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CHAPTER9B-
BYLAW RELATING TO SEWERS AND SEWAGE
IN THE TOWN OF MIDDLETON
Council: Jan 6, 1969 Minister: Feb 19, 1969
Amended by Council: March 6, 2000
Amended by Council: May 6, 2002
1. In this bylaw, unless the context specifically indicates otherwise:
a) "Building Service Connection" means any piping system that conveys a sewage or liquid
waste from any property to a public sewer;
b) "Council" means the Town Council of the Town of Middleton;
c) "Engineer" means the Engineer appointed by the Town of Middleton;
d) "Garbage" means solid waste from the preparation of cooking and dispensing of food, and
from the handling, storage or sale of produce;
e) "Owner" includes a part owner,joint owner, tenant in common or joint tenant of the whole or
any part of any land or building, and includes a trustee, an executor, a guardian, an agent, a
mortgagee in possession or other person having the care or control of any land or building in
case of the absence or disability of the person having title thereto;
f)
"Public Sewer" means a sewer owned by the Town;
g) "Sanitary Sewer" means a sewer receiving and canying waterborne wastes from residences,
business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments, and to which storm, surface or
ground waters are not intentionally admitted;
h) "Sewage" means the combination of water carried wastes from residences, business buildings,
institutions, connnercial establishments and industrial establishments containing animal,
vegetable or mineral matter in suspension or solution, together with such ground, surface or
storm water as may be present;
i)
"Sewerage" means the structures, devices, equipment and appurtenances intended for the
collection, irnnsportation, pumping and treatments of sewage;
j) "Street" means highway;
k) "Stonn Sewer" or "Stonn Drain" means a sewer receiving a11d carrying storm water and
surface mnoff water only;
1)
"Town" means the Town of Middleton;
m) "Town Clerk and Treasurer" means the Town Clerk and Treasurer of the Town.
n) "On Site Sewage Disposal System" includes a septic tank with disposal field, a private
holding tank, and all other private sewage disposal systems which are not directly connected
to the public sewer system, and includes portable commercial toilet systems owned/rented or
leased for use.
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0) "Septic Tank Cleaner" shall mean a person or firm engaged in the business of
emptying and disposing of the contents of septic tanks, holding tanks, privies,
commercial toilets or other private on site sewage disposal systems.
p) "Sludge" shall mean concentrated solids generated by public or private sewage
treatment plant operations.
2. For the pmpose of this Bylaw, the sewer district of the Town of Middleton shall be all that area of
land included within the Town boundaries of the Town of Middleton.
3. The Town Council may, from time to time, by resolution, order and direct that sewer lines and
drains be laid and constmcted on such streets and in such other places as Council may determine.
4.
(1) Where a public sewer has been or is to be constructed in a street, the Council may give a
notice in writing to any owner of property abntting on the street requiring him within a time
specified therein to connect his building with the public sewer by a building service
cmmection or to make any repairs, reconstruction or replacement of it; when a storm sewer is
first constructed in a street and is of sufficient depth to service basement drains Council shall,
where basement drains are tied into the sanitary sewer, order the property owner to connect
their basement drains into the storm sewer. (Amended July 5, 1982.)
5.
6.
(2) if
(a) any building service connection is not laid and built and connected with the public sewer;
(b) any other work in connection with the building service connection is not done,
to the satisfaction of the Engineer, the owner of the property served or to be served by the
building service connection shall be notified in writing to that effect, specifying in what
particulars the work is unsatisfactory and if the owner fails to commence the work within
seven days from the receipt of the notice and complete same within thirty days from the
receipt of the notice, the Engineer may perf01m the necessary work.
(1) That pait of every service connection on private property and up to
the street line or boundary line of a sewer right-of-way shall be constructed and
maintained at the expense of the owner, subject to the supervision of the Engineer
and shall be of such size and at such level and descent and with such mode of
piercing or opening into the sewer main and generally in such manner and of such
materials as the Engineer directs.
(2) No such building service connection shall be covered nntil it has been inspected and
approved by the Engineer.
(3) The cost of constructing the portion of the building service connection from the public
sewer boundai-y right-of-way or street line to the sewer main shall, when first installed, be
paid by the Town. Maintenance and future replacement shall be the responsibility and
expense of the property owner.
( 4)
Eve1-y owner shall install and maintain, at his expense, in good repair, in each
connection, a suitable back-water valve to safeguard against possible flooding from the
sewerage system when first constructing building service connector or when renewing
saine (Amended May 3, 1993.)
(a) Every owner of lai1d which fronts on any street within the Town of Middleton,
whether there is a dwelling on said land or not, shall (upon notice being given by the
Town) whenever a stonn sewer or sanitary sewer line is first laid and constructed on said
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street by the Town, and upon notice being given under Section 13 of this Bylaw, pay to
the Town of Middleton a sewer frontage tax, as detennined by Section 6(B) of this Bylaw,
for each public sewer for each and every lineal foot of his property fronting on said street
in accordance with Section 9 of1his Bylaw.
The frontage tax shall be detennined as set out in tl1e Bylaw and shall be collectible in the
same manner as real property tax.
(b) Upon receipt of a petition signed by residents of a street owning more than 50% of
property fronting on the street, the Town may install a public sewer and a frontage charge
shall be applied in accordance with provisions of this Bylaw, at a rate of 60% or net
construction costs to a maximum amount of $10.00 per foot. (Amended August 4, 1981.)
7.
A comer lot shall be taxed only on that street on which it has tl1e longest frontage, w1less
the frontage of the other street exceeds 65 feet, in which case, if sewers are laid down and
constructed on both streets, tl1e excess over 65 feet shall be taxed in addition to the
frontage on the longer street.
8.
The owner of a property situated at or near the upper end or tennination of a sewer shall
pay the same rate as if the sewer were to pass in front of such property for its entire lengtl1,
provided however, that in no case shall any such owner be taxed for a greater length of
frontage than 65 feet beyond tl1e tennination of tl1e sewer measured along the side line of
the streets from a point directly opposite the end of tl1e sewer.
9.
The owner of properties lying on both sides of a street, land, court or thoroughfare tlrrough
which a new sewer passes, shall pay the sewer frontage tax mentioned on Paragraph 6
hereof.
10.
11.
(a) Where a sewer frontage tax has not been previously paid for sanitary sewer and storm
sewer, and the property is not liable for assessment of sanitary sewer and storm sewer
frontage tax, an entrance fee shall be levied for each of the sewers on connection to the
specific sewer, as set out in subsection I 0(C) following.
(b) The c01mection charge shall be applicable, whetl1er the connection(s) ai-e at the
initiative of the property owner or ordered by the Council. The connection charge shall
become a lien on the whole of the property, fronting on the street in the same manner and
with the same effect, and shall be collectible in the same mam1er as rates and taxes under
the Assessment Act and at the option of the Clerk at the same time, and by the same
proceedings as are t!Je rates and taxes.
( c) The connection charge for a separate connection to either tl1e sanitary sewer or the
stonn sewer shall be $200. If bot!J connections are made at the same time, the total
connection charge for both shall be $300. If the frontage charge has been levied for one of
tl1e two mains, then the com1ection charge, when both connections are made at the same
time, shall be $200.
If a second connection for tl1e same sewer main is required, there shall be no entrance fee
charged; however, the property owner shall be liable for total costs of the installation,
including restoration of street right-of-way to its former condition. (Amended April 4,
1989.)
Where the Council is of the opinion that a lot of real property fronting on a public sewer
cannot be properly serviced by such sewer, the Council may by resolution revoke any
sewer frontage tax.
12.
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(a) If, at some later date, it is determined that the lot of real property fronting on a public
sewer could be then properly serviced by such sewer, sewer frontage rates shall then be
assessed in the same manner and with the same option as other property is assessed for
sewer frontage rates. (Amended September 10, 1969.)
(I) When a public sewer or any portion of a public sewer has been completed, the
Engineer shall:
(a) Make a plan of the street or portion thereof in which such sewer is built, showing
the frontage of every property on such street or portion thereof, and the name of the
owners of each property, and
(b) Make a list of the owners of such properties with the frontage of each property
and the amount due with respect to each property.
(2) When the plan and list have been prepared, the Engineer shall file one copy of the
plan and the list in the Town Office.
13.
The Town Clerk and Treasurer shall notify the owner of the number of feet of frontage
rated or allotted to him and the amount payable by the owner in respect thereof.
14.
The Town Clerk and Treasurer shall keep a separate account of all monies due for the
construction of sewers and the account shall contain
15.
a) the amount due with respect to each property;
b) the names of the owners of properties liable for a special sewer tax and the name
of the sewer with respect to which each liability arose;
c) the amount paid with respect to each property.
The sewer frontage tax shall fonn a lien and charge upon the land, in respect
of which it is payable and shall take precedence over any presently existing or future
mortgage, judgment or other encumbrances, whether registered or wrregistered, against the
said land and the owner thereof.
I 6.
The sewer frontage tax shall, at the option of the owner of the land, be paid in one of the
following ways, that is to say
a) m one sum, or
b) in twenty yearly installments of one twentieth each, with interest on the w1paid
p01tion at the rate of 15%. (Amended August 4, 1981.)
17.
The owner of any land liable for sewer frontage tax shall, within thirty days after being
notified of the amount thereof, elect whether he will pay such amount in one lump sum or in
20 annual payments, as provided by the next preceding paragraph.
18.
In the event of the neglect or refusal of any owner to elect, as in the next preceding paragraph
required, such sewer frontage tax shall be considered as payable in twenty annual instalhnents
of one-twentieth each, with interest on the unpaid portion at the rate of 15%. (Amended July
19, 1983.)
19.
Sewer frontage tax shall bear interest from the date when the sewer in respect of which it is
charged has been laid ready for connection, which date shall be determined by Engineer.
20.
Property owners paying sewer frontage tax in installments, shall pay said instalhnents with
interest on or before the I 5th day of June of each year.
21.
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The owner of any land liable for sewer frontage tax may at any time pay the full amount
thereof, less unaccrued interest, to the Town Clerk and Treasurer, notwithstanding that such
owner may have elected to pay the same in installments.
Sewer frontage tax and interest thereon, if remaining unpaid when due, may be sued for and
collected in the name of the Town in the same manner as the ordinary rates and taxes payable
to the Town may be sued for and collected, or at the option of the Council, the property may
be put up for tax sale for non-payment of sewer frm:itage rates,· in the same manner as real
property is put up for tax sale for non-payment of taxes. (Amended September 10, 1969.)
23.
In the event that any property liable for sewer frontage tax be sold for non-payment of
property taxes, the Town Clerk and Treasurer may deduct from any surplus proceeds of such
sale the full amount for which such property is then liable for sewer frontage tax, although the
whole may not have been payable.
24. ·
No person shall injure, break, or remove any portion of the public sewer system or its
appurtenances.
25.
No person shall permit any open gutter, cesspool, privy, vault, cellar, storm water, surface
water, ground water, roof run-off, underground drain or exhaust pipe from any machine or
engine to be connected with any public sanitary sewer.
26.
No person shall discharge, release, suffer or cause to be discharged into any
sanitary sewer, combined sewer, public or private connections to any
sanitary or combined sewer any of the following:
a)
any unshredded garbage, offal, dead animals, bones, vegetable matter, or
b)
any hydrogen sulphide, mercaptans, carbon disulphide, other reduced sulphur
compounds, amines and ammonia, or
c)
gasoline, benzene, naphtha or fuel oil or waste water containing any of these in
any quantity, or
d)
waste water or uncontaminated water having a temperature in excess of 60°
celsius, or
e)
ashes, cinders, sand, potters clay, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags,
feathers, tar, plastic or wood, or
f)
waste water having a pH less than 5.5 or greater than 9.5 or having any other
corrosive or scale-forming properties capable of causing damage or hazards to the
waste water facilities or personnel of the waste water facilities.
27.
No person shall throw or deposit, or cause to be thrown or deposited, in any sewer opening or
receptacle connected with the sewer system any animal, vegetable or mineral fat, oil, grease or
lubricant whether the same is liquid, solid, or a mixture of both liquid and solid.
28.
Any person shall be permitted to dispose of properly shredded garbage or vegetable parings
which are the wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food and from the
handling, storage and sale of produce which garbage and vegetable parings must be shredded
to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally
prevailing in sewers, with no particles, greater than one-half inch in any dimension.
29.
Every person who discharges or deposits or causes or permits the discharge or deposit of any
matter in any sewer that in nature or quantity is not in the ordinary course of events, shall
forthwith notify the Town Engineer.
30. (I) For any of the discharges in Section 29 for which the person is required
to forthwith notify the Engineer, the notification shall include the
following information:
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a) name of the company and the address of location of spill;
b) name of person repm1ing the spill and telephone number where that person can be
reached;
c) time of the spill;
d) type and volume of material discharged and any associated hazards; and
e) corrective actions being taken to control the spill.
(2) Within five days following a spill a person shall submit to the Engineer
a detailed written report describing the cause of the spill and the action
taken or to be taken to prevent a recurrence.
31.
( 1) Whenever the Town Engineer considers it necessary, any person who is the owner of land
which is used for industrial or commercial purposes and which is connected to a public sewer
may be required to provide grease, oil, and sand interceptors in order to provide for the proper
handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts, or any inflammable wastes,
sand or other harmful ingredients.
34.
35.
(2) All interceptors shall be a type and capacity approved by the Town Engineer and shall be
located so as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
(3)
Grease and oil interceptors shall be constructed of impervious materials capable of
withstanding abrupt and extreme changes in temperature and shall be of substantial
construction, water-tight and equipped with easily removable covers which, when bolted in
place, shall be gas-tight and water-tight.
The Town Engineer shall have the power to stop and prevent from discharging into the sewer
systems any private sewer or drain through which substances are discharged which are likely
to injure the sewers or obstruct the flow of the sewage, or through which substances are
discharged in contravention of this Bylaw.
No persons shall permit any pipe carrying sewage or surface water to discharge into any open
trench.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged or permit to be discharged any
contents of any on site sewage disposal system into any public sewer of the Town of
Middleton except under terms and conditions set out in this bylaw.
No septic tank cleaner or owner shall deposit, or cause to be deposited, in the sewage
waste treatment facility any septic waste or material unless he/she is the holder of a
current and valid license from all appropriate authorities and, in any case, no material
that:
a) originates at any source other than domestic sources;
b) is inflammable or explosive;
c) contains synthetic oils, greases, or hydrocarbons;
d) has a quantity of matter capable of obstructing the flow in or interfering with the
proper operation of any part of the sewage waste treatment facility;
e) has a corrosive property or properties that could be hazardous to structures,
equipment, or personnel;
f)
contains fish or animal offal or pathological or medical wastes;
g) contains herbicides,
pesticides, xenobiotics, polychlorinated biphenols or
radioactive materials that are not approved for disposal in a sanitary sewer by the
Atomic Energy Control Board of Canada;
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h) contains substances for which special treatment or disposal practices are required
by any applicable statutes or regulations of the Government of Canada or of the
Province of Nova Scotia, or other authority having jurisdiction.
36.
(I) Every septic tank cleaner or other user of the sewage waste treatment
facility shall pay a charge for the operation of the facility.
(2) The charge referred to in 36(1) above shall be apportioned and payable by each
user of the facility at a rate per one thousand imperial gallons of septic waste or
portion thereof delivered to the sewage waste treatment facility, as shall be
determined by Town Policy from time to time. Such charge shall be calculated
and billed monthly.
(3) A septic tank cleaner or other user of the septic waste treatment facility, who is
more than 20 days in arrears of payment to the Municipality of the operating
charge may be denied access to the facility by order of the Municipal Engineer.
( 4) Arrears of payment of operating charges shall carry interest at the current interest
rated.
37.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged or permit to be discharged any
sludge from any sewage treatment system into any Town of Middleton public sewer or
any holding tank arranged or provided for use by a septic tank cleaner.
38.
Any person who contravenes any section of this bylaw is liable on conviction to a penalty of
not less than $100 and not more than $10,000 and in default of payment to imprisonment for a
term of not more than one year.