§ 22-110. General procedures.

(a)

Mandatory connection of new construction to the county public sewer system owned and operated by WVWA.

(1)

No person shall make any connection to the county public sewer system or alter any fixtures so connected without first having received written approval from the department of public works, its successors or assigns.

(2)

New structures and/or facilities shall be defined for the purposes of Franklin County Code Section 22-110(a) as those which obtain a building permit following the passage of section 22-110 by the board of supervisors. New subdivisions and development for the purposes of section 22-110(a) shall be defined as those which are reviewed, approved, or permitted by the Franklin County Planning Commission, Board of Supervisors, Planning and Community Development Department, or Building Official, or their successors or assigns following the passage of section 22-110(a) by the board of supervisors.

(3)

New sewer systems for the purposes of offering such systems to the county or its successors or assigns for dedication and ownership according to Franklin County Code Section 22-110(b) and chapters 22, 19, and 25 shall be defined as those which are reviewed or approved by the Franklin County Planning and Community Development Department or the Public Works Department, or their successors or assigns, following the passage of sections 22-110(b) by the board of supervisors.

(4)

All new structures and/or facilities which are located within three hundred (300) linear feet of the county public sewer system (as measured from the closest point of the structure to the edge of an easement or right-of-way including the public sewer distribution system) shall be required to connect to the county public sewer system. The connection of such premise to the county public sewer system shall not be required when access to the affected property requires the crossing of another property without an available easement, provided that county property and the property of the Virginia Department of Transportation shall be exempted.

(5)

All new structures and/or facilities, subdivisions, and developments with three (3) to fourteen (14) equivalent residential connections (ERCs) having a property line within six-hundred (600) linear feet of the county public sewer system (as measured from the closest point of the property line to the edge of an easement or right-of-way including the county public sewer system) shall be required to connect to the county public sewer system.

(6)

All new structures, facilities, subdivisions, and developments with fifteen (15) or greater equivalent residential connections (ERCs) shall be required to connect to the county public sewer system if they meet the following distance requirements for the number of applicable lots or ERCs (the distance measured from the closest point of the property line to the edge of an easement or right-of-way including the county public sewer system):

Number of Lots or ERCs	Required Extension (linear feet)
15—20	1,000
25	1,250
30	1,500
35	1,750
40	2,000
45	2,250
50	2,500
60	3,000
70	3,500
80	4,000
90	4,500
100	5,000
125	6,250
150	7,500

 

The county shall require up to one thousand (1,000) linear feet (L.F.) extension for fifteen (15) to twenty (20) lots or ERCs, and each lot or ERC over twenty (20) shall require an additional fifty (50) linear feet extension. The maximum extension required is seven thousand five hundred (7,500) linear feet.

(7)

Structures and/or facilities, subdivisions, and developments existing at the time of the passage of this chapter (section 22-110(a)) are exempt from the requirement to connect to the county public sewer system so long as the septic or sewer system serving the property with sewage disposal meets the requirements of the Virginia Department of Health and/or the Department of Environmental Quality.

(8)

In the event of a privately owned septic or sewer system failure as determined by the Virginia Department of Health and/or the Department of Environmental Quality, existing structures and facilities which were served by the failed septic or sewer system shall be required to connect to the county public sewer system if they meet the aforementioned vicinity and distance requirements for new structures and/or facilities, subdivisions, and developments. However in the event of the failure of the septic or sewer system serving a single residence on a parcel five (5) acres or greater, the property owner may elect to develop a new septic or sewer system.

(9)

The county may impose a connection fee, availability fee, and/or a monthly nonuser service charge that shall not be more than that proportion of a minimum monthly user charge required to recover the capital investment of the county public sewer system. However, all existing county public sewer systems will not be assessed a non-user fee if existing at the time of the adoption of these amended ordinances. Prior to the implementation of any non-user fee, a public hearing and approval by the board of supervisors will be required.

(10)

All new development, as defined by section 22-110(2), constructed in the Westlake Overlay District shall be required to connect to sanitary sewer. The requirement to connect to public sewer may be waived if the connection would exceed the criteria defined in section 22-110(4), (5), (6), or (7).

(b)

Transfer of approved sewer systems to ownership by county or its successors or assigns. The developer and/or owner of any new sewer system in Franklin County which is designed to serve three (3) or greater equivalent residential connections (ERCs) shall assure that such new sewer system meets all required standards of chapter 22, shall seek and obtain approval of the design and its construction by the public works department or its successors and assigns, shall not supply sewer until the new sewer system receives such approvals, and, as a condition precedent to subdivision or site plan approval under Chapters 19 and 25 of the Franklin County Code, shall offer such new system at no cost to the county or its successors and assigns for dedication and ownership. The developer and/or owner of any such new sewer system shall follow all applicable regulations and policies of the county or its successors and assigns and shall seek all required approvals for the planning, development and construction of the sewer system. County or its successors and assigns may consider acceptance of systems which are offered for dedication and ownership based on an analysis of the sewer system and its location. Those systems which are within seven thousand five hundred (7,500) linear feet of the existing county public sewer system and/or within the anticipated county sewer service area are higher priority candidates for acceptance by the county. The anticipated county sewer service area and other criteria for acceptance may change over time at the discretion of the board of supervisors. County or its successors and assigns may accept or reject the ownership of any such sewer system offered to it according to the policies approved by resolution or ordinance. Any new sewer system built solely within the boundary limits of the Towns of Boones Mill or Rocky Mount or the service area of the Ferrum Water and Sewage Authority shall not be required to be offered by the developer and/or owner to the county or its successors and assigns.

(Res. No. 09-05-2011, 5-17-11)

(Res. No. 09-05-2011, 5-17-11)