ORDINANCE

 

[To Amend the City of Prattville Code of Ordinances, Chapter 66 – Utilities, Article III. – Sewers and Sewage Disposal, Division 10. – Charges and Fees.]

 

BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Prattville that Prattville Code of

Ordinance, Chapter 66 – Utilities, Article III. – Sewers and Sewage Disposal, Division 10. –

Charges and Fees is hereby amended as follows:

DIVISION 10. – CHARGES AND FEES

Sec. 66-356. – Cost recovery charges and fees; scope.

It is the purpose of this section to provide for the recovery of costs from users of the sewerage system for the implementation of the program established herein and for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the system:

(1)   The city will adopt charges and fees that may include:

1. Service connection charges.
2. User charges.
3. Fees for reimbursement of costs of setting up and operating the city pretreatment program.
4. Fees for monitoring, inspections and surveillance procedures.
5. Fees for reviewing accidental discharge procedures and construction.
6. Fees for permit applications.
7. Fees for filing appeals.
8. Other fees contained herein.

(2)   All charges, fees and other penalties may be published in schedules separate from this article and may be revised from time to time as the city finds necessary for maintenance of the purposes described in this section and in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1) of this section.

(3)   These fees relate solely to the matters covered by this article and are separate from all other fees chargeable by the city.

Sec. 66-357. – Connection charges.

(a)  It is hereby determined and declared that the city is entitled to impose a reasonable impact fee upon any person tapping, cutting or connecting onto its sanitary sewer lines within the corporate limits of the city for any structure, building, dumping station or other use for the cost of impacting the reserve capacity of sewer lines or treatment facilities. Such impact fee shall be based on the following chart where such connection is located within the corporate limits of the city. Any connection made outside the corporate limits may be subject to an additional 25 percent impact fee based upon the chart below.

Effective Date:	5/1/2016	5/1/2017	5/1/2018	5/1/2019	5/1/2020 & Thereafter
Meter Size:
5/8 inch	$ 1,250.00	$ 1,700.00	$2,350.00	$2,700.00	$2,950.00
3/4 inch	$ 2,750.00	$ 2,750.00	$3,025.00	$3,300.00	$3,575.00
1 inch	$ 3,675.00	$ 3,675.00	$4,050.00	$4,425.00	$4,800.00
1 ½ inch	$ 5 ,500.00	$ 5 ,500.00	$6,050.00	$6,600.00	$7,150.00
2 inches	$  7,325.00	$  7,325.00	$8,100.00	$8,800.00	$9,525.00
3 inches	$11,975.00	$11,975.00	$13,175.00	$14,375.00	$15,575.00
4 inches	$14,650.00	$14,650.00	$16,125.00	$17,600.00	$19,050.00
6 inches	$21,975.00	$21,975.00	$24,175.00	$26,375.00	$28,575.00
8 inches	$29,300.00	$29,300.00	$32,250.00	$35,175.00	$38,100.00
10 inches	$36,600.00	$36,600.00	$40,275.00	$43,925.00	$47,600.00
12 inches	$43,925.00	$43,925.00	$48,325.00	$52,725.00	$57,125.00

(b)   It is hereby determined and declared that the city is entitled to impose a reasonable assessment charge upon any person tapping, cutting or connecting onto or utilizing its sanitary sewer lines within the corporate limits of the city any lot or portion thereof against which a sewer assessment has not already been made for the cost of constructing and maintaining such sanitary sewer lines. Such assessment shall apply if any portion of the line, leading from the structure to be connected to the public sewer, and from there to the appropriate sewage treatment plant has been constructed, in whole or in part, at city expense.

(c)   Any or all of the above fees may be waived for connection to sewer lines constructed in whole or in part with community development block grant (CDBG) funds provided by the federal government where such connection is made to the home or dwelling of lower income persons as defined in the grant application or documents.

Sec. 66-358. – Regular monthly charges—Schedule.

Monthly charges for sanitary sewer service furnished by the sanitary sewer system are hereby imposed. Such charges are to be in the amounts specified as follows, and are to be applicable to any establishment required by this Code or any other ordinance to be connected with the sanitary sewer system, whether or not such establishment has actually been connected with the sanitary sewer system as required:

(1)   For any establishment discharging sanitary sewer or process wastewater and which utilizes the city’s sewage collection system, there is hereby established the following charges for each establishment or user as billed by the waterworks board, as follows:

1. Residential inside the city limits:

Effective October 1, 2026, base rate of $24.00 and $3.60 per 1,000 gallons of water.

1. Residential outside the city limits:

Effective October 1, 2026, base rate of $25.50 and $3.60 per 1,000 gallons of water.

1. Commercial customers inside the city limits:

Effective October 1, 2026, base rate of $45.00 and $4.95 per 1,000 gallons of water.

1. Commercial customers outside the city limits:

Effective October 1, 2026, base rate of $48.00 and $4.95 per 1,000 gallons of water.

1. All industrial users:

Effective October 1, 2026, base rate of $150.00 and $4.95 per 1,000 gallons of water.

(2)   For the months of April, May, June, July, August, and September of each calendar year, the basic sewer use charge for each month for any residential establishment shall be an amount equal to the average monthly charge for the preceding six months’ charges as billed by the waterworks board.

(3)   A flat rate sanitary sewer service charge may be levied for establishment not having a water meter to measure the amount of water furnished to such establishment. The sanitary sewer service charge for any such establishment shall be:

12. Effective May 1, 2016, rate shall be $12.00;
13. Effective May 1, 2017, rate shall be $13.00;
14. Effective May 1, 2018, rate shall be $14.00;
15. Effective May 1, 2019, rate shall be $15.00;
16. Effective May 1, 2020, rate shall be $16.00.

Sec. 66-359. – Industrial User Surcharge.

1. Industrial Discharge.

Any Industrial User (as defined by EPA in the General Pretreatment Regulations published in the June 26, 1978 Federal Register titled Part 403 General Pretreatment Regulations and any revision thereof) subject to, or that hereafter shall become subject to, the National Categorical Pretreatment Standards or that requires a State Indirect Discharge permit issued by ADEM shall not connect or remain connected to the City of Prattville (City) Sewer System without the prior written approval of the City.

The City reserves the right to refuse and / or terminate service to any high strength industrial waste at its sole discretion.

1. Industrial Pollutant Discharges.

A wastewater treatment surcharge shall be assessed against any User whose discharge characteristics exceed the following pollutant strength in milligrams (“mg/L”) per liter:

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) Above 250 mg/L

Total Suspended Solids (TSS) Above 250 mg/L

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) Above 500 mg/L

Fats, Oils, & Grease Above 50 mg/L

Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN) Above 60 mg/L

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Above 500 mg/L

Total Phosphorus Above 4 mg/L

If an industrial wastewater discharge contains excessive loading for both BOD and COD, the imposed surcharge will be based on one of the two parameters as determined by the City in its sole discretion.

At the discretion of the director of public works and at such times when data has been compiled and established, additional or modified waste surcharge elements shall be imposed. Surcharges will be based upon the higher cost of treatment of the pollutant.

Pollutant pounds shall be computed by multiplying a Factor (to determine pounds from 1 mg/L for a liquid volume in hundreds of cubic feet) of 0.006242 times the volume of the wastewater (in hundreds of cubic feet) times the mg/L of wastewater as described in the Table above.

1. Surcharge Rates.

The rate at which the excess pollutants as identified in Section 66-359(2) shall be charged shall be determined on a periodic basis by the director of public works. The fee schedule may be obtained from the Public Works Department.

1. Sampling and Analysis.

Sampling and analysis charges shall be calculated and assessed as follows:

1. Round trip mileage shall be charged per mile at the currently published Internal Revenue Service Standard Mileage Rate.
2. Crew cost: $100.00 per hour (charged in ¼ hour segments at sampling site, each segment = $25.00).
3. Laboratory analytical cost: Billed by wastewater characteristic, as defined in the laboratory fee schedule, which may be obtained from the Pine Creek CWF at 334.595.0888.
4. Technical and administrative fees including data collection, calculations, entry, report dispersal and billing per sampling cycle: Flat rate of $50.00 per month.

(5)  Fees.

Cost incurred by the City for sampling, analysis and monitoring of industrial wastewater not otherwise provided for in this Ordinance shall be charged to the monitored industry on an actual cost basis.

1. Sampling and Flow Measurement Structures.

Any person discharging or desiring to discharge an industrial waste mixture into the sewers or sewer works of the City, or any sewer connected therewith, shall provide and maintain in a suitable, accessible position on his premises, or such premises occupied by him, an inspection chamber or manhole, near the outlet of each sewer, drain, pipe, channel, or connection which communicates with any sewer or sewer works of the City, or any sewer connected therewith.

Every such manhole, or inspection chamber, shall be of such design and construction which will prevent infiltration by ground and surface waters or introduction of slugs of solids by the installation of screens with maximum openings of one inch but of sufficient fineness to prevent the entrance of objectionable slugs of solids to the discharging wastes so that any authorized representative or employee of the City may readily and safely measure the volume and obtain samples of the flow at all times. Plans for the construction of control manhole, or inspection chambers, including such flow measuring devices as may be hereinafter required, shall be approved by the City prior to the beginning of construction.

(7) Volume of Waste for Surcharge Calculations.

When the public water supply is used exclusively, the water consumption during the previous month, as determined from the meter records of the City, shall be the valid basis for computing a sewage flow, to be used in calculation of the surcharge, unless actual sewage flow is measured by a recording meter of a type to be approved by the City. The Owner shall maintain such device in proper condition to accurately measure such flow. Upon failure to do so, the water consumption shall be basis for charges.

In cases where all or part of the water consumed is obtained from private supplies, wells, etc., the Owner shall provide and maintain at all times suitable metering devices, approved by the City, in connection with each or all sources of private water unless the control manhole provided for above shall be equipped with an approved volume measuring device. The volume of private water consumed during the previous month, together with the consumption of public water as determined from the records of the City, shall be the basis for computing the sewage volume, to be used in calculation of the surcharge, or the Owner may install at his expense an approved metering device to accurately measure sewage flow as before mentioned.

When water is contained in a product, or is evaporated, or is discharged as unpolluted waste in an uncontaminated condition to surface drainage, an application may be made for a reduction in the volume of waste discharged to the public sewer, provided supporting data satisfactory to the City is furnished.

 

Section 66-360. – Meter installation when water from source other than city.

When an establishment discharges into the sanitary sewer system water obtained from any source other than the waterworks board’s water system, the city may require installation of a meter at the expense of the occupant of such establishment for the purpose of measuring the quantity of wastewater discharged into its wastewater treatment system, in order to determine the sewer charge.

Section 66-361. – Imposition of charge for cost of treatment.

For disposal of sewage for which treatment is required as provided in section 66-229, the City shall impose an additional charge for each such classification of service, based upon cost of treatment.

Section 66-362. – Wastewater haulers and dumping station permit fees.

(a)   Wastewater haulers discharge permit fees, for sanitary wastes only, are as follows:

(1)   Permit fee per year: $100.00.

(2)   Tipping fees per load: $50.00.

(b)   Wastewater haulers discharge permit fees, for industrial wastes, are as follows:

(1)   Permit fee for single load: $100.00.

(2)   Permit fee for multiple loads of the same waste from the same source, per year: $100.00.

(3)   Tipping fees for multiple loads of the same waste from the same source, per load: $100.00.

(c)   Permit and inspection fees for grease traps and sand filters: $150.00 annually.

 

Section 66- 363. – Billing procedure.

(a)   Billing for any establishment discharging sewage only (no process wastewater) shall be rendered monthly on the same statement with bills for water furnished from the water system during the service billing period. Payment shall be made to the waterworks board for and on behalf of the City.

(b)   Any establishment which creates a charge because of its discharge of wastewater, COD, BOD, or SS, shall have its discharge tested weekly to determine the amount of billable discharge. The billing to such establishment shall be rendered and payable monthly based upon the average of the discharge for three months prior to the billing.

Section 66-364. – Enforcement of payment of user charges.

In any case involving a person who has failed to pay any applicable and duly adopted user charges within the time limits prescribed for such payment, the procedure for enforcement shall be as follows:

(1)   The City Council shall give notice to such person by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, stating the specifics of the nonpayment and requiring that the person make full payment within ten calendar days after receipt of notice.

(2)   The City Council may thereupon, without further notice, cause the water service from the public water system to be discontinued for such person or cause the connection to the sewerage system to be severed for such person.

(3)   In any case where water service is discontinued or the sewer connection is severed by the City Council for enforcement purposes, the restoration of such service shall be conditioned on full payment of all delinquent user charges and penalties and any expenses incurred in the enforcement proceedings and in the restoration of the service.

Secs. 66-365—66-386. – Reserved.

 

THIS Ordinance shall become effective upon its passage and execution as provided

by law. Each of the provisions of this Ordinance is severable; if any provision shall be declared

to be invalid, the remaining provisions shall not be affected but shall remain in full force. All

Ordinances, or parts of Ordinances, in any manner, conflicting herewith are hereby repealed.

ADOPTED THIS 4^TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2026.

By:      Michael P. Whaley, President

Prattville City Council

AUTHENTICATED THIS 4^TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2026.

By:      Paula G. Barlow

            City Clerk

 

APPROVED:

By:      Bill Gillespie, Jr.

Mayor

 

ORDINANCE BOOK 2026, PAGE 014