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78-014 ORD ORDINANCE No. 78' -/4 AN ORDINANCE REGULATING THE USE OF PUBLIC SEWERS FOR THE CITY OF ELK RIVER. The City Council of the City of Elk River hereby ORDAINS: SECTION 1: SEWER USE CODE SECTION 2: DEFINITIONS For the purpose of this Ordinance, the following words and terms shall have the meaning set out below, unless the context specifically indicates otherwise. "BOD" (denoting Biochemical Oxygen Demand) means the quantity of oxygen .utilized in the chemical oxidation of Organic matter expressed in milligrams per liter, as determined in accordance with standard laboratory procedure as set out in the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. "BUILDING DRAIN" means that part of the lower horizontal plplng of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste, and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning five (5) feet (1. 5 meters) outside the inner face of the building wall. "BUILDING SEWER" means the extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal, also called house connection. "CITY" is the area within the corporate boundaries of the City of Elk River, as presently established or as amended by ordinance or other legal actions at a future time. The term "City" when used herein may also be used to refer to the City Council and its authorized representatives. "COD" (denoting Chemical Oxygen Demand) means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the chemical oxidation of organic matter, expressed in milligrams per liter, as determined in accordance with standard laboratory procedure as set out in the latest edition of Standard methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. "COMBINED SEWER" means a sewer originally designed and currently designated to receive both surface water runoff and sewage. "GARBAGE" means solid wastes resulting from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage or sale of meat, fish, fowl, fruit, vegetables, or condemned food. "INDUSTRIAL WASTES" means the solid, liquid or gaseous wastes resulting from any industrial or manufacturing processes, trade or business, or from the development, recovery or processing of natural 'resources. "NATIONAL ;POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM PERMIT (NPDES PERMIT)" means the system for issuing, conditioning and denying permits for the discharge of pollutants from point sources into the navigable waters, the contiguous zone, and the oceans by the Administrator of the Environmental ;Protection Agency pursuant to Section 402 and 405 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendment 1972. -1- -- "NATURAL OUTLET" means any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or ground water. "OTHER WASTES" shall mean garbage, municipal refuse, decayed wood, sawdust, shavings, bark, lime, sand, ashes, oil tar, chemicals, offal and other substances except sewage and industrial wastes. "PERSON" meanS any individual, firm, company, associations, society, corporation, municipal corporation, governmental unit, or group. "pH" means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution. "PROCESS WATER" means any water used in the manufacturing, preparation or production of goods, materials or food. Process water, is an industrial waste. "PUBLIC SEWER" means any sewer owned or operated by a unit or agency of government. "SANITARY SEWER" means a sewer which carries sewage and,to which storm .surface, and ground water are not intentionally admitted. "SANITARY WASTES" means the liquid and water-carried wastes discharged from sanitary plumbing facilities. "SEWAGE or WASTEWATER" means the water carried waste products from residences, public buildings, institutions, industrial establishments or other buildings including the excrementitious or other discharge from the bodies of human beings or animals, together with such ground water infiltration and storm and surface water as may be present. "SEWER" means a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage, industrial waste or other waste liquids. "SEWER SYSTEM" means pipe lines or conduits, pumping stations, forcemains, and all other devices and applicances appurtenant thereto, used for collecting or conducting sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes to a point of ultimate disposal. "SHALL" is mandatory; "MAY" is permissive. "SLUG" means any discharge of water, wastewater or industrial waste which in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow exceeds for any period of duration longer than fifteen (15) minutes more than five (5) times the average twenty-four (24) hour concentration of flows during the normal operation. "STom SEWER" (sometimes termed "storm drain") means a sewer which carries storm and surface water and drainage but excludes sewage and industrial wastes, other than unpolluted cooling or process water. "SUSPENDED SOLIDS" means solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in water, sewage, or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory filtering, in accordance with the latest edition of Standard Methods of the examination of water and wastewater. -2- "UNPOLLUTED WATER" means clean water uncontaminated by industrial wastes, other wastes, or any substance which renders such water unclean or noxious, or impure so as to be actually or potentially harmful or detrimental or injuriouq to public health, safety or welfare, to domestic, commercial, industrial or recreational use, or to livestock, wild animals, bird, fish, or other aquatic life. "WASTEWATER FACILITIES" means the structures, equipment and processes required to collect, carry away, and treat domestic and industrial wastes and dispose of the effluent. "WASTEWATER TREATMENT WORKS or TREATMENT WORKS" shall mean an arrange- ment of devices and structures for treatment of wastewater, industrial waste, and sludge. Sometimes used as synonomous for "waste treatment plant" or wastewater treatment plant" or "water pollution control plant" or "sewage treatment plant". SECTION 3: USE OF PUBLIC SEWERS .1. It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the City or in any area under the jurisdiction of the City any sewage or other polluted waters, except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this Ordinance. 2. Except as hereinafter provided, it shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool, or other facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage. 3. The owner of any building or property which is located within the City and from which wastewater is discharged, shall be required to connect to a public sewer at his expense within two years of the date said public sewer is operational, provided that said public sewer is within 300 feet of the structure generating wastewater and said public sewer is located in a public right-of-way or easement for sewer purposes adjacent to the property. All future buildings constructed on property adjacent to the public sewer shall be \ required to immediately connect to the public sewer. If sewer connections are not being made pursuant to this subdivision an official 90 day notice shall be served instructing the affected property owner to make said connection. -3- in compliance with a notice given under Section 9 of this Ordinance, the City may u~dertake to have said connection 4. In the event an Owner shall fail to connect to a public sewer made and shall assess the cost thereof against the benefited property and said assessment shall be a lien against said property. Such assessment, when levied, shall bear interest at the legal rate for local improvements and shall be certified to the auditor of the County of Sherburne and shall be collected and remitted to the City in the same manner as assessments for local improvements". The tights of the City under this subdivision shall be in addition to any other remedial or enforcement provisions of this ordinance. ~ No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged directly or indirectly any storm water, surface water, ground water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, waste from on-site disposal systems, unpolluted cooling or process water to any sanitary sewer except as permitted by the City. 6. Storm water and all other unpolluted water shall be discharged to a storm sewer, except that unpolluted cooling or process water shall only be so discharged upon approval by the City or other local unit of government. ~ No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged, directly or indirectly, any of the following described substances to any public sewer: a. Any gasoline, benzene, naptha, fuel oil, or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas. b. Any water or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids or gases in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a public nuisance, or create any hazard in the wastewater treatment works. -4- .~ Any water or wastes having a pH lower than 5.5 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and personnel of the wastewater treatment works. ~ Solid or viscous substances, either whole or ground, in quantities or of such size capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers, or other interference with the proper continuation of the wastewater facilities, but not limited to ashes, cinders, disposable diapers, glass grinding or polishing wastes, stone cuttings or polishing wastes, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, unground garbage, lrthole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entrails and sanitary napkins, paper dishes, cups, milk containers, and other paper products. e.Noxious or malodorous liquids, gases or substances which either singly or by interaction with other wastes are sufficient to create a public nuisance or hazard to life or are sufficient to prevent entry into the sewers for their maintenance and repair. ~ No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged directly or indirectly the following described substances .to any public sewer unless in the opinion of the City such discharge will not harm the wastewater facilities, nor cause obstruction to the flow in sewers, nor otherwise endanger life, limb or public property, nor constitute a nuisance. In forming it's opinion as to the acceptability of these wastes, the City may give consideration to such factors as the quantities of the subject waste~ in relation to flows and velocities in the sewers, materials of construction of the sewers, nature of the sewage treatment process, capacity. of the sewage treatment plant, degree of treatability of wastes in the sewage treatment plant, the City's NPDES Permit, and other pertinent factors. The City may make such determinations either -5- on a general basis or as to discharges from individual users or specific discharges, and may prohibit certain discharges from individual users because of un~sual concentrations or combinations which may occur. The substances prohibited are: a. Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than one hundred. fifty (150) degrees F. (65 degrees C). b. Any water or waste containing fats, wax, grease, or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of one hundred (100) mg/l or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between thirty-two (32) and one hundred fifty (150) degrees (0 degrees and 65 degrees C). c. Any garbage that has not been ground or comminuted to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely in suspension under flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particles greater than one-half (1/2) inch in any dimension. d. Any water or wastes containing strong acid, iron pickling wastes, or concentrated plating solutions, whether neutralized or not. e. Any water or wastes containing phenols or other taste or odor producing substances which constitute a nuisance or hazard to the structures, equipment or personnel of the sewage works, or which interfere with the treatment required to meet the requirements of the State and Federal government and any other public agency with proper authority to regulate the discharge from \ the sewage treatment plant. -6- f. Radioactive wastes or isotypes of such half-life or concentration that they are in non-compliance with regulations issued by the appropriate authority having control over their use or which have caused or may cause damage or hazards to the treatment works or personnel operating it. Q Any water or wastes having a pH in excess of 9.5. h. Materials which exert or cause: (1) Unusual concentration of suspended solids (such as but not limited to, Fullers earth, lime slurries and lime residues) or of dissolved solids (such as, but not limited to, sodium chloride and sodium sulfate). (2) Excessive discoloration (such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions). (3) Unusual BOD, chemical oxygen demand, or chlorine requirements in such quantities as to constitute a significant load on the wastewater treatment works. (4) Unusual volume of flow' or concentration of wastes constituting a slug. (5) Water or water containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction by the sewage treatment processes employed, or are amenable to treatment only to such degree that the sewage treatment plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of the NPDES Permit or requirements of other governmedtal agencies having jurisdiction over discharge from the sewage treatment plant. -7- 9. If any water or wastes are discharged, or are proposed to be discharged directly or indirectly to the public sewers, which water or wastes do not meet the standards set out in or promulgated under this Subsection or which in the judgment of the City may have a deleterious effect upon the treatment works, processes, equipment or receiving waters, or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the City may take any or all of the following steps: a. Refuse to accept the discharges, or b. Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge, or c. Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for the discharge to the public sewers, or d. Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating wastes. The design and installation of the plant and equipment for pre-treatment or equalization of waste flows shall be subject to the review and approval of the City and subject to the requirements of 40 CFR 128, entitled "Pretreatment Standards" and all applicable codes, ordinances, and laws. 10. Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease, or any flammable wastes, sand. or other harmful ingredients. All interceptors required under this Subdivision shall be of a type and capacity approved by the City and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection. Such \ interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. -8- 11. Where preliminary treatment, flow equalizing facilities or interceptors are provided for any water or wastes, they shall be effectively operated and maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective condition by the Owner at his expense, and shall be available for inspection by the City at all reasonable times. 12. When required by the City the owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control structure, together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances in the building sewer to facilitate observation sampling, and measurement of the wastes. Such structure and equipment when required shall be constructed at the owner's expense in accordance with plans approved by the City and shall be maintained by the owner so as to be safe and accessible at all times. 13. All measurements, tests, and analyses of the characteristics of water and wastes to which reference is made in this ordinance shall be determined in, accordance with 40 CFR 136 (Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for Analysis of Pollutants); the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, and shall be determined at the control structure provided, or upon suitable samples taken at said control structures. In the event that no special structure has been required, the control structure shall be considered to be the nearest downstream manhole in the public sewer from the point at which the building sewer is connected. Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted methods to reflect the effect of constitut,ents upon the sewerage works and to determine the existence of hazards to life, limb, and property. (~he particular analyses involved will determine whether a twenty-four (24) hour composite of all outfalls -9- of a premises is appropriate or whether a grab sample or samples should be taken. Normally, but not always, BOD and suspended solids analyses will be obtained from 24-hour composite of all outfalls whereas pH's will be determined from periodic grab samples). 14. The City may conduct such tests as are necessary to enforce this ordinance, and employees of the City may enter upon any property for the purpose of taking samples, obtaining information or conducting surveys or investigations relating to such enforcement. Entry shall be made during operating hours unless circumstances require otherwise. In all cases where tests are conducted by the City for the purpose of checking to determine if a previously found violation of this ordinance has been corrected, the cost of such tests shall be charged to the user and added to the user's sewer charge. In those cases where the City determines that the nature of volume of a particular user's sewage requires more frequent than normal testing, the City may charge such user for the test, after giving the user ten (10) days written notice of its intention to do so, and the cost thereof shall be added to the user's sewer charge. In any case where industrial wastes are discharged to a public sewer, the City may require the user at his own expense to test his discharge on a regular basis and to report the test results to the City within a reasonable time. All such tests shall be ordered by the City and shall be conducted by qualified personnel and in accordance with the standards set out in Section 3, Item 13 of this ordinance. 15. Accidental discharges of prohibited waste into the sewage works, directly or through another disposal system, or to ~ny place from which such waste may enter the treatment works, shall be reported to the City by the persons responsible for the discharge, or by the owner or occupant of the premises where the discharge occurred, immediately upon obtaining knowledge of the fact of such discharge. -10- 16. New connections to the sanitary sewer system shall be prohibited unless sufficient capacity is available in all downstream facilities, including capacity for flow, BOD, and suspended solids. 17. No statement contained in this Subsection shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangment between the City and any industrial concern whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the City for treatment, subject to payment'therefor, by the industrial concern, in accordance with applicable ordinances and any supplemental agreement with the City. SECTION 4: PRIVATE SEWAGE DISPOSAL 1. Where a public sanitary or combined sewer is not available under the provision of Section 3 the building sewer shall be connected to a private sewage disposal system complying with the rules and regulations of the City. SECTION 5: BUILDING SEWERS & CONNECTIONS ~ a. 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. b. Any person desiring to engage in such ~ork shall make application to the City on forms to be supplied by the City together ~ith a fee in the amount of $25.pO. All licenses issued shall be for one (1) year only and each renewal shall be made by application together with a $25.00 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. -11- c. Each applicant for license shall sign an agreement on such 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 any of his employees or agents. This agreement shall accompany the license application. d. Each applicant shall accompany his application with a certificate of insurance in a company acceptable to the City showing public liability insurance coverage with limits of at least $250,000 per person; $500,000 per occurrence arid $10,000 for property damage. Such'certificate shall specifically state that such insurance covers underground operations and shall contain a provision that the coverage afforded under the policies will not be cancelled or materially changed until at least 15 days prior written notice has been given to the City. 2. No person unless authorized shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter, or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof, without first obtaining the .written permit from the City. 3. All costs and expense incident to the installation and connection of the building sewer 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 indirectly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer. 4. A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every building; except where two or more buildings,are situated on one parcel such that the parcel may not be subdivided; such a joint use private sewer may be extended to the rear building or buildings and the whole considered as one joint use private sewer. Special variances will be considered by the City Council. -12- 5. Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings ~nly when they are found, on examination and test by the City to meet all requirements of this ordinance. 6. Unused septic tank, cesspools, leaching pits and similar devices and structures shall be backfilled or made safe and unuseable in a manner acceptable to the City. 7. The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building sewer, and the method to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing, and backfilling the trench, shall all conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules and regulations. In the absence of code provisions or in amplification thereof, the materials and procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of Water Pollution Control (WPCF) Manual of Practice No. 9 and applicable American Society For Testing Materials (ASTM) Standards shall apply. 8. 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 such building drain shall be provided with a lifting device by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer. 9. No persons shall make connections of roof downspouts, exterior foundation drains, areaway drains or other source of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which in turn is connected directly or indirectly to a p~blic sanitary sewer. -13- 10. The construction of the building sewer and its connection into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code, the sewer specifications included herein or other applicable rules and regulations and the procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the Water Pollution Control Federation (WPCF) Manual of Practice No.9, and the America Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) all such construction shall be made gas tight and watertight. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the City before installations. .11. 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 completed. The connection shall be made under the supervision of the City or its representative. 12. 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 in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the City.' SECTION 6: MAIN AND LATERAL SEWER CONSTRUCTION 1. No person unless authorized shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the City. 2. No sanitary or storm sewers shall be constructed in the City (except house or building service sewers) except by the City or by others in accordance with plans and specifications approved by a professional engineer. No such sewers shall be considered to be a part of the public sewer system unless accepted by the City. -14- 3. The size, slope, alignment, material of construction, methods to be used in excavation, placing of pipe, jointing, testing, backfilling, and other work connected with the construction ox sewers shall conform to the requirements of the City. SECTION 7: PROTECTION FROM DAMAGE 1. No unauthorized person shall maliciously, willfully, or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface, or tamper with any structure, appurtenance, or equipment which is a part of the public sewer. SECTION 8: AUTHORITY OF INSPECTORS ~ Duly authorized employees of the City bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purpose of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, and testing in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance. Those employees shall have no authority to inquire into any processes including metalurgical, chemical, oil,.refining, ceramic, paper, or other industries except as is necessary to determine the kind and source of the discharge to the public sewer. 2. While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to in Item 1 of this section, the authorized employees of the City shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises. 3. Duly authorized employees of the City bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the City holds an easement for the purpose of, but not limited to, inspection, observation, and construction of public sewers. SECTION 9: PENALTIES ~ Any person found to be violating any provisions of this ordinance shall be served by the City with written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall within the period of time stated in such notice permanently cease all violation. -15- 2. Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time provided for in Item 1 of this section, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be fined in the $500, amount not exceeding $~ for each violation. Each day in which any such yiolation shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense.. 3. Any person violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall become liable to the City for any expense, loss or damage occasioned by the City by reason of such violation. SECTION 10: VALIDITY 1. The validity of any section, subdivision, clause, sentence or provision of this ordinance shall not affect the validity of any part of this ordinance which can be given effect without such invalid part or parts. SECTION 11: EFFECTIVE DATE 1. This Ordinance shall be in full force. and in effect from and after its passage, approval, recording and publication as provided by law. 2. Passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Elk River on this 4~ day of ~k-r- , 1972. ATTEST: 4L.-~. Robert C. Middaugh City Administrator &MIu?it1~ Frank Madsen, Mayor -16-