HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Sanitary Sewer Utility Surcharge ORDINANCE NO. 3526
AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF
AMES, IOWA, BY REPEALING SECTION 28.302 AND SUBSECTIONS
28.304(4)THROUGH 28.304(7),28.306(4), 28.306(5), 28.307(3)AND 28.307(8),
READOPTING THE SAME REVISED FOR THE PURPOSES OF CHANGING
CERTAIN RATES AND REGULATIONS PERTAINING TO THE CITY
SANITARY SEWER UTILITY; REPEALING ANY AND ALL ORDINANCES
OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT TO THE EXTENT OF SUCH
CONFLICT; PROVIDING A PENALTY; AND ESTABLISHING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ENACTED,by the City Council for the City of Ames, Iowa,that:
Section One. The Municipal Code of the City of Ames, Iowa shall be and the same is hereby amended by
repealing Section 28.302 and Subsections 28.304(4)through 28.304(7), 28.306(4), 28.306(5), 28.307(3), and 28.37(8),
and readopting the same to state as follows:
"Sec.28.302. DEFINITIONS.
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this ordinance
shall be as follows:
(1) 'CBOD,' (denoting 5-day Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand) shall mean the
quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory
procedure in five days at 20°C, expressed in milligrams per liter(mg/L).
(2) 'NH,' or 'NH;N' (denoting Ammonia) shall mean that portion of nitrogen in the form
of ammonia which is determined by standard laboratory procedure for analysis of ammonia nitrogen,
expressed in milligrams per liter(mg/L).
(3) `TKN' (denoting Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen)shall mean that portion of nitrogen which is
the sum of ammonia and organic nitrogen in the form of proteins or intermediate decomposition
products as determined by standard laboratory procedures for Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen, expressed in
milligrams per liter(mg/L).
(4) `COD' (denoting Chemical Oxygen Demand) shall mean the oxygen equivalent of the
organic matter content of a sample that is susceptible to oxidation by a strong chemical oxidant as
determined by standard laboratory procedures for COD, expressed in milligrams per liter(mg/L).
(5) 'Normal Domestic Wastewater' shall mean, for the purposes of surcharge program
implementation, wastewater that has constituent concentrations at or below the values shown in the
following table, expressed in milligrams per liter(mg/L).
Maximum Normal Domestic Wastewater Concentrations
Constituent Concentration. ma/L
CBOD,or COD 250
TSS 300
NH3 N or TKN 40
(6) 'Operation and Maintenance' shall mean those functions that result in expenditures
during the useful life of the treatment works for materials, labor,utilities, and other items which are
necessary for managing and for which such works were designed and constructed. The term 'operation
and maintenance' includes replacement as defined in(8).
(7) 'POTW' shall mean publicly-owned treatment works.
(8) 'Replacement' shall mean expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment,
accessories, or appurtenances which are necessary during the useful life of the treatment works to
maintain the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed.
(9) 'Residential User' shall mean any contributor to the City's treatment works whose lot,
parcel or real estate, or building is used for domestic dwelling purposes only.
(10) 'Shall' is mandatory; 'May' is permissive.
(11) 'TSS' (denoting Total Suspended Solids)shall mean 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, as expressed in milligrams per liter(mg/L).
(12) `Composite Sample'shall mean a time-based or flow-proportional sample (as determined
by the Water and Pollution Control Department staff)that is representative of a user's typical work day
discharge during a 24-hour period.
(13) `BiosoGds'shall mean treated and stabilized solids,semi-solid, or liquid residue generated
during the treatment of domestic wastewater at the POTW.
(14) 'Treatment Works' shall mean any devices and systems for the collection, storage,
treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal sewage, domestic sewage, or liquid industrial
wastes. These include intercepting sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, pumping,
power,and other equipment and their appurtenances; extensions, improvement, remodeling, additions
and alterations thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable recycled supply such as standby
treatment units and clear well facilities; and any works, including site acquisition of the land that will
be an integral part of the treatment process or is used for ultimate disposal of residues resulting from
such treatment(including land for composting biosolids, temporary storage of such compost, and land
used for the storage of treated wastewater in land treatment systems before land application); or any
other method or system for preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating, or disposing
of municipal waste or industrial waste.
(15) 'Useful Life' shall mean the estimated period during which a treatment works will be
operated.
(16) 'User Charge' shall mean that portion of the total wastewater service charge which is
levied in a proportional and adequate manner for the cost of operation, maintenance, and replacement
of a designated part of the wastewater treatment works.
(17) 'Water Meter' shall mean a water volume measuring and recording device.
Sec. 28.304.
(4) For those users whose wastewater has a greater strength than maximum normal domestic
wastewater, a surcharge in addition to the normal user charge will be collected. The surcharge for
operation and maintenance, including replacement, is:
Surcharge per
Parameter Extra-Strength Rate mg/L of Extra Strength
CBOD,or COD $0.20/lb $0.00125/100 cf
TSS $0.35/lb $0.00219/100 cf
NH,or TKN $0.70/lb $0.00437/100 cf
(5) (a) The City shall determine which users have wastewater discharges with strengths
greater than maximum normal domestic wastewater. All costs associated with surcharge sampling or
evaluation will be assessed to the user. Based upon this initial determination, the City shall notify the
user of the surcharge rate to be charged each month during the next six months or until the next time
the surcharge rate is calculated.
(b) Any user so identified by the City shall provide for the analysis of at least three
successive composite samples for each discharge point. The samples shall be analyzed for pH, CBOD,
(or COD), TSS, and TKN(or NH,). The user may request that the city laboratory staff provide this
service at cost. Samples taken for facilities with less than two years of historical data containing
surcharge parameter analyses must be collected in as close a time frame as possible. Samples collected
for other purposes, containing the required information, may be used. When requested by the user,
on a case-by-case basis, the City may allow the use of a single composite sample for the purpose of
determining a monthly surcharge rate.
(c) Any user may have more samples analyzed than required. The additional data may
be used to modify or revise the surcharge rate as appropriate;however, the surcharge rate will not be
revised more frequently than once every six months unless significant process changes have occurred.
All costs for the additional sampling shall be the responsibility of the user.
(d) All sample collection and analytical work shall be done by competent individuals
or firms regularly involved in wastewater collection and analysis. All samples and analyses shall
comply with the procedures specified in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (hereinafter referred to as
CFR) 136. Any data sets which do not meet this requirement shall be rejected.
(6) Any user who discharges any toxic pollutants which cause an increase in the cost of
managing the effluent or the biosolids from the City's treatment works, or any user which discharges
any substance which singly or by interaction with other substances causes identifiable increases in the
cost of operation, maintenance, or replacement of the treatment work, shall pay for such increased
costs. The charge to each such user shall be as determined by the Director of the Water and Pollution
Control Department.
(7) The City will review the user charge system at least every three years and revise user
charge rates as necessary to ensure that the system generates adequate revenues to pay the costs of
operation and maintenance including replacement and that the system continues to provide for the
proportional distribution of operation and maintenance including replacement costs among users.
The City will notify each user at least annually, in conjunction with a regular bill, of the rate
being charged for operation and maintenance including replacement of the treatment works.
Sec.28.306.
(4) Any wastewater containing anything in liquid, solid or vapor form, in sufficient quantity,
either singly or in combination, to inhibit or interfere with any wastewater treatment or biosolids
disposal process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create toxic gases,vapors or fumes that
may cause acute worker health and/or safety problems, create a toxic effect in the receiving stream,
or by "pass through" exceed any standard set by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources or the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
(5) Any substance which either singly or in combination is sufficient to create a public
nuisance or hazard to life or interferes with the possible reclamation or reuse of the wastewater or
biosolids.
Sec. 28.307
(3) Any industrial, commercial or other utility customer which discharges any wastewater,
industrial waste or other waste to the municipal sanitary sewer system shall comply with all regulations
or requirements of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and/or the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. Where regulations have not been set by those agencies, the Director of Water and
Pollution Control shall establish pretreatment requirements to obtain the following objectives:
(a) To prevent the introduction of pollutants which will interfere with the treatment
plant operation or contaminate the resulting biosolids;
(b) To prevent the introduction of pollutants which will pass through the system,
inadequately treated,into the receiving waters or the atmosphere or otherwise be incompatible with the
system; and
(c) To improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewaters and biosolids from
the system.
(8) Failure to meet the standards and requirements of this section or of section 28.306 shall
be a municipal infraction punishable by a penalty of up to $1,000 for the first and each subsequent
violation. Each occurrence of prohibited discharge is a violation. The Director of the Water and
Pollution Control Department shall be the City Manager's designee to administer and enforce the provi-
sions of Sec. 28.306 and 28.307, which shall include the authority to conduct related inspections,
surveillance and monitoring; and to terminate city sewer service for non-compliance with the City
Code."
Section Two. Violation of the provisions of this ordinance shall be a municipal infraction punishable by a fine of
$1,000 for the first and each repeat violation.
Section Three. Any and all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent
of such conflict, if any.
Section Four. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication as required
by law.
Passed this 22nd day of June 1999.
Diane R. Voss, City Clerk Ted Tedesco, Mayor
0537.ord
rev.505