[Adopted 10-9-1974]
The construction, extension, maintenance and operation of the sewerage
system of the Town of Branford and connections therewith, up to the point
of entering private property, shall be under the control of and subject to
regulations by the Sewer Authority of the Town of Branford under the authority
of Chapter 103, Title 7, General Statutes of Connecticut, Revision of 1958,
as amended. Within any property, however, the sewerage system shall be subject
to regulations by the Board of Selectmen as set forth herein and under any
other applicable ordinance. The construction, maintenance and use of private
systems for sewage disposal, whether now existing or hereafter proposed, shall
be subject to regulation by other applicable ordinance.
A.
AUTHORITY
BOD (denoting "biochemical oxygen demand")
BUILDING DRAIN
BUILDING INSPECTOR
BUILDING SEWER
COOLING WATER
EQUIVALENT DWELLING UNIT (EDU)
GARBAGE
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
NATURAL OUTLET
PERSON, ENTERPRISE, ESTABLISHMENT or OWNER
pH
ppm
PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE
PUBLIC SEWER
SANITARY SEWER
SEWAGE
(1)
(2)
SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT
SEWAGE WORKS or SEWERAGE SYSTEM
SEWER
SLUG
STORM DRAIN (sometimes termed "storm sewer")
SUPERINTENDENT
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
TOWN
TOWN ENGINEER
UNPOLLUTED WATER
WATERCOURSE
WPCA
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise,
the meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
The Town of Branford Sewer Authority.
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.
That part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which
receives the discharge from soil, waste and other drainage pipes inside the
walls of buildings and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning five feet
outside the inner face of the building wall.
The duly appointed Building Inspector of the Town of Branford or
his authorized deputy or representative. All drainage, plumbing, ventilation
or sewer work, whether connected with public or private sewers, shall be subject
to the inspection and approval of the Building Inspector.
The extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other
place of disposal.
The water discharged from any system of condensation, air conditioning,
cooling, refrigeration or other but shall be free from odor and oil. It shall
contain no pollution substances which would produce BOD or suspended solids
each in excess of 10 parts per million by weight.
The estimated amount of sewage generated by a single residential
unit, including allowances for inflow and infiltration or any other flows
which may enter the sewerage system.
[Added 2-27-2007]
Solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking
and dispensing of food and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.
The liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing processes, trade
or business as distinct from sanitary sewage.
Any point of discharge into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other
body of surface or ground water.
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation
or group.
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions in
grams per liter of solution. It is used to indicate the concentration of free
acid and free alkali.
Parts per million.
[Added 2-27-2007]
The waste from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that
has 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 in any dimension.
A sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights
and which is controlled by public authority.
A sewer which carries sanitary sewage and to which storm-, surface,
ground waters, cooling waters and industrial wastes are not intentionally
admitted.
The water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions
and industrial establishments, together with such ground-, surface and storm
waters as may be present.
SANITARY SEWAGEThe water-carried wastes discharging from the sanitary conveniences of dwellings, including apartment houses and hotels, office buildings, factories or institutions.
NORMAL SEWAGERegarded as normal for the Town if analyses show by weight a daily average of not more than 2,500 pounds of suspended solids per million gallons of waste (300 parts per million), not more than 2,000 pounds (240 parts per million) of BOD, and not more than 417 pounds (50 parts per million) of either soluble matter (grease or oil) each, per million gallons of daily flow.
Any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating sewage.
All facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of
sewage.
A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
Any water or waste exceeding a concentration greater than five times
that of normal sewage and which is discharged continuously for a period longer
than 15 minutes.
A pipe or conduit which carries storm- and surface waters and drainage,
but excludes sewage and industrial wastes. It may, however, carry cooling
waters and unpolluted waters.
That employee of the Authority who shall be designated from time
to time by the Authority to have that title, or his authorized deputy, agent
or representative.
Solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension
in water, sewage or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory filtering.
The Town of Branford.
That person so designated and employed by the Town and his authorized
deputy or authorized agent.
Water of quality equal to or better than the effluent criteria in
effect or 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.
[Amended 10-12-1977]
A channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or
intermittently.
The municipality's Water Pollution Control Authority, as authorized
by Connecticut General Statutes Section 7-246.
[Added 2-27-2007]
B.
The term "shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissive.
A.
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 Town of Branford, or in any area under the jurisdiction of said
Town, any human or animal excrement, garbage or other objectional waste.
B.
It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet
within the Town of Branford, or in any area under the jurisdiction of said
Town, any sewage or other polluted waters, except where suitable treatment
has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this article.
C.
The owner of all houses, buildings or properties used
for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purposes, situated within
the Town 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 sewer of
the Town 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 30 days after the
date of official notice to do so, provided that said public sewer is within
100 feet of the property line.
D.
It shall be unlawful for any person to construct or repair
any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool or other facility intended for
the disposal of sewage if public sewers are available.
[Added 2-10-1982]
A.
The provisions of an ordinance concerning the excavation
of streets and highways, permits, bonds and regulations, enacted at a Town
Meeting held on May 20, 1958, as amended by the Branford Representative Town
Meeting in May 1962,[1] and any future amendments thereof, shall be applicable to applicants
for permits under this article, and the provisions hereof shall be followed
as though they are a part thereof.
B.
Before any sewerage work is commenced in or on any building
or property, when the same is to be connected with the public sewerage system
and before any opening is made in any public street, highway, public ground
or private way therefor, and before any addition, alteration, maintenance
or repair work is made to any connecting line or connections with the public
sewerage system, a permit for such work shall first be obtained from the office
of the Town Engineer. Application for such permit shall be on a form provided
by said office for which a fee of $2 shall be paid when the permit is issued.
C.
All work which is to be done under such permits shall
be in accordance with the provisions of this article, any regulations adopted
hereunder and any other applicable ordinances. Before any sewerage work is
commenced within the limits of any state highway, in addition to obtaining
such permit as may be necessary from the State of Connecticut, no work shall
be done without a permit hereunder issued by the Town Engineer.
E.
The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans,
specifications or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of
the Town Engineer.
All costs and expenses incident to the installation and connection of
the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify
the Town from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned
by the installation of the building sewer.
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.
Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only
when they are found on examination and test by the Town Engineer to meet all
requirements of this article.
A.
The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction
of a building sewer and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the
pipe, bedding of the pipe, jointing, testing and backfilling the trench shall
conform to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Code or other applicable
rules and regulations of the Town.
B.
Building sewers must be constructed of extra-heavy cast-iron
pipe or other approved material as set forth in the Building Code, be a minimum
of four inches in inside diameter and be properly connected by one-inch forty-five-degree
bend with a four-inch minimum diameter Y-branch on a public sewer. A larger
size pipe may be required by the Town Engineer if he deems it necessary. The
use of pipe which is a composite of tar and paper commonly known as “Orangeberg”
pipe is prohibited for any sewer use.
[Amended 10-11-2006]
C.
All house sewers, drains and horizontal soil and waste
pipes shall be laid as straight as possible, and any changes in directions
shall be made with proper, approved fittings, and all such pipes shall have
a fall of not less than 1/4 inch per foot for four-inch pipe and 1/8 inch
per foot for six-inch pipe and as much more as may be practicable in each
case and as approved by the Town Engineer.
[Amended 10-11-2006]
D.
No house sewer shall be covered until it has been examined
and approved by the Town Engineer.
E.
All car washes, all service garages and all similar facilities,
as determined by the Sewer Commission (also known as the "Water Pollution
Control Authority") shall install oil, water, and grit separators in the construction
of any new building sewer.
[Added 10-11-2006]
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, in such manner as the Town Engineer shall approve.
[Amended 10-11-2006]
No person shall make connection of roof downspout, exterior foundation
drains, areaway drains, floor drains, sump pumps or other sources of surface
runoff or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which in turn
is connected directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer.
The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall conform
to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Code and rules and regulations
or other applicable rules and regulations of the Town. All such connections
shall be made gastight and watertight. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures
and materials must be approved by the Town Engineer before installation.
The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the Town Engineer
when the building sewer is ready for inspection and for connection to the
public sewer. The connection shall be made under the supervision of the Town
Engineer or his representative.
All excavations for building sewer installation shall be adequately
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 Town.
[Added 10-12-1977; amended 10-11-2006]
Any person proposing a new discharge into the system or a substantial
change in the volume or character of pollutants that are being discharged
into the system shall notify the Sewer Authority at least 45 days prior to
the proposed change or connection. Upon any and all changes in use and ownership
of a restaurant within the Town of Branford, grease trap installation is mandatory.
Such installation shall include a minimum one-thousand-gallon outdoor trap,
wherever feasible.
A.
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.
B.
Stormwater and all other unpolluted drainage shall be
discharged to such sewers as are specifically designed as combined sewers
or storm sewers, or to a natural outlet approved by the Town Engineer. Industrial
cooling water or unpolluted process water may be discharged on specific written
approval of the Town Engineer and the State Commissioner of Environmental
Protection to a storm sewer or natural outlet.
C.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any swimming
pool or hot tub water to any sanitary sewer without first obtaining a general
permit pursuant to Sections 22a-430 and 22a-430b of the Connecticut General
Statutes, as amended, and any regulations promulgated thereunder.
[Added 10-11-2006]
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following
described waters or wastes to any public sewers or natural outlet:
A.
Any gasoline, antifreeze, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil
or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.
[Amended 10-11-2006]
B.
Any waters or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids,
liquids or gases in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with
other wastes, to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, constitute
a hazard to humans or animals, create a public nuisance or create any hazard
in the receiving waters of the sewage treatment plant.
[Amended 2-10-1982; 10-11-2006]
(1)
Material such as copper, zinc, chromium, silver and similar
toxic substances shall not be allowed in soluble form or in suspended solid
form in concentration higher than those achieved in appropriate pretreatment
facilities approved by the Town Engineer and the Commissioner of Environmental
Protection.
(2)
The limitations on sewage concentrations are as follows:
[Added 2-10-1982]
|
Pollutant
|
Concentration
[parts per million (mg/l)]
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Arsenic as As
|
0.05
| |
|
Barium as Ba
|
5.0
| |
|
Boron as B
|
5.0
| |
|
Cyanides as CN (amendable)
|
0.1
| |
|
Fluoride as F
|
20
| |
|
Chromium (Total)
|
1.0
| |
|
Chromium (Cr +6)
|
0.1
| |
|
Magnesium as Mg
|
100
| |
|
Manganese as Mn
|
5.0
| |
|
Copper as Cu
|
1.0
| |
|
Zinc as Zn
|
1.0
| |
|
Cadmium
|
0.1
| |
|
Lead
|
0.1
| |
|
Tin
|
2.0
| |
|
Silver
|
0.1
| |
|
Mercury
|
0.01
| |
|
Nickel
|
1.0
| |
|
Iron as Fe
|
5.0
|
|
Note: All metals are to be measured as total metals.
| ||
C.
Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 5.5 or having
any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures,
equipment and personnel of the sewage works.
D.
Solid and 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, paint, plastics, wood, unground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure,
hair and fleshings, entrails and paper dishes, cups, milk containers and so
forth, either whole or ground by garbage grinders and water which is not properly
extracted of oil and grit.
[Amended 10-11-2006]
A.
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 Superintendent 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.
B.
In forming his opinion as to the acceptability of these
wastes, the Superintendent 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 sewage treatment plant and other pertinent factors.
C.
The substances prohibited are:
(1)
Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than
120° F. (49° C.) except by written approval of the Engineer. In such
cases, the Engineer may require installation, by the industry, of an approved
temperature recorder in the receiving sewer. Where wastes are discharged to
concrete sewers, the maximum permissible average temperature of the mixed
sewage just downstream of the point of waste discharge shall be determined
by the following formula:
|
t
|
=
|
177 - 94.2 (log BOD - 2 log V)
| ||
|
Where:
| ||||
|
t
|
=
|
Temperature in Fahrenheit (°F.) of the mixed sewage just downstream
of the point of discharge.
| ||
|
log
|
=
|
Logarithm to base 10 of the variable indicated.
| ||
|
BOD
|
=
|
Five-day biochemical oxygen demand in parts per million of the mixed
sewage just downstream of the point of discharge.
| ||
|
V
|
=
|
Average flow velocity in the sewer, in feet per second, just downstream
of the point of discharge.
| ||
(2)
Any water or waste containing fats, wax, grease or oils
in excess of 50 milligrams per liter for emulsified material and 15 milligrams
per liter for freefloating material or containing substances which may solidify
or become viscous at temperatures between 32° and 150° F. (0°
and 65° C.).
(3)
Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The
installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor of
3/4 horsepower or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the
Superintendent.
(4)
Any waters or wastes containing strong acid iron pickling
wastes or concentrated plating solutions, whether neutralized or not.
(5)
Any waters or wastes containing iron, chromium, copper,
zinc and similar objectionable or toxic substances, or wastes exerting an
excessive chlorine requirement to such a degree that any such material received
in the composite sewage at the treatment works exceeds the limits which may
be established by the Superintendent for such materials.
(6)
Any waters or wastes containing phenols or other taste-
or odor-producing substances, in such concentrations exceeding limits which
may be established by the Superintendent as necessary, after treatment of
the composite sewage, to meet the requirements of the state, federal or other
public agencies of jurisdiction for such discharge to the receiving waters.
(7)
Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life
or concentration as may exceed limits established by the Superintendent in
compliance with applicable state and/or federal regulations.
(8)
Any waters or wastes having a pH in excess of 9.5.
(9)
Materials which exert or cause:
(a)
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).
(b)
Excessive discoloration (such as but not limited to dye
wastes and vegetable tanning solutions).
(c)
Unusual BOD, chemical oxygen demand or chlorine requirements
in such quantities as to constitute a significant load on the sewage treatment
works.
(d)
Unusual volume of flow or concentration of wastes constituting
slugs, as defined herein.
(10)
Waters or wastes containing substances which are not
amenable to treatment or reduction by the sewage treatment processes employed,
or are amenable to treatment only to such degree that the sewage treatment
plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction
over discharge to the receiving waters.
A.
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 § 204-33 of this article and which, in the judgment of the Superintendent, 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 Superintendent may:
[Amended 10-11-2006]
(1)
Reject the wastes;
(2)
Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge
to the public sewers;
(3)
Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge;
and/or
(4)
Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered under the provisions of §§ 204-37 and 204-41C. Any payment so collected under this subsection shall be deposited into a fund designated by the Superintendent and shall be used solely for the benefit of the Town of Branford sewer system.
B.
If the Superintendent permits the pretreatment or equalization
of waste flows, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall
be subject to the review and approval of the Town Engineer and subject to
the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances and laws.
(1)
Plans, specifications, expected performance data and
any other pertinent information relating to holding tanks or to pretreatment
facilities shall be prepared by a licensed professional engineer and submitted
for the approval of the Superintendent, and no construction of such facilities
shall be commenced until said approvals are obtained in writing. The Superintendent
shall approve the holding tanks or pretreatment facilities, provided that
the same shall indicate that an effluent conforming to the provisions of this
article will be produced. If, after the installation of the facilities has
been completed and operation begun, the facilities do not produce the expected
performance, the Superintendent shall have the right to order the owner to
cease operation until such time that modifications are made to enable the
facilities to perform properly.
(2)
Prior to the discharge or permission for the discharge
into the Town of Branford sewers, the applicant industry must obtain written
approval from the State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection,
in the form of a permit, allowing the proposed discharge and must, if required
by the Department of Environmental Protection or the Town of Branford, install
suitable pretreatment facilities and operate and maintain such facilities
in a manner which will ensure a continuous and satisfactory effluent.
[Added 10-12-1977]
C.
Each user shall provide protection from accidental discharge
of prohibited materials or other substances regulated by this article. Facilities
to prevent accidental discharge of prohibited materials shall be provided
and maintained at the owner's or user's own cost and expense. The Commissioner
of Environmental Protection may require that plans showing facilities and
operating procedures be submitted for review and approval prior to construction
of the facilities.
[Added 2-10-1982]
(1)
Within five days following an accidental discharge, the
user shall submit to the Superintendent and the Commissioner a detailed written
report describing the cause of the discharge and the measures to be taken
by the user to prevent similar future occurrences. Such notification shall
not relieve the user of any expense, loss, damage or other liability which
may be incurred as a result of damage to the water pollution control facilities,
fish kills, aquatic plants or any other damage to persons or property; nor
shall such notification relieve the user of any fines, civil penalties or
other liability which may be imposed by this article or other applicable law.
(2)
A notice shall be permanently posted on the user's bulletin
board or other prominent place advising employees who to call in the event
of a dangerous discharge. Employers shall ensure that all employees are advised
of the emergency notification procedure.
Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion
of the Town Engineer, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid
wastes containing grease in excessive amounts or any flammable wastes, sand
or other harmful ingredients; except that such interceptors shall not be required
for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of
a type and capacity approved by the Town Engineer and shall be located as
to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
A.
Where preliminary treatment facilities are provided for
any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory
and effective operation by the owner at his own expense and shall be subject
to periodic inspection by the Engineer and shall be of a type and capacity
approved by the Engineer, provided that they produce an effluent conforming
to the provisions of this article.
B.
The owner shall maintain operating records and shall
submit to the Engineer a monthly summary report of the character of the influent
and effluent as may be prescribed by the Engineer to show satisfactory performance
of the treatment facilities.
C.
For the purposes of measurement, the acceptability of
pretreated industrial waste will be measured at the point which the industrial
waste leaves a pretreatment facility and before dilution with any other waste-,
stream or process water.
When required by the Town Engineer, the owner of any property serviced
by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control
manhole together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances in the
building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling and measurement of the
wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessible and safely located
and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the Town Engineer.
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 water
and wastes to which reference is made in this article 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 provided 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 downstream
manhole 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 sewage works and to determine the existence of
hazards to life, limb and property. The particular analyses involved will
determine whether a twenty-four-hour composite of all outfalls of a premise
is appropriate or whether a grab sample or samples should be taken. Normally,
but not always, BOD and suspended solids analysis are obtained from twenty-four-hour
composites of all outfalls whereas pH's are determined from periodic grab
samples.
No statement contained in this article shall be construed as preventing
any special agreement or arrangement between the Town and any industrial concern
whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted
by the Town, for treatment, subject to payment therefor, by the industrial
concern, in accordance with § 204-41C.
[Added 10-12-1977; amended 2-10-1982]
Any new discharge from a single source of domestic wastewater in excess
of 5,000 gallons per day, or cooling waters or discharge of any quantity from
an industrial source, must be authorized by a permit from the State of Connecticut
Department of Environmental Protection, Director of Water Compliance and Hazardous
Substances.
A.
The Superintendent, Town Engineer or other duly authorized
employees of the Town bearing proper credentials and identification shall
be permitted to enter all properties for the purposes of inspection, observation,
measurement, sampling and testing in accordance with the provisions of this
article.
B.
While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to in Subsection A above, the Superintendent, Town Engineer or duly authorized employees of the Town shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the company, and the company shall be held harmless for injury or death to the Town employees, and the Town shall indemnify the company against loss or damage to its property by Town employees and against liability claims and demands for personal injury or property damage asserted against the company and growing out of the gauging and sampling operation, except as such may be caused by negligence or failure of the company to maintain safe conditions as required in § 161-35.
C.
The Superintendent, Town Engineer and other duly authorized
employees of the Town, bearing proper credentials and identification, shall
be permitted to enter all private properties through which the Town 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 sewage works lying within said easement. All entry and subsequent work,
if any, on said easement shall be done in full accordance with the terms of
the duly negotiated easement pertaining to the private property involved.
[Added 2-27-2007]
A.
General.
(1)
An ordinance establishing sewer use charges in the Town
of Branford for the purpose of providing funds for the operation and maintenance
expenses associated with the municipal wastewater collection, conveyance and
treatment facilities is hereby enacted.
(2)
As provided for under Section 7-255 et seq. of the Connecticut
General Statutes, the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) is empowered
to establish and revise fair and reasonable charges for the use of the municipal
sewerage system. The owner of property against which any such use charge is
levied shall be liable for the payment thereof. Tax-exempt property which
uses the sewerage system shall be subject to such charges under the same conditions
as are the owners of other property; provided, however, municipally owned
and Board of Education owned properties of the Town of Branford shall be exempt
from such charges as long as a general fund contribution to the use charge
of $600,000 is made annually.
(3)
No charge for the use of the Town of Branford sewerage
system shall be established or revised until after a public hearing before
the WPCA, at which owners of property which use the sewerage system shall
have an opportunity to be heard concerning the proposed charges. Notice of
the time, date and place of such hearing shall be published at least 10 days
before the hearing in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town
of Branford, and a copy of the proposed charges shall be on file in the office
of the Town Clerk for public inspection at least 10 days before the date of
the hearing.
(4)
Within five days of having established such charges,
the WPCA shall cause the same to be published in a newspaper having a general
circulation in the Town of Branford.
B.
Calculation of charges.
(1)
The total cost of the operation and maintenance of the sewerage system, including replacement fund (OM&R cost), shall be recovered from the users of the system. Each user's share of the OM&R cost of the sewerage system shall be in proportion to the user's contribution to the total wastewater loading of the sewerage system. The contribution of the Town of Branford general fund in the amount of $600,000 shall be a credit to the OM&R cost prior to determining each user's share of the same. All users shall be charged on an equivalent dwelling unit (EDU) basis; provided, however, all consumers of water in excess of 25,000 gallons per day shall be charged based on actual water usage. Surcharges shall be added to the volume-based charges for wastewater discharges whose BOD or suspended solids concentrations are in excess of the limits defined as "normal sewage" in § 204-16 of this Article IV, Municipal Code of the Town of Branford, or for discharges whose other constituents result in an identifiable increase in wastewater conveyance, treatment or disposal costs.
(2)
All industrial users as defined in Title 40 of the Code
of Federal Regulations (CFR), § 35.905.8, dated February 11, 1974,
must pay that portion of any federal grant amount made after March 1, 1973,
which is allocable to treatment of their wastes. A significant industrial
user, defined as one that will contribute greater than 10% of the design flow
or design pollutant loading of the treatment works, shall submit a signed
letter of intent to pay the Town of Branford that portion of federal grant
amounts allocable to the treatment of its wastes and its intended period of
use of the treatment works.
(3)
The WPCA will review the sewer user charges annually
and revise the rates as necessary to ensure that adequate revenues are generated
to recover all OM&R costs and that the rate structure continues to distribute
the cost of wastewater collection and treatment among the users in proportion
to their contribution.
C.
Collection and payment.
(1)
All sewer use charges shall be billed annually through the WPCA and shall be paid in full within a period of 30 days after same is declared due and payable unless otherwise stated on the billing form; provided, however, elderly and disabled taxpayers who are eligible for tax relief under the provisions of Section 12-129b and 12-170aa of the Connecticut General Statutes and elderly, disabled and taxpayers under the age of 65 who are eligible for tax relief under the provisions of §§ 220-15 through 220-22 of the Municipal Code of the Town of Branford may pay the sewer use charges in four equal installments on September 1, December 1, March 1 and June 1 of each year, and each installment shall be paid in full within a period of 30 days from the date each installment is due.
(2)
Any charge for the use of sewerage system, not paid within
30 days of the due date, shall thereupon be delinquent and shall bear interest
from the due date at the rate and in the manner provided by the General Statutes
for the delinquent property taxes. Each addition of interest shall be collectible
as a part of such connection or use charge. Any such unpaid connection or
use charge shall constitute a lien upon the real estate against which such
charge was levied from the date it became delinquent. Each such lien may be
continued, recorded and released in the manner provided by the General Statutes
for continuing, recording and releasing property tax liens. Each such lien
shall take precedence over all other liens and encumbrances except taxes and
may be foreclosed in the same manner as a lien for property taxes.
(3)
All revenues collected under the provisions of this section shall be kept separate from any other funds of the municipality and shall be used solely for the purposes stated in Subsection A of this section, and for no other purpose. Fiscal year-end balances shall be used to defray the following year's costs, or shall be deposited in a nonlapsing fund established for replacement of major mechanical components which could reasonably be expected to require replacement during the useful life of the treatment works. If, as a result of a shortfall, funds have been transferred from other sources into the sewerage funds account, those funds shall be repaid at the beginning of the next fiscal year, and the sewer use charge shall be increased to cover the transfer of these funds.
D.
Appeals and adjustments. Any person aggrieved by any
charge for the use of the sewerage system may make written appeal to the WPCA
within 21 days after the date a copy of such charge is filed with the Town
Clerk pursuant to Section 7-255(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes requesting
a review of the user charge. Any person aggrieved by any charge for the use
of the sewerage system may appeal to the superior court for the judicial district
wherein the Town of Branford is located and shall bring any such appeal to
a return day of said court not less than 12 or more than 30 days after service
thereof. The judgment of the court shall be final.
E.
Charges for septage. Charges for disposing of septage
at the water pollution control facility shall be set by the WPCA.
F.
Ordinance in full force. This section shall be in full
force and effect from and after its passage, approval, recording and publication
as provided by law.
