Article 01: General Provisions

106-1.     Definitions.

Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise, the meanings of terms and phrases used in this chapter shall be as follows:

BOD (denoting "biochemical oxygen demand") -- The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five (5) days at twenty degrees Celsius (20° C.), expressed in milligrams per liter, as described in the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater.

BUILDING SERVICE CONNECTION or SERVICE CONNECTION -- The extension from the sewer system to any structure.

COMMITTEE -- The Sewer Policy Committee.

COUNCIL -- The Town Council.

EASEMENT -- An acquired legal right for the specific use of land owned by others. The Town Council or designated duly authorized employees of the town, bearing proper credentials and identification, shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the town holds a duly negotiated "easement" for the purposes of but not limited to inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, repair and maintenance of any portion of the wastewater facilities lying within said "easement."

FLOATABLE OIL -- Oil, fat or grease in a physical state such that it will separate by gravity from wastewater by treatment in an approved pretreatment facility.

GARBAGE -- Solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking and dispensing of food and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.

IMPROVED PROPERTY -- Any property located within the Town of Durham upon which there is erected a structure intended for continuous or periodic habitation, occupancy or use by human beings or animals and from which structure sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes shall be or may be discharged.

INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENT -- Any room, group of rooms, building or other enclosure used or intended for use in the operation of a business enterprise for manufacturing, processing, testing, cleaning, laundering or assembling any product, commodity or article or from which any process waste, as distinct from sanitary sewage, shall be discharged.

INDUSTRIAL WASTES -- Any and all wastes discharged from any industrial establishment, other than sanitary sewage.

LATERAL -- That part of the sewer system extending from a trunk sewer line (interceptor sewer) to a building service connection.

NATURAL OUTLET -- Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or ground water.

OWNER -- Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole or partial, or possession of any improved property.

PERSON -- Any individual, partnership, company, association, institution, society, corporation or other legal entity.

pH -- The logarithm of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.

POPULATION EQUIVALENTS -- Any discharge of fifty (50) or more gallons of sewage per person per day shall equal one (1) "population equivalent."

PRETREATMENT -- Any treatment process which changes the character of any discharge before entering the town sewer system.

PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE -- The wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than one-half (1/2) inch [one and twenty-seven hundredths (1.27) centimeters] in any dimension.

PUBLIC SEWER -- A sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights and which is controlled by public authority.

SANITARY SEWAGE -- Normal water-carried household and toilet wastes discharged from any property, excluding ground- , surface or storm water.

SANITARY SEWER -- A sewer which carries sewage and to which storm- , surface and ground waters are not intentionally admitted.

SEWAGE -- Sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes permitted to enter the sewer system.

SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT or WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT -- Any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating sewage.

SEWER -- Any pipe or conduit constituting a part of the sewer system used or usable for sewage collection purposes and approved by the town.

SEWER SYSTEM -- All facilities, as of any particular time, for collecting, pumping, transporting, treating and disposing of sanitary sewage and permitted industrial wastes, situate in the Town of Durham and owned, maintained and operated by the town. It shall not include the system of storm sewers in use in the town.

SLUG -- 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 five (5) minutes more than five (5) times the average twenty-four-hour concentration of flows during normal operation.

STORM DRAIN (sometimes termed "storm sewer") -- A sewer which carries storm- and surface waters and drainage but excludes sewage and industrial wastes, other than unpolluted cooling water.

SUSPENDED SOLIDS -- Total suspended matter that either floats on the surface of or is in suspension in waste (water).

TOWN -- The Town of Durham, Strafford County, New Hampshire, a municipality of the State of New Hampshire, acting by and through its Council or, in appropriate cases, acting by and through its authorized representatives, including the Sewer Policy Committee or the Board of Sewer Commissioners, if hereafter created.

UNPOLLUTED WATER -- Water of quality equal to or better than the effluent criteria in effect or water that would not cause violation of receiving water quality standards and would not be benefited by discharge to the sanitary sewers and wastewater treatment facilities provided.

106-2.     Conditions for use of system.

A.  General conditions of approval. Each approved application for sewer, once accepted by the Council, shall bind the applicant, his heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns to the following provisions and conditions:

           1.  In the event that any changes are made in the character, flow or use of the property covered by the original application, the sewer assessment shall be subject to an adjustment in an amount which will reflect the new use.

           2.  The design and construction of the building sewer lines shall be as prescribed in the latest regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the New Hampshire Water Supply and Pollution Control Commission (NHWSPCC) and the Town of Durham, New Hampshire.

           3.  Each agreement shall be recorded by the town with the Register of Deeds as a lien on the property.

           4.  According to RSA 149:4, Subdivision V, "the filing with the Commission of plans and specifications of the installation of systems and devices for handling, treating or disposing of sewage, industrial and other wastes, at least thirty (30) days prior to the beginning of construction shall be required."

           5.  Developers are responsible for all costs of new sewer extensions or any pretreatment of industrial waste. The Town Council may waive certain costs if in the best interests of the Durham sewer system.

B.  Property adjacent to sewer lines or extensions. Unless granted a waiver by the Town Administrator, the owner(s) of all houses, buildings or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purposes situated within the town and abutting on any street, alley or right-of-way in which there is now located or may in the future be located a public sanitary or combined sewer of the town is (are) hereby required, at the owner's (owners') expense, to install suitable toilet facilities therein and to connect such facilities directly to the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this chapter within ninety (90) days after the date of official notice to do so, provided that said public sewer is within one hundred (100) feet [thirty and five-tenths (30.5) meters] of the property line. (See RSA 147:8 and RSA 147:11.)

C.  Waivers. Pursuant to RSA 147:8, the Town is authorized to grant a waiver from the wastewater discharge connection requirement in subparagraph B herein where the property owner can establish by written documentation, to the satisfaction of the Town, that the property is served by an adequate alternative sewage disposal system which complies with applicable state and local regulations, designed by a subsurface system designer licensed in New Hampshire and approved for construction by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services after January 1, 1985.

D.  Procedures.

           1.  Nonindustrial sewer connection. An owner seeking permission for a new connection, an increase in flow or a change in character from his property to the town sewer must file an application on a form provided by the Council. The application shall be executed in triplicate. When approved, the original and duplicate will be retained by the Council and the triplicate returned to the applicant. The Council shall act upon the application within forty-five (45) days. If the connection is not made within one (1) year of the date of approval, the Council shall reconsider the application. (See the application form attached in the Appendix.)

               a.  Once the application is approved by the Council and the connection is made, the applicant, his heirs, administrators, successors and assigns are bound to pay an initial assessment and an annual rental fee, as provided by this chapter and adopted by the Council.

               b.  The sewer is to be used only for sanitary sewage and only for sewage connected with the property set out in the application. No surface or ground water drainage, whether from floors, roofs, land or otherwise, shall be permitted to enter said sewer. Sewer facilities of the property served shall be open to inspection by the Council, its agents or representatives at any reasonable time.

               c.  The applicant shall submit to the Council for its approval a plan or description of the private sewer line he proposes to build for connecting to the town sewer mains. The town shall retain the right, without exception, to inspect the sewer facilities on the property at any and all reasonable times.

               d. The applicant shall build and maintain, at his own expense, the sewer line from the property served to the town sewer main and pay to the town the cost of materials and labor to connect the service line to the sewer main. The town will lay the pipe, make the connection and test the installation between the building sewer line and the trunk sewer main at the owner's expense. The owner will be responsible for all excavation, bedding material and road cut permits and grading the trench to the proper slope and depth as approved by the town.

           2.  Proposed new discharges from residential or commercial sources involving loading exceeding fifty (50) population equivalents or any increase in industrial discharge must be approved by the New Hampshire Water Supply and Pollution Control Commission. Any increase in industrial waste shall meet the criteria of Subsection D, Industrial waste.

E.   Industrial waste.

           1.  A written request for discharge of any industrial waste will be submitted to the Town Council and referred by the Council to the Sewer Policy Committee for recommendation. The Sewer Policy Committee, within thirty (30) days, shall:

               a.  Announce a public hearing on the request.

               b.  Notify all abutters within two hundred (200) feet of all property lines of the proposed sewer extension a minimum of seven (7) calendar days before the hearing by certified mail and advertise this hearing in two (2) local newspapers a minimum of seven (7) calendar days before said public hearing.

               c.  According to RSA 149:4, Subdivision V, "require the filing with the Commission of plans and specifications of the installation of systems and devices for handling, treating or disposing of sewage, industrial and other wastes, at least thirty (30) days prior to the beginning of construction."

               d. Recommend to the Town Council the approval or disapproval of the extension within thirty (30) days after the public hearing. An extension of time to the Committee [up to sixty (60) days] to gather further information may be granted by the Council. After recommendation by the Sewer Policy Committee, the Town Council shall have forty-five (45) days to approve or deny said application.

               e.  Require the developer to bond and provide a guaranty of performance agreement in order to secure proper pretreatment and operational costs relative to industrial pretreatment.

           2.  A complete physical and chemical analysis of all waste to be discharged shall be required for presentation by the applicant at the public hearing; also any proposed or mandated pretreatment, operational costs of pretreatment, design of the pretreatment facility and a final analysis of discharge into the town sewer system.

           3.  Design specifications and economic analysis for the proposed discharge shall be made by a registered professional engineer meeting the qualifications of the town, the state and the Environmental Protection Agency. All designs shall meet the requirements and conditions of the above agencies.

           4.  All industries discharging into a public sewer shall perform such monitoring of their discharges as the Council or duly authorized employees of the town may reasonably require, including installation, use and maintenance of monitoring equipment, keeping records and reporting the results of such monitoring to the Council. Such records shall be made available upon request by the Council to other agencies having jurisdiction over discharges to the receiving waters.

     F.  Septic tank waste. Septic tank waste will be accepted into the sewer system at a designated receiving structure within the treatment plant area, provided that such wastes do not contain unusual toxic or pollutant material and provided that such discharge does not violate any other special requirements established by the town. Permits to use such facilities shall be under the jurisdiction of the Sewer Policy Committee or its duly authorized representatives. Fees for dumping septic tank waste will be established as part of the user charge system. The Director of Public Works, acting on behalf of the town and the Sewer Policy Committee, shall have authority to limit the disposal of such wastes if such disposal would interfere with the treatment plant operation. Procedures for the disposal of such wastes shall be in conformance with the operating policy of the town's sewage treatment plant supervisor and disposal shall be accomplished under his supervision, unless specifically permitted otherwise.

(Section 106.2 amended by Ord. #2009-09 dtd 9/14/09)

106-3.     Procedure for approving extensions.

A.  Each application for a subdivision or site review submitted to the Planning Board of the Town of Durham must be accompanied by a sewer feasibility study prepared by a professional engineer registered in the State of New Hampshire. The professional engineer must be approved by the town and appear on the New Hampshire Water Supply and Pollution Control Commission's prequalified list of engineering firms allowed to do municipal work in the State of New Hampshire.

B.  A written request for an extension of a sewer main will be received by the Town Council and referred to the Sewer Policy Committee for recommendation.

C.  The Sewer Policy Committee shall, within thirty (30) days:

           1.  Announce a public hearing on the sewer extension request.

           2.  Notify all abutters within two hundred (200) feet of all property lines of the proposed sewer extension a minimum of seven (7) calendar days before the hearing by certified mail and advertise this hearing in two (2) local newspapers a minimum of seven (7) calendar days before said public hearing.

           3.  Require to be presented by the applicant at the hearing an estimate of the total and per-foot cost of the extension based upon detailed engineering designs and specifications. Designs and specifications for the extension will be by a registered professional engineer and must meet town, state and Environmental Protection Agency requirements. Each abutter to the proposed extension shall be informed of his assessment for the anticipated sewer line extension. It is to be understood that sewer line assessments shall be collected by the town and shall be refundable to the responsible fiscal agent (town, developer or individual) for a period not to exceed ten (10) years from the time of approval. After ten (10) years, all assessments shall be retained by the town and placed in the sewer capital expenditure account.

           4.  Recommend to the Town Council the approval or disapproval of the extension within thirty (30) days after the public hearing. An extension of time to the Committee [up to sixty (60) days] to gather further information may be granted by the Board. After recommendation by the Sewer Policy Committee, the Town Council shall have forty-five (45) days to approve or deny said application.

D.  After bonding assessments and a guaranty of performance, construction of the sewer main extension may be by the town, by a housing developer or by an individual, subject to appropriate sections of this chapter.

106-4.     Assessments and rental fees.

A.  New Service Connections.

1.    New Service Connections.  An Access Fee for use of an existing service or connecting a new service to the Public Sewer Systems shall be determined for all classes of Users on a per bedroom basis for Residential Account Holders and per equivalent Residential unit basis for Commercial Account Holders as established by the Water/Wastewater/Stormwater Committee. This fee may be amended as needed by the Administrator based on recommendations by the Water/Wastewater/Stormwater Committee.

2.    Changes in Use.  Any change in use, including increase in occupancy or expansion of Commercial or Residential facility, shall be subject to a fee, as determined by the Water/Wastewater/Stormwater Committee and consistent with new service connections.

(Section 106-4(A) amended by Ord. #2014-02 dated 3/17/14)

B.  Payments on sewer assessments and on old entrance fees shall be placed in a sewer capital expenditures account for the purpose of sewer line expansion; enlargement of pumping, treatment or other facilities; or payment of bonded indebtedness, as recommended annually by the Sewer Policy Committee.

C.  Sewer rental charge. Moneys for the Sewer Fund shall be raised as follows:

           1.  The Council shall prepare and, after review by the Sewer Policy Committee, adopt annually, in the month of January, a Sewer Department operational and maintenance budget for the calendar year.

           2.  The Council shall review annually, in January, with the proper University of New Hampshire officials, the University's use of the sewer system and determine the proportion of the operational and maintenance budget that shall be paid by the University. This proportion shall be based upon the agreement between the town and the University dated December 21, 1964, or as amended.

           3.  The Council shall annually, in January, determine the sewer rental rate in terms of a charge per cubic foot of metered water draining into the sewer system, as defined in Subsection C(1) and (2) above. Said rate shall be sufficient with other available funds to meet the estimated expenses of the Sewer Department operational and maintenance budget. See Subsection C(2) above.

           4.  Sewer rent charges shall be levied at the rate determined in this Subsection C per cubic foot of water passing through the water meter or meters of each property owner as read by the Town Water Department. All meters that may be installed as provided in this chapter shall be made available for reading and checking by the Director of Public Works or his representative during a usual working day per period. The Town of Durham Sewer Department shall not be responsible for installation, maintenance or reading of meters on University of New Hampshire property. All meter readings will be made on or about April 1 and October 1 each year.

D.  Notice of charge. A notice of charge for sewer rent shall be given to the owner or owners of real estate chargeable thereafter by mailing to them at the end of each six (6) months, April 30 and October 31 each year, a statement setting forth the total then due and payable.

E.   Rules for collection. The following rules and regulations shall apply to the collection of sewer rents:

           1.  Sewer rents are due and payable on May 1 and November 1 at the Durham Tax Collector's office.

           2.  Remittances by mail are at the risk of the sender and shall be accomplished by a stamped envelope properly addressed if return receipt is desired.

           3.  In case of a meter stopping or failing to register, the quantity of water used shall be estimated as the average semiannual amount which ordinarily passes through the meter when the meter is in operation.

           4.  Any request for a meter test made to the Waterworks Department shall be accompanied by a deposit, per the schedule of sewer charges, which deposit shall be retained if the meter test shows the meter to be registering properly. If, however, the meter test shows the meter to be registering improperly, the deposit will be returned to the applicant, and whatever financial adjustment the Council deems advisable shall be made.

F.   Relating to financing, management, operation and repair of the sewer system, including the pumping station, treatment plant and collecting lines or other appurtenant structures pertaining thereto:

           1.  Sewer Rent. Each owner of property connected to the town sewer system shall pay a sewer rental charge in proportion to his use of the system for the purpose of defraying the cost of management, maintenance, operation, replacement and repair of town sewers and sewer systems, including treatment and disposal works, for the payment of the interest and principal of any debt incurred to pay such costs. Sewer rents shall not be used to defray the cost of new main lines and service extensions.

           2.  Sewer funds. Sewer rent fees and interest derived therefrom shall be kept in a separate and distinct fund that shall be known as the "Sewer Fund." Sewer rents and any interest derived therefrom shall be paid into the town treasury. It shall be kept and applied upon order of the Council exclusively for the purposes set forth in Subsection C above.

G.  Who shall pay rents. Sewer rent fees shall be paid by the owners of real estate connected by sewer drain with the town sewer system. Service to the University of New Hampshire properties is by negotiated agreement between the Council and proper University officials.

H.  Basis of payment. Sewer rent fees shall be paid as follows:

           1.  Properties obtaining water from the University-town water system: upon the metered consumption of water.

           2.  Properties with private water supply: upon the consumption of water shown by a meter supplied, installed and maintained by the Sewer Department.

           3.  Properties with public and private water supply: upon the sum of two (2) meter readings, one showing the amount of water taken from the public supply and the other showing the amount taken from the private supply. The second meter will be supplied, installed and maintained by the Sewer Department at the owner's cost.

I.    Special meters. Any property owner may request the installation on his premises by the Sewer Department, at his own expense, of a meter to measure the amount of water used on the premises which does not enter the sewage system, and an adjustment of rent fee shall be made based upon this metered use. An annual meter fee, as determined by the Sewer Policy Committee, shall be paid to the Sewer Department by the owner of the property for this special meter.

     J.    All charges for sewer rents shall become a lien upon real estate served by the town sewerage system in accordance with the terms of RSA 252:12. Interest at such rate as may be approved by the Department of Revenue Administration will be added to sewer rent accounts not paid within thirty (30) days after statements are rendered.

           1.  Upon petition to the Council and not later than sixty (60) days after the sewer rent is due and payable, the Council may, for good cause shown, abate in whole or in part any sewer rent.

           2.  No person, firm or corporation shall do any act or commit any deed to obstruct or interfere with proper measuring of water draining into the system nor permit roof, cellar or floor drains or other outside water sources to enter the sewer system on his premises.

106-5. Operational and discharge regulations.

A.  No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes to any public sewers:

           1.  Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.

           2.  Any waters or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids or gases in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a public nuisance or create any hazard in the receiving waters of the sewage treatment plant, including but not limited to cyanides in excess of two (2) milligrams per liter as CN in the wastes as discharged to the public sewer.

           3.  Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than five point five (5.5) or a pH higher than nine point zero (9.0) or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and personnel of the sewage works.

           4.  Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size capable of causing obstruction to the flow in a sewer or other interference with the proper operation of the sewage works, such as but not limited to ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, unground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entrails and paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc., either whole or ground by garbage grinders.

     B.  No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged the following described substances, materials, waters or wastes if it appears likely, in the opinion of the Council, that such wastes can harm either the sewers, sewage treatment process or equipment, have an adverse effect on the receiving stream or can otherwise endanger life, limb, public property or constitute a nuisance. In forming an opinion as to the acceptability of these wastes, the Council will give consideration to such factors as the quantities of subject wastes in relation to flows and velocities in the sewers, the materials of construction of the sewers, the nature of the sewage treatment process, the capacity of the sewage treatment plant, the degree of treatability of wastes in the sewage treatment plant and other pertinent factors. The substances prohibited are:

           1.  Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than one hundred four degrees Fahrenheit (104° F.) [forty degrees Celsius (40° C.)].

           2.  Any waters or wastes containing fats, wax, grease or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of twenty-five (25) milligrams per liter or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between thirty-two and one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit (32° and 150° F.) [zero and sixty-five degrees Celsius (0° and 65° C.)].

           3.  Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor of three-fourths (3/4) horsepower [zero and seventy-six hundredths (0.76) horsepower metric] or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the Council.

           4.  Waters or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction by the sewage treatment processes employed or are amenable to treatment only to such degree that the sewage treatment plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction over discharge to the receiving waters.

           5.  Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the Sewer Policy Committee in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.

           6.  Quantities of flow, concentrations, or both, which constitute a slug, as defined herein.

C.  If any waters or wastes are discharged or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers which, in the judgment of the Council, may have a deleterious effect upon the sewage works as outlined in Subsection A, the Council may:

           1.  Reject the wastes.

           2.  Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers.

           3.  Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge.

           4.  Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes.

D.  If the Council permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the Council and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances and laws.

E.   Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the Council, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts, or any flammable wastes, sand or other harmful ingredients, except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the Council and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.

F.   Storm water and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated as storm sewers or to a natural outlet approved by the Town Council. Unpolluted industrial cooling water or process waters may be discharged, on approval of the Public Works Director and the New Hampshire Water Supply and Pollution Control Commission, to a storm sewer or natural outlet.

G.  No statement contained in this chapter shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the Town of Durham and any industrial concern whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the Town of Durham for treatment.

106-6.     Tampering with equipment.

No person(s) shall 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(s) violating this provision shall be subject to immediate arrest under charge of criminal mischief (RSA 634:2).

106-7.     Inspections.

A.  The Town Council or designated duly authorized employees of the town, bearing proper credentials and identification, shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing pertinent to discharge to the community system in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

B.  The Town Council or designated duly authorized employees are authorized to obtain information concerning industrial processes which have a direct bearing on the kind and source of discharge to the wastewater collection system. The industry may require maintenance of confidentiality of the information but must establish that the revelation to the public of the information in question might result in an advantage to competitors.

C.  While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to above, the Town Council or designated duly authorized employees of the town shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the company, and the company shall be held harmless for injury or death to the town employees. The town shall indemnify the company against loss or damage to its property by town employees and against liability claims and demands for personal injury or property damage asserted against the company and growing out of the gauging and sampling operation, except as such may be caused by negligence or failure of the company to maintain safe conditions as required. All entry and subsequent work, if any, on easements held by the town shall be done in full accordance with the terms of the duly negotiated easement pertaining to the private property involved. All duly authorized employees of the town shall bear proper credentials and identification.

106-8.     Waste dilution prohibited.

It shall be illegal to meet requirements of this Sewer Ordinance by diluting wastes in lieu of proper pretreatment.

106-9.     Effective date.

This chapter shall be effective on its passage, and the first charge for sewer rent shall be made and notice given on or after April 30, 1966.

106-10.   Violations and penalties.

Any person, firm or corporation violating the provisions of 106-5A of this chapter shall be fined a sum as determined by the Sewer Policy Committee for each day of neglect or refusal to remove the obstruction or drain of interference; provided, however, that said penalty shall not be imposed until after written notice has been given by certified mail to the person, firm or corporation charged with violating the provisions of said 106-5A.