(a) Agreement. All persons, successors, and assigns obtaining a permit from the Village Administrator accept and agree to be bound by the Village's rules, regulations, standards, and specifications.
(b) Contractor Requirements.
(1) Authorized contractors. Only persons, firms, companies, or corporations approved by the Village Administrator or the Administrator's authorized agent, shall be permitted to construct or repair private building sanitary sewers, private collection sewers, or sanitary sewer improvements installed by private developers to be dedicated to the Village for public ownership, operations, and maintenance. Persons, firms, companies, or corporations constructing or repairing private building sewers, private collection systems, or sanitary sewer improvements installed by a private developer to be dedicated to the Village for public ownership, operations, and maintenance shall obtain pursuant to paragraph (b)(2) hereof a yearly business license and shall also furnish a performance guarantee in favor of the Village on forms provided by the Village Administrator.
(2) Business license. The property owner's contractor must have a current, valid business license to conduct business in the Village and shall be required to operate and construct and install sanitary sewer improvements in conformance with the Village's standards and specifications. A Village business license can be obtained as set forth in Chapter 802 of the Village's Codified Ordinances.
(3) Safety standards. All contractors working on the Village of Put-in-Bay wastewater treatment and collection systems, its appurtenances, public or private, connected to said treatment and collection system under the Rules, Regulations, Standards, and Specifications shall work in accordance with all applicable O.S.H.A. safety standards.
(c) Permits and Costs.
(1) Permits shall be valid for 180 days from the date of issuance. The expiration date of the permit shall be noted on the permit issued. If a permit expires and work has not been completed, all work shall be stopped by the Village Administrator or the Administrator's authorized agent and the property owner or agent shall be required to complete an application for permit renewal obtained from the Village Administrator or the Administrator's authorized agent and submit it along with a permit renewal fee and any other applicable equalization fees and charges.
(2) A repair permit shall be required prior to making any repairs or replacements associated with private building sewers, private grinder pumps, private collection sewers, or other appurtenances, as approved by the Village Administrator. Upon completion of any repairs/ replacements the work shall be documented by returning the completed repair permit to the Village Administrator for filing.
(3) Permits shall be available on the job site at all times until the job is completed and approved.
(4) The issuance of a permit, by the Village Administrator or the Administrator's authorized agent, to connect or repair does not relieve the permit holder of the responsibility of securing permits from other applicable governmental or private agencies for the permission to work in public or private rights-of-way or easement areas, (i.e. Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Ottawa County Health Department, Ottawa County Sanitary Engineer, Ottawa County Engineer, Put-in-Bay Township Trustees, etc.)
(5) Costs. All costs and expense incidental to the installation and connection of building sewers and appurtenances shall be borne by the owner(s). The owner(s) shall indemnify the Village from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of a private building sewer or appurtenance.
(d) Initial and Final Sewer Billing Procedure. The following sewer billing procedure establishes how the initial and final sanitary sewer billing date shall be determined by the Village Administrator or the Administrator's authorized agent:
(1) Properties connected to a public pressure sewer via a private grinder pump. When a structure's new private building sewer gains access to a public pressure sewer main via a private grinder pump, sewer billing shall commence on the date that the pump core is installed, the electrical connection is completed, and the pump is turned on and tested. The Village Administrator or the Administrator's authorized agent shall file a report to be signed and dated on the day the private grinder pump becomes operational. The signed permit shall then be submitted to the Utilities Department for processing of the new billing.
In situations where a property owner is already being served by a private grinder pump and has requested that sewer billing be permanently discontinued, the Village will oversee removal of the private grinder pump core and installation of a plug or cap into the inlet pipe in the private grinder pump to eliminate service to the structure. In the event the property disconnecting from the sanitary sewer is connected to a private grinder pump with another property owner, the private building sewer for the property being disconnected must also be permanently capped as described in the gravity sewer service section referenced below. Also, proper arrangement must be made by the property owner(s) to relocate the grinder pump electrical supply at his expense, if applicable. An inspection of the structure, and private building sewer if necessary, must be performed by the Village Administrator or the Administrator's authorized agent to confirm that wastewater is, and can, no longer be generated within the structure being disconnected. On the same day of the inspection, the private grinder pump core shall be removed from the wet well, if possible, and placed in storage by the property owner. A properly completed and signed Administrator's Report form shall be submitted to the Utilities Department to deactivate billing to the property being disconnected as of the recorded date of compliance with the above requirements.
(2) Properties connected to a public gravity sanitary sewer main. When a structure is served by a public gravity sanitary sewer main and private building sewer, billing shall commence on the date that the final inspection report identifies:
A. The private building sewer has passed the testing and inspection; and
B. Verification has been made that sanitary sewer service has actually begun.
(3) Variance. If a property owner or developer is constructing a "new" wastewater generating structure and is installing the private building sewer in the early stages of construction, the Village Administrator shall advise the property owner that the sewer billing may be postponed until such time that sewer service is actually available to a structure. The Village Administrator or the Administrator's authorized agent shall advise the property owner of the Village's billing policy and request that the property owner sign a special form provided by the Village Administrator or the Administrator's authorized agent. The form is a simple agreement allowing the postponement of the billing. A temporary plug must be installed in the private building sewer with a sticker or marking by the Village Administrator or the Administrator's authorized agent to resist tampering with the plug. A copy of the form must be attached to the Village Administrator's permit copy so it is known not to turn in the permit until "final" connection is made starting sanitary sewer service. If the plug is tampered with or the property owner fails to notify the Village Administrator or the Administrator's authorized agent of final connection to the public sanitary sewer, billing shall begin from the original inspection date of the installation of the private building sewer.
In situations where a property owner is already connected to a public gravity sanitary sewer and requests that sewer billing be permanently discontinued, the property owner shall obtain a permit to permanently cap the private building sewer at the right-of-way. The Village Administrator or the Administrator's authorized agent must witness the installation of the private building sewer cap. The property owner shall obtain a repair permit from the Village prior to reconnection to the public sanitary sewer. Upon completion of the service disconnection, the Administrator shall submit a report to the Fiscal Officer confirming compliance with this regulation and the date completed. The Fiscal Officer shall terminate sewer billing as of the date specified.
In the event of a catastrophic event (i.e. fire, flood, tornado...) that severely damages or destroys a wastewater generating structure, the Village will, upon written request from the property owner, will issue a repair permit at no cost, shut off the public water service (if applicable) and discontinue sanitary sewer billing until such time that a new structure is built. The discontinuation of sanitary sewer service and billing shall be handled in one of the following methods:
A. If the property owner indicates that they do not intend to rebuild the structure, the property owner will be required to dig up and cap the private building sewer at the road right-of-way line (property line).
B. If the property owner indicates that they will be rebuilding the structure, the property owner shall cap the private building sewer or drain at a location that is convenient on the property. If the property is served by Village water, shut off and turn on of the water meter will determine the amount of time that sanitary sewer billing is discontinued.
If at any time the Village determines that the public sanitary sewer is being used by the property after billing has been discontinued, billing shall resume and the property owner will be back-billed from the date the billing was discontinued.
(4) Re-establish service. To re-establish sanitary sewer service to a property that was connected to the public sanitary sewer at a previous point in time and then disconnected (monthly user charge terminated) under the above referenced policy, the property owner shall:
A. Secure a repair permit to re-establish service from the Village Administrator or the Administrator's authorized agent. The standard repair permit fee shall be waived for catastrophic events that severely damage or destroy a structure to the point of being uninhabitable.
B. Pay a permit fee and a re-establishment fee that is equal to the sum of twelve monthly user charges (at the current monthly rate), per equivalent dwelling unit being re-established. Fees are waived for properties re-establishing their service after a catastrophic event impacting the structure. If a property owner does not use any water (zero consumption registered through the water meter) for a minimum of twelve consecutive months, and has continued to pay the monthly sanitary sewer bill for the same twelve consecutive month period, a re-establishment fee (as defined above) will not be required.
If a public water meter is not available to confirm zero consumption was registered on the meter for a minimum twelve consecutive month period, the property owner may instead submit copies of their electric bills for the same consecutive twelve month period to confirm that the structure was not inhabited.
C. The property owner shall expose the permanent private building sewer cap and have the Village Administrator or the Administrator's authorized agent verify that it has not been tampered with or used since disconnection. If evidence shows that the cap has been tampered with or this procedure was not followed and connection has already taken place, the current property owner shall be billed the total monthly user charges from the date "final" inspection was made to discontinue billing on the structure to the current month.
(Ord. 1225-19. Passed 10-9-19.)