Needles Municipal Code Art. 17 I Terms And Conditions For The Sale Of Wastewater Collection And Treatment…

The following terms and conditions and any changes authorized by the City Council or law will apply to the sale of wastewater collection and treatment service within the City of Needles under the established rate or rates authorized by the City Council and currently applicable at time of sale. 1. General.

Conditions and any changes required by the City or law, and such applicable rate or rates as may from time to time be authorized by the· City. However, in the case of a customer whose service requirements are of unusual size or characteristics, additional or special rate and contract arrangements may be required. 1.2 These Terms and Conditions shall be considered a part of all of the City wastewater rate schedules, except where specifically changed by written agreement by the city. 1.3 In case of conflict between any provision of a rate schedule and the Terms and Conditions, the provisions of the rate schedule shall apply. 1.4 The failure of the City to insist upon strict performance of any of the provisions in the Terms and Conditions, or to exercise any of the rights or remedies provided in the Terms and Conditions, or any delay in the exercise of any of the rights or remedies, shall not release the Customer from any responsibilities or obligations imposed by Law or by the Terms and Conditions, and shall not be deemed a waiver of any right of the City to insist upon strict performance of the Terms and Conditions.

2. Establishment of service.

A service establishment charge is determined by the cost of services for

residential and nonresidential wastewater collection and treatment service will be assessed each time City is requested to establish, reconnect or reestablish wastewater collection and treatment service to Customer. Billing for the service establishment charge may be rendered as a part of the Customer's first bill.

Installations requiring the City to extend its facilities in order to establish

collection and treatment service will be made in accordance with City's Conditions Governing Extensions of Wastewater Collection and Treatment Services.

3. Rates.

In

addition, City shall notify Customers of any changes of rate schedules affecting those Customers.

of the applicable rate schedule. City will use reasonable care in initially establishing service to the Customer under the most advantageous rate schedule applicable to the Customer. However, City cannot

guarantee that the most economic applicable rate will be applied. City will not make any refunds in any instances where it is determined that Customer would have paid less for service had Customer been billed on an alternate applicable rate or provision of a rate.

4. Billing and Collection.

location for a 12-month period can enroll in the budget bill plan, which spreads out the costs of the utility bill evenly over a 12-month period, customers must be at a zero balance and not on a payment arrangement. Budget bills will settle-up every September, if the customer has used over their budget bill allotment and cannot pay their overage, they will be taken off the budget bill and put on a 12-month long- term payment arrangement, once the payment arrangement is fulfilled the customer can go back on the budget bill the next October. Budget bills will be recalculated every September to the amount the customer has used the year before the budget bill amount will either be higher or lower than the customer was paying the year before. Customers must sign a document of understanding when they enroll in the budget bill plan.

deposit in accordance with Section 2.5 or, at City option, may make acceptable payment arrangements.

City's authorized agents shall have safe access to Customer's

premises at all reasonable hours to install, inspect, operate or maintain the wastewater collection system, and to inspect and determine the connected wastewater facilities and equipment. Neglect or refusal on the part of the Customer to provide such access shall be sufficient cause for discontinuance of service by City, and assurance of access may be required before service is restored.

All-suitable easements and right-of-way required by the City for any portion of the

extension which is on premises owned, leased or otherwise controlled by Customer shall be furnished in City’s name by the Customer without cost to City and in reasonable time to meet proposed service requirements. All easements and right-of-way obtained on behalf of City shall contain such terms and conditions as are acceptable to the City.

6. Service connections.

Customer shall install and maintain all premise connection sewers and the interconnection to the sewer main. Such installations shall comply with requirements of the City's Conditions Governing Extensions of Wastewater Collection and Services.

7. Termination of service.

A Customer requesting termination of wastewater collection and

treatment services must provide the City with at least two working days’ notice and a disconnect date. The Customer shall remain responsible for all service use until two working days after the disconnect notice or the requested disconnect date, whichever is later.

City may without liability for injury or damage discontinue service to any Customer

without notice under any of the following conditions:

a) The existence of an obvious hazard to the health or safety of persons or property. b) Failure of Customer to comply with curtailment procedures imposed by City during a supply shortage. c) Failure of Customer to comply with the terms of any payment amortization agreement or contract. d) City has evidence of unauthorized resale or use of wastewater collection and treatment services. e) The City shall have the right (but not the obligation) to remove any and all of its property.

City shall not be required to restore service until the conditions which resulted

in the termination have been corrected to the satisfaction of the City.

8. Disputed bills and complaints.

A Customer may request a bill inquiry or complaint

investigation by contacting the City’s utilities office. An investigation will be completed by the city, and the Customer will be advised of the investigation's results and any action taken. If the Customer is seeking to set up an extended payment arrangement, the city will attempt to assist by offering an amortized payment schedule and provided the Customer has not defaulted on a previous payment agreement.

If a customer is not satisfied with the

investigation and/or action completed by the City's utilities office, the Customer should elevate the inquiry or complaint to the next level within the City staff, in the order recommended below.

(a) Utility Business Manager or Supervisor (b) Public Utilities General Manager (c) City Manager

A Customer who is not satisfied or believes the staff investigation results

are incorrect or unfair the Needles Board of Public Utilities. The Board will hear only appeals that have not been resolved to the Customer's satisfaction, after the City Manager has finalized his review. A form to request an appeal is available at the utilities office and must be submitted at least two weeks prior to a regularly scheduled Board meeting to ensure placement on the agenda. The Customer is encouraged to be present at the Board hearing, or to have a representative present.

A Customer who remains unsatisfied after appealing their concerns to the

Needles Board of Public Utilities, may appeal to the City Council for final resolution. The City Clerk will assist the Customer with scheduling the appeal. The Customer or his representative must be present at the Council meeting for the appeal to be heard and/or acted upon.

A Customer who has requested an investigation or who is appealing a

determination shall not nave the wastewater collection and treatment service disconnected for nonpayment of the disputed bill. If the Customer is disputing multiple months of billing, payment for one of the months being disputed may be withheld pending determination, but all remaining months being disputed must be paid to avoid being disconnected. for nonpayment. A customer must pay subsequent bills to a disputed bill, to avoid being disconnected for nonpayment.

9. Service use regulations.

No person shall discharge sewerage or

wastewaters into the city’s wastewater treatment facilities or collection system unless a discharge permit has been applied for an issued by the city. No permit shall be issued unless the application for the permit is accompanied with appropriate fees as required by the city.

A customer may request a special use exemption for a prohibited activity. The

request must be in writing and shall be submitted to the public utilities general manager and approved by the Needles board of public utilities. The request must explain why the exemption is being sought, the benefits the customer will receive from such exemption, the approximate amount of waste or wastewater discharged, and the desired time period of the exemption. Approval must be received prior to customer using service for a prohibited activity.

10. Industrial waste and wastewater.

If the customer wishes to make an alteration to pretreatment facilities or the

connection(s) to the City's wastewater collection system, or if customer wishes to discharge additional, or excess of the approved amount of wastes, or wastes of a different nature, type or substance not consistent with the original permit approval, the customer shall submit a letter to the City requesting such approval. The City shall process the request in the same manner as the original application for an Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit and may request the customer reapply for an updated permit prior to any approval.

It shall be a Misdemeanor for any person to discharge

into the City's wastewater treatment and collection system, directly or indirectly, any industrial wastewater which is not approved as to kind and amounts and is discharged without an approved Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit.

Except as set forth in the Terms and Conditions, no industrial waste

shall be discharged to the City’s wastewater treatment plant or collection system unless it conforms to the requirements set forth in Sections 10 and 11. Compliance to requirements shall be based on the mean values obtained from analysis of industrial waste samples representative of the quantity and quality of the discharge to the sewer at the point of entry of industrial waste to the City's collection system, or, if this is not feasible, at other points up the stream of the individual industrial waste discharge. All such samples shall be weighted with the flow at the sampling point to furnish the values weighted with time and quantity for each required chemical constituent. Wherever deemed practical by the City, these industrial wastewater samples may be composited with regard to time and quantity and the analysis made from such composite samples

An Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit may be

revoked when it is found that the discharge is in violation of the provisions of the Terms and Conditions, or the permit requirements. Any person notified of a suspension of the wastewater treatment service and/or the wastewater discharge permit shall immediately stop or eliminate the discharge. In the event of a failure of the person to comply voluntarily with the suspension order, the City shall take steps as deemed necessary, including immediate severance of the sewer connection(s), to prevent and minimize damage to the treatment facilities and collection system, or harm to any individuals. The City may reinstate the Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit and/or the wastewater treatment and collection service upon proof of the elimination of the noncomp1ying discharge. A detailed written statement submitted by the user describing the causes of the harmful contribution and the measures taken to prevent any future occurrence shall be submitted to the city within twenty days of the date of any violation.

Upon the effective date of a federal or state categorical

pretreatment standard for a particular industrial category, the federal or state standard, if more stringent than limitations imposed by the terms and conditions or the Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit shall immediately supersede the limitations imposed by either documents. The City shall notify all affected users of the pretreatment changes and the applicable reporting requirements.

questionnaires, permit applications, permits and monitoring programs and from inspections shall be available to the public or other governmental agencies without restriction unless the customer specifically requests and is able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the City Manager or his authorized representative, that the release of such information would divulge information, processes or methods of production entitled to protection pursuant to state or federal law. When requested by a customer, the portions of a report which might disclose legally protected information shall not be made available upon written request to governmental agencies for uses related to the Terms and Conditions, the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, and/or the pretreatment program; provided, however that such portions of a report shall be available for use by the State or any State agency in judicial review or enforcement proceedings involving the person or corporation furnishing the report. Wastewater constituents and characteristics will not be recognized as confidential information.

All Industrial Wastewater discharges shall be required to pay an Industrial

Wastewater Discharge Permit tee at the time of submittal of application and at the time of renewal.

11. Grease, oil, sand and lint interceptors.

Grease, oil, sand and lint interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the City, they are necessary to the properly collect and treat wastewater containing grease in excessive amounts or other flammable wastes, or sand, lint or other harmful ingredients, except that, such interceptors shall not be required for private single-family residences. Interceptors shall be located in an accessible1ocation for easy cleaning and inspection. Installation and maintenance expense shall be by customer. Maintenance shall be scheduled and completed by customer in a manner that ensures continuous and efficient operation at all times.

12. Vehicle servicing facility requirements.

or industrial or heavy equipment shall install and maintain a sand-and-oil interceptor. The wastewater from bathrooms of such servicing facilities shall not be allowed to pass through the interceptor, but all other wastewater at the facility shall pass through the interceptor before discharging to the City's wastewater collection system.

fluid capacity capable of handling maximum possible flows and sized so that a seven day accumulation of sand and oil together will not fill more than 25% of the fluid capacity. The interceptor shall also be designed to retain any oil or grease which will float and any sand which will settle, as well as be watertight and structurally sound and durable. The interceptor shall be located for easy cleaning and inspection.

interior exterior piping, and the drawing shall include a statement of verification from a civil engineer registered in the State of California that the design meets all the requirements of Section 13 of the Terms and Conditions.

ensures continuous and efficient operation at all times.

interceptor, the City may, at its discretion, either disconnect service to the premise(s) or enter on the customer's premise(s) and do such ' things and expend such sums as may be necessary to abate the problem(s), after providing the customer with a five-day notice of correction. If in the opinion of the City the interceptor problems presents an imminent hazard to the public, the City may either interrupt service or make repairs to the interceptor without notice. Customer shall reimburse the City for any such expenditures required.

13. Customer-owned lift stations.

occupier in a manner that ensures continuous and efficient operation at all times.

station., the City may, at its discretion, either disconnect service to the premise(s) or enter on the customer's premise(s) and do such things and expend such sums as may be necessary to abate the problem(s), after providing the customer with a five-day notice of correction. If in the opinion of the city

the lift station problems present an imminent hazard to the public, the City may either interrupt service or make repairs to the lift station without notice. Customer shall reimburse the City for any such expenditures required.

14. Disposal of wastes from permitted waste haulers.

are properly licensed and permitted for septage waste hauling by the appropriate regulatory agency(ies) and the City of Needles. Disposal of septage shall be restricted to only pumpings from residential and commercial septage systems in non-sewered areas within fifteen miles of the City of Needles and within the State of California.

treatment facility or collection system, or residential or commercial septage system waste without a valid City of Needles Septage· Discharge Permit and a completed and authorized Septage Discharge Manifest.

the City wastewater treatment facility or collection system. Interceptor pumpings shall be disposed of at approved landfills or other facilities established for such waste treatment.

collection system. Such wastes shall be disposed of at approved waste treatment facilities.

operating hours Monday-Friday, and on an after-hours basis, when practical. No septage system pumpings shall be discharged into the City's treatment facility or collection system without an approved and accepted Septic Discharge Manifest. All discharges into the wastewater system shall be supervised by an authorized City employee.

categories for disposal of septage from within the City limits; outside the City limits and for after-hour disposal services. Such fees shall be established by the City Council, after recommendation by the Board of Public Utilities.

15. Ion-exchange treating devices.

City, or to solicit an owner or occupant of property in the City to purchase or rent such a unit, or to install a softener with provision for on-site regeneration except where the purchaser or renter holds a valid permit from the City for such installations. The penalties for making such a sale, rental or installation includes the requirement that the party remove the illegally installed unit, and that the vendors business license be suspended.

facilities for on-the-premise regeneration which was in service on March I, 1994, is required to have been registered with the City within ninety days after said date. A duly registered device may be continued in use; provided, however, that no · more than one hundred fifty pounds of salt per month are used m regenerating such device. This provision does not extend to the enlargement or replacement of such device or its transfer to another property. Any enlargement, replacement or transfer shall be considered as a new installation.

exchange water treating device in the City if such device does not qualify for registration under Section 15.3: A permit may be granted only if none of the regenerating chemicals will be discharged to the City wastewater collection and treatment facility, storm channel, and/or the earth.

an ion-exchange water treating device shall apply to the City and shall submit information to support claims that the proposed operation will conform to the qualifications of Section 15.4, and such other information as may be requested. If the City finds that the information furnished by the applicant is sufficient to show that the operation meets the qualifications of Section 15.4, a permit shall be issued. The permit shall state the conditions that the applicant must meet and may include a requirement that the applicant submit periodic reports to the City. The required frequency of the reports and the contents thereof shall be as determined by the City. The permit may also include a requirement that the applicant install facilities for convenient sampling of the wastewater stream.

the requirements of Section 15.

16. Curtailment.

When the availability of service is restricted and a reduction of service is required to maintain the integrity of part or the total wastewater collection and treatment system, the Customer will be notified by the city to reduce or terminate use of service. Such notifications may be made by mail, phone, or in-person. The city will curtail service on a proportionate basis, where possible. Customers, who refuse or do not comply with curtailment requirements, may be terminated by the city. A service re-establishment charge of $200.00 will be assessed for a first time violation, $500.00 for second violation, and'$1000.00 for a third violation. A customer who violates curtailment requirements more than three times may not be allowed to reestablish service.

17. Successors and assigns.

Agreements for service shall be binding upon and for the benefit of the successors and assigns of Customer and City, but no assignments by Customer shall be effective until Customer's assignee agrees in writing to be bound and until such assignment is accepted in writing by the city.

18. Warranty.

There are no understandings, agreements, representations or warranties, expressed or implied (including warranties regarding merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose), not specified herein concerning the sale and delivery of wastewater treatment and collection services by the City to the Customer. These Terms and Conditions state the entire obligation of the City in connection with such services.