Jay Sewer and Drain Ordinance

Sewer Rules and Regulations

An Ordinance of the Town of Jay, County of Franklin and State of Maine, regulating the use of public sewers, the installation and connection of building sewers, and the discharge of waters and wastes into the public sewer system and providing penalties for violations thereof:

Article I

DEFINITIONS

Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this ordinance shall be as follows:

Section 1. “Owner” shall mean the person or persons, natural or corporate, in whom for the time being the title is vested in real property situated in the town.

Section 2. “Company” shall mean any industrial or commercial establishment with a liquid waste discharge.

Section 3. “Operator” shall mean the Operator of Sewage Works and/or of water pollution control facilities of the Town of Jay or his authorized deputy, agent or representative.

Section 4. “Person” shall mean any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation or group.

Section 5. “Sewage Works” shall mean all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating, and disposing of sewage.

Section 6. “Shall” is mandatory; “May” is permissive.

Section 7. “Town” shall mean the Town of Jay, State of Maine.

Section 8. “Building Drain” shall mean that part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste and other drainage pipes inside walls of the building and conveys it to the building wall.

Section 9. “Building Sewer” shall mean the extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.

Section 10. “Public Sewer” shall mean a sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights and is controlled by public authority.

Section 11. “Sanitary Sewer” shall mean a sewer that carries sewage and to which storm, surface, and ground waters are not intentionally admitted.

Section 12. “Sewer” shall mean a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.

Section 13. “Storm Drain” (sometimes termed “storm sewer”) shall mean a sewer which carries storm and surface waters and drainage, but excludes sewage and industrial wastes other than unpolluted cooling water.

Section 14. “Water Pollution Control Facility” shall mean the arrangement of devices and structures used for treating sewage.

Section 15. “Garbage” shall mean solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage, and sale of produce.

Section 16. “Industrial Wastes” shall mean the liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing processes, trade, or business as distinct from sanitary sewage.

Section 17. “Natural Outlet” shall mean any outlet into a water-course, pond, ditch, lake, or other body of surface or groundwater.

Section 18. “Property Shredded Garbage” shall mean the wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of foods that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than one-half (1/2) inch (1.27 centimeters) in any dimension.

Section 19. “Sewage” shall mean a combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments, together with such ground surface, and storm waters as may be present.

Section 20. “Slug” shall mean any discharge of water, sewage, 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 normal operation.

Section 21. “Watercourse” shall mean a channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.

Section 22. “BOD” (denoting Biochemical Oxygen Demand) shall mean the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five (5) days at 20° C, expressed in milligrams per liter.

Section 23. “pH” shall mean the logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.

Section 24. “Suspended Solids” shall mean solids that either float on the surface of or are in suspension in water, sewage, or other liquids, which are removable by laboratory filtering.

Section 25. “Residential Unit” shall mean either (1) an apartment, room or other area within any structure that is adapted for overnight accommodation of one or more persons, (2) an apartment, room or other area within any structure that is set aside for periodic occupancy by one or more persons, (3) an apartment, room or other area within any structure that is an exclusive and independent living area within such structure in which the Owner has no right of possession during such periods of occupancy by one or more persons, or (4) a lot of land, leased or owned, upon which a house, mobile home, trailer or other structure suitable for human habitation is placed.

Section 26. “Fiscal Year” shall mean the period beginning July 1st of each calendar year and ending June 30th of the subsequent calendar year.

Article II

USE OF PUBLIC SEWERS REQUIRED

Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit, or permit to be deposited in any unsanitary manner on public or private property or in any area under the jurisdiction of the town, any human excrement, garbage, or other waste constituting a hazard to health.

Section 2. It shall be unlawful for any purpose to discharge to any natural outlet in any area under the jurisdiction of the town, any sewage or other polluted waters, except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this ordinance.

Section 3. It shall be unlawful for any person to construct or use any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool or other facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage, if at the time such person is required by Section 4 of this Article II to connect toilet facilities in or on his property with a public sanitary sewer.

Section 4. The owner of any house, buildings, or other properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purposes, which are situated within the town and abutting on any street, alley, or right or way, in which there is located a public sanitary sewer of the town, is hereby required, at his expense, to install suitable toilet facilities therein and to connect such facilities directly with such public sanitary sewer in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance within ninety (90) days after date of official notice to do so, provided that said public sanitary sewer is within two hundred (200) feet of the foundation.

Section 5. Any party who has a problem, may appeal to the Board of Selectmen who may decide within a reasonable time whether or not to hook on, provided the present sewage disposal system is adequate.

Article III

BUILDING SEWERS AND CONNECTIONS

Section 1. No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter, or disturb any public sewer or appurtenances thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Operator.

Section 2. There shall be two (2) classes of building sewer permits: (a) for residential and commercial service, and (b) for service to establishments producing industrial wastes. The Owner or his agent shall make application on a special form furnished by the Town. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications, or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the Operator. A permit and inspection fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) for a residential or commercial building sewer permit and one hundred dollars ($100.00) for an industrial building sewer permit shall be paid to the Town at the time the application is filed.

Section 3. All costs and expenses incident to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the town from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.

Section 4. A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every building except where one building stands at the rear or another on an interior lot and no private sewer is available or can be constructed to the rear building through an adjoining alley, court, yard or driveway, the building sewer from the front building may be extended to the rear building and the whole considered as one building sewer.

Section 4 (A). The owner of two abutting lots with buildings existing on each lot and with at least one of the buildings connected to the public sewer may, with approval of the Operator, connect a building sewer line from the non-public sewer connected building to the building which has a building sewer line connected to the public sewer. The Operator, in his sole discretion, prior to such approval, shall determine whether there is sufficient sewer size to handle the proposed joint usage and such other matters as he deems necessary for the protection of the health and welfare of the Town. The Operator may grant his approval upon such terms and conditions as he deems advisable including, without limitation, restrictions on the use of the two buildings.

Upon the Operator approval of the proposed connection, the Owner and the Town shall enter into an Agreement. The Agreement shall include such terms and conditions as the Town and Owner may agree upon but shall at a minimum include:

The terms and conditions of the approval;

Specific deed references to the Owner’s title;

The requirement that in the event that the buildings become under separate

ownership that appropriate reciprocal easements will be granted to regulate

the maintenance and use of the Building Sewer Lines;

Provide that the Town will in no way be responsible for the Building Sewer Line; and

That the Agreement will run with the land of both lots.

The Owner shall cause the Agreement to be recorded in the Franklin County Registry of Deeds within five days of its execution and within 30 days of execution the Owner will provide the Town with a copy of the recorded Agreement. Failure of the Owner to record the Agreement or to abide by its terms shall be grounds for revocation of the Agreement by the Town.

Section 5. Old building sewers may be used in connection with new building only when they are found, on examination and test by the Operator, to meet all requirements of this Ordinance.

Section 6. The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building sewer, and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing, and backfilling the trench, shall all conform to the materials and procedures set forth in appropriate sections of the 1970 and 1971 specifications “Sewerage System” for the town as prepared by Coffin and Richardson Inc., shall apply.

Section 7. Whenever possible, the new building sewer shall be brought from the building at an elevation above the basement floor. In all buildings in which any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewer, sanitary sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer.

Section 8. No person shall make a new connection of roof downspouts, exterior foundation drains, areaway drains, or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which in turn is connected directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer.

Section 9. The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules and regulations of the town, or in the absence of building and plumbing code provisions to the procedures set forth in the 1970 and 1971 specifications for “Sewerage System” as prepared for the town by Coffin & Richardson Inc. All such connections shall be made gas tight and watertight. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the Operator before installation. 

Section 10. The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the Operator when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. The connection shall be made under the supervision of the Operator or his representative.

Section 11. All excavations for building sewer installation 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 town.

Section 12. An Owner may apply to the Board of Selectmen for an abatement of the yearly Sewer Fee that is established by the Board of Selectmen and imposed upon each Residential Unit. Application shall be made to the Board of Selectmen on a form that it provides. The Owner shall state the reason or reasons for the abatement request and provide such other information as the Board of Selectmen determines is necessary to consider the request for abatement. An Owner may only request an abatement of sewer fees for the current Fiscal Year or the previous two Fiscal years. An Owner requesting an abatement for previous Fiscal Years shall not be entitled to an abatement unless and until the Owner has paid in full applicable sewer fees for all previous years. The Owner shall submit a receipt with the abatement application that shows payment of all previous applicable sewer fees. An Owner requesting a sewer fee abatement for the current Fiscal Year may be entitled to an abatement in accordance with this subsection even though the Owner has not paid the sewer fees for the current Fiscal Year. The Board of Selectmen shall review the application within thirty (30) days of its receipt and shall approve, approve in part, or deny the application. The Board of Selectmen may grant the following abatements:

a) The Board of Selectmen may grant the Owner an abatement of fifty percent (50%) of the sewer fee for each Residential Unit that remains continuously unoccupied for the entire Fiscal Year for which such Sewer Fee is imposed; or

b) The Board of Selectmen may grant the Owner an abatement of up to one hundred percent (100%) of the sewer fee for each Residential Unit that does not meet the criteria for a Residential Unit as set forth in Article I, Section 25 of this Ordinance.

The Board of Selectmen’s decision to approve, approve in part, or deny the application shall be made in writing and shall state the Board of Selectmen’s findings and the reason(s) for its decision.

The Board of Selectmen shall retain the right to impose upon an Owner the entire yearly sewer fee for the previous Fiscal Year when such sewer fee is imposed upon a Residential Unit that meets the criteria for a Residential Unit, as set forth in Article I, Section 25 of this Ordinance, on April 1st of the previous Fiscal Year. Such sewer fee shall be imposed concurrently with any applicable sewer fees imposed upon the Owner for the current Fiscal Year.

Article IV

USE OF PUBLIC SEWERS

Section 1. No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any storm water, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, substance drainage, uncontaminated cooling water, or unpolluted commercial or industrial process waters to any public sanitary sewer.

Section 2. Storm water and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated as storm sewers or to a natural outlet approved by the Operator. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged, on approval of the Operator, to a storm sewer, or natural outlet.

Section 3. No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any or the following described waters or wastes to any public sewers:

a. Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil, or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid, or gas.

b. Any water or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids, or gasses 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 to humans or animals, create a public nuisance, or create any hazard in the receiving waters of the sewage treatment plant, including but not limited to cyanides in excess of two (2) mg/l as CN in the wastes as discharged to the public sewer.

c. Any waters 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 sewage works.

d. Solids or viscous substances in quantities or of such size capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers, or other interference with the proper operation of the sewage works such as but not limited to ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, underground garbage, fibers, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshing, entails and paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc. either whole or ground by garbage grinders.

Section 4. No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged the following described substances, materials, waters, or wastes if it appears likely in the opinions of the Operator that such wastes can harm either the sewers, sewer treatment process, or equipment, have an adverse affect on the receiving stream, or can otherwise endanger life, limb, public property, or constitute a nuisance. In forming his opinion as to the acceptability of these wastes, the Operator will give consideration to such factors as the quantities of subject wastes 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, and other pertinent factors. The substances prohibited are:

a. Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than one hundred fifty (150) °F; sixty-five (65) °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) °F; zero (0) and sixty-five (65) °C.

c. Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The Installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor of three-fourths (3/4) horsepower (0.76 HP metric) or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the Operator.

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 iron, chromium, copper, zinc, and similar objectionable or toxic substances; or wastes exerting an excessive chlorine requirement, to such degree that any such material received in the composite sewage at the sewage treatment works exceeds the limits established by the Operator for such materials.

f. Any water or wastes containing phenols or other waste or odor-producing substances, in such concentrations exceeding limits which may be established by the Operator as necessary, after treatment of the composite sewage, to meet the requirements of the State, Federal, or other public agencies of jurisdiction for such discharge to the receiving waters.

g. Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the Operator in compliance with applicable State or Federal regulations.

h. Any waters or wastes having a pH in excess of 9.5

i. Materials which exert or cause:

(1) Unusual concentrations of inert 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.

(3) Unusual BOD, chemical oxygen demand, or chlorine requirements in such quantities as to constitute a significant load on the sewage treatment works.

(4) Unusual volume of flow or concentration of wastes constituting “slugs” as defined herein.

j. Waters or wastes 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 plan effluent cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction over discharge to the receiving waters, i.e., phosphates and nitrates.

Section 5. If any waters or wastes are discharged, or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or posses the characteristics enumerated in Section 4 of this article, and which in the judgment of the Operator may have deleterious effects upon the sewage works, processes, equipment, or receiving waters, or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the Operator may:

a. Reject the wastes.

b. Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers.

c. Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge and/or

d. Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sewer charges under the provisions of Section 10 of this Article.

If the Operator permits an industry to pre-treat or equalize its waste

flows, the design and installation of their plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the Operator and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances, and laws.

Section 6. Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the Operator, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts or any flammable wastes, sand or other harmful ingredients; except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptor facilities shall be of a type and capacity approved by the Operator and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.

Section 7. Where preliminary treatment or flow-equalizing facilities are provided for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the Owner at his expense.

Section 8. When required by the Operator, the owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling, and measurement of the wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessible and safely located, and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the Operator. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his expense, and shall be maintained by him so as to be safe and accessible at all times.

Section 9. All measurements, tests, and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this ordinance shall be determined in accordance with the latest edition of “Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater”, published by the American Public Health Association, and shall be determined by the control manhole provided, or upon suitable samples taken at said control manhole. In the event that no special manhole has been required, the control manhole shall be considered to be the nearest downstream manhole in the public sewer to the point at which the building sewer is connected. Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted methods to reflect the effect of constituents upon the sewage works and to determine the existence of hazards to life, limb, and property. (The particular analyses involved will determine whether a twenty-four (24) hour composite of all outfalls of a premise is appropriate or whether a grab sample or samples should be taken. Normally, but not always, BOD and suspended solids analyses are obtained from twenty-four hour composites of all outfalls whereas PH’s are determined from periodic grab samples.

Section 10. No statement contained in this article shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the Town and industrial concern whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the Town for treatment, subject to payment therefore by the industry.

Article V

POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF INSPECTORS

Section 1. The operator, and other duly authorized employees of the Town bearing proper credentials and identification, shall be permitted to enter all properties at all reasonable times for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, and testing in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance. The Operator or his representatives shall have no authority to inquire into any processes including metallurgical, chemical, oil, refining, ceramic, paper, or other industries beyond that point having a direct bearing on the kind and source of discharge to the sewer or waterways or facilities or waste treatment.

Section 2. The Operator and other duly authorized employees of the Town having proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the Town holds a duly negotiated easement or easement required by eminent domain for the purposes of, but not limited to, inspection, observation, measurements, sampling, repair, and maintenance of any portion of the sewerage works lying within said easement. All entry and subsequent work, if any, on said easement shall be done in full accordance with the terms of the duly negotiated easement pertaining to the private property involved.

Article VI

PENALTIES

Section 1. Any person found to be violating any provision of this ordinance, except article V, shall be served by the Town 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 violations.

Section 2. Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit provided for in Article V Section 1, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be fined in amount not exceeding twenty-five ($25.00) dollars for each violation. Each day thereafter in which such violation exist shall constitute a separate offense subject to an additional fine of ten ($10.00) dollars.

Article VII

VALIDITY

Section 1. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed .

Section 2. The invalidity of any section, clause, sentence, or provision of this ordinance shall not affect the validity of any other part of this ordinance which can be given effect without such invalid part or parts.

Article VIII

ORDINANCE IN FORCE

Section 1. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval, recording as provided by law.

Section 2. This ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the “Jay Sewer and Drain Ordinance”.