Use of City Sewage Disposal System
[Adopted 6-22-87]
ARTICLE XI
General Provisions
§ 175-67. Definitions and word usage.
As used in this Part 3, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER - The person appointed by he Board of Sewage Disposal Commissioners to administer this Part 3.
BOARD — The Town of Rutland Board of Sewage Systems Commissioners.
BOD (denoting Biochemical Oxygen Demand) — The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five (6) days at twenty degrees Celsius (20°C.), expressed in milligrams per liter.
BUILDING DRAIN — That part of the lowest horizontal piping 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 [one point five (1.5) meters] outside the inner face of the building wall.
BUILDING SEWER — The extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.
COD (denoting "chemical oxygen demand") — The total quantity of oxygen utilized by the wastewater, including the organic (BOD) as shown by standard laboratory testing procedures, expressed in milligrams per liter.
[Added 3-17-1989]
COMBINED SEWER — A sewer receiving both surface runoff and sewage.
GARBAGE — Solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking and dispensing of food and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.
HEALTH OFFICER — The Health Officer of the Town of Rutland or his duly authorized deputy, agent, or representative.
INDUSTRIAL WASTES— The liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing processes, commercial trade or business establishments other than sanitary sewage.Combined industrial waste and sanitary sewage is considered "industrial waste." [Amended 1990]
NATURAL OUTLET — Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or ground water.
PERSON — Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation or group.
pH — The logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions, in grams per liter of solution.
PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE — The wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food 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 [one point twenty-seven (1.27) centimeters] in any dimension.
PUBLIC SEWER — A sewer of the Town of Rutland.
SANITARY SEWAGE — The liquid wastes from normal residential households, including toilet, sink and shower wastes. Included are wastes from industrial, commercial or business uses which contain waste only from toilets and sinks and showers used for human washing and which contain no wastes from the industrial, commercial or business use. [Added 1990]
SANITARY SEWER— A sewer which carries
sewage and to which storm- , surface and ground waters are not intentionally
admitted.
SECRETARY — The Secretary of the Agency of Environmental Conservation, State of Vermont, or his representative.
SEWAGE — 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.
SEWAGE WORKS— All facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage.
SEWER — A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
SLUG — 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-hour concentration or flows during normal operation.
STORM DRAIN- (sometimes termed "storm sewer") — A sewer which carries storm- and surface waters and drainage, but excludes sewage and industrial wastes, other than unpolluted cooling water.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS — 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.
TOXICITY— The inhibiting of the biological growth at the wastewater treatment facility as evidenced by physical and laboratory testing procedures. [Added 3-17-1989]
WATERCOURSE — A channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.
B. As used in this Part 3, "shall" is mandatory and "may" is permissive.
§ 175-68. Use of public sewers required.
The owner of any house, building or property used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purpose, situated within the town and abutting on any street, alley or right-of- way in which there is now located or may in the future be located, a public sanitary or combined sewer, is hereby required at his expense to install suitable toilet facilities therein and to connect such facilities directly with such public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this Part 3, within ninety (90) days after the date of official notice to do so, provided that such public sewer is within one hundred (100) feet of the property line.
ARTICLE XII
Building Sewers and Connections
§ 175-69. Permit required; notification of increased discharge.
No unauthorized person 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 administrative officer. Any person proposing a new discharge into a public sewer or a substantial change in the volume or character of pollutants that are being discharged into a public sewer shall notify the administrative officer at least forty-five (45) days prior to the proposed change or connection.
175-70. Building sewer permit classes. [Amended 3-17-1989]
There shall be two (2) classes of building sewer permits, for residential and commercial service and for service to establishments producing industrial wastes. In either case, 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 administrative officer. A permit and inspection fee for a residential or commercial building sewer permit and for an industrial building sewer permit shall be paid to the town at the time the application is filed. The Board shall from time to time establish such fees. The administrative officer shall not issue a building sewer permit unless there is also in effect a sewer allocation permit under the Town of Rutland Regulations Relating to Allocation of Sewer Capacity, and the term of such building sewer permit shall expire upon expiration of any such sewer allocation permit.
§ 175-70.1. Payment for technical review. [Added 1990]
All cost for the review of industrial pretreatment facilities or other specialized factors which need to be evaluated to ensure the proposed industrial waste discharge meets the requirements of this chapter shall be borne by the owner.
§ 175-71. Costs and expenses; indemnification of town. All costs and expenses incident to the installation, connection and repair 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.
1 Editor's Note: See Part 4. Allocation of Sewer Capacity, of this chapter
§ 175-72. Separate building sewer for each building.
A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every building; except where one (1) building stands at the rear of 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 (1) building sewer.
§ 175-73. Use of old building sewers.
Old building sewers may be used in connection with commencing new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test by the administrative officer, to meet all requirements of this Part 3.
§ 175-74. Specifications. [Amended 1990]
The building sewer shall be PVC sewer pipe, ASTM specification ASTMD3034; cast-iron soil pipe, ASTM specification C13A74-42 or equal; vitrified clay sewer pipe, ASTM specification C1344T or equal; or other suitable material approved by the Administrative Officer. Joints shall be tight and waterproof. Any part of the building sewer that is located within ten (10) feet of a water service pipe shall be constructed of mechanical joint ductile iron pipe, ANSI A21.511 AWWA C151 Class 52. Mechanical joint ductile iron pipe may be required by the Administrative Officer where the building sewer is exposed to damage by tree roots. If installed in filled or unstable ground, the building sewer shall be of cast-iron soil pipe, except that nonmetallic material may be accepted if laid on a suitable concrete bed or cradle as approved by the Administrative Officer.
§ 175-75. Elevation.
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, sanitary sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer. The size and slope of the building sewer shall be subject to the approval of the administrative officer, but in no event shall the diameter be less than four (4) inches. The slope of such four-inch pipe shall be not less than one-eighth 1/8) inch per foot.
§ 175-76. Stormwater runoff.
No person shall make 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.
§ 175-77. Manner of connection. [Amended 1990]
The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall be made at the Y-branch, if such branch is available at a suitable location. If the public sewer is twelve (12) inches in diameter or less, and no properly located Y-branch is available, the owner shall, at his expense, install a Y-branch in the public sewer at the location specified by the Administrative Officer. Where the public sewer is greater than twelve (12) inches in diameter and no properly located Y-branch is available, a neat hole may be cut into the public sewer to receive the building sewer, with entry in the downstream direction at an angle of about forty-five degrees (45°). A forty-five-degree ell may be used to make such connection with the spigot end, cut so as not to extend past the inner surface of the public sewer. The invert of the building sewer at the point of connection shall be at the same or at a higher elevation than the invert of the public sewer. A smooth, neat joint shall be made and the connections made secure and watertight by encasement in concrete with suitable pipe saddle approved by the Administrative Officer.
§ 175-78. Inspection.
The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the Administrative Officer when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. The connection shall be made under the supervision of the Administrative Officer or his representative.
§ 175-79. Protection of excavations; restoration of public property.
All excavations for building sewer installation shall be adequately guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from hazard. Streets, sidewalks, parkways and other public property disturbed in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the town.
§ 175-80. Grading of building sewer.
Whenever possible, the building sewer shall be brought to the building at an elevation below the basement floor. No building sewer shall be laid parallel to or within three (3) feet of any bearing wall, which might thereby be weakened. The depth shall be sufficient to afford protection from frost. The building sewer shall be laid at uniform grade and in straight alignment insofar as possible. Changes in direction shall be made only with properly curved pipe fittings.
§ 175-81. Backwater valves and traps. An approved backwater valve or trap shall be installed, when necessary, as required by the Administrative Officer, at the expense of the owner.
§ 175-82. Standards. [Amended 1990]
The following pipe joint standards are hereby set forth:
A. All joints and connections shall be made gastight and watertight.
B. Sewer pipe joints shall be push-on type, complying to ASTM D3212, using elastomeric gasket designed to prevent slippage during jointing. Gasket lubricant shall be supplied by the pipe manufacturer. Petroleum-based lubricants shall not be used.
C. Mechanical joint ductile iron pipe joints shall meet ANSI A21.11/AWWACIII standards using plain rubber gaskets.
D. Other jointing materials and methods may be used only by approval of the Administrative Officer.
ARTICLE XIII
Use of Public Sewers
§ 175-83. Restricted actions.
No person shall discharge, or cause to be discharged, any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water or unpolluted industrial process waters to any sanitary sewer.
§ 175-84. Storm sewers.
Stormwater and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated as combined sewers or storm sewers or to a natural outlet approved by the administrative officer. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged, on approval of the administrative officer, to a storm sewer, combined sewer or natural outlet.
§ 175-85. Certain wastes not to be discharged.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of 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 waters 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 receiving waters of the city sewage treatment plant.
C. Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than five point zero (5.0) or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and personnel of the city or town sewage works.
D. Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size which is capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers or other interference with the proper operation of the city or town sewage works, such as but not limited to ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, unground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entails and paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc., either whole or ground by garbage grinders.
E. Any waters or waste which would cause the town to be in violation of any valid agreement in effect between the Town of Rutland and the City of Rutland pertaining to usage of the City of Rutland wastewater treatment facility.
F. Any industrial waste which has a five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) in excess of two hundred twenty (220) milligrams per liter, a chemical oxygen demand (COD) in excess of four hundred fifty (450) milligrams per liter or a suspended solids concentration in excess of three hundred (300) milligrams per liter.
[Added 3-17-1989; amended 1990]
§ 175-86. Discharge of certain wastes restricted.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged the following described substances, materials, waters or wastes if it appears likely, in the opinion of the administrative officer, that such wastes can harm either the sewers, sewage treatment process or equipment; have an adverse effect 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 administrative officer 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, the nature of the sewage treatment process, the capacity of the city sewage treatment plant, the 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 degrees Fahrenheit (150° F.) [sixty-five degrees
Celsius (65° C.)].
B. Any water or waste containing fats, wax, grease or oils, hether emulsified or not, in excess of one hundred (100) milligrams per liter or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between thirty-two and one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit (32° and 150° F.) [zero and sixty-five degrees Celsius (0° and 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 [zero point seventy-six (0.76) horsepower metric] or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the administrative officer.
D. Any waters or wastes containing strong acid iron pickling wastes or concentrated plating solutions, whether neutralized or not.
E. Any waters 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 city sewage treatment works exceeds the treatment works permit limits established for such materials.
F. Any waters or wastes containing phenols or other taste- or odor-producing substances, in such concentrations exceeding limits which may be established, after treatment of the composite sewage to meet the requirements of the state, federal or other public agencies or jurisdiction for such discharge to the city treatment works receiving waters.
G. Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by applicable state and federal regulations.
H. Any waters or wastes having a pH in excess of nine point five (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, 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 city sewage treatment works or which may cause the effluent limitations of the city discharge permit to be exceeded.
(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 city sewage treatment processes employed or are amenable to treatment only to such degree that the sewage treatment plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction over discharge to the treatment plant receiving waters.
§ 175-87. Treating wastewater containing restricted wastes.
[Amended 3-17-89]
If any water or wastes are discharged or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in §§ 175-85 or 175·86, the administrative officer may:
A. Reject the wastes;
B. Require pretreatment so that such waters or wastes comply with the provisions of those sections;
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 sewage disposal charges and of analyzing the waste and reviewing pretreatment plans and construction. If the administrative officer permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the plant and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the administrative officer, and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances and laws.
§ 175-88. Grease, oil and sand interceptors.
Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided and maintained by the owner when, in the opinion of the administrative officer, 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 interceptors
shall be of a type and capacity approved by the administrative officer, and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
§ 175-89. Maintenance of pretreatment facilities.
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.
§ 175-90. Monitoring and control manholes.
A. When required by the administrative officer, 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 accessibly and safely located and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the administrative officer. 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.
B. All industries discharging into a public sewer shall perform such monitoring of their discharges as the administrative officer may reasonably require, including installation, use and maintenance of monitoring equipment; keeping records; and reporting the results of such monitoring to the administrative officer. Where industrial pretreatment permits are issued by the State of Vermont, monitoring records must also be submitted to the Secretary in accord with such permit. Records of any other monitoring will be supplied by the administrative officer to the Secretary on request.
§ 175-91. Determining characteristics of wastewaters.
All measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this chapter 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 at 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-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 values are determined from periodic grab samples.
§ 175-92. Terminating disposal authorization of industries in violation.Any industry held in violation of the provisions of this Part 3 may have its disposal authorization terminated.
§ 175-93. Effect on special agreements and arrangements.
No statement contained in this Part 3 shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the town, 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 therefore by the industrial concern.
ARTICLE XIV
Administration
§ 175-94. Tampering with sewage works.
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 sewage works.
§ 175-95. Authority to enter private property and easements.
A. The administrative officer and other duly authorized employees of the town bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing in accordance with the provisions of this Part 3. The administrative officer 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 sewers or waterways or facilities for wastes treatment.
B. The administrative officer and other duly authorized employees of the town bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the town holds a duly negotiated easement for the purposes of, but not limited to, inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, repair and maintenance of any portion of the sewerage works lying within said easement.
§ 175-96. Violations and penalties.
A. Any person found to be violating any provision of this Part 3,except § 175-94, shall be served by the town with a 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.
B. Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit provided for in Subsection A above or shall violate § 175-94 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction thereof, shall be fined in the amount not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.) for each violation. Each week in which any such violation shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense.
C. Any person violating any of the provisions of this Part 3 shall become liable to the town for any expense, loss or damage occasioned by reason of such offense.