[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Cohoes as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 3-10-1970 by Ord. No. 22-1970]
The purposes of these rules and regulations are specifically stated as follows:
A. 
To prohibit excessive volumes and/or inordinate rates of flow of sewage and wastes into the City and/or county sewerage system.
B. 
To prohibit the contribution of sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes of a flammable nature or which create in any way a poisonous or hazardous environment for sewerage maintenance and operation personnel.
C. 
To prohibit the contribution of sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes which may cause maintenance difficulties in the lateral and trunk sewers, force mains, pumping stations, sewage regulators and other structures and appurtenances of the City and/or county sewerage system.
D. 
To prohibit the contribution of sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes which may create operating difficulties at the water pollution control plants as they may be constructed, modified or improved in the future.
E. 
To prohibit and/or regulate the contribution of sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes which require, for treatment at the plants, greater expenditures than are required for equal volumes of normal sewage.
F. 
To require the treatment, before introduction into the City sewers, of such wastes as may otherwise impair the strength and/or durability of the structures appurtenant to the sewer system, by direct or indirect chemical action, or interfere with the normal treatment processes.
G. 
To provide cooperation with the Albany County Sewer District, the Albany County Department of Health and any other agencies which have requirements or jurisdiction for the protection of the physical, chemical and bacteriological quality of watercourses within or bounding the county.
H. 
To protect the public health and to prevent nuisances.
A. 
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in these rules and regulations shall be as follows:
BOD (denoting "biochemical oxygen demand")
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20° C. (68° F.), expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l). Measurement shall be as set forth in the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Waste Water.
CHLORINE DEMAND
The difference between the amount of chlorine added to water, sewage or industrial wastes and the amount of residual chlorine remaining at the end of a twenty-minute contact period at room temperature.
CITY
The City of Cohoes and the lands contained therein.
CITY COUNCIL
The legally constituted Common Council of the City of Cohoes.
CITY ENGINEER
The duly designated City Engineer of the City of Cohoes or his authorized deputy, agent or representative.
COMBINED SEWER
A sewer designed to receive and transport both surface runoff and sewage.
COMMISSION
The Board of Commissioners appointed by the County Legislature to the Albany County Sewer District.
COOLING WATER
The water discharged from any system of condensation, air conditioning, cooling, refrigeration or other sources. It shall contain no polluting substances which would produce BOD or suspended solids in excess of 10 parts per million by weight or toxic substances as limited elsewhere herein.
COUNTY
The County of Albany.
COUNTY SEWER DISTRICT
Any county sanitary sewer district as created, altered or modified by action of the Albany County Legislature.
COUNTY SEWERAGE SYSTEM
The trunk sewers, force mains, pumping stations, sewage regulators, water pollution control plants (sewage treatment plants) and other appurtenant structures owned and operated by the Albany County Sewer District.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
The Albany County Department of Health.
DIRECTOR
The Executive Director of the Albany County Sewer District.
GARBAGE
Food wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking and dispensing of food and from the handling and storage and sale of produce.
HEALTH OFFICER
The duly appointed Commissioner of Health of Albany County.
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
The liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing processes, trade or business as distinct from sanitary sewage.
NATURAL OUTLET
Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or ground water.
NORMAL SEWAGE
Sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes which, when analyzed, show by weight the following characteristics:
(1) 
BOD of 2,000 pounds per million gallons (240 milligrams per liter) or less.
(2) 
Chlorine demand of 208 pounds per million gallons (25 milligrams per liter) or less.
(3) 
Suspended solids 2,500 pounds per million gallons (300 milligrams per liter) or less.
OTHER WASTES
Garbage (shredded or unshredded), refuse, wood, egg shells, coffee grounds, sawdust, shavings, bark, sand, lime, cinder, ashes and all other discarded matter not normally present in sewage or industrial wastes.
PERSON
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation or group contributing directly or indirectly to the City sewer system.
pH
The negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration in moles per liter. It indicates the intensity of acidity and alkalinity of the pH scale running from 0.0 to 14.0. A pH value of 7.0, the midpoint of the scale, represents neutrality. Values above 7.0 represent alkaline conditions, and those below 7.0 represent acid conditions.
PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE
Garbage that has been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in the public sewer to which it is discharged, with no particle having a dimension greater than 1/2 inch in any dimension.
PUBLIC SEWER
A sewer controlled by a public body.
RECEIVING WATERS
A natural watercourse or body of water into which treated or untreated sewage is discharged.
SANITARY SEWAGE
Sewage discharging from the sanitary conveniences of dwellings (including apartment houses and hotels), office buildings, factories or institutions and free from stormwater, surface water, industrial wastes and other wastes.
SANITARY SEWER
A sewer which carries sewage and to which storm-, surface and ground waters are not intentionally admitted.
SEWAGE
A combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments, together with such ground-, surface and storm water as may be inadvertently present. The admixture of sewage as above defined with industrial wastes or other wastes also shall be considered sewage within the meaning of this definition.
SEWAGE SURCHARGE
The demand payment for the use of the county sewerage system for handling any sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes accepted for admission thereto in which the characteristics thereof exceed the maximum values of such characteristics in normal sewage.
SEWER
A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
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 5 times the average twenty-four-hour concentration or flow during normal operation.
STORM SEWER (STORM DRAIN)
A sewer which carries stormwaters and surface waters and drainage, but excludes sewage and industrial wastes other than cooling waters and other unpolluted waters.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
Solids that either float on the surface of or are in suspension in water, sewage or other liquids and which are removable by flotation, skimming and sedimentation. Measurement shall be as set forth in the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Waste Water.
TOXIC SUBSTANCES
Any substance, whether gaseous, liquid or solid, which, when discharged to a public sewer in sufficient quantities, may be hazardous to sewer district personnel, tend to interfere with any biological sewage treatment process or to constitute a hazard to human beings or animals or to inhibit aquatic life or to create a hazard to recreation in the receiving waters of the effluent from a sewage treatment plant.
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL PLANT
Any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating sewage.
B. 
"Shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissive.
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit or permit to be deposited in any unsanitary manner on public or private property within the City of Cohoes or in any area under the jurisdiction of said city, any human or animal excrement, garbage or other objectionable waste.
The owners of all houses, buildings or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purposes, situated within the City and abutting on any street, alley or right-of-way in which there is now located or may in the future be located a public sanitary or combined sewer of the city, is hereby required at his expense to install suitable toilet facilities therein and to connect such facilities directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this article within 90 days after date of official notice to do so, provided that said public sewer is within 100 feet of the property line.
[Amended 1-24-2006 by Ord. No. 2-2006; 2-24-2026 by Ord. No. 5-2026; 4-14-2026 by Ord. No. 9-2026]
The owner or his agent shall make application on a special form furnished by the City. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the City Engineer. The fee for a building permit regarding sewers shall be the same as other building permits issued by the City. The fee for connecting to the City sewer main shall be $275 for residential buildings with two or less units, $475 for residential buildings with more than two but less than 21 units, $750 for residential buildings with 21 or more units, and $1,000 for all buildings with at least one commercial unit. No permit shall be issued until all such fees are paid in full.
All costs and expense incident to the installation and connection of the building 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 of the building sewer.
[Added 8-22-2006 by L.L. No. 11-2006]
A. 
The property owner shall be responsible for the maintenance of the sewer lateral, once installed, from the tap into the City main forward into the serviced property. The owner or occupant of the place serviced by the public sewer system and charged for use thereof shall be responsible for the costs and expense incurred to make any and all repairs to all connecting supply pipes from the tap into the City main forward to said property serviced by the public sewer system.
B. 
The City or its Water Department shall not be liable for any damage or loss of any kind to property or persons which may arise from or be caused by any backflow or discharge front the sewer system unless the City had actual prior notice of a defective, unsafe, or obstructed condition of a City sewer main and there was a failure or neglect within a reasonable time after the receipt of such notice to repair or remove the defect.
C. 
Where preliminary treatment or flow-equalizing facilities are provided by the City for any water or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner at his or her expense.
D. 
The City will accept the responsibility for cleaning and maintaining the City main within a public right-of-way, and the property owner shall be responsible, at his or her own expense, for cleanout from the tap into the City main forward into his or her property. The City shall not provide service to sewer laterals on private property, even where there exists a lawful easement, nor even where the owner or occupant offers to reimburse the City for costs, unless the problem or damage is causing a bona fide public nuisance affecting the health or welfare of surrounding properties or the public at large.
E. 
Should a broken or leaking sewer lateral create a public nuisance by affecting the health or welfare of surrounding properties or the public at large, the Commissioner of Public Works may order the owner or occupant or person responsible for the care of the property so serviced by the public sewer system to repair said broken or leaking sewer lateral from the tap into the City main forward into the private property. Should the person or entity so ordered, after being given written notice and an opportunity to be heard, fail to make the repairs after being given a reasonable period of time to make said repairs, the Commissioner of Public Works may cause the repairs to be made and restore the land to the same condition as it was found once the repairs are completed. The actual expense of the repairs and restoration, including all labor and materials, shall be a lien against the property concerned and shall be collected by the City, like other taxes and assessments. In an actual public health emergency, the notice provisions herein may be dispensed with, but no lien shall be had until said owner as had an opportunity to be heard on the costs and necessity of the repairs.
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, the building sewer from the front building may be extended to the rear building, and the whole considered as one building sewer.
The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building 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[1] or other applicable rules and regulations of the city. In the absence of code provisions or in amplification thereof, the materials and procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and the ASTM and WPCF Manual of Practice No. 9 shall apply.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 152, Fire Prevention and Building Construction.
Whenever possible, the building sewer shall be brought to the building at an elevation below the basement floor. In all buildings in which any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewer, sanitary sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer.
The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Code[1] or other applicable rules and regulations of the City or the procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the State Building Construction Codes, the ASTM and the WPCF 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 City Engineer before installation.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 152, Fire Prevention and Building Construction.
The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the City Engineer when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. The connection shall be made under the supervision of the City Engineer or his representative.
All excavations for building sewer installation shall be adequately sheeted and 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 City Engineer.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water or unpolluted industrial process waters to any sanitary sewer. Existing facilities presently connected to the combined sewers may remain until combined sewers become separated, at which time they shall be disconnected.
Stormwater and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated as combined sewers or storm sewers or to a natural outlet approved by the City Engineer. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged, on approval of the City Engineer, to a storm sewer, combined sewer or natural outlet.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes to any public sewers:
A. 
Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.
B. 
Any waters or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids or gases in sufficient quantity. However, the discharge of these may be accepted conditionally by the county sewer district.
C. 
Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 5.5 or having a pH higher than 9.5 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and personnel of the sewage works.
D. 
Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers or other interference with the proper operation of the sewage works, such as but not limited to ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, unground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entrails and paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc., either whole or ground by garbage grinders.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged the following described substances, materials, waters or wastes if it appears likely, in the opinion of the City Engineer and/or the Director, that such wastes can harm either the sewers, sewage treatment process or equipment, have an adverse effect on the receiving stream or can otherwise endanger life, limb, public property or constitute a nuisance. In forming his opinion as to the acceptability of these wastes, the City Engineer and/or the Director will give consideration to such factors as the quantities of subject wastes in relation to flows and velocities in the sewers, materials of construction of the sewers, nature of the sewage treatment process, capacity of the sewage treatment plant, degree of treatability of wastes in the water pollution control plant and other pertinent factors. The substances prohibited in the first instance but subject to review by the City Engineer and/or the Director are:
A. 
Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than 150° F.
B. 
Any water or waste containing fats, wax, grease or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of 100 milligrams per liter, or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 32° F. and 150° F.
C. 
Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor 3/4 horsepower or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the City Engineer and/or the Director. Not more than 30% of ground garbage, on the dry basis, shall pass a No. 40 United States standard sieve.
D. 
Any waters or wastes containing strong-acid iron-pickling wastes or concentrated plating solutions, whether neutralized or not.
E. 
Any water or wastes containing iron, chromium, copper, zinc and similar objectionable or toxic substances, unless their concentration is reduced to a point that will not adversely affect any of the biochemical, chemical or other sewage treatment process. The concentration in sewage of any of the toxic substances shall not exceed the concentrations judged by the Director to be toxic to biological sewage treatment processes or to the biota of the receiving waters.
F. 
Any water or wastes containing phenols or other taste- or odor-producing substances in such concentrations exceeding limits which may be established by the Director as necessary, after treatment of the composite sewage, to meet the requirements of the state, federal or other public agencies or jurisdiction for such discharge to the receiving waters.
G. 
Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the City Engineer or Director in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.
H. 
Materials which exert or cause:
(1) 
Unusual concentrations of inert suspended solids (such as but not limited to fuller's earth, lime slurries and lime residues) or of dissolved solids (such as but not limited to sodium chloride and sodium sulfate).
(2) 
Excessive discoloration (such as but not limited to dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions).
(3) 
Unusual BOD, chemical oxygen demand or chlorine requirements in such quantities as to constitute a significant load on the sewage treatment works.
(4) 
Unusual volume of flow or concentration of wastes, constituting slugs as defined herein.
If any waters or wastes are discharged or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in § 226-21 herein and which, in the judgment of the City Engineer and/or Director may have a deleterious effect upon the sewage works, processes, equipment or receiving waters or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the City Engineer and/or Director may:
A. 
Reject the wastes;
B. 
Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers;
C. 
Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge; and/or
D. 
Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sewer charges.
It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge directly or indirectly into public sewers or into any private sewer or any combined sewer discharging into a public sewer, sewage combined with industrial wastes or other wastes, industrial wastes or other wastes the characteristics of which, at the point of discharge, exceed the concentration limits prescribed for normal sewage under § 226-2 herein or fall within the categories prohibited under §§ 226-18 through 226-27 herein, except under the issuance of a permit therefor by the Director and upon such terms and conditions as may be established by the Director in the issuance of such a permit.
Each applicant for a permit to discharge sewage combined with industrial wastes or other wastes into public sewers shall fill out and file with the Director an industrial sewer connection application as a prerequisite for the consideration of such a permit. The following is a partial list of information to be furnished by the applicant:
A. 
Plot of the property showing accurately all sewers, drains and house connections.
B. 
Plans and specifications covering any work proposed to be performed under the permit.
C. 
A complete schedule of process waters and industrial wastes produced or expected to be produced at said property or premises, including a description of the character of each waste, the daily volume and maximum rates of discharge and representative analyses.
D. 
The name and address of the person or firm who will be responsible for the performance of the work to be covered by the permit and the name and address of the person or firm who will be responsible for operating the facilities in accordance with the terms and conditions of the permit.
Terms and conditions as may be required and imposed by the Director in the issuance of the permit are as follows:
A. 
A limitation upon the volume of sewage and the rate of flow permitted from the premises.
B. 
The installation and maintenance by the permittee, at his own expense, of facilities or equipment for intermittent or continuous measurement of sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes discharged from the premises into a public sewer.
C. 
The installation and maintenance by the permittee, at his own expense, of detention tanks or other facilities or equipment for reducing the maximum rates of discharge of sewage to such a percentage of the twenty-four-hour rate as may be required by the Director.
D. 
The installation and maintenance by the permittee, at his own expense, of such preliminary treatment facilities as may be required by the Director.
E. 
The installation and maintenance by the permittee, at his own expense, of a suitable control or sampling manhole or manholes in any sewer discharging to a public sewer for which a permit is issued.
F. 
The installation and maintenance by the permittee, at his own expense, of grease, oil and sand interceptors, separators or traps that are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing such substances in excessive quantities or any flammable waste or other harmful ingredients.
G. 
The submission to and approval by the Director of the plans for any of the facilities or equipment required to be installed and maintained by the permittee;
H. 
Such other terms and conditions as may be necessary to protect the sewer system and carry out the intent and provisions of these rules and regulations.
I. 
Such terms and conditions may also provide that, subsequent to the commencement of operation of any preliminary treatment facilities, periodic reports shall be made by the permittee to the Director, setting forth adequate data upon which the acceptability of the sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes, after treatment, may be determined.
J. 
Where preliminary treatment or flow-equalizing facilities are provided for any water or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the permittee at his expense.
K. 
A violation by the permittee of the permit shall be a cause for revocation or suspension of the permit.
Whenever sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes having characteristics other than prescribed for normal sewage as defined in § 226-2 herein or falling within the categories of waste prohibited from public sewers pursuant to these rules and regulations are discharged into public sewers from any premises, the City Engineer and/or the Director shall have the right to take samples and tests as may be necessary to determine the nature and concentration of such wastes and shall have the right to reassess his determinations by taking samples and tests at any time or by periodic rechecks without notice to the person discharging such wastes.
A. 
Samples shall be taken and flow measurements made normally at the control manhole or manholes.
B. 
In the event that the requirement for a control manhole or manholes has been specifically waived, the samples shall be taken at a point or points to be selected by the Director.
When required by the City Engineer and/or the Director, the owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole, together with such meters and other appurtenances in the building sewer as are necessary to facilitate observation, sampling and measurement of the wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessibly and safely located and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the City Engineer and/or the Director. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his expense and shall be maintained by him so as to be safe and accessible at all times.
All measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in these rules and regulations shall be determined in accordance with the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Waste Water, published by the American Public Health Association, and shall be determined at the control manhole or upon suitable samples taken at said control manhole. In the event that no special manhole has been required, the control manhole shall be considered to be the nearest suitable one downstream in the public sewer to the point at which the building sewer is connected. Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted methods to reflect the effect of constituents upon the sewage works and to determine the existence of hazards to life, limb and property.
[Amended 9-11-1984 by Ord. No. 61-1984]
No person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance, or equipment which is part of the City of Cohoes sewerage system. Any person violating this provision shall be subject to immediate arrest under charge of criminal tampering.
[Amended 9-11-1984 by Ord. No. 61-1984]
A. 
The City Engineer and/or the Director and/or the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and/or the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation or other duly authorized employee of the City and/or the county and/or the Environmental Protection Agency and/or the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purpose of inspection, observation, measurements, sampling and testing the quantity and quality of waste discharges to the sewers or waterways or facilities for waste treatment in accordance with the provisions of this article.
B. 
While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to in Subsection A above, the City Engineer and/or the Director and/or the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and/or the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation or other duly authorized representative shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the property owner.
C. 
Refusal to permit the entry upon private lands required to perform the necessary work referred to in Subsection A above shall be punishable by such penalties as may be prescribed under § 226-32.
[Amended 9-11-1984 by Ord. No. 61-1984; 8-22-2006 by L.L. No. 11-2006]
The City Engineer and/or the Director and/or the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and/or the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation or their duly authorized representatives bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the City holds a duly negotiated easement for the purpose of but not limited to inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, repair and maintenance of any portion of the sewerage works lying within said easement. All entry and subsequent work, if any, on said easement shall be done n full accordance with the terms of the duly negotiated easement pertaining to the private property involved. Said public officials shall be authorized to enter private property to inspect or make repairs where there are emergency circumstances that affect the public health or where an administrative search warrant is obtained.
A. 
A violation of the provisions of this article and rules and regulations is an offense and each such violation may be punished by a fine of not more than $250 or by imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
[Amended 12-10-1996 L.L. No. 4-1996]
B. 
In lieu of or in addition to such fine or imprisonment, or both, each such violation shall be subject to a civil penalty not exceeding $100 for any one case, to be recovered in an action or proceeding brought by the Corporation Counsel of the City of Cohoes in a court of competent jurisdiction. Each day of a continuing violation shall be subject to a separate such fine, imprisonment or civil penalty.
The Corporation Counsel may maintain an action or proceeding in the name of the City in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance with these rules and regulations or restrain by injunction any violation of these rules and regulations, notwithstanding the provisions of § 226-32 hereof for a penalty or other punishment.
Where any violation of these rules and regulations causes expense to the city, such violation may also be punished by a civil suit against the violator, brought by the Corporation Counsel of the City of Cohoes in the name of the City in a court of competent jurisdiction, to recover such additional cost.
[Adopted 7-10-1984 by L.L. No. 4-1984]
A. 
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CITY
The City of Cohoes.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE
Any liquid, gaseous, solid or other waste substance or a combination thereof resulting from any process of industry manufacturing, trade or business or from the development or recovery of any natural resources.
OTHER WASTES
Garbage, refuse, decayed wood, sawdust, shavings, bark, sand, lime, cinders, ashes, offal, oil, tar, dye stuffs, acids, chemicals and all other discarded matter not sewage or industrial waste.
PART (in relation to the term "sewer system")
All lateral sewers or all branch sewers or all interceptor sewers or all trunk sewers and any sewage treatment and disposal works, each part with necessary appurtenances, including sewage pumping stations.
SEWAGE
The water-carried human or animal wastes from residences, buildings, industrial establishments or other places, together with such groundwater infiltration and surface water as may be present. The admixture with sewage as above defined or industrial waste or other wastes as hereinafter defined, also shall be considered sewage within the meaning of this article.
SEWER SYSTEM
All sewer pipes and other appurtenances which are used or useful in whole or part in connection with the collection treatment or disposal of sewage, industrial waste and other wastes and which are owned, operated or maintained by the City, including sewage pumping stations and sewage treatment and disposal works and on-site wastewater disposal systems, if any.
B. 
Whenever the context requires, words in the singular number shall be deemed to include the plural, and words in the plural number shall be deemed to include the singular.
The City of Cohoes or its City Engineer shall determine the total annual cost of operation and maintenance of the sewer system which are necessary to maintain its capacity and performance, during its service life. The total annual cost of operation and maintenance shall include, but need not be limited to, labor, repairs, equipment replacement, maintenance, necessary modification, power, sampling, laboratory tests and a reasonable contingency fund.
A. 
Pursuant to the authority granted by Subdivision 26-a of § 20 of the General City Law and pursuant to Article 14-F of the General Municipal Law, the City of Cohoes hereby establishes a scale of sewer rents and does hereby impose such sewer rents on the real property within the City subject thereto as herein set forth.
B. 
All premises or real property within the City using the sewer system or any part or parts thereof shall be subject to a sewer rent charge.
C. 
The charges for operation and maintenance attributable to flows through the sewer system shall be distributed among all users of the wastewater system based upon the flow volume of the users.
D. 
The sewer rent charge shall be equal to a percentage of the water bill charged to all premises or real property within the City for water supplied by the city. Each user's cost contribution to the sewage system shall be determined by the user's annual wastewater service charge. Residential users and nonresidential users shall be considered one class of users. The Board of Managers shall determine such percentage.
[Amended 12-27-2001 by Ord. No. 25-2001]
E. 
The City of Cohoes shall review the total annual cost of operation and maintenance of the sewer system not less often than every two years and will revise the sewer rents as necessary to assure equity of the user charge system established herein and to assure that sufficient funds are obtained to adequately operate and maintain the city's sewer system.
A. 
The sewer rents shall be billed to each premises or parcel of real property as aforesaid at such time or times as water charges are now billed and shall be collected in like manner.
B. 
Sewer rents shall be due at such time or times as water charges are now due and payable and shall be collected by such City official or officials as now charged with the collection of water charges.
Sewer rents shall constitute a lien upon real property upon which sewer rents have been established and imposed.
If any owner of real property on which a sewer rent has been imposed deems himself aggrieved because such real property is not served by the sewer system or any part or parts thereof or an error has been made in computing such sewer rent he may file an application for a refund of all or part of such sewer rent. Such application shall be verified by him and shall set forth the amount of refund sought and the grounds therefor. Such application shall be presented to the City Treasurer and he shall forward such application to the Common Council with his recommendations in relation thereto. The Common Council may, by a 2/3 vote, authorize a refund of all or part of such sewer rent or charge.
Pursuant to § 453 of the General Municipal Law, revenues derived from sewer rents shall be credited to a special fund to be known as the "Sewer Rent Fund." Disbursements therefrom shall be made pursuant to such section of the General Municipal Law.
A. 
The discharge of any waters containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids or gases in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other waste, to contaminate the sludge of any municipal system or to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process constitute a hazard and/or have an adverse effect on the waters receiving any discharge from a treatment works is hereby prohibited.
B. 
Each user which discharges any toxic pollutant that causes an increase in cost of managing the effluent or the sludge of a wastewater treatment works shall pay for such increased cost.
This system of establishing and imposing sewer rents to users of the sewage system within the City of Cohoes shall be consistent with Section 204, Subsection (b)(1)(A), of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., as amended) or 40 CFR Part 35.