HomeMy Public PortalAbout02411 O R D I N A N C E NO. 2411
AN ORDINANCE repealing Ordinance No. 486 and enacting a
new ordinance in lieu thereof on the same subject; providing
revenue for the operation and general purposes of The Metropolitan
St. Louis Sewer District; providing a schedule of charges
effective July 1, 1973, to be collected from all the real
property, whether public or private, served directly or indirectly
by the public sewer systems of the District; prescribing the
manner in which and time at which such charges are to be paid;
providing for the collection and enforcement of collection of such
charges and providing penalties for violations hereof.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE
METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT:
Section One. Ordinance No. 486, as adopted December
22, 1960, is hereby repealed effective July 1, 1973, and a new
ordinance in lieu thereof hereby enacted, also effective July 1,
1973, without, however, altering or extinguishing the legal
relationships established by such ordinance or the procedure for
enforcement thereof provided in such ordinance.
Section Two. For the protection of the public health
and safety, and for the purposes of providing adequate sanitary
sewerage facilities and reasonably regulating the use thereof, the
District shall collect a charge or annual charges in one or more
installments according to the schedule or schedules hereinafter
provided on all improved real property within or outside the
District, whether public or private, from which sewage is
discharged directly or indirectly into a facility owned or
operated by the District as a part of its sewerage system, or
which is capable of being efficiently served by such facility.
Charges against public property shall be paid as provided in
Section 3.020 (16) of the Plan of The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer
District.
Sewerage services shall be deemed to be furnished
jointly and severally to the occupant or occupants, the owner or
owners of the premises and the person or persons holding a permit
for water service, or who is liable for water service, hereinafter
called the water meter registrant or registrants, and to the
premises themselves. The owner or owners, occupant or occupants
and water meter registrant or registrants are all regarded as
users of the sewer service, and are all hereby declared to be the
users thereof. The sewer service charge or charges shall be
billed to the person or persons holding a permit for water
service, or who is liable for water service as the case may be on
each parcel of real property above mentioned. Such charge or
charges shall constitute a personal obligation of the occupant or
occupants, the owner or owners of the premises, and the person or
persons holding the permit for water service or who is liable for
water service, hereinafter called the water meter registrant or
registrants, and shall as well constitute a lien against the
property, as hereinafter provided.
The term "owner" or "owners" is hereby defined as
meaning both the owner or owners of record in the office of the
respective Recorders of Deeds for the City of St. Louis or County,
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Missouri, and the beneficial owner as well.
Section Three. An improved lot or parcel or real
property, whether public or private, shall be deemed to be served
within the meaning of this ordinance when it has an active sewer
connection, either directly or indirectly, with a sanitary sewer
facility owned or operated by the District or when such facility
is situated within 150 feet of such real property, is of adequate
capacity, and is at a proper elevation to serve such real
property. Additionally, if such lot or parcel of real property
otherwise discharges sewage, industrial wastes, water, or other
liquids or solids directly or indirectly into such public systems
and facilities, or if the discharge of such substances therefrom
ultimately enters said systems and facilities, such lot or parcel
shall be deemed served.
Section Four. Bills for sewer use or service charges
shall be made out by the District, may be issued each six months
by cycle, or a bill for the six month period from January 1
through June 30 may be issued in January, February, March, April,
May or June, and the bill for the six month period from July 1
through December 31 may be issued in July, August, September,
October, November or December. Should there be an overcharge on a
bill, the Executive Director or Secretary-Treasurer is hereby
authorized to refund the amount of such overcharge.
For the District's convenience, such charges may be
combined with those of the Mississippi River Subdistrict, the
Coldwater Creek Trunk Subdistrict, Subdistrict No. 150 (Sugar
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Creek) or any other such subdistrict or district, and billed
together with those of such subdistrict or district as further set
forth in this or other ordinances. Upon receipt of payment for
such combined billing, it may be deposited at one time and in one
account, and then administratively separated into the proper funds
and accounts.
Section Five. Said charges shall be made and collected
in accordance with the following schedules:
SCHEDULE A
Rate 1. For each single-family residence: A minimum charge of $2.00 for each six months period, whether or not the water supply is metered. A single family residence as used herein is defined as premises used as a dwelling by one family only. Rate 2.For each family unit of a multifamily building or structure: A charge of $1.50 for each six months period per family or dwelling unit, whether or not the water supply is metered. A multifamily building or structure as used herein is defined as a dwelling under one roof for occupancy by more than one family, including but not limited to flats, apartments and the like.
PROVIDED: The District shall have the power to enter on
any premises for the purposes of examining the use made of its
sewerage facilities, the number and kind of plumbing fixtures
connected with such facilities, and the number of persons served
by such facilities. When such examination gives reason to believe
that the consumption of water on premises places a burden on the
sewerage system in excess of that which is placed by other
premises in the same sewer service charge rate classification,
then the Executive Director shall require measurement of the
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sewage discharged from the premises at the expense of the owner or
occupant by a water meter or meters or by a sewage flow meter or
meters. If such measurement shows that the sewage flow is
excessive, sewer service charges for such premises shall be
computed at SCHEDULE B rates.
SCHEDULE B
For all premises not included in Schedule A, or
specifically excluded therefrom by provisions thereof: WATER CONSUMPTION RATE EACH SIX MONTHS PREVIOUS SIX MONTHS PER 100 CUBIC FEET Minimum charge $2.00 First 500 ccf $0.025 Next 2,000 ccf 0.020 Next 7,500 ccf 0.015 Next 90,000 ccf 0.010 All over 100,000 ccf 0.005
Section Six. In the event a lot, parcel of land,
building or premise discharging sewage, industrial waste, water or
other liquids, either directly or indirectly into The Metropolitan
St. Louis Sewer District sewerage system, or which ultimately
enters the sewerage system, is supplied either in whole or in part
with water from wells or any source other than a Public Water
Supplier then such wells or other source of supply shall be
registered with the Executive Director of The Metropolitan St.
Louis Sewer District, within sixty days of the adoption of this
ordinance, if not presently so registered as required by Ordinance
No. 486, and if the supply is not measured by a water meter, or is
measured by a water meter not acceptable to the Executive
Director, then in such case, the owner or other interested party,
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at his own expense shall install and maintain water meters meeting
the standards of meters used by City of St. Louis Water Division
or St. Louis County Water Company and otherwise satisfactory to
the Executive Director on all supplies, and the quantity of water
used to determine the sewerage service charge shall be the
quantity as measured by the single meter or the sum of the
quantities measured by the several meters.
Whenever a new well or other source of water than a
public water supply shall be put into use after the effective date
of this ordinance by any parcel of land discharging sewage,
industrial wastes, water or other liquids either directly or
indirectly into The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District sewerage
system such source of water shall be registered with the Executive
Director of The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District within
thirty days.
Section Seven. Where it can be shown to the
satisfaction of the Executive Director that a portion of the water
as measured by the water meter or meters does not enter the
sewerage system, then and in that event the Executive Director is
hereby authorized to determine, in such manner and by such method
as he may deem practicable, the percentage of the water measured
by the meter which enters the sewerage system and facilities. In
such case, the charges and rates shall be based upon the
percentage of the metered water so determined by the Executive
Director. The Executive Director may require or shall permit the
installation of additional as to measure the quantity of water
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actually entering the sewerage system from the premises of such
owner or interested party, and the quantity of water used to
determine the sewer service charge shall be the quantity of water
actually entering the sewerage system and facilities as so
determined.
Applications from industries or businesses or any other
metered account, requesting consideration for a reduction in the
sewer service charge, because of water not entering the sewerage
system and facilities, shall be made to the Executive Director of
The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, in writing, giving name
of account, firm, industry or business, the address, the
particular water department or account number, the water meter
number or numbers, and supporting data for requesting reduction of
the charge, together with a sketch to approximate scale showing
the plan of the property, water distribution, sewer layout, the
existing meters and proposed meters in the scheme to determine the
quantity of flow entering or not entering the sewerage system and
facilities. This should be supplemented with a flow diagram to
indicate the destination of the water supply and the wastes.
Section Eight. It shall be unlawful for any person,
firm or corporation to furnish any false reports or information to
The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District which would tend to
reduce said sewer service charge.
Section Nine. The funds received from the collection
of said charges shall be deposited daily as received by the
Secretary-Treasurer of The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District,
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and shall be deposited into the District's General Fund, and such
moneys may be appropriated and used for the operation and general
purposes of the District.
Section Ten. The Secretary-Treasurer shall establish
collection offices at convenient locations throughout the
District, and may change the location of such collection offices
from time to time. He is hereby authorized to enter into
contracts with the owners or operators of business establishments
to provide collection service of sewer service charges at such
locations as are selected by him and may provide in such contracts
for the payment by the District to the collecting agency for
rendering such collection services a fee, in no event to exceed
three cents per bill for each bill collected and remitted to the
District. Such contracts shall provide that the collection agency
shall, at intervals in no case longer than one week, remit all
collections to the District.
Section Eleven. If the charges provided hereinabove are
not paid within fifteen (15) days after the date any bill therefor
is rendered, then an additional delayed payment charge equal to
fifteen percent (15%) of the amount of the bill rendered is hereby
imposed and shall be a lien on the real property and shall be
collected along with said basic charges.
The District shall have the power to sue the owner or
owners, the occupant or occupants, and the water meter registrant
or registrants, jointly or severally, in a civil action to recover
delinquent charges plus interest from date bill rendered, plus a
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reasonable attorney's fee to be fixed by the court.
Section Twelve. The sewer service charge and rates for
the use and services of the sewerage system shall constitute a
lien upon the real property for which the sewerage services are
supplied and charged on the date a bill therefor is rendered.
Whenever a sewer service charge or any portion thereof
is unpaid after thirty days from the date the bill for the basic
charges was rendered, then the amount overdue may be collected by
either or both of two procedures: (a)by suit or other proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction; and (b) by enforcement of the lien provided herein.
The Secretary-Treasurer may cause a notice of lien for non-payment
of such charges to be filed in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds
within and for the City of St. Louis or St. Louis County, as the
case may be. Such notice of lien shall state the amount of the
delinquent sewer service charges and shall adequately describe the
property against which such lien is asserted.
If the Secretary-Treasurer so directs, a copy of such
notice may be mailed to the reputed owner of the land charged and
the filing of such notice in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds
may be deferred as a matter of grace for not more than fifteen
days from the mailing date. Such lien upon the real property
served shall have priority over all other liens including taxes,
deeds of trust whether of record or not, and prior judgments.
Such unpaid charges shall also bear interest at the
rate of six percentum (6%) per annum from the date the said unpaid
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charge became delinquent, including such charge for delayed
payment.
After such notice or notices of lien is filed of
record, the fees of the Recorder for filing and releasing said
lien shall also be payable to the District as a pre-requisite to
releasing said lien.
Section Thirteen. Where any sewer service charge has
not been paid and has been delinquent for a period of six months
The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District shall have the right to
order the water supply to be shut off for the premises for which
the sewer service charge is delinquent or to remove or close any
sewer connections, or both, until payment of the delinquent sewer
service charge together with the reasonable costs involved in
shutting off and turning on the water or closing and reopening the
sewer connection as the case may be, have been paid.
Section Fourteen. Where any sewer service charge has
not been paid and has been delinquent for more than fifteen days
after the bill therefor is rendered, then the Executive Director
may refuse to the owner of the premises or the person receiving
the sewer services a permit to connect any other real property
belonging to him to the District's storm or sanitary sewers; or
may refuse to have a review made of any plans submitted by or in
behalf of such person, firm or corporation, as required by other
District ordinances; or refuse to contract for any purpose with or
accept sewage from any such person, firm or corporation.
Any funds owed by the District to any person, firm or
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corporation for any reason may be used by the District as a set-
off against any sewer service charge owed by that person, firm or
corporation to the District, whether delinquent or not.
The overpayment by any person, firm or corporation of
any charges made by the District, whether for sewer service, plan
review or any similar or other charge shall be available to and
may be used by the District as a set-off of any unpaid and
delinquent sewer service charge against such person, firm or
corporation.
Section Fifteen. Any person violating any of the
provisions of this Ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not
less than $50.00 nor more than $500.00, and each day's violation
shall constitute a separate offense. The imposition of such
penalty shall in no wise restrict or deprive the District of its
right to pursue any other remedy it may have for the collection of
any delinquent bill for sewer service charges.
Section Sixteen. The Board of Trustees hereby
declares that if any section, part, sentence or clause of this
Ordinance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the
remainder of this Ordinance, the Board of Trustees hereby
declaring that it would have enacted the remainder of this
Ordinance without regard to that part hereof that may be held
invalid.
Section Seventeen. This Ordinance shall not be so
construed as to relieve any person, firm or corporation (municipal
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or otherwise) from the payment of any sewer service charge which
is due and payable under the provisions of Ordinance No. 138 or of
Ordinance No. 486, nor to bar the collection of same by any and
all of the means provided for in Ordinance No. 138 or in Ordinance
No. 486.
Section Eighteen. This Ordinance shall not be so
construed as to relieve any person, firm or corporation (municipal
or otherwise) from any penalty heretofore incurred by the
violation of Ordinance No. 138 or of Ordinance No. 486, nor to bar
the prosecution of any such violation in the manner provided
therein. The foregoing Ordinance was adopted March 26, 1973.