The Provincetown Water and Sewer Board held a public
hearing
Sewer Rules and Regulations
REGULATIONS FOR THE CONNECTION OF PROPERTIES TO THE
A
regulation regulating the use of public and private sewers, the installation
and connection of building sewers, and the discharge of waters and wastes into
the public/private sewer system and providing penalties for violations thereof:
in the Town of Provincetown, County of Barnstable, Commonwealth of
Massachusetts.
Be
it ordained and enacted by the Water and Sewer Board of the Town of
The
Water and Sewer Board promulgates these regulations to set uniform regulations
for users of the Town of
These regulations include specific requirements for the control of
Fats, Oil, and Grease (FOG)
including a permitting, inspection
and monitoring program for users.
These requirements are necessary to eliminate the damage that these
materials can cause to components of the wastewater treatment and disposal
facility. (Further information about FOG and guidelines for complying with the FOG
Program have been compiled by the Board of Health in a booklet available free
of charge at
The
regulations are enacted by the Provincetown Water and Sewer Board under
authority of Chapter 157 of the Acts of 2000, An Act Authorizing the Town of
Best Management Practices (BMPs):
are schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures
and other management practices to prevent or reduce the pollution of
waters. Best management practices include procedures and practices
that reduce the discharge of Fats, Oil and Grease (FOG) to the building drain
and to the Wastewater System (Sewer).
Betterment: The proportionate share of
sewer system cost, assessed by the Town to each property which is connected to
the sewer system. This assessment is to
cover the cost of the design and construction of the entire sewer collection,
treatment and disposal system, including building sewers installed by the Town. This betterment will be assessed by the
uniform unit method based on the Board of Health assigned Title 5 flow for each
individual property.
Blue
Property: A parcel shown in blue on
the Service Area map which the Board of Health has determined must connect to
the Sewer upon its availability.
BOD (denoting Biochemical
Oxygen Demand) shall mean the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical
oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory conditions in five (5)
days at 200 C, expressed in milligrams per liter.
Building
Drain:
shall mean the pipe that extends from a user's facilities and connects to the
Building Sewer.
Building
Sewer: shall
mean the extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place
of disposal.
Easement: shall mean an acquired
legal right for the specific use of land owned by others.
Fats, Oils and
Greases (FOG): shall mean organic polar compounds derived from animal and/or plant
sources that contain multiple carbon chain triglyceride molecules. These
substances are detectable and measurable using analytical test procedures
established in 40 CFR 136, as may be amended from time to time. All are
sometimes referred to herein as “grease” or “greases”.
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.
Grease Interceptor: is an inside retention tank
that has a capacity of less than 1,000 gallons.
Any food service establishment with a three bay sink is required to have
a grease interceptor as well as a grease trap.
Grease Trap: is an external, underground
single or multi-compartment tank with a minimum capacity of 1,000 gallons. It is a device for separating and retaining
waterborne fats, oil, greases, and grease complexes prior to the wastewater
exiting the trap and entering the building sewer. Grease Traps shall be located external to the
user’s buildings and be readily accessible for maintenance. All grease traps shall contain a monitoring
system approved by the Water & Sewer Board.
Nonconforming systems must be replaced with conforming devices by
January 1, 2005. These devices also
serve to collect settleable solids, generated by and from food preparation
activities, prior to the water exiting the trap and entering the building
sewer.
Green
Property: A parcel shown in green on the Service Area
map which the Board of Health determined could accommodate a fully compliant
Title 5 system.
Industrial
Wastes: shall
mean the liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing process, trade, or
commercial business as distinct from sanitary sewage.
Licensed Septage Hauler: shall mean a hauler holding a license
currently approved by the Provincetown Board of Health for pumping and hauling
septage or grease as well as approved by the authority where the septage and
grease is being disposed.
Person: shall mean
any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation or
organization.
PH: shall mean the logarithm of the reciprocal of
the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.
Receiving
Property: a parcel of real property allowed by the
Water and Sewer Board, pursuant to its discretion under the second and third
sentences of Section 3 of Chapter 157 of the Acts of 2000, and criteria set out
in these regulations, to be connected to the municipal sewer or to increase its
Title 5 Wastewater Flow above the Title 5 Wastewater Flow allocated by the
Water and Sewer Board for that property as of July 18, 2002, due to
reconstruction, enlargement, alteration or renovation of an existing structure
or expansion, change or alteration of an existing use, whereupon the Water and
Sewer Board shall allocate to the property a new or increased Title 5
Wastewater Flow.
Red
Property: A parcel shown in red on the
Service Area map which the Board of Health determined had a certified Title 5
septic system that was not in failure, but if such a system should fail, the
property is too small to accommodate a Title 5 system in accordance with the
1995 revisions, even with a variance from setback requirements or an innovative
system.
Sanitary
Sewer: shall mean a sewer which carries sewage and
to which storm, surface, and groundwater are not intentionally admitted.
Sending Property: a parcel of real property
connected to the municipal sewer which as to which the Water and Sewer Board
determines that Title 5 Wastewater Flow is reduced, due to demolition,
reconstruction, reduction, alteration or renovation of an existing structure or
reduction, change or alteration of an existing use and as to which the owner
has relinquished, in writing, the Title 5 Wastewater Flow previously allocated
to the property.
Service Area: The Service Area shall mean all properties to
the seaward of a line represented on the map made available at the Provincetown
Board of Health on or before February 1, 2001 and entitled Wastewater Service
Area. All properties in the Service Area
are also identified on a list available from the Board of Health and adopted by
the Selectmen and the Water and Sewer Board of the Town of
Service
Agreement: shall mean the
Service Agreement relating to
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; also referred to as Wastewater.
Sewage Treatment
Plant: shall mean any arrangement of devices and
structures used for treating sewage; also referred to as Wastewater Treatment
Plant.
Sewer: shall mean a pipe or conduit for carrying
sewage.
Sewer
Collection System: shall mean public sanitary sewers and appurtenances, including pump
stations, grinder pumps and valve pits.
Shall: is mandatory; May is permissive.
Suspended
Solids: shall mean solids that either float on the
surface or are in suspension in water, sewage, or liquids, and which are removable
by laboratory filtering using standard laboratory procedures.
Title 5: Title 5 of the State Environmental Code
published at 310 Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR) 15.000 et seq.
Title 5
Wastewater Flow: the sewage flow assigned to each
parcel of real property by the Water and Sewer Board relying on technical input
from the Board of Health as to the design flow for that property calculated in
accordance with 310 CMR 15.203.
Town: as herein referred to shall
mean the Town of Provincetown, Massachusetts.
User: shall mean the party who is
billed, usually for sewer services, from a building(s)sewer User has no
reference to the number of persons served, (also called customer).
User Charge: shall mean the charge paid
by each user to defray, at a minimum, the operating and maintenance cost of the
sewer system. There will be a
supplemental charge for inspection and control of grease traps installed at the
user’s location.
Vendor:
shall
mean entity selected by the Town to provide the services as defined in the
Service Agreement or its designated operation and maintenance
subcontractor.
Water and
Sewer Board: shall
mean the regulatory body having all the statutory powers of sewer commissioners
established by Town Charter and appointed by the Board of Selectmen to oversee
various aspects of the wastewater treatment plant, its collection system or
various appurtenances thereto.
Yellow
Property: A parcel shown in yellow on
the Service Area map which the Board of Health determined could can accommodate
a Title 5 system with an innovative Title 5 system.
A.
The Board of Health has provided the Water and Sewer Board a list and
Service Area map and has designated each property as a Green, Yellow, Red, or
Blue Property.
B.
The Water and Sewer Board shall require a property within the Service
Area identified as a Blue property to connect to the municipal sewer upon its
availability if the owner of said property cannot demonstrate to the
satisfaction of the Board of Health the existence of a Certified Title 5 Septic
System and the owner cannot demonstrate that a septic system in compliance with
310 CMR 15.000 et seq. can be constructed, except that:
1.
Variances to the requirements of setbacks from property lines, cellar
walls and slab foundations, and swimming pools may be allowed for construction
of a replacement system under the conditions stated in 310 CMR 15.410:
Variances Standard of Review, after a public hearing before the Board of
Health.
2. If the property is landward of the Velocity Zone as defined in 310 CMR 15.002 and in excess of 100 feet landward of the historic high water line, the property owner may avail themselves of the provisions for leaching-area reductions afforded any Alternative Septic System having Remedial Use Approval granted by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. In these situations, no reductions in the vertical separation to the high groundwater elevation shall be allowed.
C. Property owners who have issued written requests to the Town to connect to the sewer system and have not issued a written retraction of that request to the Board, by July 18, 2002 shall not be allowed to opt out of participation in the sewer system or payment of the betterment assessed by the Town.
D. Changes in the assigned Title 5 wastewater flow assigned at the time of Betterment assessment for each property may be made only by the Water and Sewer Board, who shall rely on technical input from the Board of Health, upon application for flow change by a property owner to the Board. Change in actual use, licensed use or size of an existing structure or change in water supply to an existing structure since July 18, 2002 shall not be a basis for change in assigned Title 5 wastewater flow. The only consideration shall be whether the Title 5 wastewater flow as of July 18, 2002 was based on correct information and was accurately determined using the proper use category and other factors under Title 5 formulas for calculating wastewater flow.
E. Preliminary Sewer Betterments assessed on August 27, 2002, will remain unchanged until the construction of the sewer system is complete and accepted by the Town and State. At that time, upon request by a property owner, based on an inspection of the Property by the Board of Assessors or Board of Health, the Water and Sewer Board may adjust the betterments based on new or corrected information regarding the Title 5 wastewater flow for the Property, and incorporate such adjustments in the final betterment assessment to be made upon completion of construction which will be reflected in subsequent tax bills. Adjustments will not be made based upon change in use or size of an existing structure or change in water supplied to an existing structure made since July 18, 2002, but only on the basis of new or corrected information as to the facts then existing on which the Title 5 wastewater flow should have been based and the proper application of Title 5 formulas for calculating wastewater flow.
A.
All property owners of land in the Service Area identified by the Board
of Health as a Red, Yellow, or Green Property on the Service Area map were, at
the owner’s option, given the opportunity to connect to the Town’s sewer system
by written notification to the Water and Sewer Board of the owner’s intent to
connect therewith prior to commencement of final design and construction of
said sewer system in compliance with then applicable procedures. The submission of an owner response form to
the Water and Sewer Board indicating that the owner wished to connect created a
contract between the Town and the property owner whereby the property owner
must connect to the sewer and must pay the betterment assessment to be assessed
by the Town.
B.
After commencement of final design, but prior to commencement of
operations of the sewer system, additional connections of properties whose
owners did not opt to connect may be permitted within the Service Area by the
Water and Sewer Board, upon written application by property owners, subject to
anticipated available Sewage Treatment Plant capacity and Sewer Collection
System capacity at that location, as determined by the Water and Sewer Board. If there is such sufficient capacity, the
Water and Sewer Board will give priority to properties identified by the Board
of Health as having priority for connection based on public health factors; for
properties having the same priority based on such factors, priority will be given
in the order of application. The Water
and Sewer Board may require the property owner to pay in advance the cost of
design and construction changes that may be necessitated by such connection or
may add such cost to the property’s sewer betterment assessment.
A.
After commencement of operations of the sewer system, additional
connections shall be permitted within the Service Area by the Water and Sewer
Board, subject to available Sewer Collection System capacity at that location
as determined by said Board and Sewage Treatment Plant capacity as defined by
the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, upon certification by the Board of Health
that:
1.
The on-site subsurface sewage disposal system on land abutting upon a
private or public way in which a common sewer has been laid cannot comply with
the provisions of 310 CMR 15.000, et seq.
2. In the case of new construction, expansion
of an existing structure, a change in use, or increases in flow from land
connected to the public Sanitary Sewer, such expansion, change in use, or
increase in flow does not result in sewage flow in excess of the amount of
Board of Health regulations flow capacity or actual flow resulting from a legal
use of said land, whichever is greater, which existed on July 28, 2000 as
determined by the Board of Health and stated in Section 3 of Chapter 157 of the
Acts of 2000.
B.
After commencement of operations of the sewer system, those owners of
property identified by the Board of Health as a Yellow or Green Property on the
Service Area map abutting upon a private or public way in which a common sewer
has been laid who chose not to connect to the common sewer in Phase I pursuant
to Section 2 of Chapter 157 of the Acts of 2000, and who do not qualify for
connection pursuant to Section 6(A), shall only be permitted to connect to the
common sewer as capacity of the Sewer Collection System and the Sewage
Treatment Plant allows and at the sole discretion of the Water and Sewer Board
upon written application of the owner to the Water and Sewer Board. If there is such sufficient capacity, the
Water and Sewer Board will give priority to properties in the following order:
(a)
properties identified by the Board of Health as having priority for
connection based on public health factors;
(b)
properties designated a Receiving Property based upon the following
criteria:
(i)
the property has an economic development permit awarded by the Board of
Selectmen pursuant to Section 5-15 of the General Bylaws of the Town and has a
Growth Management Allocation Permit under Article 6 of the Zoning Bylaws of the
Town;
(ii)
the property has an affordable housing permit or a community housing
permit issued by the Provincetown Local Housing Partnership and has a Growth
Management Allocation Permit under Article 6 of the Zoning Bylaws of the Town;
(iii)
the property has entered into a covenant with the Water and Sewer Board
whereby the Title 5 Wastewater Flow allocated to that property is reduced,
which covenant may be amended or released by the Water and Sewer Board, upon
approval of said amendment or release by the Board of Selectmen of the Town, if
the Water and Sewer Board and the Selectmen determine that amendment or release
is in the best interest of the Town.
(c)
properties included within the area added to the Service Area by
amendment of the final area of concern on June 8, 2006, provided such amendment
is approved by DEP.
For properties having the same priority based on such factors,
priority will be given in the order of application.
C. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Chapter 157 of the Acts of 2000 or in these regulations, the Water and Sewer Board may at any time permit extensions, new connections or increases in flow to the sewer system, subject to capacity, to serve municipal buildings, public restrooms, laundromats, or, subject to approval of town meeting, other public service uses.
D.
Properties
identified as Red Property by the Board of Health on the Service Area Map shall
be allowed to connect to the common sewer at any time and shall be required to
connect to the common sewer in the following circumstances:
1. prior
to transfer of the property other than by inheritance, devise, mortgage to a
bona fide third party mortgagee unrelated to the property owner, or foreclosure
of such mortgage;
2. thirty
(30) days after written notice from the Water and Sewer Board to the transferee
in the event of transfer by foreclosure auction sale or deed in lieu of
foreclosure of mortgage to such a bona fide mortgagee;
3. issuance of a building permit or, if no
building permit is required, issuance of an occupancy permit for:
(a)
change of use of
all or a substantial portion of the property;
(b)
substantial
extension of use of the property;
(c)
reconstruction,
extension or structural change of a structure on the property;
(d)
alteration of a
structure on the property to provide for its use for a substantially different
purpose or for the same purpose in a substantially different manner or to a
substantially greater extent; or
4. the Board of Health determines that the
septic system serving the property has failed.
The Water and Sewer Board may extend the time for
compliance with the sewer connection requirement based upon factors 1, 2 or 3
above upon application by the property owner and a hearing at which the
property owner may offer proof of hardship that would be caused by connection
prior to the above events and a plan for compliance within a reasonable and
definite time following transfer of the property or issuance of a building or
occupancy permit.
Section 7:
Operations
A.
General Prohibitions
No
unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connection with or opening into,
use, alter or disturb the public sewer or appurtenances thereof without first
obtaining a permit from the Board or the official authorized by the Board to
issue such permits.
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.
No
user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the sewer the following
pollutants, substances, or wastewater:
Pollutants
which create a fire or explosive hazard in the sewer, including, but not
limited to, waste streams with a closed‑cup flashpoint of less than 140o
F (60o C) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21;
Wastewater
having a pH less than 5.0 or more than 8.5, or otherwise causing corrosive
structural damage to the sewer or equipment;
Solid
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,
ground or un-ground garbage, whole blood, manure, hair and fleshings, entrails
and paper dishes, cups, milk containers, or similar items.
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 wastewater treatment facility exceeds
the limits established for such materials;
Petroleum
oil, non‑biodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin, in
amounts that will cause interference or pass through;
Pollutants
which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes within the Sewer
in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems; and
Noxious
or malodorous liquids, gases, solids, or other wastewater which, either singly
or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance
or a hazard to life, or to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance or
repair.
B. Connection to Public Sewer; Abandonment of Septic System.
In
order to ensure the proper and efficient construction and operation of the
Town’s sewer system, the following rules shall apply to the timing of sewer
connections:
1. When a public sewer becomes
connected to a property by means of Vendor installation of a Building Sewer and
Vendor connection of the Building Sewer to the Building Drain the property
owner shall direct sewage flow to the Building Sewer within 60 days of the
Vendor installation and connection or within 60 days of notice published in a
local newspaper and posted at Town Hall that the Sewage Treatment Facility is
ready to accept flow, whichever is later, Owners failing to so direct sewage
flow within 60 days will incur a daily penalty of $50.00 for each day the
failure continues.
2. When a public sewer becomes
connected to a property by means of Vendor installation of a connecting sewer
from the sewer main in the public or private way on which the property fronts,
to the boundary of the way or to the grinder pump or valve pit on the property,
the property owner shall install the Building Drain and the Building Sewer and
connect the Building Sewer to the connecting sewer and direct sewage flow to
the Building Sewer within 60 days of the Vendor installation or within 60 days
of notice published in a local newspaper and posted in Town Hall that the
Sewage Treatment Facility is ready to accept flow, whichever is later. Owners
failing to so connect and so direct sewage flow within 60 days will incur a
daily penalty of $50.00 for each day the failure continues.
3. Certain property owners have
been notified that their property is among those that must be connected to the
Sewer Collection System and be ready to direct sewage flow to the system when
the Sewage Treatment Plant is ready to accept flow. When a public sewer becomes connected to each
of these properties, the owner shall direct sewage flow to the Building Sewer
within 10 days of the date written notice is mailed by first class mail, addressed
to the owner at the address to which Town property tax bills are sent. Owners failing to so direct sewage flow
within 10 days will incur a daily penalty of $50.00 for each day the failure
continues.
4. Property owners have been
notified of the private property preparation work that they must perform to
make their property ready for the installation by the Vendor of a private or
public sewer, grinder pump and/or valve pit on their property. An owner, having
been given at least 30 days prior written notice by first class mail, addressed
to the owner at the address to which Town property tax bills are sent of the
date the Vendor will be performing such installation, must perform such private
property preparation work before the scheduled installation date. Owners failing to perform such work by the
scheduled installation date will incur a penalty of $4,000.00 for the first day
and $50.00 for each day the failure continues.
Property owners shall immediately following
connection to the public sewer abandon any septic tanks, cesspools, and similar
private wastewater disposal facilities serving said property in a manner
approved by the Board of Health. Any abandonment procedure requires a Disposal
Works Permit issued by the Board of Health.
C. Regulations Pertaining
to Cooking Establishments and Other Facilities from which Grease Can be
Expected to be Discharged.
Grease Traps shall be required at all restaurants, nursing homes,
hospitals, or other facilities, as required by the Board of Health. No User shall allow wastewater discharge to
the sewer line leaving the property to exceed 100 milligrams per liter of
grease as determined following standard laboratory procedures. All Grease Traps shall be of a type, design, and capacity specified in 310
CMR 15.230 or as otherwise
approved by the Board of Health. All Grease Traps shall have monitors as
required below. All Grease Traps shall be readily and easily
accessible for User cleaning and Town inspection. All such Grease Traps shall be inspected regularly and shall be cleaned by a
licensed septage hauler prior to the
level of grease reaching 25%
of the effective depth of the trap or
at least twice each year/season, whichever is sooner.
All Grease Traps shall be
equipped with a monitoring device using ultrasonic transducers and an embedded
microprocessor to continuously sense the positions of the floating solids,
bottom solids and the liquid level within the grease trap by January 1,
2005. This information is transmitted to
a control unit located within the building.
The monitors control unit shall be programmed to alert the owner when
the grease level is less than or equal to 22% capacity so that pumping can be
arranged prior to reaching 25% capacity.
The monitor shall also alert emergency conditions prior to tank
failure. Other types of monitors may be
allowed upon approval by the Water & Sewer Board. Prior to the installation of the required
monitors, manual inspections will be conducted at least monthly.
The
User shall maintain a written record, using forms developed by the
Board of Health , of grease trap
and grease interceptor maintenance for
three years and such records must be available for inspection by the
Town at all times. These
written records shall also include documentation of the proper removal of both
yellow and brown grease.
The
Grease Trap shall be installed
on the building drain/sewer that extends from the food preparation and clean up
areas. No sanitary facilities shall be
connected to the Grease Trap.
Access manholes shall be provided over each grease trap inlet and
outlet and sanitary tee. The access manholes shall extend at
least to finished grade and be designed and maintained to prevent water inflow
or infiltration. The manholes shall also have readily removable manhole type
access to facilitate inspection, grease removal, and wastewater sampling
activities.
Users
required to install Grease Traps
are expected to employ best management practices in food preparation and
cleanup. These best management practices
shall assure that fats, oils, and greases are not directly discharged to the
building drain. For example; waste food
or trimmings including fats, oils, and greases shall not be discharged to the
building drain through a garbage grinder, oil from deep fat frying shall not be
discharged to the building sewer, etc.
Should
there be an indication, through either physical inspection or monitoring
results, that grease is entering the sewer system in excess of 100 mg/l, then testing will
be required of the grease trap effluent at the owners expense.
D. Right of Entry for Inspection and Sampling
Duly
authorized employees or agents of the Town bearing proper credentials and
identification shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purposes of
inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, testing, and determining
whether the user is complying with all requirements of these regulations, the
Wastewater Treatment Plant wastewater discharge permit, or any order issued
hereunder. Users shall allow the authorized representative of the Town ready
access to all parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection,
photographing, video recording, sampling, records examination and copying, and
the performance of any additional duties.
E. Sewer Installation/Repair Requirements
No
sewer service or other piping or appurtenances shall be installed or repaired
by anyone without first obtaining a Disposal Work’s Installer’s Permit and a
Disposal Works Construction Permit from the Board of Health. The completed form shall be submitted to the
Board of Health for their approval prior to commencing work on the Provincetown
Sewer System.
The
annual Disposal Works Installer’s Permit is contingent upon observance of Title
V, 310 CMR 15.00, of the Massachusetts Sanitary Code and all other laws and
regulations of the State of
F. Quality Control
Inspection Powers of the Water and Sewer Board
The Board and any duly authorized representative(s) bearing proper identification (“Inspectors”), shall be permitted to enter, at reasonable times, all properties connected with the public sewers for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, review of records, sampling and testing, all in accordance with the provisions of these regulations. They may inquire into any processes, including metallurgical, chemical, oil refining, ceramic, paper, plating, or other industrial activity, that contribute waters, wastes, fats, oils, or grease to the public sewers but shall not order or demand information concerning any patented process or trade secret beyond that necessary to determine the kind, source and amount of sewage discharge from an industrial or commercial user to the public sewer.
Inspectors shall be authorized by the Board to
inspect all construction conducted and materials utilized. Such inspection may
extend to all or any part of the work performed by a property owner and/or his
contractors and to the preparation or manufacture of the materials to be used.
In case of any dispute arising between the property owner and the Inspector as
to materials furnished or the manner of performing the work, the Inspector
shall have the authority to reject material or suspend the work until the
question at issue can be referred to and decided by the Superintendent of the
Department of Public Works. The
Inspector shall not be authorized to revise, alter, enlarge, relax or release
any requirements of these specifications nor to approve or accept any portion
of the work, nor to issue instructions, contrary to the plans and specifications
approved by the Board of Health in issuing a Disposal Works Construction
Permit.
The Inspector shall in no
case act as a foreman or perform other duties for the property owner and/or his
contractors or interfere with the work by the property owner and his
contractors. Any advice, which the Inspector may give the property owner, shall
in no circumstances be construed as binding the Town in any way.
Inspection of the work
Performed by a Property Owner
The property owner shall not bury any pipes or casings
or other appurtenances except in the presence of the Inspector. To this end,
proper notice shall be given the Inspector by the property owner of the time
and place he intends to do the work. Any
work which is done when the Inspector is not present or which is done contrary
to the direction of the Inspector shall be considered unauthorized and shall
not be accepted.
G. Penalties
Any person found to be violating any provision of
these regulations shall be served by the Water and Sewer Board or its agent
with written notice stating the nature of the violation, fines and/or penalties (if applicable) 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. This notice provision shall not apply to a
failure-to-connect violation which is subject to the notice provisions of
section 7 B of these regulations.
Any person who shall continue any violation beyond
the time limit provided for shall incur a penalty in the amount established by
separate regulation by the Water and Sewer Board for each violation. Each day
in which any such violation shall continue shall be deemed a separate
offense. This penalty provision shall
not apply to a failure-to-connect violation which is subject to the penalty
provisions of section 7B of these regulations.
Any person violating any of the provisions of these
regulations shall become liable to the Town for any expense, loss or damage
occasioned the Town by reason of such offense.
Not withstanding any of the foregoing provisions,
the Town may institute any appropriate action including injunction or other
proceeding to prevent, restrain or abate violations hereof. Violation of these regulations may also be
enforced by the non-criminal disposition method as provided in General Laws
Chapter 40, Section 21D and in Section 2-3 of the General By-Laws of the Town.
H. Schedule of Fines:
The following violations relating to grease trap
maintenance have such serious consequences that no warning will be given prior
to the first offense:
1. Failure
to pump at 25% capacity: First Offense
= $100.00 Second Offense =
$1,000.00 Third Offense = $2,000.00. Any further offenses will result in a show
cause hearing conducted by the Water & Sewer Board and/or the Board of
Health to determine whether the offenders food service license should be
revoked.
2. Discharge
of grease into the sewer by failing to install a grease trap or failing to pump
the grease trap as required without damage to the infrastructure: First Offense = $3,000.00 Second Offense = $6,000.00 Third offense = Temporary loss of license until
a show cause hearing is conducted by the Water and Sewer Board and/or the Board
of Health to determine whether the offenders food service license should be
revoked.
3. Discharge
of grease into the sewer by failing to pump the grease trap as required with
damage to the infrastructure: Liability
for all damages and repairs and temporary loss of license until a show cause
hearing is conducted by the Water and Sewer Board and or the Board of Health to
determine whether the offenders food service license should be revoked.
4. Removal,
disconnection or tampering of the monitoring device in any way that causes it
to no longer function as intended:
First Offense = $1,000.00
Second Offense = $2,000.00
Third Offense = Temporary loss of license until a show cause hearing is
conducted by the Water and Sewer Board and/or the Board of Health to determine
whether the offenders food service license should be revoked.
5. Failure
to pay any fine within thirty (30) days will result in the suspension of the
food service license.
I. Demarcation
of Responsibility
Property
owners shall be responsible for all internal plumbing of their properties, and
for the waste pipe leading from their building to the nearest vacuum valve or
grinder pump. Obstructions or pipe
damage between the property and the valve or grinder pump shall be the responsibility
of the property owner to correct and repair by a Board of Health licensed
septic system installer. The wastewater Vendor shall be responsible for the
vacuum valves, the grinder pump, and all piping downstream of such structures.
Any
property owner who contests the property classification or any other
determination made by the Water and Sewer Board pursuant to these regulations
may appeal to the Water and Sewer Board and request a hearing prior to seeking
judicial relief pursuant to Section 5 of Chapter 157 of the Acts of 2000. If the issue in such administrative appeal is
whether the property in question was correctly classified, the Water and Sewer
Board shall request that the Board of Health review the determination made with
respect to such property and report its findings to the Water and Sewer
Board. The Water and Sewer Board shall
have no jurisdiction to determine whether the Board of Health’s classification
was appropriate.
Replumbing by the Property Owner
The
reconfiguration of plumbing inside a building to connect to the Building Drain
and Building Sewer shall be the responsibility of the property owner. The Water and Sewer Board and the Town’s
Vendor will not contract with plumbers to provide such service to property
owners. The Water and Sewer Board will
allow the Town’s Vendor to contract with plumbers to provide services to
homeowners for decommissioning cesspools and septic tanks. Such contracts shall be separate contracts
between the Town’s Vendor and each property owner and are not part of the
contract between the Town’s Vendor and the Town.
A.
Sewer usage fees shall be based upon100 percent of water consumption
figures. The Water and Sewer Board shall
not provide separate metering of water usage and sewer usage and any post-meter
measuring by property owners of water that does not enter the sewer system
shall not be considered by the Water and Sewer Board in calculating sewer usage
fees.
B.
The Water and Sewer Board shall make equitable adjustments to such
sewer usage fees, pursuant to Section 4 of Chapter 157 of the Acts of 2000, to
be paid by owners of property that, after assessment of the betterment
assessment provided for by said Section 4:
1. are designated as a
Receiving Property; or
2 at the time of assessment, in fact had different
characteristics, for example, more bedrooms, than reflected in the records of
the Board of Assessors of the Town and upon which such betterment assessment
was based.
C.
The Water and Sewer Board may
assess a supplemental usage fee to those users required by these regulations to
install Grease Traps. These fees may be based on the cost to
administer the monitoring and inspection program and the number of Grease Traps connected to the wastewater
collection system.
D.
The Water and Sewer Board may, pursuant to its discretion in setting
sewer use charges under G.L. c. 83, §16, grant a credit against
future sewer use charges to a Sending Property in the proportion that the
reduction in Title 5 Wastewater Flow bears to the Title 5 Wastewater Flow on
which the Sending Property’s Betterment was based, said credit to be
apportioned over the remaining period of Betterment apportionment.
E.
The Water and Sewer Board may, pursuant to its discretion in setting
sewer use charges under G.L. c. 83, §16, grant a credit against
future sewer use charges if, without an obligation to do so, a user pays the
entire unpaid balance of the Betterment assessed to a property by April 1,
2006, such credit to be equal to five percent (5%) of said balance.
If any provision of this regulation or the
application thereof is held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction,
the invalidity shall be limited to said provision and the remainder of the
regulation shall remain valid and effective.
Any part of this regulation subsequently invalidated by state law shall
automatically be brought into conformity with the new or amended law and shall
be deemed effective immediately, without recourse to a public hearing.
Chairman
Water
and Sewer Board
Posted:
Town Hall, http://www.provincetowngov.org
March 2, 2007
Published
as Amended:
307745v3/PROVWW/0001