[HISTORY: Adopted by the Commissioners of the Town of Ridgely 11-1-1993
by Ord. No. 126. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD)
BUILDING DRAIN
BUILDING SEWER
COMBINED SEWER
EASEMENT
FLOATABLE OIL
GARBAGE
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
NATURAL OUTLET
PERSON
PH
PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE
PUBLIC SEWER
SANITARY SEWER
SEWAGE
SEWER
SLUG
STORM DRAIN (SOMETIMES TERMED "STORM SEWER")
SUPERINTENDENT
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
TOWN
UNPOLLUTED WATER
WASTEWATER
WASTEWATER FACILITIES
WASTEWATER TREATMENT WORKS
WATERCOURSE
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise,
the meaning of terms used in this chapter shall be as follows:
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 wastewater from inside the building and conveys it to the building
sewer.
The extension from the building drain to the sanitary sewer (also
called "house connection").
A sewer intended to receive both wastewater and stormwater or surface
water.
An acquired legal right for the specific use of land owned by others.
Oil, fat or grease in a physical state such that it will separate
by gravity from wastewater by treatment in an approved pretreatment facility.
Wastewater shall be considered free of floatable oil if it is properly pretreated
and the wastewater does not interfere with the collection system.
All discarded substances, refuse and trash, including leavings and
waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and serving of foods.
The wastewater from industrial processes, trade or business.
Any outlet, including storm sewers and combined sewer overflows,
into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface water or groundwater.
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation
or group.
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen-ion concentration.
The concentration is the weight of hydrogen ions, in grams, per liter of solution.
Neutral water, for example, has a pH value of seven and a hydrogen-ion concentration
of 10.
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.
A sewer controlled by a governmental agency or public utility.
A sewer that carries liquid and water-carried wastes from residences,
commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions.
The spent water of a community. The preferred term is "wastewater."
(See definition of "wastewater.")
A pipe or conduit that carries wastewater.
Any discharge of water or wastewater 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.
A drain or sewer for conveying water, runoff, groundwater, subsurface
water or unpolluted water from any source.
The Town Engineer or authorized deputy, agent or representative.
Total suspended matter that either floats on the surface of or is
in suspension in water, wastewater or other liquids and that is removable
by laboratory filtering as prescribed in Standard Methods for the Examination
of Water and Wastewater and referred to as "nonfilterable residue."
The Commissioners of Ridgely, and generally refers to the paperwork
available at the town office from the Town Clerk/Treasurer.
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.
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.
The structures, equipment and processes required to collect, carry
away and treat domestic and industrial wastes and dispose of the effluent.
An arrangement of devices and structures for treating wastewater,
industrial wastes and sludge (synonymous with "waste treatment plant" or "wastewater
treatment plant" and "water pollution control plant").
A natural or artificial channel for the passage of water either continuously
or intermittently.
B.
"May" is permissive; "shall" is mandatory.
A.
Except for generally accepted agricultural practices,
no person will place, deposit or permit to be deposited in any manner on public
or private property within the Town of Ridgely, or in any area under the jurisdiction
of said town, any human or animal excrement, garbage or wastewater.
B.
No person will discharge to any natural outlet within
the Town of Ridgely, or in any area under the jurisdiction of said town, any
wastewater or other polluted waters, except as provided in this chapter.
C.
No person will construct or maintain any privy, privy
vault, septic tank, cesspool or other facility intended or used for the disposal
of wastewater except as provided in this chapter.
D.
Every owner of real property used for human occupancy,
employment or recreation or otherwise used by humans situated within the town
is hereby required, at the owner's 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 chapter, within 90
days after date of official notice to do so, provided that said public sewer
is within 100 feet of the property line.
A.
Where a public or sanitary sewer is not available under the provisions of § 145-2D, the building sewer shall be connected to a private wastewater disposal system complying with the provisions of this section.
B.
Before commencement of construction of a private wastewater
disposal system, the owner(s) shall first obtain a written permit duly issued
by the Ridgely Planning Commission. The application for such permit shall
be made on a form furnished by the town, which the applicant shall supplement
by any plans, specifications and other information as are deemed necessary
by the Ridgely Planning Commission. A permit and inspection fee, as set by
resolution of the Commissioners of Ridgely, shall be paid to the town at the
time the application is filed.[1]
C.
A permit for a private wastewater disposal system shall
not become effective until the installation is completed to the satisfaction
of the Town Engineer. The Town Engineer shall be allowed to inspect the work
at any stage of construction, and, in any event, the applicant for the permit
shall notify the Town Engineer when the work is ready for final inspection
and before any underground portions are covered. The inspection shall be made
by the Town Engineer within two business days of the receipt of notice.
D.
The type, capacity, location and layout of a private
wastewater disposal system shall comply with all applicable governmental requirements.
No permit shall be issued for any private wastewater disposal system employing
subsurface soil absorption facilities where the area of the lot is less than
allowed by state or local law/regulation, whichever is more stringent. No
septic tank or cesspool shall be permitted to discharge to any natural outlet.
E.
At such time as a public sewer becomes available to a property served by a private wastewater disposal system, the provisions of § 145-2D shall apply, and any septic tanks, cesspools and similar private wastewater disposal facilities shall be cleaned of sludge and filled with material approved by the Town Engineer.
F.
The owner(s) shall operate and maintain the private wastewater
disposal facilities in a sanitary manner at all times, at no expense to the
town. Sludge removal from private disposal systems shall be performed by licensed
operators and disposed of as allowed by state or local law/regulation, whichever
is more stringent.
G.
No statement contained in this section shall be construed
to interfere with any additional requirements imposed by the State or County
Health Department.
A.
No person shall uncover, make any connections with or
opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenances thereof
without prior approval of the Town Engineer or without first obtaining a duly
issued permit from the Ridgely Planning Commission.[1]
B.
There shall be two classes of building sewer permits:
for residential and nonindustrial waste and for industrial waste. In either
case, the owner(s) or agent shall make application on a form furnished by
the town and pay such application fees as are required for matters before
the Ridgely Planning Commission. The permit application shall be supplemented
by any plans, specifications or other information considered pertinent for
the consideration of the Ridgely Planning Commission.[2]
C.
All costs and expenses incidental to the installation
and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner(s). The owner(s)
shall indemnify the town from any loss or damage directly or indirectly caused
by the installation of the building sewer.
D.
A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided
for every building, except that 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 front building sewer may be extended to the rear building and the whole
considered as one building sewer, but the town does not and will not assume
any obligation or responsibility for damage caused by or resulting from any
such single connection.
E.
Old building sewers may be used in connection with new
buildings only when they are found, on examination and test, to be satisfactory
to the Town Engineer.
F.
The size, slope, alignment and 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 or other applicable rules and
regulations of the town. In the absence of code provisions or in amplification
thereof, the materials and procedures set forth in appropriate specifications
of the ASTM and WPCF Manual of Practice No. 9 (or the successor publication
thereto) shall apply.
G.
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 and
discharged to the building sewer by means approved by the Town Engineer.
H.
No person shall connect roof downspouts, foundation drains,
areaway drains 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 or otherwise allow stormwater, surface water, groundwater
or other runoff into the sanitary sewer.
I.
The connection of the building sewer into the public
sewer shall conform to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Code
or other applicable rules and regulations of the town or the procedures set
forth in appropriate specifications of the ASTM and the WPCF Manual of Practice
No. 9 (or the successor publication thereto) and be satisfactory to the Town
Engineer. All such connections shall be made gastight and watertight and verified
by proper testing. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials
must be approved by the Town Engineer, in writing, before installation.
J.
The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify
the Town Engineer when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection
to the public sewer. The connection and testing shall be made under the supervision
of the Town Engineer or representative.
K.
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 Engineer.
A.
No person(s) shall discharge or cause to be discharged
any waters such as stormwater, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage
or cooling water to any sewer. Polluted stormwater runoff from limited areas
may be discharged to the sanitary sewer by advance written permission of the
Town Engineer.
B.
Stormwater other than that exempted under Subsection A and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated as storm sewers or to a natural outlet approved by the Town Engineer and other agencies with regulatory responsibility thereof. Unpolluted industrial cooling water or process waters may be discharged, on written approval of the Town Engineer, to a storm sewer, combined sewer or natural outlet.
C.
No person(s) shall discharge or cause to be discharged
any of the following described waters or wastes to any public sewers:
(1)
Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil or other flammable
or explosive liquid, solid or gas.
(2)
Any waters 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 waste treatment process, constitute
a hazard to humans or animals, create a public nuisance or create any hazard
in the receiving waters of the wastewater treatment plant.
(3)
Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 5.0 or having
any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures,
equipment and personnel of the wastewater works.
(4)
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 wastewater facilities, such as, but not limited
to, ashes, bones, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags,
feathers, tar, plastics, wood, unground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure,
hair, flesh, entrails, paper dishes, cups and milk containers, either whole
or ground by garbage grinders.
D.
The following described substances, materials, waters
or wastes shall be limited in discharges to municipal systems to concentrations
or quantities which will not harm either the sewers, wastewater treatment
process or equipment, will not have an adverse effect on the receiving stream
or will not otherwise endanger lives, limb or public property or constitute
a nuisance. The Town Engineer may set limitations lower than the limitations
established in the regulations below if such limitations are necessary to
meet the above objectives and only after giving consideration to such factors
as the quantity of subject waste in relation to flows and velocities in the
sewers, materials of construction of the sewers, the wastewater treatment
process employed, capacity of the wastewater treatment plant, degree of treatability
of the waste in the wastewater treatment plant and other pertinent factors.
The limitations or restrictions on materials or characteristics of waste or
wastewaters discharged to the sanitary sewer which shall not be violated without
written approval of the Town Engineer are as follows:
(1)
Wastewater having a temperature higher than 150°
F. (65° C.).
(2)
Wastewater containing more than 25 milligrams per liter
of petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oils or product of mineral oil
origin.
(3)
Wastewater from industrial plants containing floatable
oils, fat or grease.
(4)
Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. (See the definition of "properly shredded garbage" in § 145-1.) Garbage grinders may be connected to sanitary sewers from homes, hotels, institutions, restaurants, hospitals, catering establishments or similar places where garbage originates from the preparation of food in kitchens for the purpose of consumption on the premises or when served by caterers.
(5)
Any waters or wastes containing iron, chromium, copper,
zinc and similar objectionable or toxic substances to such degree that any
such material received in the composite wastewater at the wastewater treatment
works exceeds the limits established by the Town Engineer for such materials.
(6)
Any waters or wastes containing odor-producing substances
exceeding limits which may be established by the Town Engineer.
(7)
Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life
or concentration as may exceed limits established by the Town Engineer in
compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.
(8)
Quantities of flow or concentrations, or both, which
constitute a slug as defined herein.
(9)
Waters or wastes containing substances which are not
amenable to treatment or reduction by the wastewater treatment processes employed
or are amenable to treatment only to such degree that the wastewater treatment
plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction
over discharge to the receiving waters.
(10)
Any water or wastes which, by interaction with other
water or wastes in the public sewer system, release obnoxious gases, form
suspended solids which interfere with the collection system or create a condition
deleterious to structures and treatment processes.
(11)
Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, no discharge to a sanitary sewer may exceed the limits set forth in Attachment A.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Attachment A is included at the end of this chapter.
E.
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 Subsection D and which in the judgment of the Town Engineer may have a deleterious effect upon the wastewater facilities, processes, equipment or receiving waters or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the Town Engineer may:
(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
(5)
When considering the above alternatives, the Town Engineer
shall give consideration to the economic impact of each alternative on the
discharger and to town taxpayers. If the Town Engineer permits pretreatment
or equalization of waste flows, their design and installation shall be subject
to the review and approval of the Town Engineer.
F.
Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided by
the owner when, in the opinion of the Town Engineer, they are necessary for
the proper handling of liquid wastes containing floatable oil 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, in writing, by the Town Engineer
and shall be located so as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning
and inspection. In the maintaining of these interceptors, the owner(s) shall
be responsible for the proper removal and disposal by appropriate means of
the captured material and shall maintain records of the dates and means of
disposal which are subject to review by the Town Engineer. Any removal and
hauling of the collected materials not performed by the owner(s) or his or
her personnel must be performed by currently licensed waste disposal firms.
G.
Where pretreatment or flow-equalizing facilities are
provided or required for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously
in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner(s) at his or her expense.
H.
When required by the Town Engineer, the owner of any
property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install
a suitable structure, together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances,
in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling and measurement
of the wastes. Such structure, when required, shall be accessibly and safely
located and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the
Town Engineer. The structure shall be installed and maintained by the owner
at his or her own expense so as to be safe and accessible at all times.
I.
The Town Engineer may require a user of sewer services
to provide information needed to determine compliance with this chapter. These
requirements may include:
(1)
Wastewaters discharge peak rate and volume over a specified
time period.
(2)
Chemical analyses of wastewaters.
(3)
Information on raw materials, processes and products
affecting wastewater volume and quality.
(4)
Quantity and disposition of specified liquid, sludge,
oil, solvent or other materials important to sewer use control.
(5)
A plot plan of sewers of the user's property showing
sewer and pretreatment facility location.
(6)
Details of wastewater pretreatment facilities.
(7)
Details of systems to prevent and control the losses
of materials through spills to the municipal sewer.
J.
All measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics
of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this chapter shall be determined
in accordance with the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination
of Water and Wastewater, published by the American Public Health Association
(or its successor publication or successor agency). Sampling methods, location,
times, durations and frequencies are to be determined on an individual basis
subject to approval by the Town Engineer.
K.
No statement contained in this section shall be construed
as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the Commissioners
of Ridgely and any industrial concern whereby an industrial waste of unusual
strength or character may be accepted by the town for treatment.
A.
It is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail
and/or a fine of $100 per day, or any combination thereof, plus restitution,
for any person to aid, abet or otherwise intentionally to break, damage, destroy,
uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which
is a part of the wastewater facilities.[1]
A.
The Town Engineer and 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 pertinent to discharge to wastewater facilities in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter.
B.
The Town Engineer or other duly authorized employees
are authorized to obtain information concerning industrial processes which
have a direct bearing on the kind and source of discharge to wastewater facilities.
The industry may not withhold information considered confidential if town
officials promise, in writing, not to reveal it and if such information is
not subject to disclosure by the town under the Public Information Act.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Title 10, Subtitle 6, of the State Government
Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
