In addition to any other duty or responsibility otherwise conferred
upon the Mayor and Council by this Part 1, the Mayor and Council shall have
the duty and power as follows:
A.
To hold hearings upon appeals from orders or actions
of the manager as may be provided under any provision of this Part 1.
C.
Acting through the Mayor, to issue subpoenas requiring
attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of documentary evidence
relevant to any matter properly heard by the Mayor and Council.
D.
The Mayor shall be authorized to administer oaths to
those persons giving testimony before the Mayor and Council.
Errors in the sewer bill or questions, waivers, disputes or any other matter related to this Part 1 of this chapter should be brought to the attention of the manager in writing. The manager shall review the appeal and render his decision in writing. Such decision shall be sent to the person by certified mail with return receipt requested.
A.
Notice of appeal. Any person aggrieved by any order or
determination of the manager may appeal said order or determination to the
Mayor and Council and have said order or determination reviewed by the Mayor
and Council under the provisions of this section. A written notice of appeal
shall be filed with the manager and with the Mayor within 10 days of the decision
of the manager. The notice shall set forth with particularity the action or
inaction of the manager complained of and the relief being sought by the person
filing said appeal. A special meeting of the Mayor and Council may be called
by the Mayor upon the filing of such appeal, and the Mayor and Council may
in its discretion suspend the operation of the order or determination of the
manager appealed from until such time as the Mayor and Council has acted upon
the appeal.
B.
Schedule of hearing. The Mayor and Council shall schedule
an adjudicatory hearing to resolve any disputed question whenever provided
by any provision of this Part 1. In order to resolve the matter the Mayor
and Council may seek advice of an attorney or an environmental engineer in
legal and technical aspects respectively.
C.
Testimony. At any such hearing, all testimony presented
shall be under oath or upon solemn affirmation in lieu of oath. The Mayor
and Council shall make a record of such hearing, but the same need not be
a verbatim record. Any party coming before the Mayor and Council shall have
the right to have said hearing recorded stenographically, but in such event
the record need not be transcribed unless any party seeks judicial review
of the order or action of the Mayor and Council by common law writ of certiorari,
and in such event the parties seeking such judicial review shall pay for the
transcription and provide the Mayor and Council with the original of the transcript
so that it may be certified to the court.
D.
Subpoenas. The Mayor may issue subpoenas requiring attendance
and testimony of witnesses or the production of evidence, or both. A request
for issuance of a subpoena shall be made by lodging with the Mayor at least
10 days prior to the scheduled hearing date a written request for a subpoena
setting forth the name and address of the party to be subpoenaed and identifying
any evidence to be produced. Upon endorsement of a subpoena by the Mayor,
the same shall be delivered to the Chief of Police for service by any police
officer of the town, if the witness resides within the town. If the witness
does not reside in the town, the Mayor shall issue a written request that
the witness attend the hearing.
E.
Depositions. Upon agreement of all parties, the testimony
of any person may be taken by deposition or written interrogatories.
F.
Burden of proof. The party at such hearing bearing the
affirmative burden of proof shall first call his witnesses, to be followed
by witnesses called by other parties, to be followed by any witness which
the Mayor and Council may desire to call. Rebuttal witnesses shall be called
in the same order. The Mayor shall rule on any evidentiary questions arising
during such hearing and shall make such other rulings as shall be necessary
or advisable to facilitate an orderly hearing subject to approval of the Mayor
and Council. The Mayor and Council, the manager or his representative, and
all parties shall have the right to examine any witness.
G.
Review by Mayor and Council. The Mayor and Council shall
review and evaluate all appeals and shall take into account the following
factors:
(1)
The Mayor and Council shall consider whether or not the
matter appealed is subject to a national pretreatment standard containing
discharge limitations more stringent than those established by the manager
and grant the relief requested on appeal only if such relief may be granted
within limitations of applicable federal law.
(2)
The Mayor and Council shall consider whether or not the
matter appealed is subject to a discharge limit for a substance as a toxic
pollutant standard or prohibition under regulations promulgated by the Environmental
Protection Agency under the provisions of § 307(a) of the Act (33
U.S.C. § 1317) and then grant relief only if such relief may be
granted within the limitations of applicable federal regulations.
(3)
The Mayor and Council shall consider whether or not the
granting of relief requested on appeal would create conditions that would
reduce the effectiveness of the wastewater facility taking into consideration
the concentration of said pollutant in the wastewater facility's influent
and the design capability of the wastewater facility.
(4)
The Board shall consider whether or not the granting
of relief requested on appeal might cause the wastewater facility to violate
the limitations in its NPDES permit, taking into consideration the concentration
of the pollutant and in the wastewater facility's influent and the demonstrated
ability of the wastewater facility to consistently remove such pollutant.
(5)
The Mayor and Council shall consider whether or not the
granting of relief requested on appeal would cause elements or compounds to
be present in the sludge of the wastewater facility which would prevent sludge
use or disposal by the authority or which would cause the authority to violate
any regulation promulgated by EPA under the provisions of § 405
of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1345).
(6)
The Mayor and Council may consider the cost of pretreatment
or other types of control techniques which would be necessary for the user
to achieve effluent reduction, but prohibitive cost alone shall not be the
basis for granting an exception.
(7)
The Mayor and Council may consider the age of equipment
and industrial facilities involved to the extent that such factors affect
the quality or quantity of wastewater discharge.
(8)
The Mayor and Council may consider the process employed
by the user and process changes available which would affect the quality or
quantity of wastewater discharge.
(9)
The Mayor and Council may consider the engineering aspects
of various types of pretreatment or other control techniques available to
the user to improve the quality or quantity of wastewater discharge.
(10)
The Mayor and Council may consider an application for
an exception based upon the fact that water conservation measures instituted
by the user or proposed by the user result in a higher concentration of particular
pollutants in the wastewater discharge of the user without increasing the
amount of mass of pollutants discharged. To be eligible for relief under this
subsection, the appellant must show that, except for water conservation measures,
the appellant's discharge has been or would be in compliance with the limitations
on wastewater strength set by the manager; provided, however, that no such
exception shall be granted if the increased concentration of pollutants in
the appellant's wastewater would have a significant adverse impact upon the
operation of the wastewater treatment facility.
