[Amended 4-7-2025 by Ord. No. 25-01]
A. 
Authority. This Part regulating the use of the Stratford municipal sewerage system is hereby established in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 103 (Municipal Sewerage Systems) of Title 7 of the General Statutes of the State of Connecticut, and specifically pursuant to § 7-247 of the Connecticut General Statutes, and in accordance with the Code of Ordinances of the Town of Stratford.
B. 
Purpose.
(1) 
This Part 1 sets forth uniform requirements for direct and indirect contributors into the wastewater collection and treatment system for the Town of Stratford, Connecticut and enables the Town to comply with all applicable state and federal laws required by the Clean Water Act of 1977, as amended and the General Pretreatment Regulations (40 CFR, 403).
(2) 
It is specifically the purpose of these regulations to further the policy of sewer avoidance within the Town of Stratford. The sewer avoidance policy seeks to preserve the character of the Town by recognizing and affirming that development has historically been, and should continue to be, limited and controlled by the natural ability of local soils to accommodate on-site subsurface sewerage disposal systems. Under the policy, sewers, within the municipal borders of the Town of Stratford, may not be used as a tool for development, but they may be used to alleviate existing community pollution problems. Therefore, these regulations provide for the construction of municipal sewers only to properties located within the Stratford Sewer District, as applied only to properties located in the Town of Stratford, as established § 172-1E of Part 1 of Chapter 172 of the Stratford Town Code.
C. 
Objectives. The objectives of this Part 1 are to:
(1) 
Prevent the introduction of pollutants into the municipal wastewater system which will interfere with the treatment and collection system or contaminate the resulting sludge.
(2) 
Prevent the introduction of pollutants into the municipal wastewater system which will pass through the system, inadequately treated, into receiving waters or the atmosphere or otherwise be incompatible with the system.
(3) 
Improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewaters and sludges from the system.
(4) 
Inform the public as to the technical and administrative procedures to be followed in obtaining connection use permits to the Stratford Sanitary Sewer System.
(5) 
To preserve the character of the Town by recognizing and affirming that development has historically been, and should continue to be, limited and controlled by the natural ability of local soils to accommodate on-site subsurface sewerage disposal systems.
D. 
Application. This Part 1 shall apply to the Town of Stratford, Connecticut and to persons outside the Town who are, by contract or agreement with the Town, users of the Stratford water pollution control facility (WPCF), except as otherwise provided. Except as otherwise provided herein, the Superintendent of Stratford's WPCF shall administer and implement this Part 1.
E. 
Establishment of Sewer District Map and Sewer District.
(1) 
Official map. The map entitled "Water Pollution Control Authority Sewer Service and Avoidance Areas," as it may be amended by the Authority, is referred to herein as the "Sewer District Map." The Sewer District Map is hereby adopted and incorporated in this Part by reference.
(2) 
Stratford Sewer District. There is hereby established a sewer district, to be known as the Stratford Sewer District. The lands comprising the Stratford Sewer District are specifically depicted on the Sewer District Map.
(3) 
Inclusion of specific properties within the sewer district. It is the intention to include only the following types of property within the Stratford Sewer District:
(a) 
Properties connected to the Stratford sewer system as of the date of adoption of this amendment, and properties in adjoining municipalities that may become eligible for connection to the Stratford sewer system pursuant to an Intermunicipal Agreement.
(b) 
Properties required to be connected to the municipal sewer by lawful order, judgment or decree of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, any other state or federal government agency having jurisdiction to issue such an order, or a state or federal court having jurisdiction to issue such an order, judgment or decree;
(c) 
Properties that are determined by the Authority to be in full accordance with all local, state, and federal land-use, health and environmental laws (including, but not limited to, statutes, ordinances, regulations and codes), without exception, of supporting on-site, subsurface sewage disposal systems and that are located in close proximity to the area within which the sewerage system already exists or is planned to be extended to solve existing water quality problems. The Authority may make such a determination upon its receipt of adequate data regarding the physical characteristics and permeability of on-site soils, as well as such reports as it may receive from the Director of Public Health of the Town of Stratford, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, or other credible sources. Properties meeting the foregoing criteria may be included in the Stratford Sewer District if the Authority deems them to be within such proximity to other properties described in this section as to warrant the use of the sewerage system; and
(d) 
Properties added to the Stratford Sewer District in accordance with these Regulations.
(4) 
It is specifically the intention and purpose of this amendment to prevent and exclude from connection to the Stratford Sewerage System any individual properties not included in the categories set forth above or described in § 172-1F regardless of whether such excluded properties are proximate to, or contain any portion of, the sewerage line.
F. 
Addition of properties to the district. As set forth in § 172-1E of this section, it is intended that no properties other than those specifically identified in this ordinance be included within the Stratford Sewer District, regardless of whether such other properties may be near, abut, or contain any portion of the Stratford Sewerage System. Nonetheless, the Authority may amend the Stratford Sewer District by adding other properties if, and only if, all the following criteria have been met:
(1) 
The Director of Public Health of the Town of Stratford, or his or her designee, certify either:
(a) 
That a septic system has failed on the property; or,
(b) 
That the physical condition of a septic system on the property is marginal (i.e., that the system is likely to fail in five or fewer years).
(2) 
If the property contains a failed or marginal septic system, such system must have been either:
(a) 
In existence on the date of the adoption of this amendment, or
(b) 
Constructed after the date of adoption of this amendment in accordance with all then-existing local, state, and federal land-use, health and environmental laws (including, but not limited to, statutes, ordinances, regulations and codes);
(c) 
All owners of properties to be added to the Stratford Sewer District must enter into an agreement with the Authority under which the property owners would assume all costs of the extension and connection of the sewer to those properties;
(d) 
The Authority finds that there is sufficient capacity available in the Stratford Sewerage System to accommodate the additional wastewater flows.
(e) 
Owners of properties applying to have their property added to the Stratford Sewer District must file an Application, in a form acceptable to the WPCA, demonstrating compliance with these Regulations and all then-existing local, state, and federal land-use, health and environmental laws (including, but not limited to, statutes, ordinances, regulations and codes).
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the Authority may allow properties that are to be used exclusively for municipal purposes, including uses that are incidental and accessory to a municipal use, to be added to the Stratford Sewer District, provided there is sufficient excess capacity available in the Stratford Sewerage System to accommodate the additional wastewater flows.
G. 
Induced growth. To further promote and preserve the policy of sewer avoidance within the Town, owners of properties that were developed for residential purposes prior to the effective date of this amendment and which have an on-site, subsurface sewage disposal system shall not be allowed to add additional bedrooms to dwellings, regardless of whether such additional dwelling units would be attached or detached. Provided, however, that additional bedrooms may be added to any such dwelling if the property on which such dwelling is located, after such expansion, is determined by the Stratford Director of Health to be physically capable of supporting an on-site, subsurface sewage disposal system in full compliance with all local, state and federal land-use and health and environmental laws, rules and regulations. In addition, land that existed as a single lot of record as of the date of adoption of this amendment shall be entitled to one connection to the Stratford Sewerage System, subject to this Part, regardless of the number of lots into which such land may later be divided or subdivided.
H. 
Amendments. This Part may be amended from time to time, as is necessary.
I. 
Validity. If any section, paragraph, subdivision, clause or provision of this Part, as amended, is adjudged invalid, such adjudication shall apply only to the section, paragraph, subdivision, clause, or provision so adjudged, and the remainder of this Part shall be deemed valid and effective.
A. 
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this Part 1, shall have the meanings hereinafter designated:
ACT or THE ACT
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the "Clean Water Act," as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD)
The amount of oxygen required by bacteria while stabilizing decomposable organic matter under aerobic conditions for five days. The determination of "BOD" shall be performed in accordance with the procedures prescribed in the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater.
BUILDING DRAIN
That part of the lowest horizontal piping of a building plumbing which received the discharge from soil, waste and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning five feet (1.5 meters) outside the inner face of the building wall.
BUILDING SEWER
The extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal; it may also be called a "house connection."
CATEGORICAL STANDARDS
National categorical pretreatment standards or pretreatment standards.
CHLORINE DEMAND
The amount of chlorine which must be added to waters or wastes to produce a residual chlorine in such water or wastes.
COMBINED SEWER
A sewer intended to receive both sewage and storm- or surface water.
COMMISSIONER
The Commissioner of Environmental Protection for the State of Connecticut.
COMPATIBLE POLLUTANT
Biological oxygen demand, suspended solids, pH and fecal coliform bacteria; plus any additional pollutants identified in the water pollution control facilities' NPDES permit, where the water pollution control facility is designed to treat such pollutants to the degree required by the NPDES permit.
COMPOSITE SAMPLE
A mixture of aliquot samples obtained at regular intervals over a time period. The volume of each aliquot is proportional to the discharge flow rate for the sampling interval.
COOLING WATER
Process water in general used for cooling purpose to which the only pollutant added is heat and which has such characteristics that it may be discharged to a natural outlet in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations.
DOMESTIC SEWAGE
Sewage that consists of water and human excretions or other waterborne wastes incidental to the occupancy of a residential building or nonresidential building but not wastewater from water softening equipment, commercial laundry wastewater and blowdown from heating and cooling equipment.
FLOATABLE OIL
Oil, fat or grease in a physical state such that it will separate by gravity from sewage by treatment in an approved pretreatment facility.
GARBAGE
The animal or vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking or serving of foods.
GRAB SAMPLE
A sample which is taken from a waste stream on a one-time basis with no regard to the flow in the waste stream and without consideration of time.
HOLDING TANK WASTE
Any waste from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers and septage hauling trucks.
INCOMPATIBLE POLLUTANT
All pollutants other than compatible pollutants as defined in this section.
INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER
All wastewater from industrial processes, trade or business, and is distinct from domestic sewage.
INTERFERENCE
The inhibition or disruption of the POTW treatment processes or operations which contributes to a violation of any requirement of the Town's NPDES permit. The term includes prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by the POTW in accordance with Section 405 of the Act, (33 U.S.C. § 1345) or any criteria, guidelines or regulations developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA), the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act or more stringent state criteria, including those contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to title IV of SWDA, applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the POTW.
NATIONAL CATEGORICAL PRETREATMENT STANDARD or PRETREATMENT STANDARD
Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1347) which applies to a specific category of industrial users.
NATIONAL POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) PERMIT
A permit issued pursuant to Section 402 of the Act.
NATIONAL PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD or PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD
Any regulation developed under the authority of Section 307(b) of the Act and 40 CFR 403.5.
NATURAL OUTLET
Any discharge point, including but not limited to discharge points such as storm and sanitary sewer overflows, into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or ground water.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, copartnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint-stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity or any other legal entity or their legal representatives, agents or as-signs. The masculine gender shall include the feminine, the singular shall include the plural where indicated by the context.
pH
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen-ion concentration. The concentration is the weight of hydrogen-ions, in grams, per liter of solution.
POLLUTANT
Any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste discharged into water.
POLLUTION
The man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological and radiological integrity of water.
PRETREATMENT REQUIREMENTS
Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a national pretreatment standard imposed on an industrial user.
PRETREATMENT or TREATMENT
The reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wash water to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a water pollution control facility. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, except as prohibited by 40 CFR 403.6(d).
PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE
The wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than 1/2 inch (1.27 centimeters) in any dimension.
PUBLIC SEWER
A common sanitary sewer controlled by a governmental agency.
SANITARY SEWER
A sewer which collects and conveys domestic sewage from residences, public buildings, commercial establishments, industries and institutions. A "sanitary sewer" may also collect and convey permitted industrial wastewater and unintentionally admitted ground-storm- and surface waters.
SEPTAGE
The liquids and solids which are removed from a tank used to treat domestic sewage.
SEWAGE
Human and animal excretions and all domestic and such manufacturing wastes as may tend to be detrimental to the public health.
SEWAGE COLLECTION SYSTEM
The structures and equipment required to collect and convey sewage to the water pollution control facility.
SEWER
A pipe or conduit that carries wastewater or drainage water.
SLUG
Any discharge of water, sewage or industrial waste which in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow exceeds for any period of duration longer than 15 minutes more than five times the average twenty-four-hour concentration or flows during normal operation or which adversely affects the sewage collection system and/or the water pollution control facility.
SOLUBLE OIL
Oil which is of either mineral or vegetable origin and disperses in water or sewage at temperatures between 0° and 65° C. For the purposes of this Part 1 emulsified oil shall be considered as "soluble oil."
STATE
The State of Connecticut.
STORM SEWER
A sewer which collects and conveys stormwater or groundwater.
STORMWATER
Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting therefrom.
SUPERINTENDENT
The Superintendent of Public Works and/or his duly authorized deputy, agent or representative.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
The solid matter, measured in milligrams per liter which may be in suspension, floatable or settleable and is removable by laboratory filtering as prescribed in the latest edition of Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater.
TOWN
The Town of Stratford.
TOXIC POLLUTANT
Any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under the provision of Section 307(a) of the Act or other acts.
UNPOLLUTED WATER
Water of quality equal to or better than the effluent criteria in effect of water that would not cause violation of receiving water quality standards and would not be benefited by discharge to the sanitary sewers and wastewater treatment facilities provided.
USER
Any person who contributes, causes or permits the contribution of sewage into the Town's sewer system.
WASTEWATER
The spent water of a community. From the standpoint of source, it may be a combination of the liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water and stormwater that may be present.
WASTEWATER FACILITIES
The structures, equipment and processes required to collect, carry away and treat domestic and industrial wastes and dispose of the effluent.
WASTEWATER POLLUTION CONTROL FACILITY
An arrangement of devices and structures for treating wastewater, industrial wastes and sludge. Sometimes used as synonymous with "waste treatment plant" or "wastewater treatment plant" or "water pollution control plant" or wastewater treatment work or publicly owned treatment works (POTW).
WATERCOURSE
A natural or artificial channel for the passage of water either continuously or intermittently.
B. 
"May" is permissive; "shall" is mandatory.
No person shall deposit any sludge or waste material derived from the cleaning out of any cesspool or septic tank or other transported septic wastes to the sanitary sewer system of the Town of Stratford, except under the control and direction of the Superintendent and after receipt of a permit issued by him and in compliance with the terms and provisions of §§ 172-3 through 172-7.
A. 
A license to clean, transport and discharge septic wastes in the Town of Stratford shall be issued by the Superintendent who shall make proper application therefor.
B. 
A fee of $25 will be charged for each license issued.
C. 
Issuance of a license shall be in accordance with the following provisions:
(1) 
The applicant shall file his business address with the Superintendent and shall notify said Superintendent promptly of any change therein.
(2) 
All licenses shall expire on the first day of April next following the date of issue each year.
(3) 
The Superintendent may at any time cancel or suspend any license for cause.
(4) 
No licensed person shall transfer his license or permit to any other person for any purpose whatsoever.
A. 
Application for a permit to discharge shall be submitted in writing on forms provided for the purpose at the office of the Superintendent. The permit shall certify the location of the septic tank, the owner thereof, the name of the applicant and the estimated quantity of waste material to be disposed of. The permit shall cover only the location named therein.
B. 
No waste materials originating outside the Town of Stratford will be accepted without the written permission of the Superintendent.
C. 
A permit fee of $10 per thousand gallons or any part thereof will be charged for approved waste material originating within the Town of Stratford and $15 per thousand gallons or any part thereof for approved waste material originated outside of the Town of Stratford.
All waste materials shall be dumped at the Stratford water pollution control plant only, and at the location designated therefor and under the direction of the water pollution control facility Superintendent.
The contents of any privy fault, septic tank or cesspool shall not be delivered to or processed at the water control pollution facility unless the following requirements and conditions are met:
A. 
Nature of wastes. Such contents shall consist only of human, organic, domestic and commercial wastes, specifically excluding those industrial wastes prohibited by regulations of the Water Pollution Control Authority of the Town of Stratford and any act of regulation of the State of Connecticut or the federal government regulating the use of and the discharge of substances into the public sewerage system and water pollution control facility.
B. 
Transportation of wastes. Such contents are transported in a sanitary, watertight vehicle with a suitable valve outlet.
C. 
Absence of detrimental substances. The water pollution control facility Superintendent has certified for disposal such delivery as containing no substances detrimental to the treatment processes of the facility. The water pollution control facility Superintendent may refuse the admission of any contents considered harmful.
D. 
Hours for deliveries. The water pollution control facility Superintendent shall establish and post the hours for receipt of deliveries.