HomeMy Public PortalAbout03438SEE 4431 - 7/1/81 O R D I N A N C E NO. 3438
AN ORDINANCE providing revenue for the operation and
general purposes of the Missouri Bottoms Service Area of The
Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District; providing a schedule of
charges effective January 1, 1978, to be collected from all the
real property, whether public or private, served directly or
indirectly by the public sewer systems and facilities of the
Missouri Bottoms Service Area; 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. For the purpose of providing independent
revenue for the Missouri Bottoms Service Area of The Metropolitan
St. Louis Sewer District, which is necessary for the protection
of the public health and safety by controlling and abating the
pollution of the Missouri River by collecting and treating the
sewage flowing in such Missouri Bottoms Service Area of The
Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, acting by and through The
Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer 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 area, whether public or private,
from which sewage is discharged directly or indirectly into a
facility owned or operated by The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer
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District as a part of its sewerage system lying within such
Subdistrict, 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
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 Recorder
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of Deeds for St. Louis County, Missouri, and the beneficial owner
as well.
Section Two. An improved lot or parcel of 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 and lying within the
Missouri Bottoms Service Area, or when 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 Three. Bills for sewer use or service charges shall
be made out by the District for its Missouri Bottoms Service
Area, 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.
However, prior to June 30, 1978, such bill shall be issued
quarterly, in amounts equal to one-half (1/2) of the semi-annual
charges; pursuant to the billing system of the former Missouri
Bottoms Sewer Company. Should there be an overcharge on a bill,
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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 Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District or any
other 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 Four. Said charges shall be made and collected in
accordance with the schedules as hereinafter set forth.
NORMAL SEWAGE
The term "normal sewage" shall be as defined in Ordinance
No. 2289 as adopted May 3, 1972.
Charges for the discharge of normal sewage into a sewerage
system are hereby levied and they shall be collected according to
the following schedules "A" and "B", to wit:
SCHEDULE A
Rate 1. For each single-family residence: A minimum charge of $30.00 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 $25.50 for each six months period per family or
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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
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 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 provision thereof: Commercial, Industrial, Institutional, and Other Service Based upon Quarterly consumption of water used on premises, as follows: First 25,000 cu.ft. of water used at $.62 per 100 cu.ft. Next 10,000 cu.ft. of water used at $.52 per 100 cu.ft. Next 10,000 cu.ft. of water used at $.42 per 100 cu.ft. Next 15,000 cu.ft. of water used at $.30 per 100 cu.ft. All Over 60,000 cu.ft. of water used at $.25 per 100 cu.ft.
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Minimum charge $15.00 Quarterly.
SURCHARGES
Surcharges for the discharge of suspended solids and
biochemical oxygen demand (hereinafter called B.O.D.) exceeding
the normal sewage discharge as defined in Ordinance No. 2289,
adopted May 3, 1972, are hereby levied and they shall be
collected in addition to the normal sewer service charges, as
follows:
1. A surcharge is hereby levied on the person discharging or
responsible for the discharge into the public sewerage system of
suspended solids and B.O.D. exceeding the content of normal
sewage. Such levy shall be Eighty Dollars ($80.00) per dry ton of
excess suspended solids and Eighty Dollars ($80.00) per ton of
excess B.O.D. and shall be adjusted annually based on costs to
the District for removal.
2. The person subject to surcharge is one whose water
consumption is equal to or exceeds fifty thousand cubic feet (500
Ccf) in any six month period and whose average suspended solids
concentration exceeds 350 mg/l and/or whose average B.O.D.
concentration exceeds 300 mg/1.
3. Each person subject to surcharge shall submit to the
District on forms supplied by the District as stated in Ordinance
No. 2289 a certified statement concerning strength and volume of
wastewaters discharged into the sewers or sewer works of the
District or into any sewer connected thereto. The analytical
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data submitted thereby based on Standard Industrial
Classification requirements shall be obtained from samples
collected in accordance with standard accepted procedures from
the manhole or a equate place described in Ordinance No. 2289 at
a time period representative of normal operational conditions and
utilizing accepted analytical procedures.
4. Analytical data reported by the person discharging subject
wastewaters will be considered current for each subsequent
billing period until such data is reported inaccurate and
replaced by updated certified data by said person. The results
of routine scheduled sampling and analyses by the Industrial
Waste Division of the District may be used in lieu of data
reported by said person if such data is found to be not current
or in error.
5. The surcharge, calculated separately for each premise
using wastewater flow proportioned average suspended solids
concentrations and/or average B.O.D. concentration and the
adjusted water consumption figure, shall be determined semi-
annually in accordance with current billing procedures and using
current reported analytical data. Said surcharges shall be
calculated for each semi-annual billing period according to the
following formulas, to wit:
Suspended Solids Semi-Annual Charge = (55-350) x 8.34 x F x 182.5 x 0.95 x 80.00 2000 B.O.D.
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Semi Annual Charge = (B.O.D.- 300)x 8.34 x F x 182.5 x 0.95x80.00 2000 SS =Average concentration of suspended solids in water or waste in milligrams per liter. B.O.D.=Average concentration of 5-day B.O.D. in water or waste in milligrams per liter. 350 = Concentration of total suspended solids in "Normal" sewage in milligrams per liter. 300 =Concentration of 5-day B.O.D. in "Normal" sewage in milligrams per liter. 8.34= Weight in pounds of one gallon of water. F =Average flow of water or waste expressed in million gallons per day. 182.5 = The number of days in each semi-annual period. 0.95= Factor allowance for 95 percent degree of purification. $80.00 =The cost to the District in dollars per dry ton for removal of suspended solids. $80.00 =The cost to the District in dollars per ton for removal of 5-day B.O.D. 2,000 = The number of pounds per ton.
Section Five. 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 Missouri
Bottoms Service Area 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.
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Louis Sewer District, within sixty days of the adoption of this
ordinance, if not presently so registered as required by
Ordinance No. 2411, 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, 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 in sewage,
industrial wastes, water or other liquids either directly or
indirectly into the Missouri Bottoms Service Area sewerage system
such source of water shall be registered with the Executive
Director of The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District within
thirty days.
Section Six. 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
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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 meters at the owner's or interested party's expense
in such manner as to measure the quantity of water 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
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and the wastes.
Section Seven. 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 Eight. 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 Districts and shall
be deposited into the account known as the Operating Fund of the
Missouri Bottoms Service Area and such moneys may be appropriated
and used for the operation and general purposes of the Missouri
Bottoms Service Area.
Section Nine. The Secretary-Treasurer shall establish
collection offices at convenient locations throughout the
Subdistrict, 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
o 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 Subdistrict to the collecting
agency for entering 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.
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Section Ten. 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
reasonable attorney's fee to be fixed by the court.
Section Eleven. The sewer service charge and rates for the
use and services of the sewerage system and facilities within and
for the Missouri Bottoms Service Area 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
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of Deeds within and for St. Louis County. 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 or 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 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 prerequisite to releasing said lien.
Section Twelve. 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
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the sewer connection as the case may be, have been paid.
Section Thirteen. 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
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 Fourteen. 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
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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 for the Subdistrict.
Section Fifteen. 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 Sixteen. This Ordinance shall not be so construed as
to relieve any person, firm or corporation (municipal or
otherwise) from the payment of any sewer service charge which is
due and payable prior to January 1, 1978.
Section Seventeen. This Ordinance shall not be so construed
as to relieve any person, firm or corporation (municipal or
otherwise) from any penalty heretofore incurred prior to January
1, 1978.
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The foregoing Ordinance was adopted January 25, 1978.