(A) Monitoring facilities.
(1) User to provide facility. The POTW Director may require the user to provide and operate at the user’s own expense, monitoring facilities to allow inspection, sampling and flow measurement of the building sewer and/or internal drainage systems. The monitoring facility shall, unless otherwise permitted by the POTW Director, be situated on the user’s premises, but the POTW Director may, when such location would be impractical or would cause undue hardship on the user, allow the facility to be constructed in the dedicated public right-of-way, street or sidewalk area and located so that it will not be obstructed by landscaping or parked vehicles. The POTW Director may designate a minimum frequency for calibration of monitoring equipment; however, the user shall be responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the equipment at all times.
(2) Space. The user shall provide ample room in or near such sampling manhole or facility to allow accurate sampling and preparation of samples for analysis. The facility, sampling and measuring equipment shall be maintained at all times in a safe and proper operating condition at the expense of the user. Any temporary or permanent obstruction to safe and easy access to the facility to be inspected and/or sampled shall be promptly removed by the user at the written or verbal request of the POTW Director and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall be borne by the user.
(3) Facility to meet town standards. Whether constructed on public or private property, the sampling and monitoring facilities shall be installed within 90 days or such greater period as determined by the POTW Director. All sampling and monitoring facilities shall be constructed in accordance with the town requirements and all applicable local construction standards and specifications.
(B) Right of entry; inspection and sampling.
(1) Right of entry/sampling. The town may inspect the facilities of any user to ascertain whether the conditions of this chapter are being complied with and all requirements are being met. Persons or occupants of premises where wastewater is created or discharged shall allow the town, approval authority and EPA, or their representatives ready access at all reasonable times to all parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection, sampling, determining compliance with any order, records examination and copying, or in the performance of any of their duties. The town, approval authority and EPA shall have the right to set up on the user’s property such devices as are necessary to conduct sampling, inspection, compliance monitoring and/or metering operations.
(2) User to arrange for prompt entry of town. When a user has security measures in force which require proper identification and clearance before entry onto its premises or safety requirements or concerns, the user shall make necessary arrangements with its personnel or security guards so that, upon presentation of suitable identification, personnel from the town, approval authority and the EPA will be permitted to enter without delay for the purposes of performing the specific responsibilities. Denial of the town’s, the approval authority’s or EPA’s access to the user’s premises shall be a violation of this chapter. Unreasonable delay may constitute a denial of access.
(3) Emergency measures. Upon being delayed or otherwise refused entry to a user’s facility, the town may take such emergency measures as is reasonably prudent, and immediately notify the Town Attorney and the chief executive officer of the user; call for the dispatch of such emergency personnel as required to prevent or limit the discharge of hazardous wastes in order to protect the citizens, the personnel of the town, the POTW and the environment; and begin such emergency sampling and monitoring as required to determine the type and character of user’s effluent. All costs associated with the response necessitated by the delay or refusal shall be at the sole expense of the user, including, but not limited to, attorney’s fees, emergency response team costs, monitoring and sampling costs, as well as such other costs, penalties and expenses as may be determined pursuant to this chapter.
(C) Search warrants. If the town, approval authority, or EPA has been refused access to a building, structure or property or any part thereof and are able to demonstrate probable cause to believe that there may be a violation of this chapter or that there is a need to inspect and/or sample as part of a routine inspection and sampling program of the town designed to verify compliance with this chapter or any permit or order issued hereunder or to protect the overall public health, safety and welfare of the community, then the town, approval authority or EPA may seek issuance of a search warrant from the Superior Court of the General Court of Justice of the applicable county in which the user is located.
(Ord. passed 10-14-2021)