[Adopted 4-24-1978]
[Amended 5-23-1983]
As used in this article, unless a different
meaning clearly appears from the context, the following words shall
have the meanings indicated:
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation
of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days
at 20° C. expressed in milligrams per liter.
Structures of all types, whether enclosed or not, such as
sheds, pits, platforms, etc., which are connected, directly or indirectly,
to the Township's lines.
The difference between the amount of chlorine applied to
a treated supply and the amount of free combined or total available
chlorine remaining at the end of the contact period.
Rents, rates, fees or other charges and service charges for
the use or services of the sewerage system, and such terms shall be
interchangeable and shall apply to all customers of the Township sewerage
system.
The total suspended matter that either floats on the surface
of or is in suspension in water, wastewater or other liquids and that
is removable by laboratory filtering as prescribed in the latest edition
of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Waste Water of
the American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C., and referred
to as "nonfilterable residue."
The Township of Cranbury, a municipal corporation of the
County of Middlesex and State of New Jersey.
Mains, laterals, manholes, pipes and appliances of the sanitary
sewerage system of the Township.
[Amended 12-23-1991 by Ord. No. O-11-91-26]
A.
All quarterly rates and service charges by the Township
shall be billed for the calendar quarter. The said rates and service
charges shall be due and payable quarterly on February 1, May 1, August
1, and November 1. The base quarterly service charges shall be payable
in advance. That amount of the quarterly service charge based on consumption
shall be based on the previous quarters' actual or estimated sewer-related
water consumption.
[Amended 12-22-2008 by Ord. No. 12-08-20]
B.
If bills are not paid within 30 days after the billing
date, interest shall be calculated from the first day of the applicable
billing quarter at the rate of 18% per annum on the unpaid balance.
C.
No adjustment for minimum quarterly charges shall
be made for new installations connected between regular billing dates.
D.
The quarterly service charges of the Township shall
not be adjusted or apportioned for a vacancy in all or part of a building
or structure during a portion of a year.
E.
Sewer bills shall be payable at the location designated
on the bill.
F.
Where a bill has been estimated, due to the inability
of the Water Department to obtain access to the meter, appropriate
adjustment will be made for the difference between the estimated and
actual use of water when the next regular water meter reading is obtained.
G.
Sewer charges are a lien against the real estate served
by the Township sanitary sewer.
H.
Failure to receive a bill is no cause for nonpayment
of a sewer charge.
The following rents, rates, fees or other charges
are hereby fixed and officially established as the service charges
by the Township for direct or indirect connection with and the use
and service of the sewerage system of the Township, and the same shall
be charged and collected by the Township in accordance with the following
schedule which is hereby prescribed.
[Amended 5-23-1983; 4-23-1990 by Ord. No. O-03-90-09; 3-25-1991 by Ord. No.
O-02-91-05; 4-22-1991 by Ord. No. O-03-91-10; 6-27-1994 by Ord. No.
05-94-11]
The following are rates applicable to buildings
or facilities connected to the sewerage system:
A.
For residential single-family units and each single-family
apartment dwelling in multiple-family structures, the quarterly service
charge shall be $77.17, plus $7.43 per 1,000 gallons of water consumed.
[Amended 6-8-2009 by Ord. No. 05-09-08; 5-28-2013 by Ord. No.
05-13-15]
B.
For lodging accommodations in hotels, motels or rooming houses, not including accessory uses, such as restaurants, etc., the quarterly service charge shall be $77.17 per equivalent domestic consumption unit, as said term is defined in § 124-38 below, plus $7.43 per 1,000 gallons of water consumed.
[Amended 7-9-2007 by Ord. No. 06-07-09; 6-8-2009 by Ord. No. 05-09-08; 5-28-2013 by Ord. No. 05-13-15]
C.
For each commercial, professional, institutional, public or other user not classified in Subsection A or B above, the quarterly service charge shall be $77.17 per equivalent domestic consumption unit, as said term is defined in § 124-38 below, plus $7.43 per 1,000 gallons of water consumed.
[Amended 7-9-2007 by Ord. No. 06-07-09; 6-8-2009 by Ord. No. 05-09-08; 5-28-2013 by Ord. No. 05-13-15]
D.
Surcharge.
(1)
For industrial users discharging other than domestic
wastes into the system, a surcharge shall be imposed based upon the
loading characteristics of the waste in excess of the following maximum
amounts:
(3)
The loading characteristics shall be determined based
on actual samples taken periodically of the sewage emanating from
the industrial user. The Township reserves the right to require such
users to install, at their own cost, sampling manholes or pits for
the purpose of providing access to the sewage waste for obtaining
samples. The costs of all sampling, including the cost of the recovery
of the sample and the testing thereof shall be borne by the sewer
user.
A.
All water consumption readings shall be those obtained
by the Township from its water utility. If a customer obtains its
water supply from a private well or an unmetered public water supply,
then the user shall install a meter at its own cost, the type and
location of which is to be approved by the Township. ln the event
that the user fails to install such a meter within 30 days after receiving
notice from the Township, then the user shall pay a charge based upon
the Township's estimate of water consumption, which estimate shall
be conclusive and binding upon the user.
B.
In the event that estimated water consumption readings
should prove to be inaccurate, the Township reserves the right to
recalculate prior annual service charges with the difference charged
to or credited to the customer.
C.
Separate water meters for measurement of water usage
not discharged into Township sewer system.
[Amended 10-23-1978]
(1)
Any customer who uses substantial quantities of water
not discharged into the Cranbury Township sewer system shall have
the option of installing, at his own cost, a separate meter to measure
water usage not discharged into the sewer system.
(2)
Application for a separate water meter shall be made
to the Township Sewer Department on forms provided, together with
an application fee of $10 and a meter installation fee of $50 for
all meters up to and including two inches in size. At the time of
application, the applicant shall indicate whether he will furnish
the separate meter and outside reading device, or request the Water
Department to furnish the meter and reading device, in which case
the costs of said meter and equipment will be charged to the applicant,
at the cost as acquired by the Water Department.
(3)
Meters.
(a)
Meters shall be of the standard type currently
in use by the Township Water Department and of the specific styles
manufactured by Neptune Meter Company with outside reading devices
of A.R.B. Systems Equipment (Automatic Reading Billing Systems).
(b)
Meter sizes for each specific use and application
shall be determined by the Water Department after application for
a separate meter service.
(c)
Special meters and equipment may be furnished
either by the Water Department, with all costs for same to be charged
to the customer at costs certified by the Water Department, or may
be furnished and supplied by the customer. The Township Water Department,
however, reserves the right to reject any meter not meeting the Water
Department standards and accuracy requirements.
(4)
All piping and plumbing work to accommodate the special
meter shall be done by the applicant's plumber, at the expense of
the applicant requesting a special meter. Work shall comply with the
Township Plumbing Code and Water Department regulations and shall
be subject to inspection and approval by the Township Water Department.
The Water Department shall only install the special meter and outside
reading device after final inspection of plumbing modifications. Meter
idlers or spacers to provide proper spacing and piping alignment will
be provided by the Water Department for temporary installation in
the piping line until the separate special meter is installed.
(5)
Testing and replacement of special water meter.
(a)
The Township Water Department or Sewer Department
shall have the right to remove and make periodic tests of any special
meter at no cost to the customer. If the tested special meter fails
to register accurately within 3%, the customer shall, upon notice,
repair or replace the meter to provide proper accuracy.
(b)
Should the customer feel that the meter is not
registering properly and requests testing, the Sewer Department will
have the Water Department remove, test and certify the test results,
at full cost to the customer.
(c)
Inaccurate special meters shall be repaired
or replaced on notice from the Sewer and/or Water Department, or sewer
billing charges shall not be based on the separate special water meter
measurements.
(d)
All costs for repair or replacement of special
meters shall be the customer's expense.
(e)
In the event that prior charges were based on
inaccurate meter readings, or in the event that the customer fails
to repair or replace the special meter, the Township Sewer Department
reserves the right to recalculate prior charges with the difference
charged or credited to the customer.
(6)
Access and protection.
(a)
The Sewer and Water Departments shall have access
at all reasonable hours, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., to premises connected
to the water and sewer systems for the purposes of inspecting and
reading meters and associated equipment.
(b)
Customers shall take all proper precautions
to protect meters and equipment from damage of any nature and shall
be liable for damages or loss resulting from failure to properly care
for and protect same.
(7)
In the event that the customer wishes to discontinue
use of the special meter, written notice shall be given to the Township
Sewer and Water Departments.
(8)
Charges.
(a)
Regular quarterly charge of $3 added onto sewer
bill for special meter reading, administrative costs and calculation
of separate billings for water and sewer services.
(b)
Five dollars for special reading of separate
meter for computation of sewer billing at times other than regular
quarterly water meter readings (i.e., for house sales and title closings).
This is in addition to the added charge required for reading and providing
separate billing for the regular water meter.
(c)
Permit application fee for special meter: $10.
(d)
Meter installation fee for all meters up to
and including two inches in size: $50. Meters larger than two inches:
at cost certified by the Water Department for time and materials.
(e)
Meter equipment and reading device furnished
by the Township Water Department: at cost certified by the Water Department
for equipment.
A.
In the event that a quarterly service charge with
regard to any parcel of real property owned by any person, corporation
or other entity, other than the state or any subdivision thereof,
shall not be paid as and when due as hereinabove stated, the unpaid
balance thereof and all interest accruing thereon shall be a lien
on such parcel, and all such liens shall become enforceable with and
as any other municipal lien on real property in the municipality,
in addition to the other remedies of civil suit or foreclosure or
any other remedies which may be available and provided by and under
the laws and statutes of the State of New Jersey in such case made
and provided.
B.
In the event that the quarterly service charge of
the Township with regard to any parcel of real property shall not
be paid as and when due, the Township may enter upon such parcel and
cause the connection thereof to be cut and shut off until such service
charge and any subsequent service charge with regard to such parcel
and all interest accrued thereon, together with a reconnection fee,
shall be fully paid to the Township. The Township may also avail itself
of any and all other remedies which may be available and provided
under the laws and statutes of the State of New Jersey in such case
made and provided. The reconnection fee shall be in the amount of
all labor, materials and administrative costs incurred by the Township
for reconnection, but in no event shall such fee be less than $25.
C.
All rights and remedies provided in this article and
in any amendments or modifications hereof and supplements hereto for
the collection and enforcement of rates and service charges and all
other fees and charges shall be cumulative and concurrent with and
in addition to those provided and authorized in and by the laws and
statutes of the State of New Jersey in each such case made and provided.
[Added 5-23-1983]
The rates in § 124-32 are deemed to be sufficient to fairly apportion the cost of treatment of any extraneous flows coming into the Cranbury Township sewer system.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 124-35,
Disposal of septic system waste, was repealed 6-23-1980.
A copy of this article shall at all times be
kept on file at the principal office of the Township and shall at
all times be available for reasonable public inspection.
[Added 5-23-1983]
The Township Committee shall review the rates set by this Article III on at least a biannual basis to determine their adequacy to meet the costs of operating the sewer system, the debt service on the sewer system and contractual obligations with other municipalities. Said biannual review shall specifically study the adequacy of the rates for the renewal and replacement of the Cranbury Township sewer system.
[Added 5-23-1983; last amended 5-28-2013 by Ord. No. 05-13-15]
The owners of every property making connection,
either directly or indirectly, to the Cranbury Township sewer system
shall pay a connection charge of $3,417 per dwelling unit at the time
of connection. The owners of properties other than residential properties
shall pay a connection fee of $3,417 per equivalent domestic consumption
unit. For the purposes of this section, an equivalent domestic consumption
unit is any use which has water usage or sewer flows of up to 59,243
gallons per year. Any estimate of flows over 59,243 gallons per year
or multiple thereof shall be billed as one full additional dwelling
unit.
[Added 5-23-1983]
This article shall supersede any inconsistent
agreements between the Township and its sewer users, and to the extent
of such inconsistency, such agreement shall not be binding on the
Township.
[Added 10-23-2006 by Ord. No. 10-06-24]
Pursuant to the New Jersey Municipal and County
Sewerage Act, N.J.S.A. 40A:26A-11, the connection fees set forth hereinabove
will be waived for any unit reserved for occupancy by low- or moderate-income
households, provided said unit is constructed by a corporation which
is: 1) organized pursuant to the New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation
Act, N.J.S.A. 15A:1-1 et seq.; and 2) actively engaged in constructing
or rehabilitating housing units for occupancy by low- or moderate-income
households.
