(A) Purpose. It is the purpose of this chapter to provide for the recovery of costs from users of the wastewater disposal system of the county 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 by the POTW Director and approved by the Board of Commissioners. 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 Director of the county’s Public Utilities 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 Board of Commissioners 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. The amount of the surcharges will be based upon the volume of flow and the character and concentration of the constituents of the wastewater.
(1) (a) 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:
1. Metered water consumption as shown in the records of meter readings maintained by the county or town; or
2. If required by the county or at the individual dischargers 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 county. The metering system shall be installed and maintained at the users expense according to arrangements that may be made with the county.
(b) Where any user procures all or part of his or her water supply from sources other than the county, the user shall install and maintain at his or her own expense a flow measuring device of a type approved by the county.
(2) The character and concentration of the constituents of the wastewater used in determining surcharges shall be determined by samples collected and analyzed by the county. 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 C.F.R. 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 county may include charges and fees for: reimbursement of costs of setting up and operating the pretreatment program; monitoring, inspections, and surveillance procedures; reviewing slug control plans, including accidental and/or slug load discharge procedures and construction plans and specifications; permitting; and/or other fees as the county may deem necessary to carry out the requirements of the pretreatment program.
(Ord. passed 12-5-2011)