The Township of Middlesex has updated its Act 537 Plan to provide for
public sanitary sewage within the Township of Middlesex. The Township has
delegated to the Saxonburg Area Authority the right and power to provide public
sanitary sewage service. As part of the development of a public sanitary sewage
system, the Township has determined the mandatory connection to the public
sanitary sewage system is required in order to assure the economic viability
of the public sanitary sewer system. This article is to provide for the mandatory
connection to the public sanitary sewer system, to provide for the abandonment
and destruction of existing privy vaults, cesspools and septic tanks and to
provide penalties for failure to comply with this article.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
AUTHORITY INSEPCTOR
The person appointed or employed by the Saxonburg Area Authority
to inspect public sewers, water lines, building sewers and all other connections
between occupiable homes or other buildings and the public sewers and water
lines.
[Amended 3-21-2007 by Ord. No. 110]
BUILDING
A man-made structure attached to or into the ground enclosing or
covering a volume of space, and intended to shelter or contain people, animals,
businesses and activities associated with any of them.
[Added 3-21-2007 by Ord. No. 110]
BUILDING DRAIN or HOUSE DRAIN
That part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which
receives the sewage inside the walls of a building and conveys it to the building
sewer beginning five feet outside the inner face of the building wall.
[Amended 3-21-2007 by Ord. No. 110]
BUILDING SEWER
That part of the drainage system that extends from the end of the
building drain and conveys the discharge to the public sanitary sewer.
[Added 3-21-2007 by Ord. No. 110]
OCCUPIABLE
A building designed for human occupancy in which individuals congregate
for any purpose and which is equipped with means of egress and plumbing facilities
for water to be used by the occupants of the building.
[Added 3-21-2007 by Ord. No. 110]
PERSON
Individual, partnership, association, company, corporation, municipality,
municipal authority or political subdivision, or any agency of the federal
or state government. The term includes the officers, employees and agents
of any partnership, association, company, corporation, municipality, municipal
authority or political subdivision, or any agency of the federal or state
government.
PUBLIC SEWER
A sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights
and is controlled by public authority.
SANITARY SEWER
A sewer which carries sewage and to which stormwater, surface waters,
and groundwaters are prohibited.
[Amended 3-21-2007 by Ord. No. 110]
SEWAGE
A combination of water-carried wastes from the residence, business
and commercial buildings, apartments, institutions and industrial establishments.
Sewage shall not include industrial waste, which shall be pretreated prior
to placement into the public sanitary sewer system.
SEWER
A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
SHALL
Mandatory.
[Added 3-21-2007 by Ord. No. 110]
STORM DRAIN or STORM SEWER
A sewer which carries storm and surface waters and drainage but excludes
sewage and polluted industrial wastes.
[Amended 3-21-2007 by Ord. No. 110]
A. Within 60 days after the passage of this article, the
owner or owners of all occupiable buildings located on premises accessible
to a public sanitary sewer shall connect, or cause to be connected, the building
or buildings with the public sanitary sewer to which the property is accessible.
For purposes of discerning accessibility, it shall be presumed that any building
located within 150 feet of a public sanitary sewer is accessible to such sanitary
sewer.
B. As public sanitary sewers are laid and provided in other
and additional areas of the Township of Middlesex, the owners of all occupiable
buildings accessible to such public sanitary sewers so laid and constructed
shall, within 60 days, connect or cause to be connected any occupiable buildings
with the sanitary sewer to which the property becomes accessible.
[Amended 3-21-2007 by Ord. No. 110]
When connection has been made with the public sanitary sewer, the owner
or owners of such property shall forthwith abandon any and all privies, privy
vaults, cesspools and septic tanks then existing on said premises and shall
use them no longer. Such abandoned privies, privy vaults, cesspools and septic
tanks shall have pumped from them all sewage, septage or other waste and shall
cause them to be filled with sand or other acceptable material. Any and all
connection or connections with the occupiable building which was served by
any privy, privy vaults, cesspools and septic tanks shall be broken and destroyed
in such a manner that sanitary sewage can no longer enter therein.
All connections to the sewer lines that are part of the public sanitary
sewer system of the Township of Middlesex shall be made in accordance with
the rules and regulations adopted by the Authority. Any abandonment of any
existing privy, privy vault, cesspool or septic tank or other disposal, receptacle
or structure shall be made in accordance with rules and regulations adopted
by the Authority.
[Amended 3-21-2007 by Ord. No. 110]
A. No basement seepage, groundwater drainage, foundation
drain or storm drain or any other nonsewage source of water shall be discharged
into the sanitary sewer system, and all applicants desiring connection to
the public sanitary sewage system shall certify that no groundwater, seepage
drains, foundation drains or storm drains are or shall be connected to the
public sanitary sewage system. After connection to the sewer is made, the
applicant shall maintain the house system in such a manner that no such seepage,
groundwater drainage, foundation drains or storm water drains enter the sanitary
sewage system.
B. No downspouts, roof drainage or surface or area drainage
shall be connected into the public sanitary sewage system, and before attachment
to the sewer system, the property owner or applicant for service shall remove
such connections and adequately and rightly plug his system to prevent the
entrance of the downspouts, roof or surface or area drainage into the public
sanitary sewer system. After connection to the sewer system, no downspouts,
roof drainage or surface or area drainage shall be connected to the sewer
lateral, any part of the plumbing system that discharges to the public sanitary
sewer system or any part of the public sanitary sewage system.
Each user of the public sanitary sewer system, before connections are
made thereto, shall provide the necessary piping, venting and connections
as required by the rules and regulations of the Authority.
No cross-connections shall be made between the sanitary sewer system
and the potable water system whereby vacuums or back siphonage could permit
sanitary waste to enter the potable water system. No cross-connections shall
be made between the sanitary sewage system and the storm drains or storm sewers.
[Amended 3-21-2007 by Ord. No. 110]
The Authority and Township, and their agents and employees, shall be
permitted to enter upon all properties for the purpose of inspection, observation,
sampling, testing and retesting in accordance with rules and regulations adopted
by the Authority.