(A) For purposes of this chapter, the property owner of record shall be responsible for any discharge to the POTW originating from their property and shall ensure that such discharges comply with the requirements of this chapter.
(1) Where a discharge to the POTW constitutes a violation of any section of this chapter, the property owner shall bear primary responsibility for ensuring that non-compliant conditions are corrected and appropriate action is taken to prevent the recurrence of non-compliance.
(2) Private agreements between property owners and tenants shall not relieve the property owner of their responsibility to ensure that discharges originating from facilities, business activities or other actions on their property are in compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
(B) Notwithstanding the requirements of division (A) above, the Superintendent may elect to initiate appropriate enforcement action against persons other than the property owner of record in cases where non-compliance with this chapter is the result of a business activity or other action by persons other than the property owner of record.
(1) The Superintendent, at his or her discretion, may elect to initiate appropriate enforcement action against such persons in order to ensure compliance and obtain the appropriate deterrent effect.
(2) Issuance of an enforcement action against the property owner shall not be a prerequisite for, or bar against, the initiation of an enforcement action against such persons other than the property owner of record.
(C) It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit, discharge, or otherwise permit to be deposited or discharged to any natural outlet within the city, or any area under the jurisdiction of the city, any of the following wastewaters; except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with the requirements of this chapter:
(1) Sanitary wastewaters;
(2) Commercial wastewaters;
(3) Industrial wastewaters; or
(4) Other polluted wastewaters.
(D) Except as herein provided, no person shad construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool or other wastewater treatment facility intended or used for the treatment and/or disposal of sewage.
(E) No person shall construct, repair, modify or alter a lateral sewer, publicly owned sewer, manhole or other publicly owned sewer system appurtenance without first obtaining a permit from the City Engineer.
(F) No person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface, or tamper with any structure, appurtenance, pipe, means of conveyance, or equipment which is part of the sewage collection system or POTW.
(G) No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following to any sanitary sewer unless specifically authorized by the Superintendent;
(1) Stormwater;
(2) Surface water;
(3) Groundwater;
(4) Wastewater from footer drains, yard drains, roof run-off, parking lot run-off; or
(5) Non-contact cooling water or other unpolluted industrial process waters.
(H) No statement contained in this chapter shall be construed as preventing the city from entering into an agreement between the city and any non-residential user whereby wastewater of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the city for treatment, provided that:
(1) The non-residential user shall provide sufficient information, as determined by the Superintendent, to adequately characterize the nature of the non-residential waste;
(2) The non-residential user shall provide the Superintendent, or his or her designated representative, access to the non-residential user’s facility in order to conduct inspections and obtain samples of the non-residential waste if the Superintendent chooses to obtain independent samples of the non-residential waste for analysis;
(3) Such agreements shall not include or constitute waivers of pretreatment standards or requirements that are designed to protect the POTW, its biosolids re-use and disposal, and its receiving stream from pass through or interference.
(4) Upon evaluation of all information submitted or obtained regarding the non-residential waste, the Superintendent at his or her sole discretion shall determine whether the city may accept the non-residential waste for treatment without causing pass through, interference, or otherwise negatively impacting the POTW or the receiving stream to which the POTW discharges;
(5) Where the Superintendent determines that the city may safely accept the non-residential waste for treatment, the non-residential user shall agree to discharge the non-residential waste to the POTW at a location and in a manner prescribed by the Superintendent. The non-residential user shall likewise agree to pay the city for treatment services as determined by the Superintendent through the terms of the agreement.
(I) The owners of all houses, buildings or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purpose located in the city and abutting any street, alley, right-of-way or easement in which there is now located, or may in the future be located, a sanitary or combined sewer owned by the city, are hereby required at their own expense to install suitable toilet facilities therein and connect such facilities and non-residential waste outlets directly to the POTW in accordance with this chapter within 90 days after the date of receipt from the city of written notice to do so, provided that a sewer owned by the city is within 300 feet of the property line.
(J) It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to pay for the cost of constructing a lateral sewer to transport wastewater from a building on said property to the publicly owned sewer main. It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to pay for the cost of maintaining the lateral sewer, including the tap saddle, from the building to the publicly owned sewer main. The city is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the publicly owned sewer main.
(K) A separate and independent sanitary lateral sewer shall be provided for each and every residential building, except present sewer structures in use; and except that where one building stands at the rear of another on the same lot and no sanitary sewer can be constructed to the rear building through an adjoining alley, court, yard or driveway. In such cases, the lateral sewer from the front building may be extended to the rear building and the whole lateral sewer considered as one lateral sewer for the single property. The lateral sewer shall be owned and maintained by the property owner.
(L) Existing sanitary lateral sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found to meet all the requirements for new sanitary lateral sewers upon examination and testing by the appropriate department charged with providing engineering services to the city.
(M) The appropriate department charged with providing engineering services to the city shall develop written standards for the construction of lateral sewers, sewer mains, manholes and other appurtenances which are connected to the city’s sewer system. Such standards shall be submitted to the Board of Public Works and Safety for approval. The department providing engineering services to the city shall regularly review the construction standards and revise them as appropriate. Such revisions shall be submitted to the Board of Public Works and Safety for approval.
(N) The construction of all sewers, components, systems or private sewers which connect to the city’s sewer system shall comply with the construction standards approved by the city’s Board of Public Works and Safety. The acceptance of the applicability of these standards to all sewers shall be considered part of the terms for the approval of connection to the city’s sewer system.
(Ord. 6619, passed 1-28-13)