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HomeMy Public PortalAbout07536 O R D I N A N C E NO. 7536 AN ORDINANCE, amending Ordinance No. 7450, adopted May 11, 1988, by repealing Sections One, Three, Eight, Nine and Eleven and Appendix 1, and enacting in lieu thereof new Sections One, Three, Eight, Nine and Eleven and a new Appendix 1, reducing the Capital Charge in the Fee Fee Trunk Sewer Subdistrict, and providing for late payment charges and liens for non-payment of Sewer Service Charges, with an emergency clause. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT: Section A. Sections One, Three, Eight, Nine and Eleven and Appendix 1 of Ordinance No. 7450, adopted May 11, 1988, are hereby repealed, and five new Sections and a new Appendix enacted in lieu thereof to read as follows: Section One. Definitions of Words and Terms. In addition to words and terms defined elsewhere in this Ordinance, the following words and terms as used in this Ordinance shall have the following meanings, unless some other meaning is plainly intended: "Application" means the filing of a request by the Owner of Residential Property for a change in the basis of billing for the Sewer Service Charge including, if applicable, the Stormwater Service Charge. "Biochemical Oxygen Demand" or "BOD" means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter in 5 days as determined by Standard Methods and expressed in milligrams per liter. "Board" means the Board of Trustees of the District. "Capital Charge" means that portion of the total charges for services provided by the District which is levied for debt retirement, construction or reconstruction of the Sewerage System, and any other lawful purpose of the District or its subdistricts and not considered part of the Wastewater User Charge or Stormwater Service Charge. 2 "Chemical Oxygen Demand" or "COD" means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the chemical oxidation of organic and inorganic matter as determined by Standard Methods and expressed in milligrams per liter. "District" means The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District. "Drainage Facility" means any system of artificially constructed drains, including open channels and separate stormwater sewers used to convey stormwater, surface water or groundwater, either continuously or intermittently to natural watercourses. "Extra Strength Surcharges" means the extra strength surcharges imposed by Section 3(2)(C) of this Ordinance. "Monitoring Costs" means the Schedule of Monitoring Costs referred to in Section 5 of this Ordinance. "Multi-unit Residence" means Residential Property which consists of a dwelling under one roof for occupancy by more than one family, including but not limited to, flats, apartments, condominiums, and the like. "Non-residential Property" means all property other than Residential Property. "Normal Wastewater" means waters or wastes having (a) a 5-day Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) not greater than 300 milligrams per liter; (b) containing not more than 350 milligrams per liter Suspended Solids (SS); and (c) having a Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) not greater than 600 milligrams per liter. "Ordinance" means this Ordinance of the District as from time to time amended. "Owner" or Owners" means both the owner or owners of record of Property in the office of the respective Recorders of Deeds for the City of St. Louis or for St. Louis County, Missouri, and the beneficial owner as well. "Person" means any individual, firm, proprietorship, partnership, company, municipality, association, society, corporation, group or other entity. "Pollutant" means any material or substance, toxic or otherwise, discharged to the System which either singularly or in combination with other materials or substances interferes with, disrupts or inhibits the System's operations, or is not in compliance with specific prohibitions or standards developed by federal, state or local governments, or passes through the System in a 3 concentration which violates established effluent regulations or water quality standards. "Property" means an improved lot or parcel of real property, whether public or private, which is served by the System. "Residential Property" means Property used only for human residency. "Served" means Property with an active sewer connection, either directly or indirectly, to a sanitary or drainage facility owned or operated by the District and lying within the District, or to Property which otherwise discharges Wastewater directly or indirectly into such facilities, or if the discharge of such substances therefrom ultimately enters said facilities. "Sewer Service Charges" means all charges imposed for services of the District pursuant to this Ordinance. "Sewerage" means a comprehensive term which includes facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of wastewater. "System" means the entire sewer and drainage system owned and operated by the District for the collection, storage, handling and treatment of Wastewater, for the collection, storage, handling and treatment of Stormwater, and combined sewers for the collection, storage, treatment and handling of Wastewater and Stormwater to serve the needs of the District and its inhabitants and others, including all appurtenances and facilities connected therewith or relating thereto, together with all extensions, improvements, additions and enlargements thereto hereafter made or acquired by the District. "Sewer Use Ordinance" means Ordinance No. 4786 of the District, adopted August 11, 1982, as from time to time amended. "Single Unit Residence" means Residential Property used as a dwelling by one family only. "Standard Methods" means the latest edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater" as published jointly by The American Public Health Association, The American Water Works Association, and The Water Pollution Control Federation. "Stormwater" means any water or drainage resulting from precipitation which may or may not be mixed with an accumulation of dirt, soil, and other debris or substances collected from the surfaces on which such precipitation falls 4 or flows. "Stormwater Service Charge" means the charges imposed by Section 4 of this Ordinance. "Suspended Solids" or "SS" means solids that either float on the surface of, or are suspended in water, Wastewater, or other liquids; as determined by analysis for nonfilterable residue, in accordance with Standard Methods and expressed in milligrams per liter. "Unit" means the portion of a Multi-unit Residence occupied by one family. "User" means the occupant, or Owner of the Property, the Person holding a permit for water service to the Property, or any Person Served by the System. "Wastewater" means the water-borne wastes emanating from Residential property or Non-residential property, together with such groundwater, surface water or Stormwater as cannot be avoided. "Wastewater User Charge" means the applicable charges imposed by Section 3 of this Ordinance, which consists of that portion of the Sewer Service Charges of the District which are levied in a proportional and adequate manner to pay the cost of operation and maintenance (including replacement) of the Wastewater facilities of the District in accordance with the requirements of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Section Three. Sewer Service Charges. (1) Residential Property. (A) Wastewater User Charges are hereby levied and shall be collected from all Residential Property according to Schedule A as set forth in Appendix 1. Such Wastewater User Charges shall be in addition to any applicable Capital Charges. (B) Capital Charges are hereby levied and shall be collected from all Residential Property in the Fee Fee Trunk Sewer Subdistrict according to Schedule A as set forth in Appendix 1. Any moneys collected from the Capital Charge imposed in the Fee Fee Trunk Sewer Subdistrict which are not required by the provisions of Ordinance No. 3388 of the District to be deposited in the Sewer Operation and Maintenance Account, the Sewer Revenue Bond Account, the Sewer Depreciation Account, the Sewer Revenue Bond Reserve Account or the Sewer Contingent Account are hereby directed by order of the Board of Trustees to be allocated to and 5 deposited in the Sewer Revenue Bond Redemption Account. Moneys in said account shall be expended only for the redemption of sewer revenue bonds prior to maturity, according to the terms thereof, or for the purchase of such bonds in the open market at not more than par and accrued interest for non-callable bonds, or at not more than the next effective call price for callable bonds. (C) The District shall have the power to enter on any Residential Property for the purposes of examining the use made of its System, the number and kind of plumbing fixtures connected with such System, and the number of Persons Served by such System. When such examination gives reason to believe that the usage of water on such Residential Property places a burden on the System in excess of that which is placed by other Residential Property then the Wastewater discharged from such Residential Property shall be measured, at the expense of the User, by a water meter or meters or by a sewage flow meter or meters. If such measurement shows that the flow of Wastewater is excessive, Sewer Service Charges for such Residential Property shall be levied and collected according to Schedule B as set forth in Appendix 1. (D) A Residential Property user who currently has, or will install at his expense with the approval of the appropriate public water supplier, a water meter or meters or a sewage flow meter or meters, may make Application requesting that Sewer Service Charges for such Residential Property User be levied and collected according to Schedule B as set forth in Appendix 1. Applications shall be in writing on forms provided by the District. A Residential Property User electing to be charged Sewer Service Charges according to Schedule B shall never again be charged according to Schedule A until and unless there is a new Owner who may make Application to the District for a return to billing under Schedule A. All Residential property Users electing to be charged for Sewer Service Charges according to Schedule B shall also be subject to Extra Strength Surcharges as set forth in Section 3(2)(C), if applicable. (2) Non-residential Property. (A) Wastewater User Charges are hereby levied and shall be collected from all Non-Residential Property according to Schedule B as set forth in Appendix 1. Such charges shall be calculated separately for each premise using the adjusted water consumption figure which shall be determined in accordance with current billing procedures and using the most current available data. Such Wastewater User Charges shall be in addition to any applicable Capital Charges. 6 (B) Capital Charges are hereby levied and shall be collected from all Non-residential Property in the Fee Fee Trunk Sewer Subdistrict according to Schedule B as set forth in Appendix 1. Any moneys collected from the Capital Charge imposed in the Fee Fee Trunk Sewer Subdistrict which are not required by the provisions of Ordinance No. 3388 of the District to be deposited in the Sewer Operation and Maintenance Account, the Sewer Revenue Bond Account, the Sewer Depreciation Account, the Sewer Revenue Bond Reserve Account or the Sewer Contingent Account are hereby directed by order of the Board of Trustees to be allocated to and deposited in the Sewer Revenue Bond Redemption Account. Moneys in said account shall be expended only for the redemption of sewer revenue bonds prior to maturity, according to the terms thereof, or for the purchase of such bonds in the open market at not more than par and accrued interest for non-callable bonds, or at not more than the next effective call price for callable bonds. (C) Extra Strength Surcharges for the treatment of wastes containing Suspended Solids, Biochemical Oxygen Demand or Chemical Oxygen Demand exceeding Normal Wastewater are hereby ratified and levied at the rates established in Appendix 1, and they shall be collected in addition to the charges imposed by Subsection (A) hereof. (i) A User shall be subject to Extra Strength Surcharges in any month if that User's water usage in such month equals or exceeds eight thousand cubic feet. (ii) Each User subject to Extra Strength Surcharges shall submit to the District on forms supplied by the District pursuant to the Sewer Use Ordinance, a certified statement setting forth the strength and volume of Wastewater discharged by the User into the System or into any sewer connected thereto. The data set forth in such statement shall be obtained from samples collected in accordance with standard accepted procedures from the manhole or adequate place as described in the Sewer Use Ordinance at a time period representative of normal operational conditions and analyzed utilizing accepted analytical procedures. (iii) Analytical data reported by the User discharging such Wastewater will be considered current for each subsequent billing period until such data is reported inaccurate and replaced by updated certified data by said User. The results of routine scheduled sampling and analyses by the District may be used in lieu of data reported by said User if such data is found to be not current or in error. An Extra Strength Surcharge shall be collected from any User 7 subject to Extra Strength Surcharges as provided in (i) above for the discharge into the System of Suspended Solids (SS) whose average concentration exceeds 350 milligrams per liter or Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) whose average concentration exceeds 300 milligrams per liter, with said Extra Strength Surcharge calculated for each billing period according to the following formula, to-wit: Extra Strength Surcharge = 0.00624 x V x [(SS-350) x RSS + (BOD-300) x RBOD] 2000 Where the BOD/COD ratio of a User's Wastewater is equal to or less than 0.35, generally indicating that the BOD measurement may not be considered representative of the User's actual Wastewater strength, the District may substitute COD measurements and the Extra Strength Surcharge will be calculated for each billing period according to the following formula, to wit: Extra Strength Surcharge = 0.00624 x V x [(SS-350) x RSS + (COD-600) x RCOD] 2000 In the above formulas the following terms shall mean: 350 = Concentration of total Suspended Solids in Normal Wastewater in milligrams per liter. 300 = Concentration of total BOD in Normal Wastewater in milligrams per liter. 600 = Concentration of total COD in Normal Wastewater in milligrams per liter. 0.00624 = Conversion factor for milligrams per liter to pounds per hundred cubic feet. V = Volume of water usage or Wastewater discharged expressed in hundred cubic feet. RSS = Unit charge for SS in dollars per ton. RBOD = Unit charge for BOD in dollars per ton. RCOD = Unit charge for COD in dollars per ton. 2,000 = The number of pounds per ton. All Extra Strength Surcharges shall be calculated separately for each Property using the Wastewater flow proportioned average strength concentration for each strength parameter and the water usage data for the billing period. 8 (D) In the event Non-residential Property 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 Director of Finance of the District, and if the supply is not measured by a water meter, or is measured by a water meter not acceptable to the District, then in such case, the User, at his own expense shall: install and maintain water meters on all sources meeting the standards of meters used by the City of St. Louis Water Division or the St. Louis County Water Company and otherwise satisfactory to the District, or (ii) provide a meter or such other means of measuring the quantity of water actually entering the System from the Property of such User as shall be approved in writing by the Director of Finance of the District. The quantity of water used to determine the Sewer 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 supplier or source of water other than a public water supplier shall be put into use by Non-residential Property, such source of water shall be registered with the Director of Finance of the District within thirty days. (E) Where it can be shown to the satisfaction of the District that a portion of the water as measured by the water meter or meters does not enter the System, then the District is hereby authorized to determine, in such manner and by such method as may be practicable, the percentage of the water measured by the meter which enters the System. In such case, Sewer Service Charges shall be based upon the percentage of the metered water entering the System. Additional meters may be required or permitted at the User's expense in such manner as to measure the quantity of water actually entering the System for the Property of such User, and the quantity of water used to determine the Sewer Service Charge shall be the quantity of water actually entering the System as so determined. Applications requesting consideration for a reduction in the Sewer Service Charge, because of water not entering the System, shall be made to the Director of Finance of the District, on forms provided by the District. Section Eight. Charge for Late Payments. If any Sewer Service Charges billed are not paid by the due date indicated on any bill rendered, then an additional late payment charge equal to one and one-half percent (1-1/2%) per month of the amount of the bill rendered is hereby imposed for each month or portion thereof the bill remains unpaid beyond the due date and shall be a lien on the Property and shall be collected along with the Sewer Service Charges. 9 Section Nine. Sewer Service Charges a Lien. The Sewer Service Charges shall constitute a lien upon the Property Served by the System on the date a bill therefore is rendered. The Director of Administration of the District 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, St. Louis County, or such other counties in which Property Served by the System is located, 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. A copy of such notice of lien shall be mailed to the reputed Owner of the Property 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. Section Eleven. Remedies. Whenever a charge is unpaid after ninety days from the date the bill for such 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 District shall have the power to sue any User, jointly or severally, in a civil action to recover delinquent charges plus the late payment charge and interest on the delinquent bill, plus a reasonable attorney's fee to be fixed by the court. Any funds owed by the District to any Person for any reason may be used by the District as a set-off against any charges owed by the Person to the District, whether delinquent or not. The overpayment by any Person of any charges made by the District, shall be available and may be used by the District as a set-off of any unpaid or delinquent charges against such Person. A Credit Committee is hereby established to monitor credit and collection activities and policies of the District. Said Credit Committee shall be comprised of the Directors of Administration and Finance, the Assistant General Counsel, and the Secretary-Treasurer of the District. 10 APPENDIX 1 SEWER SERVICE CHARGES Wastewater Stormwater Capital User Charge Service Charge* Charge** RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY (per month) Schedule A Single Unit $4.18 $ 0.24 $0.73 Multi-unit (per unit) $3.15 $ 0.18 $0.55 NON-RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY (per month) Schedule B (All Users other than Residential) Base Charge $4.40 $ 0.24 $0.73 Volume Charge All Volume $0.29/100 $0.06/100 cu.ft. cu. ft. Extra strength sanitary surcharges if water usage equals or exceeds 8000 cubic feet per month: Suspended Solids (SS) over 350mg/liter (milligrams per liter) $88.40/ton Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) over 300 mg/liter (milligrams per liter) $47.60/ton Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) over 600 mg/liter (milligrams per liter) $23.80/ton *In the areas where the District operates and maintains stormwater drainage facilities. **In the Fee Fee Trunk Sewer Subdistrict. Section B. The Extra Strength Surcharges, Capital Charges, and Sewer Service Charges as specified in this Ordinance are essential for the operation of the District, and their orderly 11 implementation must be effected without delay, thus creating an emergency within the meaning of the Plan. Accordingly, this Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its enactment. The foregoing Ordinance was adopted August 24, 1988.