(A) Purpose. It is the purpose of this chapter to provide for the recovery of costs from users of the city's wastewater disposal system for the implementation of the program established herein. The applicable charges or fees shall be set forth in a schedule of sewer use charges and fees proposed by the POTW Director and approved by the City Board. A copy of these charges and fees will be made available from the POTW Director.
(B) User Charges. A user charge shall be levied on all users, including but not limited to persons, firms, corporations or governmental entities that discharge, cause or permit the discharge of sewage into the POTW.
(1) The user charge shall reflect at least the cost of debt service, operation and maintenance (including replacement) of the POTW.
(2) Each user shall pay its proportionate cost based on volume of flow.
(3) The City Manager shall review annually the sewage contributions of users, the total costs of debt service, operation and maintenance of the POTW and will make recommendations to the Council or Board serving the city for adjustments in the schedule of charges and fees as necessary.
(4) Charges for flow to the POTW not directly attributable to the users shall be distributed among all users of the POTW based upon the volume of flow of the users.
(C) Surcharges. All industrial users under special agreement with the city are subject to industrial waste surcharges for COD, TSS, NH3-N, and limiting metal pollutant. The surcharges shall reflect the total cost of treating the pollutant pounds of industrial waste. The method to determine the surcharge amount shall consist of dividing the total budget cost for operating each unit process of the city's wastewater treatment which is affected by COD, TSS, NH3-N, or limiting metal pollutant, by the total poundage of COD, TSS, NH3-N, or limiting metal pollutant discharged to the wastewater treatment system during the preceding fiscal year. The rates shall be adjusted more frequently if warranted. The amount of surcharge will be based upon the mass emission rate (in pounds per day) discharged. The amount charged per pound will be set forth in the schedule of charges and fees.
(1) The volume of flow used in determining the total discharge of wastewater for payment of user charges and surcharges shall be based on the following:
(a) Metered water consumption as shown in the records of meter readings maintained by the city; or
(b) If required by the city or at the individual discharger's option, other flow-monitoring devices which measure the actual volume of wastewater discharged to the sewer. Such devices shall be accessible and safely located, and the measuring system shall be installed in accordance with plans approved by the city. The metering system shall be installed and maintained at the user's expense according to arrangements that may be made with the city.
(c) Where any user procures all or part of his or her water supply from sources other than the city, the user shall install and maintain at his or her own expense a flow-measuring device of a type approved by the city.
(2) The character and concentration of the constituents of the wastewater used in determining surcharges shall be determined by samples collected analyzed by the city. Samples shall be collected in such a manner as to be representative of the actual discharge and shall be analyzed using procedures set forth in 40 CFR, Part 136.
(3) The determination of the character and concentration of the constituents of the wastewater discharge by the POTW Director or his or her duly appointed representatives shall be binding as a basis for charges.
(D) Pretreatment Program Administration Charges. The schedule of charges and fees adopted by the city may include charges and fees for:
(1) Reimbursement of costs of setting up and operating the pretreatment program;
(2) Monitoring, inspections and surveillance procedures;
(3) Reviewing slug control plans, including accidental and/or slug load discharge procedures and construction plans and specifications;
(4) Permitting; and
(5) Other fees as the city may deem necessary to carry out the requirements of the pretreatment program.
(Ord. 90-27, passed 9-17-90; Am. Ord. 94-19, passed 9-19-94; Am. Ord. 07-12, passed 5-21-07; Am. Ord. 14-04, passed 2-17-14)