[Adopted at time of adoption of Code (see
Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
The purpose of this article is to establish
procedures for the use and maintenance of holding tanks designed to
receive and retain sewage from new construction of residential or
commercial premises that would be completed for occupancy prior to
the completion of a public sewer system constructed by the Township
of East Allen, existing residential or commercial establishments that
are experiencing a failure of an existing on-lot sewer system in an
area where the public sewer system may or may not be constructed,
a permanent use by a commercial establishment that will generate a
sewage flow of less than 800 gallons per day and may not be served
by public sewers in the future. It is hereby declared that the enactment
of this article is necessary for the protection, benefit, and preservation
of the health, safety, and welfare of the inhabitants of the Township.
Unless the context specifically and clearly
indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this article shall
be as follows:
Board of Supervisors of the Township of East Allen, Northampton
County, Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection or
its successor state agency.
A suitable facility for the final disposition of human and
animal sewage and wastes, which facility shall have been and remains
approved for such purposes by the Department.
A watertight receptacle which receives and retains sewage
conveyed to it by means of a watertight pipe carrying system and which
is designed and constructed to facilitate ultimate disposal of the
sewage at another site.
A property within the Township upon which there is erected
a structure intended for continuous or periodic habitation, occupancy,
or use by human beings or animals and from which structure sewage
shall or may be discharged.
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any property located in the Township.
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation,
or other group or entity.
The regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection, Pennsylvania Code Title 25, Subpart C, Regulations of
the Department pertaining to holding tanks.
Any substance that contains any of the waste products or
excrement or other discharge from the bodies of human beings or animals
and noxious or deleterious substances being harmful or inimical to
the public health or to animal or aquatic life or to the use of water
for domestic water supply or for recreation or which constitutes pollution
under the Clean Streams Law.[1]
East Allen Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
[1]
Editor’s Note: See 35 P.S. § 691.1
et seq.
A.
The Board is hereby authorized and empowered to undertake
within the Township the control and methods of holding tanks, sewage
disposal, and the collection and transportation thereof.
B.
No permit for a holding tank, however, shall be issued
unless one of the following is applicable:
(1)
The Township has a guarantee that public sanitary
sewer service will be available to the building site within 18 months
of the date of the permit application.
(2)
The on-lot sewer system is malfunctioning and all
subsurface disposal alternatives have been denied.
(3)
The building is a commercial establishment and will
generate a sewage flow of less than 800 gallons per day.
C.
No permit for a holding tank shall be issued until
the Township and Sewage Enforcement Officer have obtained a certified
copy of each of the following documents:
(1)
A completed application;
(2)
A written contract between the owner and qualified
and responsible holding tank cleaner for the term of the holding tank
permit, which contract shall provide for the timely and regular removal
of the contents of the holding tank by the holding tank cleaner; and
for the removal of the said contents to an approved disposal site
for final disposition;
(3)
A certified copy of a written contract between the
holding tank cleaner and the disposal site providing the holding tank
cleaner with the right to dispose of the holding tank contents;
(4)
Fees as established by resolution of the Board; and
(5)
An agreement to reimburse and indemnify the Township
for any liability, cost, and expenses which shall or may be incurred
by the Township in actions to enforce compliance by the owner or to
remove the contents of the holding tank or the holding tank upon default
or failure of the owner to perform or for any fines incurred by the
Township by reason of the owner’s failure to comply with this
article, any properly enacted amendment hereto or the laws and regulations
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The agreement shall be in the
form required by the Board.
A.
The Board is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt
by resolution such rules and regulations concerning sewage which it
may deem necessary from time to time to effect the purpose herein.
B.
All such rules and regulations adopted by the Board
shall be in conformity with the provisions herein, all other ordinances
of the Township, applicable laws and applicable rules and regulations
of administrative agencies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Board shall have the right and power to
fix, alter, charge, and collect rates, assessments, and other charges
in the area served by its facilities at reasonable and uniform rates
as authorized by applicable law. These charges, rates, and assessments
shall be established by resolution. In addition, all legal and sewage
enforcement fees in regard to the processing of a permit including
the preparation and recording of all legal documents shall be paid
by the applicant.
The collection and transportation of all sewage
from an improved property utilizing a holding tank shall be the responsibility
of the property owner subject to the direction and control of the
Township and the disposal thereof shall be made only at such site
or sites as may be approved by the Department of Environmental Protection
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The owner of an improved property that utilizes
a holding tank shall:
A.
Maintain the holding; tank in conformance with this
or any ordinance of the Township, the provisions of any applicable
law, and any administrative agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
and permit the collection, transportation, and disposal of the contents
therein, only in accordance with the rates, rules, and regulations
adopted by the Board. Said rates, rules, and regulations shall be
imposed and may, from time to time, be amended by the Board by resolution.
B.
Obtain from the Township Sewage Enforcement Officer
or the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, or any
successor thereof, the approval for sewage disposal by means of holding
tanks.
C.
Submit to the Township an appropriate Sewage Facilities
Planning Module, if required.
D.
Post a cash escrow with the Township in an amount
approved by the Board, which shall be used by the Township in the
event it is necessary for the Township to effect the transportation
and disposal of sewage from the owner’s property because of
the owner’s failure or refusal to do so, or for payment of the
Sewage Enforcement Officer’s cost and legal costs incurred by
the Township, as a result of the application for and issuance of a
holding tank permit, and for the enforcement of the article or regulations
adopted pursuant to this article. The unused balance of any escrow
shall be returned to the owner upon proper removal of the holding
tank. It shall not be necessary to hold said escrow funds in an interest-bearing
account but, if it is, the accrued interest on the escrow shall be
credited to the balance of the account of the individual applicant.
E.
Have deemed to have granted his consent for inspections
of the holding tank and facilities used in connection with the holding
tank by the Township Sewage Enforcement Officer. At reasonable times
during the hours of 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., the owner shall grant
the Sewage Enforcement Officer access to the premises for the purpose
of making such inspections upon request of the Sewage Enforcement
Officer verbally or in writing.
F.
The owner shall maintain a record of all pumping receipts
and, upon request by the Sewage Enforcement Officer, the owner shall
furnish the Sewage Enforcement Officer with a true and correct copy
of all pumping receipts for cleaning or removing the contents of the
holding tanks. Such receipts shall be submitted to the Sewage Enforcement
Officer within 10 days after the contents of the holding tank are
pumped out.
A.
Any holding tank installed or maintained pursuant
to a permit issued under this article shall comply, in all respects,
to the specification set forth in regulations of the Department, 25
Pa. Code Chapter 73 Standards for sewage disposal facilities inclusive.
B.
The owner shall cause the holding tank and all lines,
pipes, or conduits to the same to be maintained in a good watertight
condition at all times.
C.
All holding tanks shall be installed on a firm and
stable soil or subsoil and in such manner as to prevent settlement
or movement.
D.
No holding tank or lines to the holding tank shall
be covered until the Sewage Enforcement Officer shall have first inspected
and approved the installation and authorized covering same. The owner
shall be responsible for furnishing the Sewage Enforcement Officer
reasonable notice of the installation.
E.
The owner shall cause a holding tank to be cleaned
as frequently as may be required to maintain the contents at a level
less than 75% of the tank’s capacity. The holding tank shall
have a warning device that will create an audible and visual signal
when the tank is filled to within 75% of its capacity. The warning
device shall be located at a location frequented by the owner or responsible
individual.
F.
Holding tanks shall be installed at least 50 feet
from any source of water supply.
In the event a holding tank permit has been
issued for new construction pending the installation of an off-site
sewage disposal system, the owner shall remove or cause the removal
of the holding tank within 20 days after connection to the off-site
sewage disposal system is made.
This article shall be enforced by action brought
before a District Justice in the same manner provided for the enforcement
of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Any person who violates or permits the violation of this article shall,
upon conviction in a summary proceeding, be punishable by a fine of
not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90
days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation continues or
is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense. Each
section of this article that is violated shall also constitute a separate
offense.
In addition to any other remedies provided in this article, any violation of § 186-19 above shall constitute a public nuisance and shall be abated by the Township or any other affected person by seeking appropriate equitable or legal relief.
