A building sewer permit shall be obtained from the City Manager before installing a building sewer or connecting a building sewer to the public sewer. There shall be two (2) classes of building sewer permits: one (1) shall be for residential and commercial services, and one (1) shall be for services to establishments producing industrial waste.
Applications for building sewer permits shall be on forms provided by the City, which forms may be combined with forms for other permits required by the City. The applicant shall submit such forms, specifications, supplemental information and material as may be required by the City Manager. No permit shall be issued until all fees due the City have been paid.
During any period of threatened or actual shortage of essential services that are provided by the City, the City shall have the right to apportion its available sewage capacity among consumers in such manner as appears most equitable under the circumstances then prevailing and with due regard to public health and safety. Such apportionment shall grant priority to housing with units affordable to lower income housing.
All costs and expenses incurred in connection with the construction, installation and maintenance of a building sewer shall be discharged and paid by the lot owner who shall indemnify and hold harmless the City from any and all claims, damages or losses that may be directly or indirectly occasioned by the installation of such building sewer.
A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every lot; provided, however, at the discretion of the City Manager, joint use of building sewers may be permitted where provisions have been made to the satisfaction of the City for joint maintenance by all owners served.
Existing building sewers may be used in connection with new improvements and construction when, on examination and test by the City Manager, the same are found to meet all of the requirements of this Chapter.
The size, slope, alignment, material of construction of a building sewer and the method to be used for excavating, placing the pipe, joining, testing, and backfilling of the trench shall conform to the requirements of the Plumbing Code of the City and the standards and standard specifications of the City in effect at the time of construction and installation. Permits for building sewers that do not meet with requirements of the Plumbing Code of the City and the standards and standard specifications of the City may be issued provided the plans and specifications for the same have been approved by the Engineer of the City of San Juan Bautista.
[1]
These sections were both added to the code with the number 5-9-330. They have been editorially redesignated to omit the duplicate numbering.
Whenever possible, building sewers shall be brought to the building at an elevation below the basement floor. In all buildings which any building drain is less than thirty inches (30") higher than the invert of the public sewer, a backflow check device will be required and shall be maintained by the owner.
[1]
These sections were both added to the code with the number 5-9-330. They have been editorially redesignated to omit the duplicate numbering.
No person shall make any connection of roof downspouts, exterior foundation drains, carry away drains or other sources of surface runoff or ground water to a building sewer or building drain which, in turn, is connected directly or indirectly to the public sanitary sewer.
The connection of a building sewer to the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Codes of the City and the standards and standard specifications of the City in effect at the time of such connection. All such connections shall be made gastight and watertight. Any deviation from prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the District prior to connection and installation.
The permittee shall notify the City Manager when a building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. The connection of a building sewer to the public sewer shall be made only after inspection by, and in the presence of, the City Manager.
All excavations and building sewer construction and installation shall be adequately guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from injury. The permittee shall indemnify and hold harmless the City from any and all claims, damages or loss that may be directly or indirectly occasioned by the construction or installation. Streets, sidewalks, parkways and other public property disturbed in the course of construction and installation shall be restored in accordance with standards and standard specifications of the City.
(A) 
Property owners shall inspect, and provide to the City a report of the results of an inspection of, the building sewers on their property prepared by a licensed plumber using closed circuit television (CCTV) inspection or other inspection or test method approved by the City Manager, and if found defective, repair the building sewers, as follows:
(1) 
When building a new structure on property with an existing building sewer, when otherwise proposing to connect a previously unconnected structure to an existing building sewer;
(2) 
As a condition of approval of any building remodel project that is estimated by the City to cost fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more;
(3) 
Prior to the close of escrow when the property is transferred via sale or other transfer of ownership by deed, instrument or writing, provided, the inspection and report requirement shall be excused if the buyer executes a release and waiver in a form approved by the City Manager;
(4) 
Whenever the City finds that a sewage overflow emanating from a building sewer has reached public property, including but not limited to a City street or the City storm drain system, or has flowed onto private property owned by another property owner;
(5) 
Whenever the City finds that a sewage overflow emanating from a building sewer presents a threat to public health, even if it has not flowed across a property line.
In the absence of a specific deadline, all inspection and testing work shall be completed within sixty (60) days of notification by the City that such inspection is required. Existing building sewers shall not be used if they are found to be defective by the inspection or if they fail City mandated tests or if they were constructed of materials deemed unacceptable by the City Manager.
(B) 
As part of its periodic construction and maintenance of sewer mains, the City may discover defective building sewers. The City may order the property owner to conduct an inspection, repair or replacement of any building sewer that the City knows or reasonably suspects to be defective.
(C) 
The building sewer shall be considered defective if it has any of the following conditions: displaced joints, root intrusion, substantial deterioration of the lines, damaged clean-out, defective clean-out, inflow, infiltration of extraneous water, or other conditions likely to substantially increase the chance for a blockage, or if, within a period of one year, suffers two or more blockages resulting in overflows.
(D) 
Whenever defective building sewers are found, the property owner, at the sole expense of the property owner, shall repair or replace the building sewer. The City Manager shall determine the extent of repair required, and more limited repair than complete replacement of the building sewer may be permitted at the sole discretion of the City Manager. The following requirements shall be met:
(1) 
A replaced or repaired building sewer shall not be covered or backfilled until it has been inspected by a representative of the City.
(2) 
All new and repaired building sewers must pass an air pressure test as specified by the City Manager.
(3) 
All repaired or replaced building sewers shall be brought into compliance with the requirements of this Code. Overflow devices must be installed on all repaired or replaced building sewers, and backflow valves may be required to be installed on building sewers meeting the criteria of this Code.
(E) 
In the absence of a specific deadline established by the City Manager, all repair or replacement work shall be completed within sixty (60) days of notification by the City that such repair or replacement is required.
(F) 
When a building sewer is completely replaced, the property owner is not required to inspect the building sewer upon sale of the property for ten (10) years following the date of complete replacement of the building sewer.
(G) 
Roots, grease, or other material which have accumulated in a building sewer cleaned or maintained shall be prevented from entering the sewer main during the maintenance or repair of the building sewer. In the event that material is permitted to enter the main causing or contributing to the cause of a sewage spill, the property owner and/or contractor performing such maintenance work, in addition to any criminal penalties imposed, shall be held civilly liable to the City for any fines or other expenses incurred by the City resulting from the spill.
(H) 
The City shall have the authority to recover from a property owner the City’s expenses incurred in responding to sewer overflows on private property. In addition to any actual expenses incurred by the City resulting from an overflow, the City, pursuant to Chapter 2-7 SJBMC, may impose civil administrative penalties for failing to perform any act required in this Section, which failure results in an overflow reaching public or private property other than the property owner’s property. The City Manager shall have the authority to establish, waive, suspend or otherwise modify any civil administrative penalty imposed by this Section that exceeds the direct costs of the City upon a showing by the property owner of severe financial hardship, or upon a showing that the property owner has satisfactorily repaired the building sewer to a degree sufficient to ensure avoidance of further violations.