(a) Authority to Establish and Maintain Sewer System. The statutory authority for the City to establish, maintain and operate sewer, sewage treatment and disposal systems and to acquire property and funding necessary therefor may be found in West Virginia Code Article 16-13. Authority for the regulation of rates for services and the collection of such charges is contained in West Virginia Code 16-13-16. Authority for adopting by reference the requirements, specifications and instructions of the State Department of Health is established in West Virginia Code 16-1-9.
(b) Declaration of Necessity. Council hereby determines and declares that the availability and use of an adequate and appropriate sewer and sewage disposal system is essential for the protection and preservation of the health, comfort, safety, economy and general welfare of the people who live in, work in and visit the City and the other areas served by the City's sewer system.
(c) Application for Sewer Service Required. It shall be unlawful for any person, including public bodies as well as natural persons, to make an initial cut-in or connection with the City sewer system and use that system without first making written application for such connection and service to the Sewer Board and paying all costs, charges, fees and deposits incident thereto. Such application shall be made on forms prescribed and furnished by the Sewer Board and shall constitute an agreement by the applicant with the City to abide by all provisions of this article and such applicable rules and regulations of Council or Sewer Board in regard to the use of the sewer system. Such application for service by firms, partnerships, associations and corporations shall be submitted only by their duly authorized agent, and the official title of such agent shall be signed to the application.
The application shall grant or cause to be granted to the City without cost, all rights, easements, permits and privileges which are necessary for the rendering of sewer service. Duly authorized employees of the Sewer Board or City shall have access at all reasonable hours to the premises of the applicant for the purpose of installing or removing any of its property, examining pipes or fixtures, or for any purpose incidental to the rendering of sewer service.
(d) Permit for Connection; Tapping Charge. It shall be unlawful for any person, whether property owner, drainlayer or otherwise, to connect with or tap a City sewer, either directly or indirectly, without first having a permit from the Sewer Board or City and having paid the tapping or maintenance charge fixed by law. In all cases, the tapping and maintenance charges for tapping a City sewer shall be as specified from time to time by Council in an appropriate schedule, which shall be maintained on file in the office of the City and until such a schedule is prescribed by Council pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this section, the tapping and maintenance charges for City sewers shall be those in effect immediately prior to the effective date of this article. (See Section 941.04
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(1960 Code 6-300, Art. II)