7-4-11: GENERAL PROVISIONS:

(A)   Bills: Said rates or charges for service shall be payable monthly for which bills are rendered.

The owner of the premises, the occupant thereof and the user of the service shall be jointly and severally liable to pay for the service to such premises and that the owner of the premises, occupant and user of the services are jointly and severally liable therefor to the city. Bills for sewer service shall be sent out by the city collector on the first day of the month succeeding the period for which the service is billed.

All sewer bills are due and payable ten (10) days after being sent out. A penalty of ten percent (10%) shall be added to all bills not paid by the fifteenth day after they have been rendered.

(B)   Delinquent Bills: If the charges for such services are not paid within ten (10) days or twenty (20) days herein above mentioned after the rendition of the bill for such services, such services shall be discontinued without further notice and shall not be reinstated until the claims are settled.

(C)   Lien; Notice Of Delinquency: Whenever a bill for sewer service remains unpaid for twenty (20) days for monthly service after it has been rendered, the city collector shall file with the county recorder of deeds a statement of lien claim. This statement shall contain the legal description of the premises served, the amount of the unpaid bill, and a notice that the city claims a lien for this amount as well as for all charges subsequent to the period covered by the bill.

If the user whose bill is unpaid is not the owner of the premises and the city collector has notice of this, notice shall be mailed to the owner of the premises if his address be known to the collector, whenever such bill remains unpaid for the period of forty five (45) days for a monthly bill after it has been rendered. The failure of the city collector to record such lien or to mail such notice or the failure of the owner to receive such notice shall not affect the right to foreclose the lien for unpaid bills as mentioned in the following subsection.

(D)   Foreclosure Of Lien: Property subject to a lien for unpaid charges shall be sold for nonpayment of the same, and the proceeds of the sale shall be applied to pay the charges, after deducting costs, as is the case in the foreclosure of statutory liens. Such foreclosure shall be by bill in equity in the name of the city. The city attorney is hereby authorized and directed to institute such proceedings in the name of the city in any court having jurisdiction over such matters against any property for which the bill has remained unpaid forty five (45) days in the case of a monthly bill after it has been rendered.

(E)   Revenues: All revenues and monies derived from the operation of the sewerage system shall be deposited in the water and sewerage account of the water and sewage fund. All such revenues and monies shall be held by the city collector separate and apart from his private funds and separate and apart from all other funds of the city and all of said sum, without any deductions whatever, shall be delivered to the city treasurer not more than three (3) days after request of the same, or at such more frequent intervals as may from time to time be directed by the city council.

The city treasurer shall receive all such revenues from the sewerage system and all other funds and monies incident to the operation of such system as the same may be delivered to him and deposit the same in the account of the fund designated as the water and sewage fund of the city. Said treasurer shall administer such fund in every respect in the manner provided by statute of the "Revised Cities and Villages Act", effective January 1942.

(F)   Accounts: The city treasurer shall establish a proper system of accounts and shall keep proper books, records, and accounts in which complete and correct entries shall be made of all transactions relative to the sewerage system, and at regular annual intervals he shall cause to be made an audit by an independent auditing concern of the books to show the receipts and disbursements of the sewerage system.

In addition to the customary operating statements, the annual audit report shall also reflect the revenues and operating expenses of the wastewater facilities, including a replacement cost, to indicate that sewer service charges under the waste cost recovery system and capital amounts required to be recovered under the industrial cost recovery system do in fact meet these regulations. In this regard, the financial information to be shown in the audit report shall include the following:

1. Flow data showing total gallons received at the wastewater plant for the current fiscal year.

2. Billing data to show total number of gallons billed.

3. Debt service for the next succeeding fiscal year.

4. Number of users connected to the system.

5. Number of nonmetered users.

6. A list of users discharging nondomestic wastes (industrial users) and volume of waste discharged.

(G)   Notice Of Rates: A copy of this section properly certified by the city clerk shall be filed in the office of the recorder of deeds of Clay County and shall be deemed notice to all owners of real estate of the charges of the sewerage system of said city on their properties.

(H)   Access To Records: The Illinois environmental protection agency or its authorized representative shall have access to any books, documents, papers and records of the city which are applicable to the city system of user charges or industrial cost recovery for the purpose of making audit, examination, excerpts and transcriptions thereof to ensure compliance with the terms of the special and general conditions to any state grant. (Ord. 77-336, 2-7-1977)

7-4-12: EFFECTIVE DATE OF RATES:

The rates and service charges established for user charges in subsections 7-4-9(A) through 7-4-9(G) of this chapter, inclusive, shall be effective as of the next fiscal year beginning May 1, 1977, and on bills to be rendered for the next succeeding month being June 1, 1977, for monthly users. (Ord. 77-336, 2-7-1977)

7-4-13: DEFINITIONS:

Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meanings of terms used in this chapter shall be as follows:

CLARIFICATION OF WORD USAGE: "Shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissible.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:

Administrator: The administrator of the U.S. environmental protection agency.

Federal Act: The federal water pollution control act (33 USC 1251 et seq.) as amended by the federal water pollution control act amendments of 1972 (Pub. L. 92-500) and (Pub. L. 93-243).

Federal Grant: The U.S. government participation in the financing of the construction of treatment works as provided for by title II - grants for construction of treatment works of the act and implementing regulations.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT:

Approving Authority: The commissioner of public property or such other person, official or employee designated by the city council.

City: The city of Flora, Illinois.

Ordinance: This ordinance.

NPDES PERMIT: Any permit or equivalent document or requirements issued by the administrator, or, where appropriate by the director after enactment of the federal water pollution control amendments of 1972, to regulate the discharge of pollutants pursuant to section 402 of the federal act.

PERSON: Any and all persons, natural or artificial including any individual, firm, company, municipal, or private corporation, association, society, institution, enterprise, governmental agency or other entity.

SEWER TYPES AND APPURTENANCES:

Building Drain: That part of the lowest piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste, and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer or other approved point of discharge, beginning five feet (5') (1.5 m) outside the inner face of the building wall.

Building Sewer: The extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.

Combined Sewer: A sewer which is designed and intended to receive wastewater, storm, surface and ground water drainage.

Easement: An acquired legal right for the specific use of land owned by others.

Public Sewer: A sewer provided by or subject to the jurisdiction of the city. It shall also include sewers within or outside the city boundaries that serve one or more persons and ultimately discharge into the city sanitary (or combined sewer system), even though those sewers may not have been constructed with city funds.

Sanitary Sewer: A sewer that conveys sewage or industrial wastes or a combination of both, and into which storm, surface, and ground waters or unpolluted industrial wastes are not intentionally admitted.

Sewer: A pipe or conduit for conveying sewage or any other waste liquids, including storm, surface and ground water drainage.

Sewerage: The system of sewers and appurtenances for the collection, transportation and pumping of sewage.

Storm Sewer: A sewer that carries storm, surface and ground water drainage but excludes sewage and industrial wastes other than unpolluted cooling water.

Storm Water Runoff: That portion of the precipitation that is drained into the sewers.

STATE GOVERNMENT:

Director: The director of the Illinois environmental protection agency.

State Act: The Illinois antipollution bond act of 1970.

State Grant: The state of Illinois participation in the financing of the construction of treatment works as provided for by the Illinois antipollution bond act and for making such grants as filed with the secretary of state of the state of Illinois.

TREATMENT:

Pretreatment: The treatment of wastewaters from sources before introduction into the wastewater treatment works.

Wastewater Treatment Works: An arrangement of devices and structures for treating wastewater, industrial wastes, and sludge. Sometimes used as synonymous with "waste treatment plant" or "wastewater treatment plant" or "pollution control plant".

TYPES OF CHARGES:

Basic User Charge: The basic assessment levied on all users of the public sewer system.

Debt Service Charge: The amount to be paid each billing period for payment of interest, principal and coverage of (loan, bond, etc.) outstanding and shall be computed by dividing the annual debt service by the number of users connected to the wastewater facilities.

Replacement: Expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories, or appurtenances which are necessary during the service life of the treatment works to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed. The term "operation and maintenance" includes replacement.

Surcharge: The assessment in addition to the basic user charge and debt service charge which is levied on those persons whose wastes are greater in strength than the concentration values established in section 7-4-11 of this chapter.

Useful Life: The estimated period during which the collection system and/or treatment works will be operated and shall be twenty (20) years from the date of start up of any wastewater facilities constructed with a state grant.

User Charge: A charge levied on users of treatment works for the cost of operation and maintenance.

Wastewater Service Charge: The charge per month levied on all users of the wastewater facilities. The service charge shall consist of the total or the basic user charge, the debt service charge and a surcharge, if applicable.

Water And Sewerage Fund: The principal accounting designation for all revenues received in the operation of the sewerage system.

USER TYPES:

Control Manhole: A structure located on a site from which industrial wastes are discharged. Where feasible, the manhole shall have an interior drop. The purpose of a "control manhole" is to provide access for the city representative to sample and/or measure discharges.

Industrial User: Any nongovernmental user of publicly owned treatment works identified in the standard industrial classification manual, 1972, office of management and budget, as amended and supplemented, under the following divisions:

Division A   Agriculture, forestry and fishing

Division B   Mining

Division D   Manufacturing

Division E   Transportation, communications, electric, gas and sanitary services

Division I   Services

A user in the divisions listed may be excluded if it is determined by the commissioner of public property that it will introduce primarily segregated domestic wastes or wastes from sanitary conveniences.

Residential Or Commercial Or Nonindustrial User: Any user of the treatment works not classified as an industrial user or excluded as an industrial user as provided for in this section.

User Class: The type of user either residential or commercial (nonindustrial) or industrial as defined herein.

WASTEWATER AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS:

BOD (Denoting Biochemical Oxygen Demand): The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five (5) days at twenty degrees centigrade (20°C), expressed in milligrams per liter.

Effluent Criteria: Defined in any applicable NPDES permit.

Floatable Oil: Oil, fat, or grease in a physical state such that it will separate by gravity from wastewater by treatment in an approved pretreatment facility. A wastewater shall be considered free of floatable fat if it is properly pretreated and the wastewater does not interfere with the collection system.

Garbage: Solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.

Industrial Waste: Any solid, liquid or gaseous substance discharged, permitted to flow or escaping from any industrial, manufacturing, commercial or business establishment or process or from the development, recovery or processing of any natural resource as distinct from sanitary sewage.

Major Contributing Industry: An industrial user of the publicly owned treatment works that: 1) has a flow of fifty thousand (50,000) gallons or more per average workday; or 2) has a flow greater than ten percent (10%) of the flow carried by the municipal system receiving the waste; or 3) has in its waste, a toxic pollutant in toxic amounts as defined in standard issued under section 307(a) of the federal act; or 4) is found by the permit issuance authority, in connection with the issuance of the NPDES permit to the publicly owned treatment works receiving the waste, to have significant impact, either singly or in combination with other contributing industries, on that treatment works or upon the quality of effluent from that treatment works.

Milligrams Per Liter: A unit of the concentration of water or wastewater constituent. It is 0.001 gram of the constituent in one thousand milliliters (1,000 ml) of water. It has replaced the unit formerly used commonly, parts per million, to which it is approximately equivalent, in reporting the results of water and wastewater analysis.

ppm: Parts per million by weight.

pH: The logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration expressed by one of the procedures outlined in "Standard Methods".

Population Equivalent: A term used to evaluate the impact of industrial or other waste on a treatment works or stream. One population equivalent is one hundred (100) gallons of sewage per day, containing seventeen-hundredths (0.17) pounds of BOD and twenty-hundredths (0.20) pounds of suspended solids.

Properly Shredded Garbage: 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 one-half inch (1/2") (1.27 cm) in any dimension.

Sewage: Used interchangeably with "wastewater".

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 fifteen (15) minutes more than five (5) times the average twenty four (24) hour concentration or flows during normal operation.

Standard Methods: The examination and analytical procedures set forth in the most recent edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater" published jointly by the American public health association, the American water works association and the water pollution control federation.

Suspended Solids: Solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in water, sewage, or industrial waste, and which are removable by a laboratory filtration device. Quantitative determination of suspended solids shall be made in accordance with procedures set forth in "Standard Methods".

Unpolluted Water: 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.

Wastewater: The spent water of a community. From this standpoint of course, it may be a combination of the liquid and water carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants, and institutions, together with any ground water, surface water and storm water that may be present.

Water Quality Standards: Defined in the water pollution regulations of Illinois.

WASTEWATER FACILITIES: The structures, equipment, and processes required to collect, carry away, and treat domestic and industrial wastes and transport effluent to a watercourse.

WATERCOURSE AND CONNECTIONS:

Natural Outlet: Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake, or other body of surface or ground water.

Watercourse: A channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently. (Ord. 77-336, 2-7-1977)

7-4-14: APPLICATIONS FOR SEWER PERMITS:

All applications for sewer permits including residential or commercial building sewer applications, private sewage disposal applications and industrial sewer connection applications shall be filed with the city clerk's office at city hall in the city of Flora, Illinois, on forms provided by the city clerk's office. No construction or use of any sewage system shall be commenced until such time as approved by the city building official of the city of Flora, Illinois. (Ord. 02-1708, 2-19-2002)

7-4-15: METHODS OF COMPUTATION OF USER CHARGE SYSTEMS AND INDUSTRIAL COST RECOVERY SYSTEMS:

(A)   Definition of symbols and identification of available data:

1. The symbolic representation of the data shall be:

(a) BOD = 5 day biochemical oxygen demand

(b) SS = suspended solids

(c) Q = flow

The data which quantify the twelve (12) month average values for sewage treatment plant influent data are as follows:

(d) BOC = 152 mg/l

(e) SS = 181.4 mg/l

(f) Q = 450,000 g/d

2. The symbolic representation of the discharge data for the i'th industry shall be: n/a

(a) BOD i = 5 day biochemical oxygen demand

(b) SS i = suspended solids

(c) Q i = flow (Any user's 12 month average metered water usage should be adjusted for any quantities of water which are not discharged to the sewer system.)

The data which quantity the twelve (12) month average values for the discharge data for the industrial users of the sewerage works are as indicated in this chapter.

3. The symbolic representation of the twelve (12) month annual average values for the discharge data for the i'th nonindustrial user of the sewerage works shall be:

Q i = flow (Any user's 12 month average metered water usage should be adjusted for any quantities of water which are not discharged to the sewer system.)

and the five (5) day biochemical oxygen demand and the suspended solids concentrations are unknown.

4. The symbolic representation of the domestic population using the sewerage works shall be:

DP = domestic population

(B)   Definition of symbols and computation of characteristic values for nonindustrial waste discharges:

1. The symbolic representation of the twelve (12) month average characteristic values for flow are:

(a) Q NI     = total nonindustrial discharge

(b) q = per capita nonindustrial discharge

and the computed values are:

n
(c) Q NI = [summation] q i = 450,000 g/d DP=5231
i=1

(d) q = Q NI /DP = 86.03 g/cap/d

2. The symbolic representation of the twelve (12) month average characteristic values for five (5) day biochemical oxygen demand are:

            
(a) BOD = concentration of 5 day biochemical oxygen demand

(b) bod = per capita 5 day biochemical oxygen demand

and the computed values are:

                                              n
(c) BOD = [(BOD x Q) - (summation BOD i x Q i )] ÷ Q NI = 152 mg/l
i =1

n
(d) bod = [(BOD x Q) - (summation BOD i x Q i )] x 8.34 + DP = 0.109
#/cap/d i=1

3. The symbolic representation of the twelve (12) month average characteristic values for suspended solids are:

(a) SS = concentration of suspended solids

(b) ss = per capita suspended solids

and the computed values are:

n
(c) SS = [(SS x Q) - (summation SS i x Q i )] ÷ Q NI = 181.40 mg/l
i=1

n
(d) ss = [(SS x Q) - (summation SS i x Q i )] x 8.34 ÷ DP = 0.130 #/cap/d
i=1

(C)   (Reserved for possible future use for definition of symbols and computation of industrial population equivalents.)

(D)   Determination of user charges for operation, maintenance, and replacement:

1. Computation of unit costs:

(a) Where costs cannot be allocated among five (5) day biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, and flow:

(1) The symbolic representation of the cost for operation, maintenance, and replacement shall be:

$BOD,SS,Q -= total operation, maintenance, and replacement costs

(2) The symbolic representation of the per capita cost for operation, maintenance and replacement shall be:

$BOD,SS,Q/cap -= per capita operation, maintenance, and replacement costs

(3) The value of the per capita operation, maintenance, and replacement cost is:

$BOD,SS,Q/cap = $BOD,SS,Q ÷ [DP ÷ 1/3 x (summation PE BODi
i=1
÷ PE SSi ÷ PE Pi ] = $30.45/year/person

2. Computation of user charge rate per gallon of discharge for nonindustrial users of the sewerage works:

(a) Where costs cannot be allocated among five (5) day biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, and flow:

(1) The symbolic representation of the user charge rate per gallon of discharge for nonindustrial users shall be:

$/g = user charge rate per gallon of discharge

(2) The value of the user charge rate per gallon of discharge is:

$/g = $BOD,SS,Q/cap x DP ÷ Q NI = $0.00094/g

3. Summary of user charges:

(a) For nonindustrial users and for the normal strength component of wastes from industrial users:

(1) The symbolic representation of the user charge for normal strength wastes, as contained in this chapter is:

CU = user charge

(2) The relationship between "CU" and "$/g" is as follows:

CU = $/g x 1000

inasmuch as "CU" is a charge per one thousand (1,000) gallons of sewage discharge

(b) For the higher than normal strength component of wastes from industrial users:

(1) The symbolic representation of the surcharge for higher than normal strength wastes, as contained in this chapter is:

CS = surcharge for an industrial user

(2) The relationship between "CS" and "SC i " is as follows:

CS = SC i

(Ord. 77-336, 2-7-1977)

7-4-16: USE OF CITY SEWAGE DISPOSAL PLANT:

(A)   Any person may transport and dump raw sewage, at his own expense, at the place provided therefor at the sewage disposal plant maintained by the city. It shall be unlawful, however, to dump raw sewage at the sewage disposal plant which contains prohibited substances not permitted or allowed to flow in the sanitary sewer system of the city under section 7-4-6 of this chapter.

(B)   The fee for such dumping of raw sewage shall be one dollar ($1.00) per one hundred (100) gallons.

(C)   In addition to other penalties, any person who violates this section by dumping raw sewage containing prohibited substances as defined in said section 7-4-6 of this chapter shall not be permitted to use the sanitary sewer system and sewage disposal plant of the city, or any part thereof, until satisfactory bond and surety shall be given to the city that such violation shall not be repeated. (Ord. 75-271, 8-4-1975; amd. Ord. 77-336, 2-7-1977)

7-4-17: PENALTIES:

(A)   Any person found to be violating any provision of this chapter except sections 7-4-2, 7-4-3, 7-4-4, 7-4-5, 7-4-6 and 7-4-8 of this chapter shall be served by the city with written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in such notice, permanently cease all violations. The city may revoke any permit for sewage disposal as a result of any violation of any provision of this chapter.

(B)   Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit provided for in subsection (A) of this section or any person who shall violate any other sections of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be fined in the amount not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each violation. Each day in which any such violation shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense.

(C)   Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall become liable to the city by reason of such violation.

(D)   In addition to other penalties, any person who violates section 7-4-5, 7-4-6, or 7-4-7 of this chapter shall not be permitted to use the sanitary sewer system of the city, or any part thereof, until satisfactory bond and surety shall be given to the city that such violation shall not be repeated; and such person shall be disconnected from the sanitary sewer system of the city until the condition causing the violation has been remedied in accordance with the terms of sections 7-4-5, 7-4-6 and 7-4-7 of this chapter. (Ord. 77-336, 2-7-1977)