Chapter 13.20 SEWER SERVICE

Chapter 13.20
SEWER SERVICE

Sections:

13.20.010 General provisions.

13.20.020 Policies and conditions of service.

13.20.010 General provisions.

A. 1. Purpose and Policy. There are set forth within the city, uniform requirements for dischargers into the Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) wastewater collection and treatment system, and enabling legislation for the city to protect public health in conformity with all applicable local, state and federal laws. (Ord. 00-16 §2(part), 2000)

2. The objectives of these rules and regulations are:

a. To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the city wastewater system which will unduly interfere with the normal operation of the system or contaminate the resulting municipal sludge;

b. To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the city wastewater system which do not receive adequate treatment in the POTW, and which will pass through the system into receiving waters or the atmosphere or otherwise be incompatible with the system;

c. To improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewater and sludge from the system.

3. These rules provide for the regulation of discharges into the city wastewater system through the enforcement of administrative regulations.

B. Adoption and Amendment of Rules and Regulations Resolution of conflicts.

1. These rules and regulations have been adopted by the council, a municipal corporation of the state of Alaska, and are in compliance with the laws of the state of Alaska. No individual employee of the city has the authority to waiver, alter or amend these rules and regulations, notwithstanding the authority of the city mayor to resolve any conflict between this chapter and other provisions of this code. (Ord. 00-16 §2(part), 2000)

2. Rates for the installation of a sewer connection and monthly user charges are set forth in Chapter 13.24, which has been adopted and approved by the city council.

C. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter the following terms shall be defined to mean:

1. "Applicable pretreatment standards" means, for any specified pollutant, city or state prohibitive discharge standards, city or state specific limitations on discharge, or the national categorical pretreatment standards (when effective), whichever standards are most stringent.

2. "Authority" means the mayor of the city of North Pole, or the mayor designee, who is charged with enforcing these rules and regulations.

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

4. "Building sewer" means the pipe and appurtenances from the building to the public lateral sanitary sewer or other place of disposal, also called house connection, service connection or service line.

5. "City" means City of North Pole.

6. "Clean Water Act" (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), also noted herein as CWA, refers to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act as amended.

7. "Commercial user or contributor" means a premises, or customer, who discharges industrial wastes which are similar to domestic wastes in nature and do not exceed those parameters which define normal sewage as described in context.

8. "Control authority" means the agency or governmental entity having the authority to issue and enforce pretreatment programs. The control authority relative to this chapter is EPA or USEPA.

9. "Customer" means customer or consumer; an individual, firm, corporation, partnership, institution or association receiving sanitary sewer service or wastewater treatment service from the city.

10. "DEC or ADEC" means the state of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

11. "Domestic sewage" means water carried wastes generated in normal household type activities, with minor quantities of ground, storm and surface waters that are not admitted intentionally without permit.

12. "EPA or USEPA" means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

13. "Flow equalizing units" means those devices or structures constructed to evenly regulate either or both the strength and volume of wastes.

14. "Garbage" means the animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparing, cooking or serving of foods; and putrescible wastes.

15. "Industrial wastes" means solid, liquid or gaseous waste resulting from any industrial, manufacturing, trade, or business process or from the development, recovery or processing of natural resources.

16. "Industrial use or contributor" means an industry or commercial establishment which discharges waste waters having the characteristics of industrial wastes.

17. "May" is permissive (see "shall").

18. "National Categorical Pretreatment Standards" means discharge limits promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) of the Clean Water Act, which applies to specific categories of industrial users. These standards specify the quantities or concentration of pollutants or pollutant properties which may be discharged or introduced into a POTW by the specified categories of industrial users.

19. "Natural outlet" means any outlet, including storm sewers and combined sewer overflows, into a water course, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or ground water.

20. "New source" means any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there is or may be a discharge; the construction of which commenced: (a) after promulgation of pretreatment standards under Section 307(c) of the Clean Water Act which are applicable to such source; or (b) after proposal of pretreatment standards in accordance with Section 307(c) of the Clean Water Act which are applicable to such sources, but only if the standards are promulgated in accordance with Section 307(c) within one hundred twenty days of their proposal.

21. "Normal" means those values taken as standards in the measurement of sewage strength; for the purposes of these regulations, these limits are defined in context.

22. "NPDES" means the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program as administered by the USEPA or state of Alaska.

23. "Other wastes" means decayed wood, sawdust, shavings, bark, lime, refuse, ashes, garbage, offal, oil, tar, chemicals and all other substances except sewage and industrial wastes.

24. "pH" means the logarithm of the reciprocal of hydrogen ion activity in moles per liter.

25. "POTW" means any sewage treatment works and the sewers and conveyance appurtenances discharging thereto, owned and operated by the city. (Publicly owned treatment works.)

26. "Pretreatment" means that physical, chemical or biological treatment given to the waste prior to discharge into the public sewer or those processes utilized for this purpose; and the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a POTW.

27. "Pollutant" means any substance discharged into a POTW or its collection system.

28. "Properly shredded garbage" means the wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that have been shredded into such degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than one half inch in any dimension.

29. "Public sewer" means a common sewer controlled by a governmental agency or public utility.

30. "Receiving waters" means those waters into which wastes are discharged.

31. "Residential or domestic user" means a dwelling unit or person which discharges wastewater to the sewers, which closely match domestic sewage as to its volume and strength.

32. "Sanitary interceptor sewer" means a sewer which receives the flow from a number of collector sewers (lateral and trunk sewers) and transports it to a treatment plant and other points of disposal.

33. "Sanitary lateral sewer" means those sanitary sewers of eight inch diameter which may be from time to time required to extend a sanitary trunk sewer system into a general area for service.

34. "Sanitary sewage" means water carried wastes generated in normal household, commercial or industrial facilities occupied by or used by people, with minor quantities of ground, storm and surface waters that are not admitted intentionally without permit.

35. "Sanitary trunk sewer" means those sanitary sewers maintained by or proposed for installation by the city of an internal diameter larger than eight inches.

36. "Septage" means sludge and its associated liquid produced in individual on site wastewater disposal systems.

37. "Service connection" means the pipe and appurtenances required to connect an individual property or facility to the sanitary lateral sewer.

38. "Service line" means the pipe and appurtenances from the lateral sanitary sewer connection and into the private property.

39. "Sewage" means water carried human wastes or a combination of water carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments, together with such ground, surface, storm or other waters as may be present.

40. "Sewer" means a pipe or conduit that carries wastewater.

41. "Sewer collection system" means the sewer and appurtenances required to collect and carry away wastewater from the service connection.

42. "Sewerage system" means wastewater facilities.

43. "Shall" or "will" is mandatory (see "may").

44. "Significant industrial discharger (SID)" means any industrial user of the North Pole wastewater disposal facilities who:

a. Is subject to or potentially subject to national pretreatment standards promulgated under Section 307(b) or (c) of the Clean Water Act; or

b. Has in his wastes any priority toxic pollutants listed in 40 CFR 403; or

c. Has in his wastes toxic pollutants as defined pursuant to Section 307 of the Clean Water Act; or

d. Has a discharge flow of ten thousand gallons or more per average work day; or

e. Has a flow greater than five percent of the flow or design pollutant loading of the city’s wastewater treatment system; or

f. Is determined by the city to cause significant impact or potential for significant impact, either singly or in combination with other contributing industries, on the wastewater treatment system; the quality of sludge, the systems effluent quality, or air emissions generated by the system.

45. "Slug load" means any discharge which exceeds for a period of duration longer than fifteen minutes, more than five times the average twenty four hour flow during normal operation; more than five times the twenty four hour allowable concentration of any substance listed in this chapter, or which are regulated by this code; or which causes interference to POTW operations or performance.

46. "State" means the state of Alaska.

47. "Suspended solids (SS)" means total suspended matter that either floats on the surface of, or is in suspension in, water, wastewater or other liquids, and that is removable by laboratory filtering as prescribed in "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater."

48. "Toxic pollutants" means those pollutants or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under Section 307 of the Clean Water Act.

49. "Upset" means an exceptional incident in which an industrial user unintentionally and temporarily is in a state of noncompliance with the discharge limitations set forth hereto due to factors beyond the reasonable control of the industrial user, and excluding noncompliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation thereof.

50. "Wastewater" means the spent water of a community. From the standpoint of source, it may be a combination of the liquid and water carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water and stormwater that may be present.

51. "Wastewater facilities" means the structures, equipment and processes required to collect, carry away and treat domestic and industrial wastes and dispose of the effluent.

52. "Wastewater treatment plant" means an arrangement of devices and structures for treating wastewater, industrial wastes and sludge. Sometimes used as synonymous with "waste treatment works." (Ord. 88 1 §2(part), 1988; Ord. 87 12 §3(part), 1987)

13.20.020 Policies and conditions of service.

A. Use of Public Sewer Required.

1. It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit or permit to be deposited in an unsanitary manner upon public or private property within the city, or in any area under the jurisdiction of the city, any human or animal excretion, garbage or other objectionable waste which is normally introduced into a sanitary sewer.

2. It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the city or in any area under the jurisdiction of the city, any sanitary sewage, industrial waste or other polluted water, except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this chapter.

3. Except as hereinafter provided, it shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, septic tank, cesspool or other facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage.

4. The owner of all houses, buildings or structures used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purposes, situated within the city, and abutting on any street, easement or right of way in which there is now located a public sanitary sewer of the city, is required at his expense to install suitable toilet facilities therein, and to connect such facilities directly with the proper sewer in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, within two years after date of official notice to do so, provided that the sewer is within two hundred feet of the above described structures. (Ord. 01-03, §2 (part), 2003.

B. General Discharge Prohibitions. No discharger shall contribute or cause to be discharged, directly or indirectly, any of the following described substances into the wastewater disposal system or otherwise to the facilities of the city; to do so may result in suspension of wastewater treatment service. In the case of an actual or threatened danger to the health or welfare of persons or substantial danger to the environment; suspension of service may be without advance notice.

1. Any liquids, solids or gases which by reason of their nature or quantity are, or may be, sufficient either alone or by interaction to cause fire or explosion or be injurious in any other way to the operation of the POTW. At no time shall two successive readings on an explosion hazard meter, at the point of discharge into the system (or at any point in the system), be more than five percent nor any single reading over ten percent of the lower explosive limit (LEL) of the meter. Prohibited materials include, but are not limited to, gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, peroxides, chlorates, perchlorates, bromines, carbides, hydrides, sulfides and any other substances which the city, the state, or the EPA has notified the user is a fire hazard or a hazard to the system.

2. Solids or viscous substances which will or may cause obstruction to the flow in a sewer or other interference with the operation of the wastewater system. These include any garbage that has not been properly shredded, and any water or waste containing fats, blood, wax, grease, or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of one hundred mg/l or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between thirty two degrees Fahrenheit or zero degrees centigrade and one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit or sixty five degrees centigrade.

3. Any wastewater having a pH less than 6.0 or higher than 9.0 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to city structures, equipment, or personnel.

4. Any wastewater containing toxic pollutants in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, or to exceed limitations set forth in subsection C of this section, or in national categorical pretreatment standards.

5. Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, or solids which either singly or by interaction are capable of creating a public nuisance or hazard to life or are sufficient to prevent entry into the sewers for their maintenance and repair.

6. Any substance which may cause the POTW’s effluent or treatment residues, sludges, or scums, to be unsuitable for reclamation and reuse or to interfere with the reclamation process. In no case, shall a substance discharged to the POTW cause the POTW to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations developed under Section 405 of the Clean Water Act; any criteria, guidelines, or regulations affecting sludge use or disposal developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substance Control Act, or state standards applicable to the sludge management method being used.

7. Any substance which will cause the POTW to violate its NPDES and/or other disposal system permits.

8. Any substance with objectionable color not removed in the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, excess fly ash, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions.

9. Any wastewater having a temperature which will inhibit biological activity in the POTW treatment plant resulting in interference; but in no case, wastewater with temperature at the introduction into the POTW which exceeds forty degrees centigrade (104° F).

10. Any slugload, which means any pollutant, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.), released in a single extraordinary discharge episode of such volume or strength as to cause interference to the POTW.

11. Any unpolluted water including, but not limited to, noncontact cooling water.

12. Any wastewater containing quantities of radioactive substances in excess of presently existing or subsequently accepted limits for drinking water as established by the National Committee on Radiation Protection and Measuring.

13. Septic Tank Sludge Disposal. No person shall dispose of the content of a septic tank to either the city sewer or the treatment system without written approval of the city council specifying the terms, conditions and rates.

14. Any wastewater having a temperature which will not maintain a nonfreezing heat balance in the flow path from point of connection to the treatment works; but in no case shall it be less than two degrees centigrade (36° F) at point of connection.

C. Limitations on Wastewater Strength.

1. National categorical pretreatment standards as promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant to the Clean Water Act shall be met by all dischargers of the regulated industrial categories.

2. State requirements and limitations on discharges to the POTW shall be met by all dischargers which are subject to such standards in any instance in which they are more stringent than federal requirements and limitations or those in this chapter or any other applicable ordinance.

3. The city reserves the right to amend these rules and regulations to provide for more stringent limitations or requirements on discharges to the POTW where deemed necessary to comply with the objectives set forth in Section 13.20.010.

4. No discharger shall increase the use of potable or process water in any way, nor mix separate waste streams for the purpose of diluting a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with the standards set forth in this chapter.

5. No wastewater shall be discharged which contains the following enumerated materials in pollutant concentrations exceeding the following fixed upper limits:


Material	Conctration mg/l
Arsenic	0.1
Cadmium	0.03
Chromium (total)	0.4
Copper	0.3
Cyanide	0.5
Lead	0.6
Mercury	0.007
Nickel	0.4
Pesticides (all)	0.0
PCB	0.0
Phenols	4.0
Selenium	0.1
Silver	0.2
Sulfolane	100
Tin	5.0
Zinc	1.0

North Pole may impose mass limitations on dischargers where it is deemed appropriate by the authority. Fixed upper limits shall mean the maximum concentration (milligrams per liter) found in any wastewater sample taken from any discharger. (Ord. 00-16 §2(part), 2000)

D. Accidental Discharges.

1. Each discharger shall provide protection from accidental discharge of prohibited or regulated materials or substances established by these rules and regulations. Where necessary, facilities to prevent accidental discharge of prohibited materials shall be provided and maintained at the discharger’s cost and expense. Detailed plans showing facilities, and operating procedures to provide this protection, shall be submitted to and approved by the city before construction of new facilities or within one hundred eighty days of being directed by the mayor or the mayor’s designee for existing facilities. Review and approval of such plans and operating procedures by the city shall not relieve the discharger from the responsibility to modify its facility as necessary to meet the requirements of these rules.

2. Dischargers shall notify the city immediately upon the occurrence of a "slugload," or accidental discharge of substances prohibited by these rules. The notification shall include location of discharge, date and time thereof, type of waste, concentration and volume, and corrective actions. Any discharger who discharges prohibited materials shall be liable for any expense, loss or damage to the POTW, in addition to the amount of any fines imposed on the city on account thereof under state or federal law.

3. Signs shall be permanently posted in conspicuous places on discharger’s premises, advising employees whom to call in the event of a slug or accidental discharge. Employers shall provide instruction on emergency notification procedures to all employees who may cause or discover such a discharge.

E. Pretreatment Required. All significant industrial dischargers shall provide necessary wastewater pretreatment as required to comply with this chapter and shall achieve compliance with all applicable pretreatment standards within the time limitations as specified by appropriate statutes, regulations and ordinance. Any facilities required to pretreat wastewater to a level acceptable to the city shall be provided, properly operated and maintained at the user’s expense. Detailed plans showing the pretreatment facilities shall be submitted to the city for review and must be acceptable to the city before construction of the facility. The user shall obtain all necessary construction operating permits from the city of North Pole, state of Alaska and U.S. E.P.A. An agreement on such form as is acceptable to the city shall be signed by the SID and the city prior to any discharge to the system. Such pretreatment facilities shall in no way relieve the user from the responsibility of modifying its facility as necessary to produce an effluent acceptable to the city under the provisions of this chapter. Within a reasonable time after the completion of the wastewater pretreatment facility, the user shall furnish its operations and maintenance procedures for the city to review. Any subsequent significant changes in the pretreatment facilities or method of operation shall be reported to and be accepted by the city prior to the user’s initiation of the changes.

F. Private Wastewater Disposal.

1. Where a public sewer is not available under the provisions of the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC), the building sewer shall be connected to a private wastewater disposal system complying with the same provisions and applicable city, state and federal requirements.

2. Upon completion of construction of a sewer system extension in an area, the city shall publish a notice that sewer service is available to serve the property owners of that area. The owner of a property as defined in 13.20.02 A.4 and served by a private wastewater disposal system shall have installed or cause to be installed, at his expense, a connection to the public sewer within no less than two years from the date such sewer service is declared to be available, or any other timetable as prescribed by city council or city code. Prior to the sale of a property served by a wastewater service system, hook up to the wastewater service is required. The connection shall be of a type and installed in a manner consistent with this chapter. Monthly wastewater fees as established by city code shall begin at time of such connection. (Ord. 01-03, §2(part), 2003.

3. Tie in fees for new service areas are to be established by resolution of council. Tie in fees are due at time of connection, however arrangements may be made to amortize tie in fees over a twelve-month period.

4. Failure to connect to available sewer service within the two-year time period, shall be cause for the property owner to be billed and required to pay the applicable monthly wastewater fee on an ongoing month by month basis. In addition, the tie in fee becomes due and payable, however arrangements may be made to amortize tie in fees over a twelve-month period.

5. Failure to connect or pay applicable fees within three years of notice shall be cause for the city to file a lien against said property for outstanding tie in fees and/or wastewater fees. Such lien shall be reviewed annually and may be adjusted to reflect actual outstanding balances. (Ord. 98-16, §2 (part), 1998).

G. Building Sewers. All building sewers shall be installed in complete accordance with provisions of the Uniform Plumbing Code.

H. Service Connection.

1. No unauthorized person(s) shall uncover, make any connections with or openings into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written sewer connection permit from the mayor or designated representative.

2. Where construction, repair, maintenance and excavation in public streets are involved, see North Pole Water and Sewer Standards of Construction.

3. The owner shall be responsible to the city for any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the service connection.

4. All requested permit applications shall be screened and evaluated by the utility manager and the mayor or designated representative to determine the following:

a. The quantity and characteristics of the sewage to be introduced;

b. The availability of a public sewer;

c. The sufficiency of the public sewer capacity;

d. The commitment of the owner for payment of assessments;

e. The commitment of the owner to comply with all provisions of this code.

Unacceptability of any item above shall be sufficient grounds for denying the application. The applicant, if required by the city, shall provide such data as is necessary for the above determination.

5. Every service line shall contain cleanouts outside the building as required by the Uniform Plumbing Code.

6. All structures shall contain a backwater valve to prevent sewer backup inside the confines of the structure as required by Section 710.1 of the 1997 Uniform Plumbing Code. (Ord. 00-16 §2(part), 2000)

7. Individual Sewer Services. Independent and separate sewer services shall be provided on each lot for all buildings within the city or that are to be ultimately connected to the municipal sewer system. Common sewer services are expressly prohibited in zero lot line and townhouse developments. Condominiums or planned unit developments with specific association agreements subject to the city’s review and satisfaction may be allowed as exceptions. The customer provides and pays for all expenses required to install the necessary sewer pipe, fittings, cleanouts, manholes and pump stations required to connect the property to the city sewer at the point of connection designated by the utility supervisor or his designated representative.

8. Sampling and Observation Manhole. When required by the utility, any commercial or industrial user shall install a suitable control manhole on his property to facilitate observation, sampling and measurement of wastes. Such manhole, when required by the North Pole Utility, shall be accessible and safely located and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the North Pole Utility. Installation and maintenance expense shall be the responsibility of the property owner.

9. All commercial kitchens and other food processing facilities shall furnish, install and maintain a grease trap/interceptor to trap animal and vegetable based greases and oils in accordance with the Uniform Plumbing Code. Final acceptance of such a device is subject to approval by North Pole Utility department. Further applicability and information on this requirement can be obtained from North Pole Utility. (Ord. 00-16 §2(part), 2000)

10. Installation of sewer stub line and sewer connections;

A. All sewer stub lines shall be installed and mains tapped by a contractor licensed by the state. As a prerequisite to commencing any work on the utility, the contractor shall furnish:

1. Contractor’s license (State of Alaska);

2. Proof of Workman’s Compensation Insurance, if required by law;

3. A bond in the amount of five thousand dollars;

4. Other proof of capability to perform such work as required by the public works director.

B. The party or parties installing the building sewer line portion outside the street right of way need not meet the requirements of a bonded contractor as outlined above, but they shall make the city aware of their capabilities to perform such work. Those installing this portion of the water service line will, however, be required to meet the same material and workmanship qualifications outlined in the City of North Pole Standard of Construction Specifications. (Ord04-08 §2(part), 2004)

I. Maintenance and Repair. Users shall be responsible for all maintenance and repair of their service line, connection cleanouts, backwater valves, and shall further be responsible for the removal of soft plugs or debris which accumulate in their service line or connection as well as frozen service line and connections. Users shall insure that all-weather access is available to sewer system personnel for cleanouts, valves, control manholes and pretreatment facilities located on user property. (Ord. 00-16 §2(part), 2000)

J. Claim for Sewage Blockages.

1. Subject to the provisions of subdivision 2 of this subsection, if it is determined that a backup problem stems from a blockage within a city sewer easement or a main line plug and the property owner notifies the sewer manager prior to incurring costs for cleaning and/or thawing, the customer is eligible for reimbursement of such costs. (Ord. 00-16 §2(part), 2000)

2. If it is determined that a backup problem stems from a blockage or other malfunction existing within a sewer interceptor or lateral located within the city easement, and if it is determined that such interceptor or lateral was installed by a person, corporation or other entity who, at the time of such installation, was not under contract with the city to install such improvements, then and in such event, the property owner shall have the burden of showing that the person, corporation, or other entity responsible for such installation complied with the provisions of this code prior to connection to the municipal sewer system. If such compliance cannot be established, the customer shall not be eligible for reimbursement of the costs of cleaning and/or thawing, or repairing such broken connection or other obstruction. (Ord. 00-16 §2(part), 2000)

3. The city will reimburse the customer for steam thawing when performed by a licensed bonded contractor if:

a. It is determined that the total cost has been paid to the vendor; and

b. An original copy of the vendors invoice, marked paid, is submitted to the city within one hundred twenty days of the date the work was performed; and

c. When it has been determined that the backup and/or freezing was caused by a main line plug.

4. Liability resulting from blockages shall be limited in any event to reimbursement for correction of the blockage.

K. Liability for Damages Due to Failure of Service. The sewer utility will exercise reasonable diligence in furnishing utility service in compliance with applicable laws and regulations but will not be liable for damage caused by interruptions to service, irregularity of services, or failure of service which occurs as a result of failure of utility facilities, accidents, acts by third persons, or circumstances beyond the utility’s reasonable control.

L. Service Interruptions. The sewer utility reserves the right to temporarily suspend services when necessary for the purpose of new installations, repairs, testing, modification, expansion, correction or replacement of the system. The utility will attempt to notify affected utility users of impending service interruptions where possible and where not precluded by emergency conditions. The utility will exercise reasonable diligence in avoiding inconvenience which may arise out of necessary service interruptions.

M. Disclaimer of Warranty. Any approval by the city of a type, kind or capacity of an installation shall not relieve a person of the responsibility of revamping, enlarging or otherwise modifying such installation to accomplish an intended purpose. Nor shall any written or oral agreement as to limits of constituents of volume of waters or waste be considered as final approval for continuing operation. These limits will be subject to constant study and change as considered necessary to serve their intended purpose. The utility expressly disclaims warranty to facilities installed by users or by users’ representatives.

N. Inspection and Entry. SID shall allow the authorized representatives of North Pole, EPA or ADEC, upon presentation of their credentials, to:

1. Enter and inspect, at reasonable times, the facilities, equipment, practices or monitoring records required by the various regulations and this chapter.

2. Sample or monitor, at reasonable times, for the purpose of assuring regulation compliance, any substances or parameters at the SID facilities. (Ord. 98-16 §2(part), 1998; Ord. 88 1 §2(part), 1988; Ord. 87 12 §3(part), 1987)