No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connection with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sanitary sewer or appurtenance thereof, nor shall any unauthorized person discharge any industrial waste into any public sanitary sewer or appurtenance thereof, nor shall any customer increase the volume of acceptable wastewater discharged into any public sanitary sewer or appurtenance thereof above the established allocation for said customer, without first obtaining a written permit of approval from the approving authority.
There shall be three classes of sanitary sewer service permits:
A. 
Sanitary sewer connection permit, for the approval of all residential and nonresidential service connections.
B. 
Industrial waste discharge permit, for acceptance into the WPC system of discharges of industrial waste as defined in this chapter.
C. 
Allocation increase permit, for the approval of any increase in the volume of acceptable wastewater above the established allocation to include change in use, redevelopment, or change in property use resulting in the need for additional allocation.
[Amended 8-23-2022 by Ord. No. O-22-10]
To obtain a permit, the owner or his agent shall make application on a special form furnished by the City. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications and/or other information required in accordance with the administrative regulations of the approving authority. These supplements shall be part of the application. The date of the application shall be the date that the completed application is received by the City. A sanitary sewer service application fee shall be charged in accordance with § 240-19 of this article. A permit shall not be issued unless the application has been approved by the approving authority. The approved permit must contain the signatures of both the approving authority and the Plumbing Inspector.
If an application is approved as herein set forth and the owner, applicant or agent does not secure the permit within one year of the approval date, then said approval may be deemed null and void.
[Amended 9-29-2020 by Ord. No. O-20-29]
A sanitary sewer service application fee shall be charged for each application for a permit and shall be due and payable at the time that the application is filed. The Council of the City of Hagerstown shall, by ordinance, fix, establish and adjust the amount of the sanitary sewer service application fee, in accordance with the Charter of the City of Hagerstown. The sanitary sewer service application fee shall be $50.
[Amended 8-23-2022 by Ord. No. O-22-10]
To preserve the integrity of the WPC system as it is designed to function, the approving authority shall maintain a controlled allocation of wastes to be discharged into said system. The approving authority shall establish an appropriate allocation to each applicant for a permit prior to the approval of the application for said permit. The approving authority shall establish an appropriate allocation for each multiple-unit residential customer and for each nonresidential customer. Each allocation shall be based upon the estimated daily volume of wastewater to be discharged or being discharged into the WPC system, as determined by the approving authority.
A. 
Allocation shall not be increased unless the following requirements are met:
(1) 
Owner shall make application to the Water and Sewer Department in writing a minimum of six months prior to exceeding the established property allocation when a change in process, production, number of units, redevelopment, or any other change in property use that may or shall result in exceeding the established property allocation.
(2) 
Should the annual average daily usage exceed the established allocation by 100 gallons per day or greater and the owner has not made application as required in § 238-10G(4)(a)[2][a] to purchase additional allocation, the City has the authority to terminate water service in accordance with § 238-17 of City Code.
(3) 
If the daily average usage exceeds the established allocation and application has not been made for the purchase of additional allocation, the owner will be charged the applicable residential rate per § 240-63 for inside customers and § 240-64 for outside customers.
The estimated daily volume of wastewater to be discharged or being discharged to the WPC system shall be determined by the approving authority from the previous, current and/or anticipated amount of water consumption and other factors considered significant by the approving authority and/or from information provided by the applicant and/or by other sources.
For any allocation issued to an applicant for a permit, the approving authority may divide the total allocation and proportionally distribute these partial allocations in increments to coincide with the schedule of development.
The allocation to an applicant for a permit shall become effective on the date that the applicant or his agent secures his grant permit.
The approving authority shall notify each customer who on the date of adoption of this article is a customer of the proposed allocation for said customer, except that said notification shall not be required for single-family residential customers. Unless a customer shall have informed the approving authority, in writing, within 30 days of his receipt of said notification of allocation of his intention to file an application for an allocation increase permit and unless said customer shall have filed said application within 90 days of his receipt of said notification of allocation, the proposed allocation shall be the established allocation for said customer, and any subsequent application by him for an allocation increase permit shall be subject to a benefit charge in accordance with the provisions of this article. All applications for an allocation increase permit shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of this article.
[Amended 8-23-2022 by Ord. No. O-22-10]
The allocation established for any applicant for a permit as specified in this article shall be for the location specified in the application for said permit, and said established allocation shall not be transferable to any other location unless otherwise authorized as follows:
A. 
Transfer of allocation.
(1) 
Transfer of allocation shall only be permitted for properties with purchased allocation. Allocation assigned when the benefit fee rules and regulations were adopted.
(2) 
Transfer of allocation shall only be permitted when the existing established allocation is 1,500 gallons per day or greater. One thousand gallons per day allocation shall remain with each property.
(3) 
All properties involved shall be zoned for commercial or industrial development.
(4) 
Transfer of allocation may be authorized one time for property zoned commercial or industrial. In the event a property is sold, transferred, etc., and allocation was previously transferred, additional allocation transfer shall not be permitted.
(5) 
Transfer of allocation shall be between properties shall be located within the same government jurisdiction (either City or county) and located in the medium range growth area (MRGA).
(6) 
Property redevelopment. Transfer of allocation shall be authorized on properties with two or more parcels or lots within the redevelopment plan, provided there is excess established allocation on one or more parcel or lot in the redevelopment plan.
(7) 
Transfer of allocation from properties located inside municipal limits to properties outside municipal limits but within the MRGA may be authorized in accordance when the properties are zoned commercial or industrial. For properties in the joint sewer service area (JSSA), all requirements of the JSSA must be met.
(a) 
The allocation transfer must comply with § 240-25A(1).
(b) 
The allocation transfer shall only occur when the highest average annual usage for the previous three years remains with the property.
(c) 
Transfer of allocation from properties zoned commercial or industrial located inside municipal limits to properties zoned commercial or industrial zoned located outside municipal limits and within the MRGA, is contingent upon recommendation from the Director of Planning and Code Administration and the Director of Utilities to, and approval by, the Mayor and City Council.
(8) 
Payment of benefit fee differential for outside customers shall be required when allocation is transferred from a municipal property to a property located outside Hagerstown corporate boundaries.
(9) 
All City Code requirements and City policies pertaining to wastewater service remain in full effect.
The approving authority shall establish, maintain and keep records ordinarily deemed necessary in the development of an estimate of the volume of discharge of wastewater to a sanitary sewer system from various type of residential and nonresidential establishments and facilities. These records shall be available to the public.
[Amended 8-23-2022 by Ord. No. O-22-10]
The approving authority shall review and assess the actual daily volume of sewage, waters, wastes and wastewaters being discharged into the water pollution control system by its customers. If, as a result of these reviews, it is determined by the approving authority that said volume of discharge of any customer has significantly exceeded his established allocation, the approving authority may notify the said owner thereof, and the owner or his agent, shall, within 30 days of receipt of said notification, file an application for an increased allocation permit in accordance with this article. If the amount of increased discharge above the established allocation is determined by the approving authority to be 50 gallons per day or more, the approving authority shall notify the owner or his agent (except single-family residences or single-family residential units) as specified herein.
[Amended 8-23-2022 by Ord. No. O-22-10]
If, as a result of reviews conducted by the approving authority as specified in this article, it is determined by the approving authority that the volume of sewage, waters, wastes and wastewaters being discharged into the water pollution control system by any customer has been less than the established allocation for said customer by 50 gallons per day or more for at least one year, the approving authority shall notify the said owner or his agent thereof, that his established allocation shall be reduced to a proposed allocation as determined by the approving authority. The owner or his agent shall then have a total of 90 days from the date of receipt of said notification to file an application to again increase his established allocation. If the customer, or the owner or his agent, does not file an application for allocation increase, then the new reduced allocation amount as determined by the approving authority automatically takes effect. If, however, the owner or his agent, exceeds this new determined allocation but stays within his original allocation for three consecutive years, the owner or his agent will not be assessed any additional benefit charge and the established allocation will be increased consistent with the highest annual average usage for the prior three-year period. The approving authority shall have the right to apply any allocation amount that is taken from a customer, or an owner or his agent, to another customer, owner or his agent.
One service connection shall be provided for each lot at the time of installation of the public sanitary sewer to serve such lot. Additional service connections or any changes requested after the public sanitary sewer is installed shall be at the sole expense of the property owner. Any lot shall be served once only and may be served at any point, front, rear or side, whichever is deemed most feasible by the approving authority. In the event that a lot or parcel of land is subdivided or reallotted in any manner, the cost of all service connections, charges or extensions needed shall be at the sole expense of the property owner. This shall be in addition to all other applicable charges required by this chapter.
[Amended 5-28-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-15; 9-29-2020 by Ord. No. O-20-29]
The connection charge for a lateral connection to the sanitary sewer service system shall be $1,300, beginning November 1, 2020, and shall be due and payable at the time the connection permit is issued. An additional connection charge for a wye side-by-side connection shall be $200, beginning November 1, 2020, and shall be due and payable at the time the connection permit is issued.
A. 
A benefit charge shall be assessed for each allocation established with the approval of an application for a permit and shall be due and payable at the time that the permit is issued. The benefit charge is intended, generally, to distribute the City's installed cost of the WPC collection system and a pro rata share of the WPC plant cost to the benefited property owners. The benefit charge shall be levied upon the applicant for a permit, or the owner or owners of the property or properties to be served, and shall be in the amount or amounts equal to the product of the allocation established with the approval of an application for a permit, in gallons per day as determined by the approving authority, multiplied by the established rate per gallon of allocation, except that the benefit charge for an allocation established with the approval of an application for a sanitary sewer connection permit shall not be less than the established minimum benefit charge. The Mayor and Council of the City of Hagerstown shall, by ordinance, fix, establish and adjust the amount of the minimum benefit charge and the amount of the benefit charge rate per gallon of allocation, in accordance with the Charter of the City of Hagerstown. If for any reason, the benefit charge is not paid when due, then the outstanding balance owed by the property owner(s) will constitute a lien on the property served and be collectible in accordance with applicable legal remedies.
[Amended 10-28-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-38][1]
(1) 
The Mayor and Council may establish as provided in this section a different benefit charge for service within the City's corporate boundaries from that established for service outside the City's corporate boundaries.
(2) 
The county will collect and remit to the City in accordance with the terms of the flow transfer agreement between the City and the county the City's benefit charge collected in the joint service areas as defined in the consolidated general services agreement between the City and the county.
(3) 
The City will collect the City benefit charge and the county connection charge and the construction reserve charge, also referred to as "allocation fees," provided for in the flow transfer agreement applicable to sewer service provided by the City outside its corporate boundaries, not in a joint sewer area. The City will remit to the county the county connection charge and construction reserve charge. The City will retain the City benefit charge.
[1]
Editor's Note: Ord. No. O-05-19, adopted 7-12-2005, amended this subsection to provide a City customer sewer benefit charge of $22 per gallon of average daily usage and a non-City customer sewer benefit charge of $25 per gallon of average daily usage.
B. 
Use of funds. The revenues received from the WPC benefit charge are to be used exclusively to fund major capital additions, replacements or improvements to the WPC treatment plant, collection system or related system facilities required for additional capacity.
[Added 7-26-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-27]
C. 
Administrative policies for the sewer benefit charge shall be established by the Water and Sewer Department and shall be available at the Water and Sewer Department or the Office of the City Clerk.
[Added 6-27-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-29]