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Nothing contained in this subchapter shall preclude the city or authority from entering into contracts with neighboring municipalities for the treatment of their sewage pursuant to a schedule of fees differing from the service charges above set forth.
(Ord. 1225, passed 3-21-1977)
(A) No person shall furnish sewage service to others, except in temporary emergencies.
(B) Should any person or persons move into any premises supplied with water from the city mains, without making a written application in the manner provided therefor, and uses water, then such person or persons shall become responsible for all sewer service from the date of the last reading previous to their occupying such premises. Failure to pay the same shall be cause for disconnecting such service, until the amount due is paid.
(C) Where any customer is liable to the city for water or sewer service furnished at one place, and is thereafter located using water or sewer service at some other place, the water shall be turned off at the new location until all valid sewer service accounts past due are paid.
(D) All meters, curb cocks, piping valves and meter boxes connected with the city mains and service pipes, including those furnished at the expense of the consumers or property owners, shall remain under the direct control of the city, and no person or persons other than those authorized by the city shall connect or disconnect, bypass, remove seals from, move or otherwise tamper with any such meter or turn on or off the water at the curb cock, valve or meter, or to open, move or tamper with any meter box, or open any meter box in any way.
(E) No person shall make use of city sewers except in accordance with the terms and conditions of this chapter.
(F) Whenever water shall be used on any metered premises for fire protection or firefighting, in an actual case of fire or conflagration, no charge shall be made for the use of sewers as determined by such water consumption, and the amount of water so used shall be ascertained by comparison with the average use of water during a corresponding billing period, as shown by the meter.
(G) (1) Whoever intentionally, by any means or device, prevents water from passing through any meter belonging to the city, or used in connection with the supply of water or measurement of sewage or water flows for any user by the city, to register the flow passing through such meter, or intentionally prevents a meter from duly registering the flow or in any way interferes with its proper action or just registration, or without the consent in writing of the city intentionally diverts any water from any pipe or pipes of the city or otherwise intentionally uses, or causes to be used, without the consent of the city, any water produced or distributed by the city, or any person who retains possession of or refuses to deliver any meter or other appliance loaned to him or her by the city for the purpose of furnishing water or measuring sewage or water flow shall for every offense suffer a penalty as hereinafter provided.
(2) The presence at any time on or about any such meter or pipe of any device or pipes resulting in the diversion of water or prevention of its free passage and registration by the meter or diverting from the meter as above defined or resulting in the prevention of water from reaching the meter, or preventing the just registration of the meter or meters or the taking of any water except through a meter as above set forth shall constitute prima-facie evidence of knowledge on the part of the person owning or having custody and control of the room, building, place or premises where such device or pipe is of the existence thereof and knowledge of such existence to the person who would be benefitted by the failure of the water to be properly metered, and shall further constitute prima facie evidence of intention on the part of such person or persons to defraud, and shall bring such person prima facie within the scope, meaning and penalties of these regulations.
(H) Any use of sewers connected to the sewerage system which is not metered, or otherwise controlled by the city, shall be billed on a basis which is mutually agreed upon by the city and the contracting person prior to such use.
(I) If any person or persons discharge sewage into the sewerage system without the provisions of meter, or other approved method of measuring flow, water service to the premises may be discontinued and/or the sewer connection may be blocked to prohibit use after five days’ written notice.
(Ord. 1225, passed 3-21-1977) Penalty, see § 52.999
WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
The following rates shall be charged for septic waste which is hauled to and dumped in the special septic waste vault at the city’s wastewater treatment plant:
(A)
For a haul truck with a 1,000 gallon tank or less, the fee shall be a flat rate of $55;
(B) For a haul truck with a tank capacity greater than 1,000 but no more than 1,500 gallons, a fee shall be a flat rate of $85;
(C) For a haul truck with a tank capacity greater than 1,500 but not more than 2,000 gallons, a fee shall be a flat rate of $110;
(D) For a haul truck with a tank capacity greater than 2,000 but not more than 2,500 gallons, a fee shall be a flat rate of $135;
(E) For a haul truck with a tank capacity greater than 2,500 but not more than 3,000 gallons, a fee shall be a flat rate of $165;
(F) For a haul truck with a tank capacity greater than 3,000 but not more than 4,000 gallons, a fee shall be a flat rate of $220; and
(G) For a haul truck with a tank capacity greater than 4,001 but not more than 5,000 gallons, a fee shall be a flat rate of $275;
(H) For a haul truck with a tank capacity greater than 5,001 but not more than 6,000 gallons, a fee shall be a flat rate of $300;
(Res. 17-04, passed 2-6-2017; Res. 17-10, passed 7-17-2017; Res. 22-31, passed 12-19-2022)
Editor’s Note:
See also city’s fee schedule
(A) Any person violating any provision of this chapter for which no specific penalty is proscribed shall be subject to § 10.99 of this code of ordinances.
(B) Any person or owner who fails to cease and desist from discharging runoff into the combined sewers within 90 days of written notice to do so shall be in violation of § 52.150, and in addition to all other rights and remedies of the city for such violation shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine not less than $300 nor more than $1,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days, or both. Each 30 days of non compliance shall constitute a separate offense.
(C) Any person violating any of the provisions of §§ 52.165 to 52.184 may, on conviction in a summary proceeding, be subjected to a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $1,000 for each offense, together with costs of prosecution, and in default of payment thereof undergo imprisonment in the county jail for a term not in excess of 30 days.
(D) (1) A user who has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this chapter, a wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement shall be liable to the city for a maximum civil penalty of $1,000 per day per violation. Each violation for each separate day shall constitute a separate and distinct offense under this section. In the case of a monthly or other long-term average discharge limit, penalties may accrue for each day during the period of the violation.
(2) In addition to the civil penalties provided herein, the city may recover interest, damages, reasonable attorney’s fees, expert witness fees, administrative or show cause proceedings costs and/or court costs, court reporter fees and other administrative enforcement, proceedings and/or litigation expenses against the person or user found to be in violation of this chapter.
(3) In determining the amount of the civil penalty liability, the court shall take into account all relevant circumstances, including, but not limited to, the extent of harm caused by the violation, the magnitude and duration of the violation, any economic benefit gained through the user’s violation, corrective actions by the user, the compliance history of the user and any other factors as justice requires, expressly including the factors set forth in the city’s civil penalty assessment policy attached hereto as Appendix A.
(4) Filing a suit for judicially-imposed civil penalties hereunder shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against a user.
(E) (1) A user who willfully or negligently violates any provision of this chapter, a wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a criminal summary offense, punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 per violation, per day, or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both.
(2) A user who willfully or negligently introduces any substance into the POTW which causes personal injury or property damage shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a criminal summary offense and be subject to a penalty of not more than $1,000, or be subject to imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both. This penalty shall be in addition to any other cause of action for personal injury or property damage available under state law.
(3) A user who knowingly makes any false statements, representations or certifications in any application, record, report, plan or other documentation filed, or required to be maintained, pursuant to this chapter, wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or who falsifies, tampers with or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required under this chapter shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a criminal summary offense, punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 per violation, per day, or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both.
(Ord. 1225, passed 3-21-1977; Ord. 1433, passed 7-1-2002; Ord. 1562, passed 5-2-2016)
Cross-reference:
(A) Introduction. The city hereby adopts and issues this policy for the assessment of civil penalties for violations of the pretreatment and/or other provisions in the city’s sewer ordinance.
(B) Purpose.
(1) Chapter 52, inter alia, establishes a regulatory system by which the city monitors and controls the quantity and quality of discharges to its sewage collection system from industrial and other users. A key to the success of this program is timely and meaningful enforcement of pretreatment regulations governing the discharge of industrial waste into the city’s sewage collection system.
(2) It is the purpose of this policy to establish procedures by which the city may assess administrative civil penalties. Nothing in this policy is to be construed as precluding any other action or remedy available, in equity or at law by any legal entity or governmental entity.
(C) Procedure for assessing civil penalties.
(1) Violations of the pretreatment and other ordinance provisions are discovered through a variety of mechanisms. These may include industrial users’ self-monitoring compliance reports; city sampling; city field inspections; reports from other governmental agencies; and reports from employees or citizens. When the city determines that a civil penalty is warranted, an investigation is initiated to determine the appropriate level of penalty. The purpose of the investigation is to evaluate the factors used to determine the amount of the civil penalty. The factors to be evaluated are the damage to the air, water, land or other natural resources of the commonwealth and their uses; costs of restoration and abatement; savings resulting to the user in consequence of the violation; history of past violations; deterrence of future violations; and other relevant factors, as well as the civil penalties factors as set forth in the Federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.) and the state’s Clean Streams Act (35 P.S. §§ 691.1 et seq.) The results of the investigation shall be documented and the appropriate penalty determined in accordance with the foregoing factors.
(2) Once the city has prepared a recommended penalty assessment, a show cause order is prepared by the coordinator. The show cause order shall contain the name and address of the user committing the violation; the specific violation or violations for which the penalty is sought with a brief description of the circumstances surrounding the violation or violations sufficient to provide notice to the user; an explanation of the factors selected to determine the penalty; the penalty proposed; and any other enforcement actions proposed to be taken at that time in addition to the penalty.
(3) The show cause order and attachments shall be submitted to the City Sewer Director. If the show cause order facially states a violation, the Sewer Director shall sign the show cause order and direct the user to appear before him or her for a show cause hearing on a date no sooner than 15 days from the issuance of the show cause order. The Sewer Director shall direct that the show cause order be served upon the user. Upon service of the show cause order, the Sewer Director shall advise the user that; the user has the right to be represented by counsel; a court reporter will be present to record the show cause hearing, the user is entitled to present witnesses and offer evidence on its own behalf; the user will have the right to cross examine any witness of the city; and any testimony presented at the show cause hearing will be under oath or affirmation
(4) The Sewer Director shall preside over the show cause hearing. At the show cause hearing, the coordinator shall present testimony and evidence in support of the proposed order. The user, with the assistance of its own counsel, shall have the opportunity to defend its actions and to challenge the proposed assessment of the penalty or other enforcement action. At the conclusion of the show cause hearing, the Sewer Director shall direct the coordinator and the industrial user, with the assistance of their respective counsels, to prepare proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law and orders. After consideration and review of the proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law and orders submitted, the Sewer Director shall prepare a final order which is supported by findings of fact and conclusions of law. This final order may be appealed to the county’s Common Pleas Court within 30 days of its issuance pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 933 and 5571(b).
(5) Appealing a penalty or negotiating a compliance agreement shall not relieve a user of a duty to mitigate and/or correct any violation of any federal, state or local law, regulation, ordinance, permit or requirement. Penalties shall continue to accrue for existing or new violations during the negotiation or appeal process until the issues involved with such violations are resolved.
(D) Procedure for obtaining consent penalties.
(1) In addition to the unilateral penalty assessment just described, the coordinator may negotiate consent penalties in lieu of assessments.
(2) The procedures established herein for determining the appropriate penalties shall be used for obtaining consent penalties. In addition to the information required to be included in the show cause order, the coordinator shall also include a brief description of the circumstances which justify a negotiated penalty. Negotiated penalties may be less than unilateral penalties with justification, but the initial penalties sought must take into account the relevant and applicable penalties factors. As with assessed penalties, proposed consent penalties must be reviewed and approved by the Sewer Director.
(3) Factors to be considered in determining whether to seek a consent penalty include without limitation the nature and severity of the violation, compliance history, recalcitrance of the user, undue economic distress caused by assessment of the penalty according to the factors, and the negative impact which the penalty would have upon the users ability to achieve compliance. Consent penalties shall be incorporated into binding and enforceable consent order and agreements or compliance agreements negotiated to achieve timely and effective correction of the violation. All consent orders and agreements or compliance agreements shall stipulate further penalties for breach of any terms of such agreement.
(Ord. 1433, passed 7-1-2002)