Yreka Municipal Code Ch. 12.20 Mandatory Sewer Connections

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5. For statutory provisions authorizing mandatory sewer connections and declaring other means of sewage disposal to be a nuisance, see Gov. C.A. § 54352.

Except as used in the Uniform Plumbing Code, heretofore adopted by the city, as used and for the purpose of this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section, unless it shall be apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended:

(1) "Public sewer" means any main line sewer constructed in any street, highway, alley, place or right-of-way dedicated for public use. Such term shall not include sewer laterals or house connection sewers;

(2) "Cesspool" means an excavation in the ground which receives discharge from any sanitary plumbing facility;

(3) "House connection sewer" means that portion of the horizontal sewer piping which extends from the building or structure to the property line of the public right-of-way or easement;

(4) "Industrial liquid waste" means any waterborne waste, except domestic sewage;

(5) "Sewer lateral" means that portion of the horizontal sewer piping within the public right-of-way which extends from the public sewer to the street property line or limit of public right-of-way or easement;

(6) "Health officer" means the health officer of the city and includes his authorized deputies or representatives;

(7) "Building inspector" means the building inspector of the city and shall include his authorized deputies or representatives;

(8) "Septic tank' means a watertight receptacle which receives the discharge of a drainage system, designed and constructed so as to retain solids, digest organic matter through a period of detention, and to discharge liquids into the soil outside of the tank through a system of open joint piping.

(Ord. 405 § 1, 1967).

All plumbing receiving waste discharge, which is connected to a private disposal system on May 20, 1967 or on the effective day of the annexation of the territory where such plumbing is located, shall be connected to a public sewer within nine months after May 20, 1967 or effective date of annexation.

(Ord. 405 § 2, 1967).

If no sewer lateral exists between the public sewer and the property line of the property to be served, a sewer lateral will be installed by the city upon approval of the required application to the office of the city engineer. The applicant shall, at the time application is made, pay to the city the sum of five dollars per lineal foot of four-inch vetrified clay lateral, or five and one-half dollars per lineal foot of six-inch vetrified clay lateral, whichever dimension is required by the city engineer. Such application and payment shall be made at the same time that application is made for a building permit in cases of new structures or remodeling work, and no building permit shall be issued until such application and payment have been received and approved by the city engineer's office. The city will install all sewer laterals except where a public sewer is located in any right-of-way where open trenching is prohibited, either by the city or any other agency having jurisdiction over such right-of-way, in which case the applicant for. the sewer lateral shall obtain a permit from the city engineer for the installation of the lateral by a licensed contractor of the applicant's choice under the terms and conditions designated by the city engineer and payment of the deposit required by the city engineer to cover inspection or staking costs.

(Ord. 405 § 3, 1967).

The city manager is authorized to grant revocable variances from the strict application of Section 12.20.020 when all of the following conditions exist:

(1) When, in the opinion of the health officer of the city, a private sewerage disposal system would be adequate and safe for the disposal of the waste discharge from the building or structure and would not constitute a menace to the public health; and

(2) When the city manager finds, that because of special circumstances applicable to the building or structure, including its size, shape, location, surroundings and typography of the property upon which it is located, the strict application of Section 12.20.020 would constitute an undue hardship upon the owner of the property.

(Ord. 405 § 4, 1967)

Any person denied a variance pursuant to Section 12.20.040 by virtue of the failure of the city manager to find the facts required by Section 12.20.040(2) may, within five days after notice of the determination of the city manager, appeal the denial thereof to the council of the city by filing with the city clerk a written request for a review of the decision of the city manager and stating facts supporting such a request. The city clerk shall place the matter upon the council's agenda and the council shall, within thirty days after such filing, affirm, modify or reverse the decision of the city manager insofar as the required findings are concerned.

(Ord. 405 § 5, 1967)

Any variance from the strict application of this chapter granted pursuant to Section 12.20.040, shall be revoked by the city manager upon receipt by him of notice from the health officer of the city that the private sewerage disposal system constructed in lieu of the compliance with Section 12.20.020 constitutes a menace to public health.

(Ord. 405 § 6, 1967).

The building inspector, before issuing any permit required by Section 12.20,030, shall require a written application to be made and filed, in which application shall be set forth the following:

(1) The name and address of the person making such application;

(2) The location and description in detail of the work to be done and the facilities to be used or maintained; and

(3) Any other information deemed necessary by the building inspector to determine whether the proposed work or use complies with the provisions of this chapter and other ordinances of the city regulating the construction of sewerage disposal systems on private property.

(Ord. 405 § 7, 1967).

Before issuing any permit under this chapter the building inspector shall require the applicant to furnish a report prepared by a registered, practicing civil engineer. This report may be required to include such soil tests, percolation tests, geological data and design of a sewerage disposal system, based on such data, which indicates that adequate capacity and percolation or leaching system is provided.

(Ord. 405 § 8, 1967).

Upon receipt of a written application, payment of all the required fees and approval of such application as provided for herein, the building inspector shall issue a written permit to construct or put into use such private disposal facilities.

(Ord. 405 § 9, 1967).

Whenever a power is granted to or duty imposed upon the building inspector under this chapter, such power may be exercised or the duty may be performed by a deputy or an authorized representative designated by the building inspector, unless expressly provided otherwise by this chapter.

(Ord. 405 § 10, 1967)

No person, firm or corporation shall discharge, or cause to be discharged, any of the following described waste liquids, vapors, oils or solids into any public sewer:

(1) Any liquids or vapor having a temperature greater than one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit;

(2) Any waste containing gasoline, benzene, naphtha, petroleum oils or any other volatile, inflammable or explosive gas, liquid or solid;

(3) Any waste which contains more than one hundred parts per million by weight of fat, oil or grease;

(4) Any sand, grit, straw, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastic, wood, manure, dead animals, offal, or any other solid or viscous substance capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers, or which in any way interferes with the proper operation of the sewerage collection, disposal or treatment system;

(5) Any garbage which has not been properly shredded;

(6) Any waste containing a toxic or poisonous substance in sufficient quantities to constitute a hazard to humans or animals, or to create a hazard in the sewerage disposal system or the sewage treatment plant, or to injure or interfere with the sewage treatment process;

(7) Any waste containing suspended solids of such character or quantity. that unusual attention or expense is required to handle such material at the sewage treatment plant;

(8) Any noxious or malodorous gas or substance capable of or creating a public nuisance;

(9) Any liquid waste having a pH lower than six or higher than eight, or having a corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures or equipment of the sewage system or the treatment plant;

(10) Any cesspool or septic tank drainage, except as provided for by this chapter.

(Ord. 405 § 11, 1967).

Whenever any plumbing in any structure is not connected to a public sewer, and the owner of such structure does not have a valid variance from the terms of the strict application of Section 12.20.020, the health officer may, or if ordered by the council of the city shall, serve written notice upon the owner of such property to connect all plumbing to the public sewer. If such owner, after thirty days, has refused, neglected, or otherwise failed to connect such plumbing, together with all toilets, sinks, and the other plumbing therein, properly vented and in a sanitary manner, to the nearest available public sewer, the city may construct the same, and the person, firm or corporation doing the work at the request of the health officer shall have a lien upon the real property for his work done and materials furnished, and such work done and materials furnished shall be held to have been done and furnished at the instance of such owner or reputed owner, or person claiming or having any interest therein. The city may pay all persons who furnished labor, materials, or equipment for the same, and, to the extent that the city pays the cost or price of the connection, it shall succeed to and have all the rights, including the lien provided for above, of such person or persons, against the real estate and against the owner thereof.

As an alternative power to the enforcement of the lien provided for in this section, the city council may, by order entered upon its minutes, declare that the amount of the costs of such work and the administrative expenses incurred by the city incident to the proceedings, together with other charges uniformly applicable within the jurisdiction of the city council for the connection of the premises to the public sewer, shall be transmitted to the assessor and tax collector of the city, whereupon it shall be the duty of those officers to add the amount of the assessment to the next regular bill for taxes levied against the lot or parcel of land.

Wherever herein reference is made to the assessor or tax collector of the city, the same means and includes also the assessor and tax collector of the county of Siskiyou, if then authorized to assess taxes and collect the same on behalf of the city.

(Ord. 405 § 12, 1967).