[Adopted as indicated in section histories
(Ch. 18, Art. IV, of the 1985 Code of Ordinances)]
[1]
Editor's Note: State law reference - Sewage
charges, G.L. 1956, § 45-14-1 et seq.
[Adopted 6-26-1979; amended 8-15-1979]
The annual period which shall be used as the
basis for the sewer user charge shall be July 1 of any calendar year,
through June 30 of the following calendar year. Said period shall
be known as the "user charge year."
[Adopted 6-26-1979; amended 8-15-1979]
A.
The owner or owners of all properties who had connected
or were capable of connecting to the sewage system on June 5, 1978,
shall be charged a full annual sewer user charge per unit.
B.
The owner or owners of properties connecting to the sewage system subsequent to that date, except those provided for in Subsection A, shall be charged on a monthly pro rata basis. Based on the date of connection, 1/12 of the annual sewer user charge shall be charged for the month in which connected and each month thereafter to the end of the user charge year. Payment for said prorated year shall be due and payable within 30 days following the billing date; bills will be issued immediately following connection to the sewage system.
[Adopted 6-26-1979; amended 8-15-1979]
Revenues received by the Sewer Authority for
fees and other charges incidental to sewer connections shall be dispensed
as follows:
A.
Costs to the Authority for inspectors and their official
expenses, not including inspectors and their expenses included in
the authorized budget, shall be paid for such fees and other charges
collected.
B.
The excess fees and charges collected over costs for
the unfunded inspectors shall not be expended by the Authority, but
shall be deposited in the sewer user charge account where it shall
remain to be expended only by approval of the Town Council.
C.
Detailed records of receipts and expenditures as a
result of the provisions of this section shall be maintained by the
Authority, and a financial report of such shall be submitted to the
Town Council within 30 days following completion of the fiscal year.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: State law references - Disposition
of proceeds, G.L. 1956, § 45-14-5; fiscal year, G.L. 1956,
§ 35-2-2.
[Adopted 11-22-1977; amended 2-7-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-3]
An annual sewer user charge will be imposed upon every person
whose premises are served by the sanitary sewer system of the Town
for the purpose of defraying costs of operation and maintenance of
the publicly owned facilities. The method used for charges will be
based upon a unit charge. A unit is equal to 200 gallons per day.
Every person incurring a sewer use charge shall have the option to
pay said charge in full upon the issuance of the bill or alternatively
in four quarterly installments due in September, December, March,
and June.
[Adopted 11-22-1977; amended 4-2-1991; 4-16-1996; 3-18-2008; 5-5-2009]
A.
Generally. Sewer user charges will be as follows:
(1)
Each single-family dwelling shall be charged at the rate of one unit.
(2)
Each multi-dwelling building shall be charged at the rate of one
unit for each dwelling unit and/or apartment unit.
(3)
Rooming houses, tourist homes, hotels and motels shall be charged
an equivalent number of units based on metered water consumption,
with a minimum charge of one unit.
(4)
Restaurants, taverns, bars, grills, lodges, fraternal, charitable
and religious organizations that maintain facilities for the preparation
and serving of food and/or beverages shall be charged an equivalent
number of units based on metered water consumption, with a minimum
charge of one unit.
(5)
Gasoline service stations and automotive sales and/or repair premises
shall be charged an equivalent number of units based on metered water
consumption, with a minimum charge of one unit.
(6)
So-called car washes or other real premises devoted exclusively to
the washing of automotive vehicles by manual, semiautomatic or automatic
means shall be charged an equivalent number of units based on metered
water consumption, with a minimum charge of one unit.
(7)
Lodges, charitable organizations, corporations or associations organized and conducted principally to enable members to meet for divine worship shall be charged at the rate of one unit, unless otherwise chargeable under Subsection A(4) above.
(8)
Laundromats containing manual, semiautomatic, automatic or coin-operated
washers, dryers or extractors shall be charged an equivalent number
of units based on metered water consumption, with a minimum charge
of one unit.
(9)
Dry-cleaning establishments, whether a portion of facilities devoted
to the normal operation of a laundry or laundromat or a premises devoted
exclusively to manual, semiautomatic or coin-operated cleaning of
wearing apparel in machines not using water as the cleaning agent,
shall be charged an equivalent number of units based on metered water
consumption, with a minimum charge of one unit.
(10)
Public or private schools, and governmental installations, shall
be charged an equivalent number of units based on metered water consumption.
(11)
Commercial establishments, including but not limited to retail
stores, wholesale distributors, light manufacturers, industrial plants,
business operations, barber and beauty shops, banks, post offices,
funeral homes, professional and business offices, lunch bars and other
types of business enterprises not otherwise described in this section
shall be charged an equivalent number of units based on metered water
consumption, with a minimum charge of one unit.
(12)
The Town reserves the right to assess charges for use of the
sanitary sewer system by contract in the event a customer does not
fall within any of the above classifications.
(13)
Sewer users connected to parts of the Smithfield sewer collection
system that receive outside sewer treatment services provided by the
Narragansett Bay Commission shall be charged an annual sewer use fee
equal to 35% of the applicable sewer use rates in addition to any
applicable industrial pretreatment program fees and any other municipal
sewer use charges that may be imposed under the Smithfield Municipal
Code of Ordinances.
[Added 6-6-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-6]
B.
Industrial pretreatment program.
(1)
The industrial pretreatment program shall be administered at all
times in accordance with the pretreatment standards and requirements
established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and
the Rhode Island General Laws.
(2)
Any establishment that is classified as a significant industrial
user shall be issued an industrial wastewater discharge permit which
will require the user, at a minimum, to perform and submit quarterly
self-monitoring reports to the Town showing the pollutant characteristics
of its waste stream.
C.
Industrial pretreatment program fees. To the above sewer user charges enumerated in Subsection A, above, shall be added an annual industrial pretreatment program fee to be determined as follows:
(1)
Residential users shall be charged at a fixed rate of $10 per each
one unit.
(2)
Commercial users of a nonmanufacturing business classification shall
be charged at the rate of $30 per each one unit.
(3)
Industrial users of a manufacturing business classification shall
be charged at the rate of $106 per each one unit.
(4)
Users requiring a pretreatment permit, as determined by the Authority,
shall pay an annual permit fee. The amount of the permit fee shall
be determined by the Town Council.
(5)
Commercial and industrial users shall be charged an additional fee
for each and every violation of federal, state, and/or local discharge
standards of the following pollutant parameters: total arsenic, total
cadmium, total chromium, total copper, total lead, total mercury,
total nickel, total silver, total zinc, total cyanide, total toxic
organics, total organics, pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls,
oil and grease, biochemical oxygen demand (pounds per day limit only),
and total suspended solids (pounds per day limit only). This fee shall
be imposed upon the occurrence of a violation and be collectible by
the Town immediately thereafter based on the following criteria:
(a)
For each exceedance up to and including two times the allowable
parameter discharge limit: $100.
(b)
For each exceedance of over two times and up to and including
three times the allowable parameter discharge limit: $200.
(c)
For each exceedance of over three times the allowable parameter
discharge limit: $300.
(d)
Parameter violations shall be based upon the analysis results
of wastewater monitoring performed on the user's process wastewater
discharge following pretreatment, if applicable, and prior to dilution
with other sanitary waste streams. The same violation of two different
jurisdictional standards for each pollutant parameter shall constitute
one violation. Violation charges shall in no way or form restrict
or limit federal, state and local agencies from taking additional
enforcement actions, including but not limited to fines, penalties
and/or termination of sewer service.
(6)
Commercial and industrial users shall be charged a surcharge fee
for violations of the biochemical oxygen demand and total suspended
solids concentrations limits. The method for calculating the fee shall
be in accordance with the Sewer Authority Rules and Regulations. The
surcharge rate shall be determined by the Town Council. This fee shall
be imposed upon the occurrence of a violation and be collectible by
the Town immediately thereafter.
(7)
For the purposes of Subsection C(2) and (3), above, commercial and industrial user classifications shall be determined based upon the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the United States Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1987, as amended or supplemented.
(8)
An increase in the annual cost to the Town of operating the industrial pretreatment program (IPP) shall effect an increase in the commercial and industrial user charges enumerated in Subsection C(2) and (3), above. The amount of increase shall be prorated to the commercial and industrial users in proportion to their relative user charges.
D.
Water not reaching sewer. All establishments assessed on the basis
of metered water consumption may present evidence indicating that
a percentage of the total annual volume of water used does not reach
the sewer, in which case an estimate will be made of the proper amount
to be deducted.
E.
Private water supply. Where establishments other than dwellings have
a private water supply, all or part of which is discharged to the
sewer, the amount of such supply or the part thereof that is discharged
to the Town system shall be metered and charges made on the basis
of an equivalent number of units with a minimum charge of one unit.
F.
Septic tanks. Wastes from septic tank cleaning will not be accepted
into the Town system.
G.
Sewage meters. All establishments using water in excess of 20,000
gallons per day shall meter their sewage flow prior to entering the
public sewer and shall be charged on the basis of an equivalent number
of units.
[Added 6-3-2003]
A.
Existing property owners shall be responsible for
all charges occurring for sewer usage up to and including their closing
date on the transfer of property. It will be the responsibility of
both the seller and purchaser to request a final reading for the property
which will be conveyed. On any property other than residential, a
water consumption reading will be required for the computation of
a final reading.
B.
The new owner shall be responsible for all charges
occurring after their closing documents have been recorded including
any and all monetary allowances stated on those documents.
C.
The new owner of the property shall also be responsible
for the cost of all outstanding usage charges on the property whether
or not incurred by them as owner of the property.
