(a) Mandatory connection.
(1) a. The owner of each parcel of land adjacent to a sanitary sewer on which there exists a building usable for human habitation or in a block through which such system is extended, shall connect to such system within 60 days of notice in writing from the Approving Authority.
b. Upon failure to do so, the village may cause such connection to be made and bill the property owner for such costs. If such costs are not paid within 30 days, such notice shall be assessed as a special tax against the property, all pursuant to Wis. Stats. § 281.45, provided, however, that the owner may, within 30 days after completion of the work, file a written statement with the Approving Authority stating that he or she cannot pay the amount in one sum and asking that there be levied in not to exceed five equal installments and that the amount shall be so collected with interest at the rate of 18% per annum from the completion of the work, the unpaid balance being a special tax lien, all pursuant to Wis. Stats. § 281.45.
(2) In lieu of the above, the village, at its option, may impose a forfeiture for the period that the violation continues after ten days’ written notice to any owner failing to make a connection to the sewer system in an amount per month for each residential unit equivalent payable quarterly, as is to be assessed in accord with § 9-2-6(b), for the period in which the failure to connect continues, and upon failure to make such payment, said charge shall be assessed as a special tax against the property, all pursuant to Wis. Stats. § 281.45.
(3) This section ordains that the failure to connect to the wastewater collection system is contrary to the minimum health standards of said village and fails to assure preservation of public health, comfort, and safety of said village.
(b) Maintenance of sewer laterals.
(1) The owner of each lateral shall be responsible for all costs of maintenance, repair, and replacement of the lateral from the building to the connection to the sanitary sewer.
(2) Any proposed lateral work required in the public right-of-way shall be submitted to the Approving Authority for approval prior to commencing work. All restoration costs associated with lateral work in the public right-of-way shall be the responsibility of the owner of the lateral, including backfilling, compaction, restoration of street, curb and gutter replacement, sidewalk replacement, boulevard replacement, topsoil replacement, and seeding.
(3) All laterals from the point of connection with a sanitary sewer to and throughout the premises must be maintained free of defective conditions, by and at the expense of the owner of the property.
(4) When any lateral needs to be relaid and two or more buildings are connected to the lateral to be replaced, each building shall be disconnected from such lateral and a new lateral shall be installed for each building.
(c) Penalty for improper use.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully injure the wastewater collection system or any building, machinery, or fixture pertaining thereto or to willfully and without authority of the village, bore or otherwise cause to leak any tunnel, aqueduct, reservoir, pipe, or other thing used in the system for holding, conveying, or collecting sewage.
(2) In addition to any other penalty provided by this chapter or other law, the village shall have the right of recovery from any responsible person(s) of any expense incurred by the village for penalties imposed on the village by state or federal authorities due to a violation of this chapter or other law, correction of conditions impairing the proper operation of the sewer system, and the repair or replacement of any sanitary sewer main or other property of the utility damaged in any manner by any negligent or intended act or omission by such person or by others under their control.
(d) Septic tanks prohibited. The maintenance and use of septic tanks and other means of private sanitary sewage disposal within the area of the village serviced by its wastewater collection system are hereby declared to be a public nuisance and a health hazard. From and after April 20, 1992, the use of septic tanks or any private sewage disposal system within those areas of the village serviced by its wastewater collection system shall be prohibited. For purposes of this section, all property with frontage upon a public street or other right-of-way in which a village sewer main is located is deemed to be serviced by the system.
(e) Vacating of premises and discontinuance of service. Whenever premises served by the system are to be vacated, or whenever any person desires to discontinue service from the system, the village must be notified in writing. The owner of the premises shall be liable for any damages to the property of the village or such damage which may be discovered having occurred to its property other than through the fault of the system or its employees, representatives, or agents.
(f) Charges are lien on property. All sewer service, charges, and special assessments shall be a lien on the lot, part of a lot, or parcel or tract of land to which sewer services were supplied. All sums which have accrued during the preceding year and which are unpaid by the first day of October of any year, shall be certified to the Village Clerk to be placed on the tax roll for collection as provided by Wis. Stats. § 66.0627.
(g) Unit of service definition. A unit of service shall consist of any residential, commercial, industrial, or charitable aggregation of space or area occupied for a distinct purpose such as a residence, apartment, flat, store, office, industrial plant, church, or school. Each unit of service shall be regarded as one consumer. Suites in houses, or apartments with complete housekeeping functions (such as cooking), shall be classed as apartment houses; thus, houses and apartments having suites of one, two, or more rooms with toilet facilities, but without kitchen for cooking, are classed as rooming houses. When a consumer’s premises has several buildings, for which services are eligible and such buildings are used in the same business and connected by the user, the Village Board shall set a separate rate for such complex.
(h) Adoption of other rules. There is hereby adopted all the rules and regulations of the State Plumbing and State Building Codes, and the building rules of the Department of Safety and Professional Services and the Department of Natural Resources of the state insofar as the same are applicable to the village. All extensions of the system will comply with Wis. Admin. Code, Chapter NR 108.
(i) Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of the chapter is, for any reason, held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the ordinance. The village hereby declares that it would have passed this chapter and section, subsection, clause, and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more section, subsection, sentences, clauses, and phrases be declared unconstitutional.
(Ord. passed 1-21-2013)