(A) The following provisions apply to persons wishing to engage in the work of installing private sewer service lines and appurtenances for others.
(1) It is unlawful for any person to engage in the work or business of installing private sewer service lines and appurtenances for others without a license therefor from the city.
(2) Any person desiring to engage in this work shall make application to the city on forms to be supplied by the city together with a fee. The fee for every license shall be established by the Council and listed in the fee schedule located in the Fee Schedule, Chapter 36 of this code and shall be for 1 calendar year only. Each renewal shall be made by application together with the annual fee. A plumber licensed by the State Board of Health shall pay no fee to the city, but shall show evidence of the state license before the city issues a license.
(3) Each applicant for license shall sign an agreement on form as may be delivered by the city agreeing to pay the city the actual cost of repair for any damage caused to the city sewer system by the applicant, or by any of his or her employees or agents. This agreement shall accompany the license application.
(4) Each applicant shall accompany his or her application with a certificate of insurance in a company acceptable to the city showing public liability insurance coverage with limits as may be specified by the City Council as part of the Council’s annual review of fees. This certificate shall specifically state that insurance covers underground construction operations and shall contain a provision that the coverage afforded under the policies will not be canceled or materially changed until at least 15 days prior written notice has been given to the city.
(B) No person, unless authorized by a written permit from the city shall make, install, repair, alter, disturb, uncover, open or break any sewer connection to the sanitary sewer system of the city. Permits for connection of a new sewer service or repairs to an existing service shall be issued by the city after consideration of the application for the permit with regard to compliance with other provisions of this section. Permits shall be issued in the following manner.
(1) Application for a permit to perform work on a sewer service connection within the city shall be made on a form supplied by the city by the person or firm who will be performing the work to the city along with a fee as determined by the Council for the installation of a new connection. The person or firm performing the work shall be licensed to perform the work by the city.
(2) After approval of the permit application by the city, the applicant shall furnish to the city a performance bond in an amount as determined by the Council. The performance bond shall be for the good and faithful performance of all work on public and private property relative to the work being performed. The bond shall be payable to the city and the owner of the property on which the work is being performed. The bond shall warrant the work for a period of 1 year from the date of completion.
(3) The City Clerk shall issue a permit for the work after the application is approved and the bond is received.
(C) All costs and expenses incidental to the installation and connection of the building sewer or repairs to an existing connection shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify and hold harmless the city from any loss or damage to the public sewer that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.
(D) A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every building, except where 2 or more buildings are situated on 1 parcel so that the parcel may not be subdivided. The joint use private sewer may be extended to the rear building or buildings and the whole considered as 1 joint use private sewer provided the buildings are the property of a single owner. Special variances will be considered by the city.
(E) Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, upon examination and testing by the city, to meet all the requirements of this section.
(F) Unused septic tanks, cesspools, leaching pits, and similar devices and structures shall be backfilled or made safe and unusable in a manner acceptable to the city.
(G) The size, slope, alignment and materials of construction of a building sewer and the method used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing and backfilling the trench shall all conform to the requirements of the building code and plumbing code; or other applicable rules and regulations. In the absence of code provisions, or in amplifications thereof, the materials and procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the “Water Pollution Control Federation (W.P.C.F.) Manual of Practice No. 9" and the American Society for Testing Materials (A.S.T.M.) Standards shall apply.
(H) Whenever possible the building sewer shall be brought to the building at an elevation below the basement floor. In all buildings in which any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewer, the building drain shall be provided with a lifting device by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer.
(I) No person shall make connection of roof downspouts, roof drains, exterior foundation drains, areaway drains, or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which, in turn, is connected directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer.
(J) The construction of the building sewer and its connection into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the State of Minnesota Plumbing Code, the sewer specifications included herein, and other applicable rules and regulations and procedures adopted by the city. All construction shall be made gas tight and watertight. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the city prior to installation.
(K) Employees of the city shall be allowed to inspect the work at any stage of construction and, in any event, the applicant for the permit shall notify the city when the work is ready for final inspection and no underground portions shall be covered before the final inspection is complete. The connection shall be made under the supervision of the city or its representative.
(L) All excavations for building sewer installations shall be adequately guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from hazards. Streets, sidewalks, parkways, and other public property disturbed during the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the city.
(Prior Code, § 62-54) (Ord. 234, passed 1987; Am. Ord. 341, passed 2001) Penalty, see § 50.99