No building permit shall be issued by the City
for new building construction within the City unless a written permit
has been obtained for a sewer connection from the proposed building
to the City's facilities, provided that the proposed building is located
within a reasonable distance from said facilities or an extension
thereto, as determined by the Director.
No person shall install, renew or repair any
new, old or existing subsurface wastewater disposal system, including
septic tanks, if a connection to the City's facilities is or can be
installed within a reasonable distance as determined by the Director.
[Amended 2-7-2023 by Doc. 5-L]
A.
No person
other than an employee of the Haverhill Water, Wastewater or Highway
Department - working under the control and direction of the Haverhill
Director of Public Works shall uncover, make any connections with
or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance
thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the City Engineer.
B.
Any person
found to be working in violation of this shall be subject to a fine
of $300 per day for each violation.
[Added 9-30-2003 by Doc. 153-D]
The City Engineer shall have the power to set
fees for the required permit for various sewer and drain main and
service installation, connection, repair and transfer. The permit
fee schedule shall be posted in the City Engineer's office and be
as listed below:
A.
Sewer or drain service connection: $200.
B.
Sewer or drain service repair: $100.
C.
Sewer or drain service transfer: $25.
D.
Sewer or drain main installation: $500.
E.
Sewer or drain main repair: $200.
F.
Sewer or drain main transfer: $25.
G.
Sewer service fee is per unit; drain service fee is per connection;
and sewer/drain main fee is per right-of-way.
[Added 7-28-2015 by Doc.
94]
All costs and expenses incident to the installation
and connection of the building sewer and/or private sewer shall be
borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the City from any loss
or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation
or repair of the building sewer and/or private sewer.
The City Engineer may grant permits to licensed
drainlayers to enter building sewers or drains into the public sewers
or drains or into private sewers or drains entering such public sewers
or drains in accordance with the terms of this chapter and the rules
and regulations made therefor by the City Council and the Board of
Health; and the City Engineer shall cause to be kept a complete record,
in a book provided for that purpose, of all such permits granted,
giving the name of the street and the number of the estate, if any,
the name of the owner or owners and of the applicant for such permit,
the size and kind of drain or sewer entered, the name of the drainlayer
making the entrance and such other facts in connection therewith as
may be of importance as matter of record.
[Added 6-24-1997 by Doc. 115; amended 9-30-2003 by Doc. 153-B]
A.
Applications for permits to extend, install or connect
any private or public sewer or drain with a public sewer or drain,
or with a private sewer or drain entering such public sewer or drain,
must be made in writing to the City Engineer by a licensed drainlayer
acting as an agent for the owner of the subject property. Applications
for permit to alter or repair any private or public sewer or drain
that connects to a public sewer or drain, or to a private sewer or
drain entering such public sewer or drain, must be made in writing
to the City Engineer by a licenses drainlayer acting as an agent for
the owner of the subject property. Such applications must be accompanied
by a clear description of the premises, work to be performed and the
type of material required. All such applications must further include
an agreement on the part of the licensed drainlayer to abide by all
the provisions of this chapter and to waive claim for damages in case
of revocation as hereinafter provided.
B.
A written statement from the property owner authorizing
discharge of the authorized drainlayer that currently holds a valid
permit must be submitted to the City Engineer prior to a new permit
being issued to a different licensed drainlayer acting as agent for
the owner of the subject property.
[Added 6-24-1997 by Doc. 115; amended 2-7-2023 by Doc. 5-M]
Permits to connect with a public sewer or drain
or with a private drain entering such public sewer or drain may at
any time be revoked and annulled by the City Engineer for such .cause
as it may deem sufficient, and all parties in interest shall be held
to have waived the right to claim damages on account of such revocation
or annulment, provided that such revocation shall itself be annulled
on compliance with the provisions of this chapter and the rules and
regulations of the Board of Health.
Connections between the building plumbing and
the building sewer at a point approximately 10 feet outside the building
foundation shall be made with a proper adapter. The building sewer
shall be connected only with the wye, tee or chimney mentioned in
the permit issued for such sewer by the City Engineer. In the absence
of a wye or tee fitting laid with the main sewer, connection to the
sewer shall be made by means of a proper saddle fitting securely fastened
and bonded to the trunk sewer. Any other type of connection must be
specifically approved by the City Engineer. No building sewer shall
be connected directly to a manhole, except in special cases, with
the approval of the City Engineer. Wherever possible, connections
to the main sewer shall be made by slants at or near the center of
such sewers and at angles of 45°. All changes in direction of
the building sewer shall require a cleanout connection to the surface;
changes in direction of 90° or more shall be made at a proper
manhole.
In opening any public street or way, all pavement
shall be removed with the least possible injury or loss of remaining
pavement and, together with the material excavated from the trench,
shall be placed where they will cause the least practical inconvenience
to the public or as may be directed by the Director of Public Works.
No portion of the building sewer shall be covered
until inspected. Backfilling shall be conducted in accordance with
accepted good practice and in the presence of the inspector. Materials
used for the backfill shall all be approved by the Inspector and shall
be placed by hand and properly tamped in layers not exceeding four
inches in depth to a point 12 inches over the top of the pipe. Machine
backfilling may be used for the remaining depth. Special care shall
be taken in backfilling areas which are within the traveled way to
assure a minimum of settlement. Where required by the City Engineer,
an eight-inch concrete slab shall be installed under the final pavement
to avoid the expense and difficulty of repeated reworking of a settling
trench. Said concrete slab shall extend over undisturbed earth on
both sides of the trench for a minimum of eight inches.
[Amended 9-30-2003 by Doc. 153
Inspection of the completed work shall be done
by the Engineering Department. The drainlayer must receive permission
from the City Engineer to begin the permitted sewer/drain work and
provide a minimum 24 hours' advance notification for inspection. No
portion of the work shall be covered prior to inspection. Any inspection
made outside the hours of the regular workweek shall be made at the
inspector's overtime rate as determined in the contractual agreement
between the City of Haverhill and the employee's Union and shall be
paid by the drainlayer. Upon final inspection and approval, the inspector
shall complete the inspection report.
A separate and independent building sewer shall
be provided for every building, except where one building stands at
the rear of another on an interior lot and no private sewer is available
or can be constructed to the rear building through an adjoining alley,
court, yard or driveway. Under these circumstances and upon approval
of the Director, the building sewer from the front building may be
extended to the rear building and the whole considered as one building
sewer.
A private sewer for the collection of two or
more building sewers shall be constructed only upon receipt of written
approval by the Director.
Old building sewers may be used in connection
with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test
by the Director, to meet all requirements of this chapter.
The size, slope, alignment and materials of
construction of a building sewer and/or private sewer and the methods
to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing and
backfilling the trench shall all conform to the requirements of the
Building and Plumbing Code or other applicable rules and regulations
of the Director of Public Works. In the absence of code provisions
or in amplification thereof, the materials and procedures set forth
in appropriate specifications of the American Society for Testing
and Materials and Water Pollution Control Federation Manual of Practice
No. 9 shall apply.
Whenever possible, the building sewer shall
be brought to the building at an elevation below the basement floor.
In all buildings in which any plumbing connection is too low to permit
gravity flow to the private sewer or public sewer, domestic wastewater
discharged by such connection shall be lifted by an approved means
and discharged to the building sewer.
[Added 6-24-1997 by Doc. 115; amended 2-28-2017 by Doc. 35]
A.
Discharge prohibitions applicable to sanitary sewer system. No person
shall make connection of roof downspouts, exterior foundation drains,
areaway drains or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to
a building sewer and/or private sewer or to interior piping which
in turn is connected directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer.
Exhaust from engines, blowoff from boilers, drainage of gasoline or
any explosive liquor, liquids or substances will not be permitted
in any building sewer which is connected directly or indirectly to
a public safety sanitary sewer.
B.
Discharge prohibitions and restrictions applicable to the stormwater
drainage system.
(1)
Prohibited activities.
(a)
Illicit discharges. No person shall dump, discharge, cause or
allow to be discharged any pollutant or nonstormwater discharge into
the MS4 or into the waters of the United States or the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts.
(b)
Illicit connections. No person shall construct, use, allow,
maintain or continue any illicit connection to the MS4, regardless
of whether the connection was permissible under applicable law, regulation
or custom at the time of connection.
(c)
Obstruction of the MS4. No person shall obstruct or interfere
with the normal flow of stormwater into or out of the MS4 without
prior written approval from the Superintendent.
(2)
Exempted activities. The following nonstormwater discharges or flows
are exempt from the prohibition of nonstormwater discharges or flows,
provided that the source is not a significant contributor of a pollutant
to the MS4:
(a)
Discharge or flow resulting from firefighting activities;
(b)
Waterline flushing;
(c)
Landscape irrigation;
(d)
Diverted stream flow;
(e)
Rising groundwater;
(f)
Uncontaminated groundwater infiltration as defined in 40 CFR
35.2005(20);
(g)
Uncontaminated pumped groundwater;
(h)
Flow from potable water sources;
(i)
Roof downspouts, exterior foundation drains, sump pumps, areaway
drains or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater;
(j)
Air-conditioning condensation;
(k)
Irrigation water, springs;
(l)
Water from crawl space pumps;
(m)
Footing drains (not including active groundwater dewatering
systems);
(n)
Lawn watering;
(o)
Water from individual residential car washing;
(p)
Natural flow from riparian habitats and wetlands;
(q)
Discharge from dechlorinated swimming pool water (less than
one part per million chlorine), provided the water is allowed to stand
for one week prior to draining and the pool is drained in such a way
as not to cause a nuisance;
(r)
Street wash waters;
(s)
Residential building wash waters without detergents;
(t)
Dye testing, provided oral notification is given to the Superintendent
prior to the time of the test;
(u)
Nonstormwater discharge permitted under an NPDES stormwater
discharge permit or a surface water discharge permit, waiver, or waste
discharge order administered under the authority of EPA or MassDEP,
provided that the discharge is in full compliance with the requirements
of the permit, waiver, or order and applicable laws and regulations;
and
(v)
Discharge for which advanced written approval is received from
the Superintendent as necessary to protect public health, safety,
welfare or the environment.
(3)
Transitional period. Residential property owners shall have 90 days from the effective date of § 208-29B to comply with § 208-29B(1), provided good cause is shown for the failure to comply during that period.
(4)
Emergency suspension of MS4 access. The Superintendent may suspend
MS4 access to any person or property without prior written notice
when such suspension is necessary to stop an actual or threatened
discharge of pollutants that presents imminent risk of harm to the
public health, safety, welfare or the environment. In the event any
person fails to comply with an emergency suspension order, the Superintendent
may take all reasonable steps to prevent or minimize harm to the public
health, safety, welfare or the environment.
(5)
Notification of spills. Notwithstanding other requirements of local,
state or federal law, as soon as a person responsible for a site,
or responsible for emergency response for a site has information of
or suspects a release of materials at that site resulting in or which
may result in discharge of pollutants to the MS4 or waters of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the person shall take all necessary
steps to ensure containment, and cleanup of the release. In the event
of a release of a pollutant, the person shall immediately notify the
Fire and Police Departments, Board of Health, and the Superintendent.
If the discharge of pollutants is from a commercial or industrial
site, the owner or operator of the site shall retain on site a written
record of the discharge and the actions taken to prevent its recurrence.
Such records shall be retained for at least three years.
The connection of the building sewer or private
sewer into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the
Building and Plumbing Code or other applicable rules and regulations
of the City or the procedures set forth in appropriate specifications
of the American Society for Testing and Materials or the Water Pollution
Control Federation Manual of Practice No. 9. All such connections
shall be made gastight and watertight. Any deviation from the prescribed
procedures and materials must be approved by the Director before installation.
All excavations for building sewer and/or private
sewer installation shall be adequately guarded with barricades and
lights so as to protect the public from hazard. Streets, sidewalks,
parkways and other public property disturbed in the course of the
work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the Director.
The issuance of permits to connect to the City's
facilities shall be halted at such time as 80% of the capacity of
the facilities has been allocated. No new permits shall be issued
after such time unless previously issued permits are abandoned or
revoked or additional capacity is added to the facilities.
