Chandler sewer tap permit: what 51-7 and the street permit require

The whole section is one sentence: "It shall be unlawful for any person(s) to uncover, make any connections with or opening into (tap), use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the City Engineer." Section 51-1 defines appurtenances as "Items attached to a main structure to enable it to function, but not considered an integral part of it."

Section 51-10 sets the penalty: a violation of the chapter is a misdemeanor, punished under Chapter 1 of the city code.

Two neighboring rules shape the job:

• Where your pipe ends. Section 51-6 says the building service line runs "down to and including the tap and tapping saddle on the City Sewer Main," so the piece you install includes the connection to the city's pipe.
• The street. City Code 46-2(B) says no one may excavate or place a pipe under a street, right-of-way or sidewalk without a permit from the city. Section 46-10 covers pipe and facilities in the street that no other encroachment permit class fits, and it says the permit carries an application processing fee, an inspection fee and a fee to recover the city's reasonable costs, all set by Council resolution.

• Tap: the connection of your pipe to the city sewer main.
• Public sewer main: in 51-1, "A sanitary sewer line owned and maintained by the City." The tap and tapping saddle are not part of it for ownership: 51-6 counts them in the owner's building service line.
• Encroachment permit: the city's permit for placing or digging anything in the public right-of-way.
• Building service line: the code's term for the pipe from your building to the main, including the tap and tapping saddle. (Chandler's code reserves "lateral sewer" for a public sewer of 15-inch diameter or smaller.)

It covers anyone doing the work, whether you are an owner, a developer or a contractor. The words "any person" in 51-7 make no exception for licensed plumbers. It also reaches replacement work that touches the public sewer, so replacing a building service line all the way to the main needs the permit.

A new strip center. The plumber holds the building permit and has the sewer drawn on the plans. The tap still needs its own written City Engineer permit, and the trench in the street needs an encroachment permit. That is two approvals beyond the plumbing permit.

A collapsed building service line. A restaurant's sewer line has failed under the parking lot and the street. The owner is responsible for the building service line (City Code 51-6), so the owner's contractor replaces it. Reaching the tap and saddle on the main is public sewer work under 51-7, and the trench in the street needs a street permit.

The edge case: single-family and duplex homes. City Code 51-6 has one exception: when a stoppage requires repair of a broken section in the public right-of-way on a single-family or duplex property, the city repairs it up to the owner's property line. That exception does not cover new taps, and it is written for homes, not for commercial buildings.

1. 1Decide whether your work touches the public sewer, the tap, or the street.
2. 2Contact Chandler Development Services (215 E. Buffalo St., 480-782-3000) to start the City Engineer permit and the street permit. City Code 51-7 does not list a fee or an application form.
3. 3Get the plumbing or building permit for the work on your property.
4. 4Book the building sewer inspection when the pipe is installed, shaded, properly supported and still uncovered. The city's inspections page lists code 732, Building Sewer/Tap, for this.
5. 5Do not backfill until the inspector has approved the work.

• "The plumbing permit covers the tap." The tap needs its own written permit from the City Engineer.
• "A licensed plumber does not need a tap permit." The section applies to "any person."
• "Street digging is part of the same permit." Chapter 46 makes it a separate encroachment permit.
• "Everything to the main is the city's job." Under 51-6 the owner owns the pipe up to and including the tap and saddle, except for the single-family and duplex street-section exception.

This page describes Chandler's published rules. Fees and forms change by Council resolution and department procedure, so confirm the current steps with Development Services before you dig.