Okaloosa County BOCC — August 2, 2016 — proposed Water & Sewer Ordinance (tracked changes version) — reading text

opening, or into the Board's sewer system, or any system connected with and discharging into the sewer Page 65 of 118  system, the contents of any septic tank, sludge, sewage or other similar matter or material, except as provided in the paragraph below. b. Permits. The Board's water and sewer Director is hereby authorized to grant permits to discharge the contents of septic tanks (from domestic sources only) at locations specified by the Director of the Water and Sewer Department and under his supervision. Such permits may be revoked at any time if, in the opinion of the Director of the Water and Sewer Department, continued dumping of such matter into the sewers will be injurious to the sewer system or treatment processes. Any person/company which pumps septic wastes commercially shall do so only after obtaining required state permits from the Okaloosa County Health Department. c. Charges as specified in Appendix A. A charge shall be made for the privilege of dumping contents of septic tanks, as provided in separate regulations. A record shall be kept of such dumpings and statements shall be payable within 30 days after rendition. Failure to pay the amounts due within such 30-day period shall be cause for revoking the permit. (11) Any dwelling 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 written notification from the County Health Department that said system is not functioning in a sanitary manner, and it is ordered that said system be corrected. (12) Premises with private water systems where public sewers are available shall be connected with the public sewerage system as stated in this article. (13) No statement contained in this section shall be construed to interfere with any additional requirements that may be imposed by the County Health Department. Sec. 24-323. - Unauthorized connection and penalties. The Board reserves the right to terminate water and sewer services and disconnect a Customer from the water or sewer system when: (1) Acids or chemicals damaging to sewer lines or treatment process are released into the sewer causing rapid deterioration of these structures or interfering with proper conveyance and treatment of sewage; or (2) A governmental agency informs the Board that the effluent from the sewage treatment plant is no longer of a quality permitted for discharge, and it is found that the Customer is delivering sewage to the Board's system that cannot be sufficiently treated or requires treatment that is not provided by the Board as normal domestic sewage; or (3) The Customer: a. Discharges industrial waste or sewage that is in violation of the permit issued by the approving authority or board. b. Discharges sewage at an uncontrolled, variable rate in sufficient quantity to cause an imbalance in the sewage treatment system. c. Fails to pay monthly bills for water and/or sewer services when due, or d. Repeats a discharge of prohibited wastes into public sewers, or e. Fails to comply with cross connection control requirements specified in Division 11, or Page 66 of 118  f. Fails to pay monthly fire line charges when due. (4) The Board does hereby officially find and declare that any persons making any unauthorized connection to either the water or the sewer lines of the board, or to both, creates an undue burden on those customers of the Board who have paid for service. The Board further officially declares that it will make every effort to discover any unauthorized use of its facilities and will rigidly enforce the payment of the fees imposed under section 24- 271 for making such unauthorized connection. (5) When the Board discovers that any person has connected to its water line or to its sewer line, the Board will immediately levy charge for connecting the line based on the published charges or rates. Unless such payment is made in cash within 30 days after the assessment thereof by the Board, the Board will disconnect the sewer service or the water service, or both, at its discretion. In addition to the assessment of said charges the Board will also assess the monthly water or sewage service charge levied against any unauthorized connection, and will levy the minimum sum fixed for an unauthorized connection to the water or sewer system of the Board. (6) If the Board is unable to determine when the unauthorized connection was made, the Board will levy a charge for not less than six months and not less than $25.00 per month for each unlawful or unauthorized connection to the water or sewage system. The Board will demand payment in cash for all of such charges fixed by it and unless the same are paid within 30 days, the Board may disconnect the water service or the sewer service, or both. (7) If a connection has been made to the sewer system of the Board without permission or without payment of the published charges, and there is also a connection to the water system, the board will assess such charges for the sewer connection and may disconnect the water unless the charges are paid in cash within 30 days. (8) The Board reserves the right to take such other, further or different action as it may, in its discretion, determine. (9) The levy of penalties or charges hereunder shall not be construed as a waiver on the part of the Board of its right to prosecute such person or persons if they have obtained such services unlawfully or fraudulently. (10) In the event any property owner has agreed to pay for the right to connect to the water system or to the sewer system of the board, or to both, under the partial payment plan, and has defaulted in the monthly payments required under such partial payment plan, and such default continues, the board may, at its option, discontinue service until such time as the entire balance due is paid. The customer may make arrangements to pay the balance, such payments based upon Okaloosa County Water and Sewer original partial payment plan rate plus ten percent on the unpaid balance until all of the unpaid principal and interest is liquidated. (11) No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter, or disturb any public water or sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Board. (12) No person shall maliciously, willfully, or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface, or tamper with any structure, meter, appurtenance or equipment which is a part of the water or sewage facilities belonging to the Board. Any person violating this provision shall be subject to immediate arrest under charge of disorderly conduct and shall be responsible for any loss of revenue or monetary expenditures needed for repairs brought about by their actions. Sec. 24-324. - Violations. The following enforcement actions shall be adhered to and made a part of this article: (1) Violations of this article shall be a misdemeanor punishable under the laws of the State of Florida. Page 67 of 118  (2) The Board may suspend the water, sewage or treatment service when such suspension is necessary, when, in the opinion of the Board, in order to stop an actual or threatened discharge which presents or may present an imminent or substantial endangerment to the health or welfare of persons, to the environment, causes interference to the POTW or causes the board to violate any condition of its operating permit. (3) Any person notified of a suspension of the water, sewage, or treatment service shall immediately stop or eliminate the use of the Board's facilities. In the event of a failure of the person to comply voluntarily with the suspension order, the Board may immediately sever the sewer or water connection, to prevent or minimize damage to the POTW system or endangerment to any individuals. The Board shall reinstate the water, sewage or treatment service upon proof of the elimination of the non-complying discharge, a verbal notice being required within 24 hours and a detailed written notice required within 72 hours. The written notice submitted by the User shall describe the causes of the harmful contributions and the measures taken to prevent any future occurrence. (4) Any User who violates the following conditions of this article, or applicable state or federal regulations, is subject to having his service revoked in accordance with the procedures of this article: a. Failure of a user to report factually the sewage constituents and characteristics of his discharge. b. Failure of the user to report significant changes in operations, or sewage constituents and characteristics. c. Refusal of reasonable access to the user's premises for the purpose of inspection or monitoring. d. Violation of conditions of the service. (5) Whenever the Board finds that any user has violated or is violating this article, or any prohibition, limitation of requirements contained herein, the Board may serve upon such person a written notice stating the nature of the violation. Within 30 days of the date of the notice, a plan for the satisfactory correction thereof shall be submitted to the Board by the user. (6) At least annually, the Board shall publish in the local newspapers a list of persons or Industrial Users which have been determined after hearing to be in significant non-compliance with applicable pretreatment requirements or convicted of violating this article at any time during the previous 12 months. Public notification shall be included in a newspaper(s) of general circulation within the jurisdiction served by the WWF. The term Significant Non-compliance shall be applicable to all Significant Industrial Users (or any other Industrial User that violates paragraphs c., d., and h. of this Section) and shall mean: a. Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which sixty-six percent (66%) or more of all the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter taken during a six- (6-) month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric Pretreatment Standard or Requirement, including Instantaneous Limits as defined in Section 24-102 b. Technical Review Criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which thirty-three percent (33%) or more of wastewater measurements taken for each pollutant parameter during a six- (6- ) month period equals or exceeds the product of the numeric Pretreatment Standard or Requirement including Instantaneous Limits, as defined by Section 24-102 multiplied by the applicable criteria (1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oils and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH); c. Any other violation of a Pretreatment Standard or Requirement as defined by Section 24-102 (Daily Maximum, long-term average, Instantaneous Limit, or narrative standard) that the Director determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, Interference or Pass Through, including endangering the health of POTW personnel or the general public; Page 68 of 118  d. Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to the public or to the environment, or has resulted in the Director exercise of its emergency authority to halt or prevent such a discharge; e. Failure to meet, within ninety (90) days of the scheduled date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in an individual wastewater discharge permit or enforcement order for