Sec. 110-106. - Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning, these definitions also apply to rules and regulations, agreements and contracts:

Application means the written instrument by which a developer or a customer applies for sewer service of any sort.

Approving authority means the board of county commissioners or its designated representative.

Board of review means the members of the board of county commissioners or its designated committee.

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

C means Celsius.

COD (chemical oxygen demand) means a measure of the oxygen-consuming capacity of inorganic and organic matter present in water or wastewater under standard laboratory procedures, expressed in milligrams per liter.

Connection charge means the charge established by the county for making the actual physical connection to the sewage disposal system.

Construction connection charge means a charge, payable to the county, for a developer's utilization of oversized facilities paid for by other parties, including the county.

Construction cost means the cost to a developer, less the county's oversizing costs, if any, described in this article, for the design and construction of all facilities as required to serve the developer's property and to connect to the county's sanitary sewer system.

Consulting engineer means the engineer or engineering firm or corporation responsible for professional engineering services provided for an assignment.

Control manhole means a structure that is accessible for the purpose of maintaining a building sewer. A control manhole may be used as an inspection chamber.

Cooling water means the water discharge from any system of condensation, air conditioning, cooling, refrigeration or other sources. It shall contain no polluting substances which would produce BOD or SS each in excess of ten parts per million by weight or toxic substances as limited in this Code or other polluting substances which may be limited in this article.

Customer or consumer means any person furnished sewage disposal service by the county. Retail customers shall refer to the owner of the property served.

Developer means any person developing a property for resale, rental or lease, at or to which sewage disposal service is to be rendered by the county, and who shall have the legal right to negotiate for such service; where applicable, any person applying for the extension of sewers or force mains in order to serve a certain property.

Director means the public works and utilities director of the county.

Domestic sewage or sanitary sewage means sewage derived principally from dwellings, business buildings, industries, institutions and the like originating as wastes from kitchens, water closets, lavatories, bathrooms and showers.

Domestic user means any user of sewage treatment facilities not classified as an industrial user.

Effluent means sewage, water or other liquid, after some degree of treatment, flowing out of any treatment device or facilities.

Force main means a pressure sewer pipeline for the transmission of sewage. Such pipe cannot receive sewage, except under pressure by pumping.

Frontage means the actual width, normally expressed in feet, of a property in respect to a street or avenue but without relation to the front, side or rear of any structure located on the property along which the proposed sewer or force main is installed. For a corner lot, frontage is calculated as the longer of the sides involved. For irregular shaped lots or acreage, frontage will be calculated by taking the square root of the number of square feet of property involved.

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

Grease or fat means any material which is extractable from an acidified sample of a waste by hexane or other designated solvent.

Ground garbage means solid wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that has been shredded or comminuted to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely in suspension in public sewers, with no particle greater than one-half inch in any dimension.

Guarantee deposit means the amount placed with the county by each customer as security for payment of the sewer bill.

Hauler means any person engaged in transportation or conveyance of liquid wastes to a sewage treatment plant for disposal.

Impact fee means a charge for the proposed usage of the county's facilities, based on the average daily sewage flow in gallons per day, paid by a developer or a customer for utilizing portions of the county's sanitary sewer system held in a special fund to be utilized in accordance with regulations adopted by the county establishing such fees.

Industrial cost recovery means recovery by the grantee of the grant amount allocatable to the treatment or transmission of wastes from industrial users of a treatment works.

Industrial user means any user of the publicly owned treatment works identified in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, as amended and supplemented, including but not limited to the following divisions:

(1)

Division A: agriculture, forestry and fishing.

(2)

Division B: mining.

(3)

Division D: manufacturing.

(4)

Division E: transportation, communications, electric, gas and sanitary service.

(5)

Division I: services.

A user in the division listed may be excluded if it is determined that it will introduce primarily segregated domestic waste or wastes from sanitary conveniences.

Industrial waste means any liquid, solid or gaseous substance of form or energy or combination thereof resulting from any process of industrial, commercial, governmental and institutional concerns, manufacturing, business, trade or research, including the development, recovery or processing of natural resources, or from sources identified in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, as amended.

Influent means sewage, raw or partly treated, flowing into any sewage treatment device, pumping station or related facilities.

Inspection chamber means an accessible structure through which sewage from a building sewer flows and from which samples of sewage may be collected for the purpose of being tested.

Interceptor means a large-size gravity flow sewer main for the transmission of sewage, which has been designed to receive sewage from one or more collecting sewers or pumping stations.

Laboratory determination means the measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes in accordance with 40 CFR 136 pertaining to guidelines establishing test procedures for the analysis of pollutants. These methods are contained in the latest edition of three publications:

(1)

Standard Methods of Examination of Water and Wastewater, a joint publication of the American Public Health Association, the American Water Works Association and the Water Pollution Control Federation;

(2)

ASTM, which means Annual Book of Standards, Part 23, Water Atmospheric Analysis, 1972, a publication of the American Society for Testing Materials; and

(3)

EPA Methods, which means Methods for Chemical Analysis of Water and Wastes, a publication of the Environmental Protection Agency;

or in accordance with any other equivalent methods prescribed by the director.

Lateral sewer line means a branch sewer line connected to the main sewer line. A lateral sewer is normally eight inches in size or larger.

Main sewer line means the major gravity sewer line in any specific development to which one or more lateral sewers may be tributary.

Meter measurement means the act of or result of determining the quantity of water supplied or being discharged by a user and determined by an instrument or device used for such measurements and approved by the director.

Municipality means any city, town or village wholly or partly within the county.

Off-site sewers means sewer lines totally outside a development.

On-site sewers means sewer lines in streets or rights-of-way or easements totally within a development and those sewer collection lines in peripheral streets constructed for use by that development.

Operation and maintenance means the process and act of keeping all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage in normal operation and in a good state of repair, including the replacement of the facilities when necessary and including any lines for reuse of effluent.

Oversized sewer means a sewer extension in, through or past a development which, because of future extensions or other reasons, is larger than required for the immediate development to be served.

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

Planned extension means future sewer extensions scheduled by the county with special provisions for payments therefor.

Plumbing means all pipes, fittings and appurtenances on the property owner's side of the property line or outside easement areas. This includes the property owner's extension from the sewer lateral up to and including the house plumbing.

ppm means parts per million by weight or milligrams per liter.

Pretreatment facilities means structures, devices or equipment for the purpose of removing deleterious wastes from sewage generated from a premises prior to its discharge into a public sewer.

Private sewer means any sewer or system or sewers, exclusive of building sewers, which is not owned by the municipality in which it is located or any other public authority or private utility.

Reuse means utilization by a developer or other customer of sufficiently treated effluent for lawn, landscaping or golf course irrigation or for surface water or groundwater recharge.

Sampling means the periodic collection of sewage for testing.

Scavenger waste means any liquid waste from sources such as septic tanks, package plants or industrial processes which are removed from a premises by means other than a sewer.

Service area means those unincorporated areas of the county designated by separate resolution of the board of county commissioners which are serviced by a regional or subregional wastewater treatment facility owned or operated, in whole or in part, by the county, where development is required to connect to the regional or subregional facility, unless otherwise provided in this article or within the designating resolution.

Service commitment means the county's intent to provide service to a particular development or facility as expressed by the county's approval on a permit request to the state department of environmental protection.

Service commitment fee means that fee established by the county for providing service commitments to developers in accordance with this article.

Service lateral means a sewer connection extending from the point of connection to the collecting sewer in the street or easement to a customer's plumbing.

Sewage means a combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments, together with such infiltration as may be present; often referred to as wastewater.

Sewage disposal plant means the physical facilities for the treatment of sewage before discharge into a percolation pond, stream, spray irrigation system, canal, ocean, lake or injection well.

Sewage disposal service means the service provided by the county for the disposal of sewage, including transmission, treatment and effluent disposal.

Sewage disposal service charge or sewer charge means the charge established for the disposal of sewage, based upon volume discharged to the sewer, or water consumption.

Sewage disposal system means all facilities required to transport sewage to a treatment plant for treatment and effluent disposal, including gravity sanitary sewers, interceptors, force mains, pumping stations, treatment plants, outfalls, disposal wells and any land application facilities.

Sewage flow meter means a device that measures and records the flow of sewage. It may also measure the rate of flow.

Sewer or collection sewer means the gravity flow sloping pipe facility installed in public streets, rights-of-way and easements for the collection of sewage.

Sewer system of the city means the sanitary sewer collection system within the corporate limits of a city that is operated by or on behalf of the county.

Slug means any discharge of water, sewage or industrial waste which in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow exceeds for any period of duration longer than 15 minutes more than five times the average 24-hour concentration of flows during normal operation.

Surcharge means that part of the sewer service charge which shall be applied to extra strength wastes to cover added operation and maintenance costs.

Suspended solids means solids that are in suspension in water, sewage or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory filtering.

System means the entire sewer system of the county and all treatment and disposal facilities and interceptor sewers owned or operated by the county and all sewage collection systems connected thereto.

Testing means the analysis of samples of sewage.

Toxic substance means any substance, whether gaseous, liquid or solid, which when discharged to the sewer system in sufficient quantities may tend to interfere with any sewage treatment process or to constitute a hazard to human beings or animals or inhibit aquatic life or create a hazard to recreation in the receiving water of the effluent from the sewage treatment plant.

Unpolluted water means water discharged in its original state or water discharged which, after use for any purpose, is at least equal chemically, physically and biologically to the water from its original source, i.e., potable water, groundwater, river water and stream water.

User means any person or premises receiving waste disposal services.

User charge means charges assigned to each user which defray a proportionate share of the cost of operation and maintenance of the sewer system; often referred to as sewage disposal service charge.

Wastewater means a term interchangeable with sewage as defined in this section.

(Code 1970, § 26-82; Ord. No. 87-10, § 2, 3-24-87)

Cross reference— Definitions generally, § 1-2.

Sec. 110-107. - Purpose.

(a)

This article is established for the purpose of providing uniform guidelines for wastewater service being provided by the county. Additionally, this article attempts to equitably distribute the cost of providing service among the customers of the county.

(b)

This article sets forth uniform requirements for direct and indirect contributors into the wastewater collection and treatment system for the county and enables the county to comply with all applicable state and federal laws required by the Clean Water Act of 1977 and the general pretreatment regulations (40 CFR 403).

(c)

The objectives of this article are to:

(1)

Prevent the introduction of pollutants into the county wastewater system which will interfere with the operation of the system or contaminate the resulting sludge;

(2)

Prevent the introduction of pollutants into the county wastewater system which will pass through the system, inadequately treated, into receiving waters or the atmosphere or otherwise be incompatible with the system;

(3)

Improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewaters and sludges from the system; and

(4)

Provide for equitable distribution of the cost of the county wastewater system.

(d)

This article provides for the regulation of direct and indirect contributors to the county wastewater system through the issuance of permits to certain nondomestic users and through enforcement activities, requires user reporting, assumes that existing customer's capacity will not be preempted and provides for the setting of fees for the equitable distribution of costs resulting from the program established in this article.

(e)

This article shall apply to unincorporated areas of the county. Except as otherwise provided in this article, the county administrator shall administer, implement and enforce this article.

(Code 1970, § 26-81; Ord. No. 87-10, § 1, 3-24-87)

Secs. 110-108—110-111. - Reserved.

Editor's note—

Section 18 of Ord. No. 98-17, adopted August 4, 1998, repealed §§ 110-108—110-111, which pertained to the county sewer system and derived from §§ 26-95.2—26-95.5 of the 1970 Code; and Ord. No. 87-10, §§ 17—20, adopted March 24, 1987.

Sec. 110-112. - Classes of sewage disposal service available.

The county renders sewage disposal service of four general classes as follows:

(1)

Retail water customers. A retail consumer of water supplied by the county who has sewage disposal service available to his property through existing sewers either owned by the county or by others.

(2)

Customers with other sources of water supply. A customer who disposes of sewage through the county's sewage disposal system and is supplied with water from sources, public or private, other than the county.

(3)

Industrial wastes. Sewage or liquid wastes from any manufacturing or industrial plant, building or premises, not including stormwater, which shall be such as to impose a burden upon the sewage disposal system in addition to the burden imposed by the average sewage entering the sewer system; charges for disposal of such sewage are fixed by contract and by special charge in unusual cases. In lieu of the special charge, the county has the right to require pretreatment of industrial wastes.

(4)

Bulk sewage treatment. Sewage disposal service provided to a municipal sewer system or other private utilities.

(Code 1970, § 26-83; Ord. No. 87-10, § 3, 3-24-87)

Sec. 110-113. - Use of public sewers required.

(a)

All premises shall be provided, by the owner thereof, with at least one toilet. All toilets shall be kept clean and in a sanitary working condition.

(b)

No person shall dispose of human excrement except in a toilet.

(c)

It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the county or in any area under the jurisdiction of the county any wastewater or other polluted waters, except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with this article.

(d)

Except as provided in this article, it shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool or other facility intended or used for the disposal of wastewater.

(e)

The owners of all houses, buildings or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purposes situated within the county jurisdiction and abutting on any street, alley or right-of-way in which there is or may be located a public sanitary sewer of the county are required at the expense of the owners to install suitable toilet facilities therein.

(f)

All sinks, dishwashing machines, lavatories, basins, shower baths, bathtubs, laundry tubs, washing machines and similar plumbing fixtures or appliances shall be connected to the public sewer, provided that where no sewer is available septic tanks or other private subsurface disposal facilities, approved by the health officer and county, may be used.

(g)

Customers shall be notified when sewer or water is available. Sewer service or potable water shall be considered available to an existing or new equivalent residential unit (ERU) when the individual unit or development is within a designated sewer or water service area and the development review committee (DRC) policy guidelines for service availability apply.

(h)

Sewer or potable water charges shall be in effect within 365 days of notification of the availability of sewer or water service or, if connection is made before the expiration of 365 days, upon actual connection.

(i)

(1) The county shall notify the owner of any on-site private sewer system of the availability of the central sewer system. No less than one year prior to the date the central sewer system will become available, the county shall notify the affected owner of the on-site private sewer system of the anticipated availability of the central sewer system and shall also notify the owner that the owner will be required to connect to the central sewer system within one year of the actual availability.

(2)

The owner shall have the option of prepaying the amortized value of required connection charges in equal monthly installments over a period not to exceed two years from the date of the initial notification of anticipated availability.

(j)

Any property served by a private sewer which is required to connect to the county's system or is required by state law to connect to an investor-owned utility located within the county's coastal area west of U.S. 19, which is also receiving bulk wastewater services from the county, shall properly abandon the private sewer when service is available and connect to the system in accordance with the requirements of this subsection and state law. The serving utility shall have the right to impose a lien for any and all connection charges, impact fees, service availability, and other approved fees in the event the same are not paid when due. In the event an investor-owned utility is unable to collect the connection charges or other fees from a property owner through available legal means, it may seek authorization from the board of county commissioners to foreclose upon the lien authorized hereunder.

(Code 1970, § 26-84; Ord. No. 87-10, § 4, 3-24-87; Ord. No. 93-19, § 2, 9-8-93; Ord. No. 94-15, § 1, 12-20-94; Ord. No. 96-18, § 1, 10-29-96; Ord. No. 96-21, § 1, 12-10-96)

Sec. 110-114. - Private wastewater disposal.

(a)

Where a public sanitary sewer is not available under section 110-113, the building sewer shall be connected to a private wastewater disposal system complying with this article. No person shall construct a septic tank or other wastewater disposal facility without prior approval from the county.

(b)

Septic tanks shall be constructed, repaired, altered, enlarged and maintained in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the health department.

(c)

No person shall construct, repair, alter or enlarge any septic tank unless he receives approval by the county and shall hold a valid permit for such work issued by the health department.

(d)

The type, capacities, location and layout of a private wastewater disposal system shall comply with all regulations of the state department of environmental protection. No septic tank or cesspool shall be permitted to discharge to any natural outlet.

(e)

No septic tank or other subsurface disposal facility shall be installed where a public sewer is accessible to the premises involved.

(f)

At such time as a public sewer becomes available to a property served by a private wastewater disposal system that has failed, a direct connection shall be made to the public sewer within 30 days after notice. Any septic tanks, cesspools and similar private wastewater disposal facilities shall then be cleaned of sludge and filled with suitable materials.

(g)

The owner shall operate and maintain the private wastewater disposal facilities in a sanitary manner at all times, at no expense to the county.

(h)

Every flush toilet shall be connected to a public sewer where available or to a septic tank. Flush toilets shall be provided at all times with sufficient running water under pressure to flush the toilet clean after each use.

(i)

No pit privy shall be installed.

(j)

Discharge of septic tanks into the sewer system shall be in compliance with the following:

(1)

Restricted. It shall be unlawful to empty, dump, throw or otherwise discharge into any manhole, catchbasin or other opening, the county sewer system or any system connected with and discharging into the sewer system the contents of any septic tank, sludge, sewage or other similar matter or material, except as provided in subsection (j)(2) of this section.

(2)

Permits. The county is authorized to grant permits to discharge the contents of septic tanks from domestic sources only at locations specified by the county and under its supervision. Such permits may be revoked at any time if in the opinion of the county continued dumping of such matter into the sewers will be injurious to the sewer system or treatment processes.

(3)

Charges. A charge shall be made for the privilege of dumping contents of septic tanks, as provided in separate rules or rate schedules. A record shall be kept of such dumpings and statements shall be payable within ten days after rendition. Failure to pay the amounts due within such ten-day period shall be cause for revoking the permit.

(k)

Any premises that has a septic tank, privy or any other sewage, industrial waste or liquid waste disposal system located thereon that does not function in a sanitary manner shall be corrected within 30 days from the receipt of a written notification from the health department that the system is not functioning in a sanitary manner and an order that the system be corrected.

(l)

Premises with private water systems shall not be connected with the public sewer system unless approved by the county.

(m)

No statement contained in this article shall be construed to interfere with any additional requirements that may be imposed by the health department.

(Code 1970, § 26-85; Ord. No. 87-10, § 5, 3-24-87)

Sec. 110-115. - Requests for service.

(a)

Authorization for service. Connections to the sewage disposal system, either direct or indirect, in the unincorporated area must be authorized by the county in advance of the connections. However, connections to the sewage disposal system within any service area designated by separate resolution of the board of county commissioners shall be mandatory for all development unless otherwise provided in this article.

(b)

Connections to sewers. Where service laterals have been provided, the customer shall pay the entire expense of connection to the facilities within his property. Where service laterals have not been provided, the customer shall be responsible for payment of all costs of the connection from the existing sewer to the facilities within his property unless otherwise provided in this article. All such connections shall be subject to inspection by authorized personnel of the governmental agency having jurisdiction. In addition, the customer shall pay all connection and construction connection charges, if any.

(c)

Service availability from existing systems. Sewer service to any structure upon any given property shall only be rendered from county-owned sewers in public rights-of-way abutting the property. The determination as to the availability of service from existing facilities shall be at the sole discretion of the county. The county shall have the right to require extensions of its facilities for proper service or to require such permanent legal agreements which the county deems necessary in order to carry out the intent of this section.

(Code 1970, § 26-86; Ord. No. 87-10, § 6, 3-24-87)

Sec. 110-116. - Agreements or contracts for service.

(a)

With water service application. Applications for sewage disposal service are automatic when sewage disposal service is available to the property.

(b)

New sanitary sewer service. Agreements or contracts for sewage disposal service are effective 30 days after the installation of a new sewer abutting the property within the county.

(c)

Bulk sewage disposal agreements. Sewage disposal service on a volume basis may be obtained by means of cost-sharing arrangements outlined in contractual agreements with the county. Such agreements apply only to other utilities. Other bulk sewer service users shall pay for services at the rates established from time to time by the county.

(d)

Developer agreements. Agreements for the provision of sewage disposal service for new properties requiring the construction of sewer facilities shall, upon request by a developer, be prepared by the county (see sections 110-118(b) and 110-119). Final zoning approval of a property must be obtained prior to the county's preparation of the agreement.

(e)

Limitation of use. No customer shall extend his plumbing across a street, alley, lane, court, avenue or other highway or property line without unity of title in order to furnish service for an adjacent property through one service lateral, even though such adjacent property is owned by him. If such unauthorized connection occurs, the customer's service shall be subject to discontinuance until such unauthorized connection has been discontinued and full payment has been made of all bills for service, calculated under proper classifications and rate schedules, and until reimbursement in full has been made to the county for all extra expenses incurred for clerical work, testing and inspections.

(Code 1970, § 26-87; Ord. No. 87-10, § 7, 3-24-87)

Sec. 110-117. - Continuity of service.

The county will at all times use reasonable diligence to provide continuous service and having used reasonable diligence will not be liable to the customer for failure or interruption of service. The county will not be liable for any act or omission caused directly or indirectly by strikes, labor troubles, accidents, litigation, shutdowns for repairs or adjustments, interference by governmental agencies, failures of electric power, acts of God or other causes beyond its control.

(Code 1970, § 26-88; Ord. No. 87-10, § 8, 3-24-87)

Sec. 110-118. - Extensions.

(a)

Planned extensions. The county may, from time to time, through the creation of special taxing districts, special assessments, municipal service units, designated service areas or by other means, plan and construct sewer extensions in specific areas of the county.

(b)

Sewer extensions other than planned extensions. Where properties are to be served by extensions which are not planned extensions, sewer facilities shall be extended on the following basis:

(1)

Application. An application shall be required for extension of sewer service under this subsection and shall be in writing and signed by the developer requesting county sewer service. The application shall be filed with the county and shall include a legal description of the property and shall indicate the name, street address, lot and block number and the street frontage of each site, along with the proposed usage. Each applicant shall agree to connect to and use the county sewer service for his property. No sewers or connections to sewers will be extended until the changes for sewer service, as further outlined, have been provided for.

(2)

Processing application. Upon receipt by the county of a proper application requesting a sewer main extension, it will be evaluated, and if feasible the cost to the developer will be estimated and submitted to the developer for consideration. If the developer decides to proceed further with the project and final zoning of the project has been approved, at the developer's request, the county shall prepare and submit an agreement specifying all terms and conditions for service and related costs, other than construction costs, to the developer. If the sewer main extension is determined not to be feasible by the county due to either costs or insufficient capacity at the treatment plant and the property is located in a designated service area, the developer will be required to comply with subsection (c) of this section.

(3)

Basis of payment for extensions. The cost to the developer shall be the payment of the connection charges and construction costs as further outlined. The allocation of costs for oversizing sewers and rebates in regard to off-site sewers are outlined in subsection 110-121(a).

(4)

Sewer extensions. In addition to any required off-site sewers, each developer or owner of property who requests sewer service shall install, as required by the county, a sewer line along one entire boundary line of the property which actually abuts a public road or street. However, in its sole discretion, the county may require the developer or property owner to install additional sewer lines as the county may deem necessary to promote the public interest and the orderly development of a countywide sewer system. Such additional sewer lines may be required by the county to be installed along all or part of the boundaries of the remainder of the property or through the property which is to receive sewer service.

(5)

Sewer extension from public right-of-way. Sewers shall be extended so that service to a developer's property will be from sewers located in public rights-of-way or easements in private paved roads abutting each individual parcel of the developer's property which will receive service.

(c)

Extension of service main infeasible at time of application. The purpose of this subsection is to provide wastewater treatment and disposal services to individual developments that are occurring within the rapidly developing areas of the county's service area when the county is unable to immediately provide such service. This objective shall be obtained through the use of interim wastewater facilities and developer participation; provided, however, such use of the interim wastewater treatment facility is found to be consistent with the planned and orderly development of the county's utility system, its longrange plan, the goals and objectives of the county's land use plan and the policy guidelines as provided in this subsection.

(1)

Prior to utilization of an interim wastewater treatment facility, the developer shall have first applied for wastewater service for the project and shall have received written notification that the county is unable to provide wastewater treatment and disposal services at this time or in reasonable time to meet the developer's building schedule.

(2)

If the utilization of an interim wastewater treatment facility is the only reasonable alternative available to the developer for the project, the county shall approve the use of an interim wastewater treatment facility within the guidelines set forth in subsections (c)(3) through (13) of this section.

(3)

The interim wastewater treatment facility shall serve a unified development subject to an approved wastewater collection system master plan. The project to be served must be able to generate wastewater flows in proportion to the design capacity of the interim wastewater treatment plant.

(4)

The developer shall assume all installation and initial operation costs associated with the interim wastewater treatment plant. This shall include but not be limited to engineering, design, permitting, site improvements, piping, site restoration, hardware transportation to and from the county warehouse, if available from the county, and installation/removal of the interim wastewater treatment plant.

(5)

Sufficient effluent disposal shall be provided within each project to meet the needs of the interim plant's rated and permitted capacity.

(6)

The county may furnish the interim wastewater treatment plant hardware at no cost to the developer. If the county does not have the plant hardware available, the developer may purchase the plant hardware and then, if the county wishes to acquire the facility, be reimbursed by the county as long as the bidding guidelines set forth in subsection (c)(6)a of this section are observed and funds are available within the utilities department budget. If the county does not have the plant hardware available and the county does not wish to acquire an interim facility, the developer may lease the facility.

a.

When the final plans and specifications for the interim wastewater treatment facility have been approved by the county and the state department of environmental protection, not less than three qualified firms shall be invited by the developer to submit sealed bids for furnishing the interim treatment facility hardware. The contract for furnishing the interim treatment facility hardware shall be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation and distributed in the county once each week for two consecutive weeks. Affidavit of publication shall be obtained from the newspaper. The contract for the purchase of the interim treatment facility hardware shall be awarded to the qualified contractor/supplier who submits the lowest and best sealed bid in the joint opinion of the developer and the county director. The construction contract for installation of the interim treatment facility hardware shall be the responsibility of the developer or his designee. Payment to the contractor/supplier for interim treatment facility hardware shall be made in full by the developer.

b.

If the county authorizes developer acquisition of an interim facility, reimbursement by the county to the developer for purchase of the interim wastewater plant hardware shall be made after the interim treatment plant and effluent disposal system have been properly installed, a final inspection conducted by the county utilities department and proper documentation submitted to the director certifying plant hardware cost and compliance with the outlined bidding procedure.

(7)

The county shall bear no costs for the start-up and operation of the interim wastewater treatment plant. The developer shall pay guaranteed monthly operating revenues to the county as necessary to offset actual monthly operating cost of the interim wastewater treatment facility. The developer shall continue to pay guaranteed monthly operating revenue until such time as customer revenues are sufficient to offset all costs of operation and maintenance of the interim wastewater treatment plant.

(8)

The county shall operate and maintain the plant and effluent disposal facilities. Necessary easements and licenses for the operation of the plant and effluent disposal facilities shall be provided by the developer to the county.

(9)

A phasing/build-out schedule shall be provided by the developer to the county and updated every six months. If the county is unable to provide off-site treatment at the time the plant is at capacity, the county may authorize the developer to enlarge the interim wastewater treatment plant according to the same procedures and policy guidelines as provided in this subsection.

(10)

Prior to reimbursement to developer or delivery of the interim facility, the developer shall pay all normal and customary connection fees, impact fees, and hookup charges as provided by county ordinance plus guaranteed monthly operating revenues as set forth in this subsection.

(11)

The county shall make every effort to ensure that off-site treatment facilities will be provided in accordance with the county's 201 plan or approved master plans.

(12)

At such time as the interim wastewater treatment plant can be phased out, the responsibility of connecting the project to the county's off-site facilities shall be assumed by the county; provided, however, the developer shall have constructed all off-site facilities as part of the project development that are normally and customarily provided by the developer as stipulated in county ordinances. This would include any special improvements as may be required as a condition of rezoning, development approval or DRI approval.

(13)

An appropriate interim wastewater treatment plant agreement shall be prepared and approved by the county for each developer's project which proposes to utilize an interim wastewater treatment plant for treatment and disposal and which agreement provides for the transfer of the plant to the county or other appropriate disposition of the plant.

(d)

Right to refuse service. The county shall have the right at all times to refuse to extend service on the basis of a use detrimental to the sewer system, lack of payment of required fees, lack of capacity or for any reason which, in the opinion of the county, will cause the extension not to be in the public interest. No payment of any costs, submitting of any petition or any other act to receive sewer service shall guarantee sewer service.

(Code 1970, § 26-89; Ord. No. 87-10, § 9, 3-24-87)

Sec. 110-119. - Service commitments.

(a)

Existing service commitments. All service commitments issued by the county prior to the effective date of the ordinance from which this article derives shall be automatically terminated if not used within one year from the date the ordinance from which this article derives takes effect unless the holder of the service commitments has renewed the service commitments by complying with subsection (b) of this section regarding new service commitments, including the payment of the service commitment fee.

(b)

New service commitments. Upon receipt of a complete service application and a determination that service application and a determination that service is available, the county will issue an intent to serve letter which grants conditional approval of service, subject to this article for a period of six months. The conditions under which the county grants such conditional approval and subsequent plan approval are summarized as follows:

(1)

Within six months of the issuance of the conditional approval, the applicant must submit construction drawings for the project to the county for review and approval. Upon approval of the construction drawings, the applicant is notified in writing that copies of the approved plans and state department of environmental protection permit forms are available for pickup upon receipt of the service commitment fee set forth in subsection (b)(3) of this section.

(2)

Construction plan approval by the utilities department is valid for a period of 12 months. If construction has not begun within 12 months, the applicant must reapply for service. If construction has not begun within six months and changes in the county's specifications have occurred, plans must be resubmitted for approval.

(3)

The service commitment fee is a nonrefundable payment equal to 100 percent of the impact fee in existence for the development or project at the time the service commitment is issued. Payment of the service commitment fee does not entitle the connection of the development to the project without paying impact fees in existence at the time of connection; however, the service commitment fee will be applied toward the impact fee in existence at the time the development is so connected to the system.

(4)

Only for single family detached residential developments with 25 or more units, the county may allow payment of the service commitment fee pursuant to the following installment program. Ten percent of the service commitment fee for a specific development or phase of development shall be due and payable at the time the county executes a sewer collection system permit application for the state department of environmental protection and 40 percent of the service commitment fee shall be due and payable either upon approval of construction plans by the county for the specific development or phase of development and upon issuance of the sewer collection system permit by the state department of environmental protection or within nine months after the county executes the sewer collection system permit application, whichever occurs first. The remaining 50 percent shall be due and payable either upon issuance of a building permit for a structure or unit which would exceed 50 percent of the development units specified on the application executed by the county or 18 months after the initial ten percent service commitment fee payment, whichever occurs first. This subsection shall apply to any service commitments issued between September 28, 2005 and October 1, 2010.

(Code 1970, § 26-90; Ord. No. 87-10, § 10, 3-24-87; Ord. No. 88-22, § 1, 8-2-88; Ord. No. 91-06, § 1, 4-23-91; Ord. No. 93-19, § 1, 9-8-93; Ord. No. 96-16, § I, 8-6-96; Ord. No. 99-17, § 3, 9-28-99; Ord. No. 02-30, § 2, 11-26-02; Ord. No. 06-28, 9-11-06)

Sec. 110-120. - Service for bulk sewage customers.

(a)

Service commitments. Municipally owned utilities or a private utility certificated by the state public service commission seeking to receive bulk sewage service from the county pursuant to subsection 110-116(c) shall submit a written application indicating the amount of service to be required, the availability of alternative sewer services, the number of customers serviced by the requesting utility, a description of the geographic territory served by the requesting utility and the time at which and for which such service is requested.

(b)

Right to refuse service. The county shall have the absolute right at all times to refuse to extend service on the basis of a use detrimental to the county's sewer system, that the municipally owned or private utility is in competition with existing or planned county facilities, the lack of payment of required fees, the lack of sufficient excess capacity to meet the request, the presence of constituents in the discharge of the requesting utility which may be detrimental to the county's wastewater treatment system, the refusal to commit to pay for associated capital costs, replacement costs and expansion costs, that the requested service would not be cost-effective for the county or for any reason which, in the opinion of the county, will cause the extension not to be in the public interest. No payment of any costs, submitting of any application or any other act to receive bulk sewage service shall guarantee the service.

(c)

Terms and conditions. Upon receipt of a complete application and approval of the application by the board of county commissioners, the bulk sewage service may be provided by the county under the following terms and conditions:

(1)

Appropriate bulk wastewater impact fees as approved by the board of county commissioners must be paid by the applicant prior to connection or, if approved by the board of county commissioners, the applicant may pay a volume surcharge in addition to the bulk treatment rate for all existing flow at the time of connection in accordance with the schedule approved by the board.

(2)

The applicant agrees that the county shall be the sole provider of wastewater treatment services for the area requested by the applicant and that any and all existing wastewater treatment facilities owned or operated by the applicant will no longer be utilized for the area, unless otherwise approved by the board of county commissioners.

(3)

The agreement for such bulk wastewater service will be for a period of not less than ten years and the applicant agrees that all new development or new connections to its utility system shall pay impact fees to the county in the same manner as the county's retail customers pay such fees.

(4)

The applicant agrees to abide by the county's limitations on discharge as set forth in this article.

(d)

Charges for services. The bulk user shall pay such rates as established from time to time by the county for bulk customers receiving such wastewater service from the county.

(e)

Bulk impact fees. Appropriate impact fees for all flow at the time of connection will be determined by the board of county commissioners in accordance with article V, and any new connections to the applicant's facility will pay impact fees in the amount equal to the retail impact fees as established for retail customers of the county's system pursuant to article V.

(f)

Existing bulk sewage customers. Bulk sewage customers connected to the county's utility system shall, where not otherwise precluded by law or specifically established by existing agreement, pay those impact fees established by the board of county commissioners for flow based upon a volume surcharge and shall further pay impact fees for any new connections or new flow in the same manner and amount as retail customers of the county's system established pursuant to article V.

(g)

Renewal or extension of agreements. Any renewal or extension of a bulk sewage agreement shall comply with this article.

(Code 1970, § 26-90.1; Ord. No. 90-11, § 1, 9-25-90; Ord. No. 06-28, 9-11-06)

Sec. 110-121. - Construction of sewers; connections.

(a)

Sewer construction by developer. Sewers to be constructed by a developer or his contractor shall be constructed in accordance with the following:

(1)

Plat approval. For a subdivision, the application shall be accompanied by two copies of a recorded plat or, for a new subdivision, an approved preliminary plan or preferably a master preliminary plan or a large-scale development plan, plus a plan showing the location of proposed sewer extensions.

(2)

Other governmental approval. Prior to final acceptance, all such sewer extensions shall be approved by the appropriate state agencies and the county.

(3)

Materials and construction standards. All materials and labor shall meet the specifications required by the county; all construction shall be performed under the inspection of the county and in strict compliance with the standards of the county and the county's design manuals.

(4)

Costs. The developer will pay all impact fees and construction costs prior to connecting to the county's system unless otherwise specified in an agreement between the developer and the county. Construction cost will be the cost of sewer lines of sufficient capacity constructed by the developer to collect the sewage in the proposed development and transport it to the nearest adequately sized county sewer.

(5)

Oversizing. The county reserves the right to oversize any extension and will pay for such oversizing on the basis of additional costs beyond that necessary to serve only the subject development. The county will pay an established unit amount based upon the pipe size of a facility multiplied by the length of that facility. The established unit amount will be determined by the county based on the flow requirements of the developer, and the county will credit the developer for the cost of the county's share of oversized sewers. This credit at the option of the county will be in the form of a reduction of the impact fee or cash payment. The county also reserves the right to limit the amount of its participation in the cost of oversizing, depending on economic conditions or other factors. The rates of credit will be related to the difference in diameter between the pipe required for the developer's project and the pipe required by the county to be installed.

(6)

Maintenance bond. Sewers installed under this section shall become part of the county's system; however, before acceptance, a contract bond approved by the county, equal to the amount of 15 percent of the construction cost, shall be required to guarantee all work and materials for a period of one year after acceptance by the county. Terms and conditions of the bond must meet the county's standards.

(7)

Construction permit. A permit for construction must be obtained by the developer from the appropriate governmental agency.

(b)

Public easement required. No sewer facility will be installed under this section and accepted by the county for operation and maintenance unless it is in a public right-of-way or easement with a minimum width of 15 feet. Conveyance of any easement shall be by a separate document in recordable form to be approved by the county and shall be accompanied by a written certification by an attorney licensed to practice law in the state that the developer is the owner in fee simple of the property to be conveyed by the easement and that, upon its execution by the developer, a valid and enforceable easement in the developer's property will be vested in the county. No sewer facilities to be owned and operated by the county shall be installed under any building or appurtenance thereto.

(c)

Conveyance and ownership. All sewer facilities and appurtenances to be owned by the county shall be conveyed to the county by proper bill of sale immediately after the county's acceptance, in writing, of the construction of the system. The developer shall also provide copies of paid bills or lien waivers, releases or satisfactions, together with a breakdown of the actual cost of the facilities. Concurrently with the documents required in this subsection, the developer shall furnish the county with one set of Mylar as-built drawings showing specific locations, depths, etc., of all sewer facilities and appurtenances. In addition, the developer shall furnish the county with a maintenance bond or alternate security deposit acceptable to the county, for a period of one year from the county's final acceptance of the facilities, in the amount of 15 percent of the total actual cost of construction of the facilities, to protect the county against losses resulting from any and all defects in materials or improper installation of facilities. When accepted and properly conveyed to the county for ownership, maintenance and operation, the facilities shall become and remain the property of the county, and no person shall, by the payment of any charges provided for in this article, or by causing any construction of facilities accepted by the county, acquire any interest or right in any of these facilities or any portion thereof, other than the privilege to have his property connected thereto for sewer service in accordance with this article.

(d)

Minimum size, velocity and length of gravity sewers. The design and layout of the system shall be subject to approval by the county as to conformance with county standards and its master sewer plan. The developer shall include provisions required by the county to carry out the intent of such master planning and will be reimbursed for the additional cost of oversized facilities.

(e)

Minimum size of force mains. The minimum size of force mains shall be six inches inside diameter.

(f)

Approvals. No sewer extension will be accepted by the county without the approvals of the county and the appropriate state agency.

(g)

Unauthorized work on sewer system. No person shall tamper with, work on, uncover, make connection with or in any way alter or damage any county sewer or sewer appurtenance without written permission of the county. Further, no unauthorized person shall cause stormwater, groundwater or any other unauthorized water or material to enter the sanitary sewer system, including sanitary sewage from septic tank trucks. This shall include the connection of downspouts of air conditioning condensate lines into the sewer system; raising manhole lids to allow for drainage; dumping garbage, refuse or other wastes in manholes; draining of swimming pools into sewers; or any other means of causing or allowing any substance not considered sanitary sewage or not legally paid for as sanitary sewage to enter the sewer system. The offending person shall pay the total cost of all charges attributable to such tampering and be subject to all penalties as may be provided by law.

(h)

Common house connections. A single connection serving two or more properties will not be permitted. Common plumbing to two or more lots or parcels shall not be allowed.

(i)

Extent of county maintenance. The county shall not be responsible for the repair and maintenance of house connections or service laterals or for privately owned pumping stations, force mains and sewers. The county shall be responsible only for the repair and maintenance of all public sewers, pumping stations and force mains in the county's system and shall make a diligent effort to inspect and keep these facilities in good repair. All facilities that have been accepted by the county shall become the property of the county and will be operated and maintained by the county. No person shall do any work or be reimbursed for any work or in connection with any work on the system unless written authorization from the county was received prior to the work being accomplished. The county shall make a reasonable effort to inspect and keep its facilities in good repair, but assumes no liability for any damage caused by the system that is beyond the control of normal maintenance or due to situations not previously reported to the department. This shall include damage due to breaking of pipes, poor quality of water caused by unauthorized or unlawful entry of foreign material into the system, faulty operation of fire protection facilities or other reasons. In general, the county will maintain water lines up to and including meters only.

(j)

Customer's maintenance. The customer shall be responsible for the maintenance of the service lateral into and including the house plumbing. The county shall have the right to inspect the house connection and plumbing and to discontinue water service to any customer or property owner who fails to maintain the plumbing to the extent that it may or does cause harm to the sewer facilities. For a municipality or privately owned utilities, the county's responsibility for the cost of maintenance ends at the point of connection to the county's system. The county retains all rights to insist on proper maintenance of the utilities' facilities and to exclude infiltration and harmful wastes by the owners.

(Code 1970, § 26-91; Ord. No. 87-10, § 11, 3-24-87)

Sec. 110-122. - Reserved.

Editor's note—

Section 18 of Ord. No. 98-17, adopted August 4, 1998, repealed § 110-122, which pertained to discharges in the county sewer system and derived from § 26-92 of the 1970 Code; and Ord. No. 87-10, § 12, adopted March 24, 1987.

Sec. 110-123. - Billing procedures.

(a)

Billing periods; due date. Bills for sewage disposal service will be rendered either monthly or quarterly in connection with water bills or for a shorter period if so stated in the applicable schedule or if notice of a different billing period is given to the customer.

(b)

Guarantee deposits. Upon opening an account, a minimum guarantee deposit, as required by the county, shall be paid by each customer at the time of making application for service.

(c)

Deposit as security. The guarantee deposit is required as security for payment of the customer's water or sewer bill. It is refundable to the customer upon termination of service.

(d)

Delinquent bills. Bills are due when rendered, and if not actually received at one of the county locations designated to collect payments on or before the past due date set forth on the customer's bill, a ten-percent late charge to defray county's costs and expenses shall be added to the bill. If payment is not actually received within 60 days of the date rendered, the water and sewer service may be subject to disconnection and termination of the account with the county. Upon termination of service, the guarantee deposit shall be applied to the outstanding bill for that customer and a final statement shall be rendered showing the balance due. Service shall not be reinstituted until the final statement is paid in full and the customer makes application for service and pays the guarantee deposit at the then-established rate as provided in this section, and any other required fees. A retail customer's water service shall be discontinued and no new application from the retail customer shall be accepted at any location when there remains an outstanding final statement for unpaid sewer service from the customer. However, service shall not be withheld if the delinquency was incurred by a prior lessee of the property. Sewer service will not be discontinued under any normal circumstances; however, if discontinuance is required for any reason, including but not limited to nonpayment, the county shall instead discontinue the water service, unless the customer does not receive water service from the county, in which case sewer service will be discontinued.

(e)

Interest on unpaid charges. Unpaid balances including late charges for water and sewer service rendered by the county shall be subject to an interest charge at the rate of 12 percent per annum. The interest charge's imposition shall commence 60 days after the past due date of the water and sewer charges set forth on customers' bills.

(f)

Lien for unpaid charges. All charges, late charges and interest accruing thereupon for water and sewer service rendered to any real property by the county which remain unpaid 60 days after the past due date of the water and sewer charges shall become a lien against and upon the real property to which such water and sewer service has been furnished to the same extent and character as a lien for a special assessment. Until fully paid and discharged, the charges, late charges and interest accrued thereupon shall be, remain and constitute a special assessment lien equal in rank and dignity with the liens of county ad valorem taxes and superior in rank and dignity to all other liens, encumbrances, titles and claims in, to or against the real property involved. The liens may be enforced and satisfied by the county by any method permitted by law. The lien shall not be deemed to be in lieu of any other legal remedies for payment available to the county, including but not limited to suspension and termination of water and sewer service.

(Code 1970, § 26-93; Ord. No. 87-10, § 13, 3-24-87)

Sec. 110-124. - Rates and charges.

(a)

Rates established. The rates as established from time to time by the county shall apply to retail customers receiving wastewater service from the county. Bulk rates may be established separately by the county. The sewage disposal service charge may be revised independently of changes in water rates. Increases or decreases in water rates do not affect the sewage disposal service charge. The sewage disposal service charges for marinas with sewage pumpout capabilities shall be based on 40 percent of the water usage of the marina.

(b)

Reserved.

(c)

Other charges.

(1)

Turnoff and turn-on fees. Where property is serviced with county water, there will be no turnoff and turn-on fees, as such, for sewer service; however, to enforce this article, water service may be discontinued and the charges for water service turn-on and turnoff shall prevail. In this regard, water service may be turned off due to an infraction of this article and will not be turned on until such time as the infraction is corrected and all costs due the county are paid.

(2)

Miscellaneous charges. Miscellaneous charges shall be made for any work done by the county beyond normal maintenance or extension charges as outlined in this article. This work, which will include such items as moving connections, relocating manholes or any other work done at the property owner's request for the benefit of the property owner, shall be charged for at direct cost plus appropriate overhead. Payment in full for the estimated cost will be required prior to doing this type of work.

(3)

Temporary emergency treatment rates. If a customer desires to use any portion of the sewers or sewage treatment facilities for disposal of sewage on a temporary basis and is not properly connected to the sewer system, he may apply for such service through the county which will compute the costs and require payment in full prior to the use of the system. Should this service be desired on a permanent basis, a proper charge will be estimated and an agreement establishing terms and costs shall be entered into between the county and the customer using the service. It is the intent of the county to discourage this type of service except for municipalities and private utilities, and to this end, the county reserves the right to refuse to accept and also to discontinue this type of service.

(d)

Separate water meter. A customer may have installed by the county at his own expense a separate metered connection with the water main to measure the water which does not get into the sewer system. The bill for water used through such connection will not include the sewage disposal service charge.

(e)

Changing fees and charges. For the purposes of carrying out the intent of this article, the board of county commissioners shall have the power to fix, alter, change or modify, by resolution, rates, commitment fees, connection charges, impact fees and other charges for the use of any wastewater services furnished or to be furnished by the wastewater facilities created, established or acquired by the county. No rate, fee or charge fixed by ordinance shall be modified except by ordinance. However, such rates, commitment fees, connection charges and other fees and charges shall not be fixed until after public hearing, with all the users and owners, tenants and occupants of the property served or to be served and all others interested having the opportunity to be heard concerning the rates, fees and charges. Notice of such public hearing setting forth a schedule of rates, fees and charges to be considered by the board of county commissioners shall be authorized by the board of county commissioners and shall be given by one publication in a newspaper published in the county at least ten days before the date fixed for the hearing, which hearing may be adjourned from time to time. After such hearing, such schedule, either as considered after publication or as modified or amended, shall be adopted by resolution and put into effect. Those rates, commitment fees, impact fees, connection fees and other fees and charges in effect at the time of adoption of the ordinance from which this article derives shall remain in effect until subsequently modified as provided for in this subsection.

(f)

Impact fees for customers of failed systems. Where the county provides retail utility service to a development previously served by an individual septic system or private utility system which has either failed, been abandoned or mandated to cease operation of its existing facilities by state regulatory agencies, one-half of the impact fee due and owing the county for such connection shall be paid within 60 days from the commencement of county service, and the remaining one-half of the impact fee shall be payable in five equal, annual installments over the next five-year period. The unpaid balance, including the annual installments, shall bear interest at the rate of 12 percent per annum commencing 60 days after the initial provision of service by the county.

(Code 1970, § 26-94; Ord. No. 87-10, § 14, 3-24-87; Ord. No. 91-08, § 1, 5-14-91; Ord. No. 06-28, 9-11-06)

Sec. 110-125. - Reuse of effluent.

The county may require, as a condition of service or as a condition of development approval, a developer to install necessary lines, lift stations and appropriate appurtenances for reuse of effluent for irrigation of lawns, common areas, golf courses, etc. The county may charge a reasonable fee for use of the effluent to offset the costs of operation and maintenance of the reuse system.

(Code 1970, § 26-95; Ord. No. 87-10, § 15, 3-24-87)

Sec. 110-126. - Malicious damage.

It shall be unlawful for any person to maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is a part of the wastewater facilities. Any person violating this section shall be subject to penalties as provided in this article and shall be responsible for any loss of revenue or monetary expenditures needed for repairs brought about by his actions.

(Code 1970, § 26-95.1; Ord. No. 87-10, § 16, 3-24-87)

Sec. 110-127. - User charge system.

(a)

Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this subsection, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

BOD, denoting biochemical oxygen demand, means the same as that term is defined in F.A.C. 17-6.

Commercial user means all retail stores, restaurants, office buildings, laundries and other private business and service establishments.

Governmental user includes legislative, judicial, administrative and regulatory activities of federal, state and local governments.

Industrial user means the same as that term is defined in section 110-106.

Institutional user includes social, charitable, religious and educational activities such as schools, churches, hospitals, nursing homes, penal institutions and similar institutional users.

Normal domestic wastewater means the same as that term is defined in F.A.C. 17-6.

Operation and maintenance means those functions that result in expenditures during the useful life of the treatment facilities for materials, labor, utilities, depreciation, administrative costs and other items which are necessary for managing such facilities and for which such facilities were designed and constructed. The term "operation and maintenance" includes functions relating to sewage or liquid industrial wastes.

Replacement means expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories or appurtenances which are necessary during the useful life of the treatment works to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed.

Residential user means any contributor to the county's treatment facilities whose lot, parcel or real estate, or building is used for domestic dwelling purposes only.

Treatment facilities means any devices and systems for the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage, domestic sewage or liquid industrial wastes. These include intercepting sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, pumping, power and equipment and their appurtenances; extensions, improvements, remodeling, additions and alternations thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable recycled supply such as standby treatment units and clear well facilities; and any works, including site acquisition of the land, that will be an integral part of the treatment process or is used for ultimate disposal of residues resulting from such treatment, including land for composting sludge, temporary storage of such compost and land used for the storage of treated wastewater in land treatment systems before land application; or any other method or system for preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating or disposing of municipal waste, domestic sewage or industrial waste, including waste in combined stormwater and sanitary sewer systems.

Useful life means the estimated period during which a treatment facility will be operated.

User charge means that portion of the total wastewater service charge which is levied in a proportional and adequate manner for the cost of operation, maintenance and replacement of the wastewater treatment facilities.

Water meter means a water volume measuring and recording device, furnished or installed by the county.

(b)

Purpose. It is determined and declared to be necessary and conducive to the protection of the public health, safety, welfare and convenience of the county and the inhabitants thereof to collect charges from all users who contribute wastewater to the county's wastewater treatment facilities. The proceeds of such charges so derived will be used for the purpose of operating and maintaining the public wastewater treatment facilities.

(c)

Revenues. The revenues collected, as a result of the user charges levied, shall be deposited in a separate nonlapsing fund known as the water and sewer revenue fund. Fiscal year-end balances in the revenue fund shall be used for no other purposes than those designated. Monies which have been transferred from other sources to meet temporary shortages in the revenue fund shall be returned to their respective accounts upon appropriate adjustment of the user charge rates for operation, maintenance and replacement. The user charge rate shall be adjusted such that the transferred monies will be returned to their respective accounts within 12 months of the fiscal year in which the monies were borrowed.

(d)

User charges.

(1)

Each user shall pay for the services provided by the county based on his use of the treatment facilities as determined by water meter readings or other appropriate methods acceptable to the county, all as provided for in this article and any regulations and resolutions adopted pursuant thereto.

(2)

For residential, industrial, institutional and commercial users, monthly user charges will be based on actual water usage and will be sufficient to meet operation, maintenance and replacement costs. If a residential, commercial, institutional or industrial user has a consumptive use of water or, in some other manner, uses water which is not discharged into the wastewater collection system, the user charge for that contributor may be based on readings of a wastewater meter or separate water meter installed and maintained at the user's expense and may include an appropriate surcharge.

(3)

Each user shall pay a user charge rate for operation and maintenance including replacement as stated in resolutions adopted from time to time by the board of county commissioners in accordance with applicable regulations.

(4)

Any user who discharges any toxic pollutants which cause an increase in the cost of treating or disposing of the effluent or sludge from the county's treatment facilities or any user who discharges any substance which singly or by interaction with other substances causes identifiable increase in the cost of operation, maintenance or replacement of the treatment facilities shall pay for such increased costs. The charge to each such user shall be as determined by the county administrator and approved by the board of county commissioners.

(5)

The user charge rates established pursuant to this section, this article and other applicable regulations shall apply to all users of the county's treatment facilities.

(e)

Billing. All users shall be billed in accordance with the regulations set forth in this chapter and other appropriate regulations. A late payment penalty will be applied to any delinquent bill in accordance with the terms of this chapter. When any bill, including interest and penalty, remains unpaid for one year after the date due, such bill shall be recorded in the land records of the county by the clerk and shall constitute a lien on the property.

(f)

Excess waste. All users contributing more than 10,000 gallons per day and whose waste strength violates the conditions imposed by this article or other appropriate regulations shall prepare and file with the county a report that shall include pertinent data relating to the wastewater characteristics, including the methods of sampling and measurement to obtain these data, and these data shall be used to calculate the user charge for that user. The calculation of user charge shall be based on actual costs of handling and treatment. The county shall have the right to gain access to the waste stream and take its own samples. Should the county do so and should the results be substantially different as determined by the county from the data submitted by the user, the user charge for that user shall be reviewed for the billing cycle/period.

(g)

Review of user charges.

(1)

Any user who feels his user charge is unjust and inequitable may make written application to the county requesting a review of his user charge. The written request shall, where necessary, show the actual or estimated average flow or strength of his wastewater in comparison with the values upon which the charge is based, including how the measurements or estimates were made.

(2)

Review of the request shall be made by the county and if substantiated, the user charges for that user shall be recomputed based on the revised flow or strength data and the new charges will be applicable to the next billing cycle/period.

(h)

Annual review. The county will review the user charges at least annually and revise the rates as necessary to ensure that adequate revenues are generated to pay the costs of operation and maintenance including replacement and that the system continues to provide for the proportional distribution of operation and maintenance including replacement costs among users and user classes. The county shall cause each user of the system to be notified, at least annually in conjunction with their regular bill, of the rates and that portion of the user charges which are attributable to wastewater treatment services.

(Code 1970, § 26-95.6; Ord. No. 88-08, §§ 1—8, 3-15-88; Ord. No. 88-18, § 1, 6-14-88)

Sec. 110-128. - Revenue generation system.

(a)

For purposes of this article, a revenue generation system is required for all state or EPA construction grant assistance. For a step 3 grant, an approved revenue generation system is a grant application prerequisite. With a step 2+3 grant, approval must be obtained prior to initiating construction procurement and prior to any grant payment. The revenue generation system may be updated as necessary to reflect changing conditions, but it shall remain in effect in conformance with this section.

(b)

For federal grants, the revenue generation system shall consist of the user charge system required under F.A.C. 17-50.015(2)(i).

(c)

For state grants, including state awards for project segments, the revenue generation system shall be implemented by ordinance or other binding enactment before the initiation of operation of the complete grant funded treatment works or payment of more than 80 percent of grant funds is requested by the grantee, whichever occurs first. The revenue generation system shall include the user charge system required under F.A.C. 17-50.015(2)(i) or (j) and other charges imposed by the county which include development impact fees, connection fees and bulk sewage treatment agreements. The revenue generation system shall be designed to produce adequate revenue for the following:

(1)

Operation and maintenance, including replacement of equipment, accessories or appurtenances, during the design life of all treatment facilities necessary to maintain design capacity and performance of the sewer system; and

(2)

A sewer system capital improvement account to accumulate the equivalent future value of the grant amount as adjusted for inflationary cost increases. For the purpose of this subsection, accumulation of the equivalent future value of the grant amount shall mean total revenue collections and appreciation of such amount. Sewer system shall mean county sanitary sewer facilities; capital improvement shall not include the replacement or repair of equipment, accessories or appurtenances necessary to maintain design capacity and performance during the design life of all treatment facilities. However, capital improvement may include such repair and replacement if they are part of a treatment plant or pumping station capacity expansion or upgrade necessary to meet more stringent effluent limitations required by a regulatory agency or are necessitated as the result of manmade or natural disasters. Deposits and withdrawals from the account shall be governed by the following:

a.

Revenue shall be deposited annually or, at the county's election, on a more frequent basis into the sewer system capital improvement account not later than the end of each one-year period beginning with the date of initiation of operation of the complete grant funded treatment facilities. The annual deposits plus investment income are intended to accumulate the equivalent future value, based on the projected annual inflation rate of 7.8 percent, of the grant amount during the design life of the grant funded project. The amount of the required yearly deposit shall be determined according to the following formula:

Where:

b.

Revenue may also be deposited on other than an annual basis provided the total amount deposited is equal to or greater than the sum of the deposits required at that time. Prepayments to the account are allowable.

c.

The county may terminate deposits to the account when the sum of all deposits exceeds or is equal to the amount determined by multiplying "DL" by "D," where "DL" and "D" are as described in subsection (c)(2)a of this section.

d.

The accrued funds shall be used only for sanitary sewer system capital improvements and may be withdrawn and used any time for this purpose. Since such withdrawn funds represent previously collected revenues and income earned thereon, the amount of withdrawn funds need not be replaced or returned to the capital improvement account.

e.

Any part of the sewer system capital improvement account may be included within a pooled cash system for investment purposes or within a capital improvement account under a bond program, provided it is pledged solely to sewer system capital improvements and its identity is maintained through separate accounting. The sewer system capital improvement account shall not be pledged or used for any other purposes. This subsection shall not authorize any deviation from the requirement of this section of bond covenants.

f.

The grant recipient shall submit to the bureau, for each fiscal year, certification by a certified public accountant that the sewer system capital improvement account is maintained in accordance with this section.

(d)

Revenue required under subsection (c)(1) of this section shall be generated via a user charge system established pursuant to F.A.C. 17-50.015(2)(i) or (j). Revenue required under subsection (c)(1) of this section may be generated from any source.

(Code 1970, § 26-95.7; Ord. No. 88-07, § 1, 3-15-88)

Secs. 110-129—110-150. - Reserved.