12.0 SERVICE CONNECTIONS AND SERVICE EXTENSIONS

12.1 CONNECTION PERMIT

A. Connection Permit

No person may connect any structure or other source of wastewater to any Utility facility without first obtaining a permit from the Utility for the connection. Permits are required to construct a service connection, a service extension, or both. If a connection to Utility facilities requires construction of both a service connection and a service extension, a single Service Connection/Extension Permit Fee as provided in Rule 8.7 (Fees and Special Charges - Nonrecurring) will be sufficient to comply with this rule. No person may repair, modify, decommission, or abandon Utility service connections without first obtaining a permit.

B. Permit Application Requirements

An application for a connection permit shall include the following:

1. The Service Connection/ Extension Permit Fee provided in Rule 8.7 (Fees and Special Charges - Nonrecurring).

2. The name, address, and telephone number of the customer to be served.

3. The legal description of the parcel to be served.

4. For private systems and residential buildings with more than two (2) dwelling units, branched service extensions, or commercial structures:

Four (4) copies of plan and profile sheets, stamped and signed both by a professional engineer registered in the State of Alaska and signed by the customer, depicting the connection facilities, shall be submitted for review and approval. The plan and profile sheets shall be twenty-four (24) inches by thirty-six (36) inches in size or less, and shall include, as minimum, the following information:

a. invert and ground surface elevations at the main and building foundation.

b. The type, class, diameter, slope of pipe used in the connection facilities, depth of bury, and horizontal and vertical separation from other utilities.

c. The location and intended use of each structure to be served by the connection facilities.

d. vicinity map, legal description of property, north arrow and drawing scale.

e. Existing street names, sewer mains, and proposed connection/extension locations.

f. Location and type of manholes

g. Reference in a general note that all construction will adhere to the Standard Construction Specifications.

h. Include the engineer's firm name, address and telephone number.

5. Evidence that the applicant has obtained all permits and paid all fees required to construct that portion of the connection that will be located in public rights-of-way.

The developer, owner or contractor shall acquire all permits and pay all fees established by any governmental unit as a condition for the installation or construction of a service connection or a service extension. If the governmental unit requires the Utility to obtain the permit and accept responsibility, the developer, owner or contractor shall reimburse the Utility for all costs incurred to obtain the permit and provide a two-year guarantee secured by a bond to the Utility sufficient to cover possible damages or liabilities.

6. The applicant for a permit to install a service connection under a road right-of-way shall guarantee the service connection installation for two (2) years from the date of connection, and shall provide the Utility a cash or surety bond equal to the greater of (i) $5,000 or (ii) an amount determined by the Utility's Manager to be adequate to cover the cost of repairing any damage to the roadway caused by the installation of the service connection.

The Utility shall issue a connection permit and collect the Service Connection/Extension Permit Fee provided in Rule 8.7 (Fees and Special Charges - Nonrecurring) if it finds that the permit application conforms to this subsection and the construction proposed in the application conforms to this tariff, the Design Criteria of the Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility and applicable law. Once the Utility issues the correct permit the applicant is authorized to proceed with the construction of the service connection, service extension, or both.

C. Inspection of Construction

No service connection or service extension (including newly constructed service connections or service extensions as well as repaired, modified or abandoned service connections or extensions) may be backfilled until they have been inspected and approved by the Utility or its designated representative. The customer shall schedule the Utility's inspection of a service connection or service extension at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance. The Utility will charge a separate inspection fee for each service connection, and for each service extension, inspected as provided in Rule 8.7 (Fees and Special Charges - Nonrecurring). An inspection of a connection to Utility facilities shall be completed within three (3) working days after the customer requests that the Utility schedule the inspection.

The service connection will be approved at the conclusion of the inspection if the service connection conforms to the Standards for Service Connections and Service Extensions - under General Rule 12.3 and Rule 12.4. The service extension will be approved at the conclusion of the inspection if the service extension conforms to the Standards for Service Connections and- Service Extensions under Rule 12.3 and Rule 12.5. Approval is evidenced by the inspector's signature on the customer's copy of the permit. If a service connection or service extension fails to pass inspection, it must be reinspected until it passes inspection. A full inspection fee as provided in Rule 8.7 (Fees and Special Charges - Nonrecurring), shall be payable for each reinspection. If a service connection or service extension is installed and backfilled without Utility inspection and approval, the Utility may require proof that the service connection or service extension complies with applicable standards, which may include excavation of the service connection or service extension at the customer's expense.

D. Record Drawings

The customer shall submit record drawings showing the location of each service connection and/or service extension. Where the submission of engineered plans is required in the connection permit application, the customer shall submit record drawings, signed and stamped by a professional engineer registered in the State of Alaska accompanied by a certification that the engineer or its designated representative inspected the service connection or service extension during construction. The Utility reserves the right to withhold service, or accept a connection to Utility facilities, until the Utility has reviewed and approved the record drawings

12.2 PROVISIONS FOR SERVICE CONNECTIONS AND SERVICE EXTENSIONS

A. All service connections or extensions required by this tariff shall be provided by the customer at the customer's expense; provided that a customer may use a service connection that has been stubbed out to the customer's property line. See Rule 1.0 definition of service extension and private systems. If the service extension meets the requirement of a Private system, the customer is required to submit the information as required in Rule 12.1.B and pay the Sewer Plan Review Fees for Private Systems as specified in Rule 8.7, (Fees and Special Charges - Nonrecurring).

If a connection to Utility facilities requires construction of a service connection or service extension, the Utility will require that the property owner pay the Service Connection/Extension Inspection Fee as provided in Rule 8.7 (Fees and Special Charges Nonrecurring) to fund the Utility's costs of required inspections. Any deposits required by this rule secure payments and do not represent a final bill for inspection. The property owner is obligated to pay the actual cost of inspecting the service connection and will be billed for any costs that exceed the deposit or refunded any portion of the deposit that exceeds the Utility's cost of inspection.

B. A customer may review available Utility records for assistance in locating existing service connections. The review of these records is allowed for customer convenience and the Utility shall not be liable for any inaccuracy in the records or interpretations of its records.

12.3 STANDARDS FOR SERVICE CONNECTIONS AND SERVICE EXTENSIONS - GENERAL

A. Service connections or extensions shall conform to the Standard Construction Specifications, the Design Criteria of the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility, and the most current edition of the Uniform Plumbing Code and its local amendments.

B. There shall be a minimum horizontal and vertical separation as required in the Design Criteria of the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility, and in State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Regulations.

C. The customer shall enlarge or otherwise modify the service connection or service extension to comply with the requirements specified in the Design Criteria of the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility, when required to do so by the Utility. The Utility may require such an enlargement or modification because of changes in the size or use of the structure served by the connection, or other changes in circumstances affecting the required capacity or design of the connection. Unless any modification or enlargement of the connection required under this section is the result of a change in current size or use of the customer’s structure being served, the expense of such required modification or enlargement shall be paid for by the Utility.

D. Except as provided in E below, a structure shall be served by a single service connection. Where multiple buildings occupy a single parcel, there shall be one (1) service connection for each building on a parcel, unless the Utility has approved a branched service extension and the owner of the parcel has accepted responsibility for paying the bill for monthly sewer service.

E. A structure may be served by more than one (1) service connection for just cause. If a parcel is situated such that it can connect to either a lateral or trunk sewer, the connection must be made to the lateral and may involve extending the lateral to effect the connection. The utility will only authorize a connection to a trunk sewer if, at the Utility's discretion, extension of a lateral is unwarranted.

12.4 STANDARDS FOR FOR SERVICE CONNECTIONS

A. Each parcel served by the Utility shall have at least one (1) service connection. A service connection shall serve no more than one (1) parcel. A service connection shall serve only one (1) structure or other source of wastewater unless this section, the Design Criteria of the Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility or the current edition of the Uniform Plumbing Code provide otherwise. No service connection may cross a parcel boundary.

B. Service connections shall be provided to the types of structures described below as follows:

1. A duplex, apartment, or condominium structure shall be served by a single service connection.

2. A townhouse or single-family attached dwelling located on a separate parcel shall have a service connection that does not serve any other dwelling unit.

3. A mobile home park shall be served by a single service connection. The size of the service connection shall be no less than eight (8) inches. The service connection shall be designed in accordance with the Design Criteria of the Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility, and shall be connected into a manhole.

4. Service extensions whose design has been approved by the Utility may be served by a single service connection where the on property facilities serve any of the following:

a. five (5) or more structures on a parcel or a single structure serving twenty-five (25) or more employees, or the general public;

b. a commercial structure; or

c. an industrial structure.

C. The minimum size of a service connection serving one (1) or more existing structures shall be that required to serve the flow generated by the most intensive use of those structures permitted under their current zoning. If the parcel served by the service connection is vacant, the minimum size of the service connection shall be that required to serve the flow generated by the most intensive use of the parcel permitted under its current zoning. For residential structures, the minimum size of a service connection shall be determined by the number of dwelling units in the structure as follows:

When a parcel served by the Utility is rezoned to permit a more intensive use of the parcel or a structure on the parcel, the customer shall provide a service connection whose minimum size conforms to the requirements of this subsection under the new zoning.

12.5 STANDARDS FOR FOR SERVICE EXTENSIONS

A. Separate Service Extensions

There shall be separate service extensions for each parcel served by the Utility. No service extensions on property facility may cross a parcel boundary.

B. Size of Service Extensions

Except as this Section provides otherwise, the minimum size of a service extension shall be determined in accordance with the standards for the minimum size of service connections in Rule 12.4(C).

C. Lift Facilities

If the elevation of a structure or other source of wastewater is too low to permit gravity flow to the Utility's facilities, wastewater from the structure or other source shall be lifted by mechanical mans approved by the Utility to elevation necessary for discharge into the Utility's facilities. The mechanical means shall be located on the same lot as the structure or other source of wastewater that it serves and shall be operated and maintained by the customer at the customer's expense.

D. Swimming Pools

The size of a pipe discharging water from a swimming pool into a service connection shall not exceed two (2) inches and shall not be under a head exceeding twenty (20) feet. If the water is discharged by pumping, the rate of flow shall not exceed one-hundred (100) gallons per minute. Each service extension discharging water from a swimming pool shall be equipped with an approved separator to preclude any backflow of wastewater into the swimming pool or piping system.

E. Cleanout Requirements

There shall be a cleanout outside each structure served by the service extension. Each pipe longer than one-hundred (100) feet shall include additional cleanouts at intervals not exceeding one-hundred (100) feet. Where there is a change in the direction of a pipe exceeding forty-five (45) degrees in one bend or in two (2) or more bends within an interval not greater than ten (10) feet, an additional cleanout shall be installed at each change of direction.

F. Check Valve Requirements

If the lowest outlet in a structure served by the service extensions is below the elevation of the top of the upstream manhole nearest the service connection, there shall be a check valve for that structure, which shall be maintained by the customer at the customer's expense.

G. Control Manhole Requirement

Service extensions serving a commercial or industrial structure or other source of wastewater shall include a control manhole. The control manhole shall be safe, accessible at all times, and conform to the Design Criteria of the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility. The control manhole shall be maintained by the customer at the customer's expense. The Utility may waive the control manhole requirement for a commercial or industrial customer producing only normal domestic discharge. The Utility shall not grant such a waiver for a restaurant, body shop, mechanic shop, print manufacturer, car wash, food processor, or photo developer.

12.6 SERVICE LOCATES

The Utility will locate sewer facilities during normal working hours without charge to the customer when requested for the purpose of excavation or construction on the property that might otherwise damage the sewer service facilities. For this service the Utility will require that the contractor be present at the time of the locate. If the locate service is requested to be performed at a time other than normal working hours, the Utility will charge an emergency service after hour call out charge, as specified in Section 8.7, Fees and Special Charges - Nonrecurring. Once the Utility has located and marked a sewer facility for an excavation, the Utility will charge the actual cost incurred in responding to subsequent requests to locate the same sewer facility during the same excavation project if the excavator failed to maintain the original locate mark.

12.7 EXTENDED SEWER SERVICE CONNECTION

The Utility may provide wastewater service to a property located within 200 lineal feet of an existing sewer line through an extended service connection, approved by the Utility General Manager, under the conditions set forth in this Rule and Rule 14.2. Provided there are no alternative means of service, a parcel may be eligible for service if:

(1) an emergency situation is declared in writing by the Municipal Health & Human Services Department or the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation or

(2) the parcel was not previously served and is the last parcel that can be served by the existing sanitary sewer line in a particular drainage area.

A property owner desiring to receive service through an extended connection shall submit an Extended Connection Contract application, complete with required drawings and Written justification for consideration.

Only one (1) customer may be served from the extended connection and that customer shall pay all costs for construction of that connection. The customer shall be responsible for repair and maintenance of the service connection and extension from the point of connection.

Payment of the costs of an extended connection is in addition to and not in lieu of any other assessment or LUC associated with an extension of a sewer line to serve the property. The extended connection must be disconnected and reconnected to the new sewer lines, at the expense of the property owner, at such time as a Municipally maintained sewer line becomes available to the property.