Point Arena Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions

This chapter may be cited as the "Point Arena Sewerage Ordinance."

(Ord. 143 § 1.02, 1991; Ord. 160 § 1.02, 1996.)

This chapter shall apply to all sewers and other sewerage facilities both public and private constructed or used in the city of Point Arena and to all persons who use or perform work upon said facilities.

(Ord. 143 § 1.04, 1991; Ord. 160 § 1.04, 1996.)

Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the following terms shall for purposes of this chapter have the meaning indicated as follows:

"Applicant"

means the person applying for sewer service, sewer service connection, or sewer system extension.

"BOD" (denoting biochemical oxygen demand)

means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20 degrees Celsius, expressed in milligrams per liter.

"Building sewer"

means that portion of any sewer beginning at the plumbing or drainage outlet of any building or industrial facility and running to the property line or to a private sewage disposal system.

"Buildings"

means any structure used for human habitation or a place of business, recreation or other purpose containing sanitary facilities.

"City"

means the city of Point Arena, Mendocino County, California, and its authorized representatives.

"City engineer"

means a person under the employment of, under contract with, or designated to represent the city in matters requiring engineering expertise and who is certified by the state of California as a civil engineer.

"City standard specifications (CSS)"

means a set of diagrams and/or written specifications adopted by the city of Point Arena which set forth the city's sewerage system design standards and provide for the governing thereof.

"Combined sewer"

is a sewer receiving both surface run-off and sewage.

"Commissioner"

means the commissioner of public utilities of the city of Point Arena. In the absence of the commissioner, the city council shall designate a person who shall act in the capacity of the commissioner in discharging responsibilities established by this chapter.

"Contractor"

means an individual, firm, corporation, partnership, or association duly licensed by the state of California to perform the type of work to be done under the permit. Contractors must have a city business license to operate within the city.

"Cost"

means the actual or estimated value of materials, equipment rentals, personal services, and other expenses incurred, including taxes, engineering and overhead.

"County health department"

means the department of public health of the county of Mendocino, acting through its administrator.

"Dwelling unit"

means a place of habitation which includes a place to cook or prepare food, a toilet, and sleeping quarters for one person or a small group of persons constituting a family unit.

"Garbage"

means solid wastes from the preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.

"Industrial wastes"

means the liquid wastes from industrial processes as distinct from sanitary sewage.

"Lateral sewer"

means the portion of a sewer lying within a public street or easement connecting a building sewer to the main sewer.

"Main sewer"

means a public sewer designed to accommodate more than one lateral sewer.

"Natural outlet"

means any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body or surface of groundwater.

"Off-site"

means facilities located outside the site covered by the application for sewer service.

"On-site"

means facilities located within the area owned or controlled by the applicant and within streets or easements immediately adjacent to such area.

"Outside sewer"

means a sanitary sewer beyond the limits of the city not subject to the control or jurisdiction of the city.

"Permit"

means any written authorization required pursuant to this or any other regulation of the city for the installation of any sewerage works.

"Person"

means any human being, individual, firm, company, partnership, association, or private or public or municipal corporation, the United States of America, the state of California, districts, and all political subdivisions, governmental agencies and mandataries thereof.

"pH"

means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.

"Plant supervisor"

means the person employed with or under contract with the city of Point Arena certified as a Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator charged with operational responsibilities of the Plant.

"Plumbing code"

means the Uniform Plumbing Code of the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, accepted by the county of Mendocino.

"Plumbing system"

means all plumbing fixtures and traps, of soil, waste, special waste and vent pipes, and all sanitary sewer pipes within a building and extending to the building sewer connection three feet outside the building wall.

"Premises"

means a separate identifiable and transferable lot or parcel of real property, including the improvements, except that portion having well defined boundaries such as walls, fences, or hedges which prevent the common use of the property by all occupants, for the purpose of this chapter, shall be determined separate premises.

"Private sewer"

means a sewer serving an independent sewage disposal system not connected with a public sewer and which accommodates one or more buildings or industries.

"Public sewer"

means a sewer lying within a street or easement and which is controlled by or under the jurisdiction of the city.

"Sanitary sewer"

means a sewer which carries sewage and to which storm, surface, and ground waters are not intentionally admitted.

"Sewage"

means a combination of water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments, together with such ground, surface, and storm waters as may be present.

"Sewage treatment plant"

means any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating sewage.

"Sewer"

means a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.

"Sewerage system"

means all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating, and disposing of sewage.

"Side sewer"

means the sewer line beginning at the foundation wall of any building and terminating at the main sewer and includes the building sewer and lateral sewer together.

"Single-family unit"

is defined to mean and refer to the place of residence for a single family. Property improved for multifamily purposes shall be described in terms of the number of dwelling units that the facilities thereon provide for single-family usage.

"Storm sewer" or "storm drain"

means a sewer which carries storm and surface or ground waters and drainage, but excludes sewage and polluted industrial wastes.

"Street"

means any public highway, road, street, avenue, alley, way, public place, public easement, or right-of-way.

"Suspended solids"

means solids that either float on the surface of or are in suspension in water, sewage, or other liquid, and which are removable by laboratory filtering.

"System extension"

means extension of public sewerage facilities to serve areas to which service is not available from existing sewage collection facilities.

"Trunk sewer"

means a sewer which received flow from several main sewers, and which is designated as a trunk sewer by the plant supervisor.

"Uniform plumbing code."

See "Plumbing code."

"Watercourse"

means a channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently, under natural conditions.

"Shall"

is mandatory; "may" is permissive.

Additional definitions.

For the purposes of this chapter additional terms shall have the meaning indicated in Chapter 1 of the Uniform Plumbing Code of the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, current edition.

(Ord. 143 § 1.05, 1991; Ord. 160 § 1.05, 1996.)

(1) Any violation of any provision of this chapter, including the failure to pay fees, charges or surcharges imposed hereby, or any condition or limitation of a permit or plan approval issued pursuant thereto, may be prosecuted by the city in the name of the people of the state of California, or redressed by civil action.

(2) Each day during which any violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.

(Ord. 143 § 1.06, 1991; Ord. 160 § 1.06, 1996.)

Violation of this chapter is hereby declared to be a misdemeanor. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of the chapter shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or by fine of not more than $500.00, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(Ord. 143 § 1.06(a), 1991; Ord. 160 § 1.06(a), 1996.)

The city may, upon authorization of the city council, sue to recover any amounts due the city under the provisions of this chapter.

Any person who intentionally or negligently violates any provision of this chapter pertaining to the subject matter of either subsections (1) or (2) of this section, or any condition or limitation of a permit or plan approval related thereto shall be civilly liable to the city for each day in which such violation occurs.

(1) The pretreatment of any industrial wastewater which would otherwise be detrimental to the treatment works or its proper and efficient operation and maintenance.

(2) The prevention of the entry of such wastewater into the collecting system and treatment works.

(Ord. 143 § 1.06(b), 1991; Ord. 160 § 1.06(b), 1996.)

(1) The commissioner shall notify any person found to be in violation of this chapter or of any limitation or requirement of a permit issued hereunder before the commissioner and city clerk take any action to implement PAMC 13.05.060 and 13.05.080 and the city clerk shall take no such action until the elapse of 10 days from the date notice is given.

(2) Unless otherwise provided herein, any notice required to be given by the commissioner under this chapter shall be in writing and served in person or by registered or certified mail. If served by mail, the notice shall be sent to the last address known to the city clerk. Where the address is unknown, service may be made upon the owner of record of the property involved.

(3) Notice shall be deemed to have been given at the time of deposit, postage prepaid, in a facility regularly serviced by the United States Postal Service.

(Ord. 143 § 1.06(c), 1991; Ord. 160 § 1.06(c), 1996.)

Any person damaging any sewerage facilities or other city property or violating any of the provisions of this chapter's rules or regulations shall become liable to the city for the expense, loss, or damage occasioned by reason of such damage or such violation.

(Ord. 143 § 1.07, 1991; Ord. 160 § 1.07, 1996.)

It shall be the responsibility of the plant supervisor of the city to conduct the operation of the sewerage system in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and to enforce all its provisions. The commissioner and plant supervisor shall take all actions necessary to carry out the specific requirements and intent of this chapter.

(Ord. 143 § 1.08, 1991; Ord. 160 § 1.08, 1996.)

(1) When any person by reason of special circumstances is of the opinion that any provision of this chapter is unjust or inequitable as applied to his premise, he may make written application to the city stating the special circumstances, citing the provision complained of, and requesting suspension or modification of that provision as applied to his premises. The commissioner and plant supervisor shall reply to the application to the city council, in writing, with an opinion regarding the merit of the requests. The application will then be submitted to the city council for consideration.

(2) If such application be approved, the city council may, by resolution, suspend or modify the provision complained of, as applied to such premises, to be effective as of the date the initial application and continuing during the period of the special circumstances or as specified in the resolution.

(Ord. 143 § 1.09, 1991; Ord. 160 § 1.09, 1996.)

Service will be rendered to premises outside the city boundaries only upon approval of the city council. Service rendered outside the city shall be subject to all rules and regulations applicable to the same service rendered inside the city.

(Ord. 143 § 1.10, 1991; Ord. 160 § 1.10, 1996.)