary for the Groton Center Sewer by adjusting this fee for use with a multi-tiered rate structure as well as for the frequency (such as annual, semi-annual, quarterly or monthly) of the billing cycle.
A. 
The following steps are followed to determine the Groton Center Sewer System usage fee on a quarterly basis (or other billing frequency established by the Sewer Commission):
(1) 
Determine the water usage for the billing period.
(a) 
For properties served by a water department, the water usage for the billing period shall be as measured by the property's water meter or meters.
(b) 
For residential and nonresidential properties not served by a water department, water usage for the billing period shall be as measured by a meter installed by the property owner and approved by the Sewer Commission.
(2) 
Call the result the "Number of Water Units to be Billed."
(3) 
Multiply the Number of Water Units to be Billed by the Annual Per-Water-Unit Usage Fee determined above.
(4) 
Call the result the "Sewer Usage Fee."
B. 
Sewer usage fees for industrial or other process wastes (nondomestic) will be determined separately by the Sewer Commission.
C. 
A minimum sewer usage fee per individual property will be assessed, as indicated on the Groton Center Sewer District Fee Schedule (Appendix A[1]).
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is included as an attachment to this chapter.
D. 
The Commission may establish other fees for the administrative operation of Groton Center Sewer District as well as constructing, maintaining, and upgrading collecting sewers, interceptor sewers, pumping stations, force mains and system appurtenances to serve the Groton Center Sewer System in the Town of Groton; the cost of land and easements; the cost of reimbursements to the Town of Pepperell for Groton's share of Pepperell's capital expenditures for the construction and upgrades of the Town of Pepperell's wastewater collection and treatment facilities; and the cost of additional capacity in Pepperell's facilities when it becomes necessary and for the treatment and disposal of its wastewater at the Town of Pepperell's wastewater treatment plant.
E. 
For residential and nonresidential properties, whether or not served by a water department, the Sewer Commission shall have the right, after hearing, to require a property owner to pay the costs, or a portion thereof, of acquisition of a device to measure in gallons the wastewater flowing from the connected property to the public sewer as well as the labor costs of the periodic monitoring of the flow, and to then bill the property owner based upon a wastewater flow-unit basis.
(1) 
The Sewer Commission shall give at least 14 days' written notice of the hearing to the property owner by certified mail, return receipt requested. In the event such notice is returned undelivered, notice may be given as provided for in the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 4.
(2) 
After hearing, if the Sewer Commission finds that the difference of the estimated wastewater flow from the connected property exceeds the measured water usage by an amount which the Sewer Commission, in its discretion, finds to be significant, it may then order that the property owner be billed upon a wastewater flow-unit basis and shall pay the costs of doing so. In determining whether the difference is significant, the Sewer Commission shall consider the size of the difference, the estimated sewer usage fees not being billed to the property owner based upon the size of the difference, and the cost to purchase and install the flow meter.