[Adopted 8-18-2010 by Ord. No. 804-10]
The Municipality of Murrysville (hereinafter "Municipality")
hereby designates the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority
(hereinafter FTMSA), its employees, agents and/or designees as the
authority to identify, report and require disconnection of any illegal
stormwater or surface water connection made or discovered at any time
prior to or following the effective date of this ordinance to the
Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, or other public sewer
system, and for such purpose and in conjunction with the regulatory
power of the Council of the Municipality of Murrysville, such employees,
agents and/or designees are authorized to enforce, consistent with
the ordinances in effect within the Municipality and the regulations
adopted from time to time by Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary
Authority, the provisions of this ordinance with respect to illegal
stormwater and surface water connections to the Franklin Township
Municipal Sanitary Authority.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority and its successor
agency.
An official statement from the proper official of Franklin
Township Municipal Sanitary Authority stating that there are no known
illegal storm or surface water connections into the sanitary sewer
connections of any individual property.
The discharge of ground or surface water of the connection
of downspouts, roof drainage, surface areaway drainage, or foundation
drainage into the sanitary sewage system.
A written letter from the proper official of the Municipality
of Murrysville concerning municipal liens.
Any person, syndicate, associate, partnership, firm, corporation,
institution, agency, authority, or other entity recognized by law
as the subject of rights and duties.
When, during the course of operations within the Municipality
and regular monitoring and maintenance of public sewer lines and facilities,
the employees, agents and/or designees of Franklin Township Municipal
Sanitary Authority identify deteriorating or poorly constructed laterals
and sewer service connections, causing infiltration and inflow of
extraneous waters into the public sanitary sewer system of Franklin
Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, then written notice shall be
provided to the property owner or owners as to the condition of such
laterals and sewer service connections, together with a statement
that such deteriorating or poorly constructed laterals and sewer service
connections must, at the property owner's expense, be promptly repaired,
replaced or rehabilitated within 60 days of receipt of said notice.
A copy of all written reports issued in connection with these examinations
of deteriorating or poorly constructed laterals and sewer service
connections shall be maintained as part of the official records of
the Authority.
Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, its employees,
agents and/or designees, in performing the duties and undertaking
the programs identified in this ordinance, shall be empowered to enter
upon any private property at all reasonable times, with proper notice
to the owner, and in accordance with prevailing law, for the purpose
of obtaining information, conducting inspections and/or enforcing
this ordinance and shall have only those powers expressly set forth
in this ordinance and in other ordinances of the Municipality or provided
by law to perform its functions consistent with such ordinances.
The powers conferred by the within article to the Municipality
shall be in addition to and not in substitution for any other powers
conferred upon these entities to enforce and require the elimination
of illegal stormwater and surface water connections to the public
sewer systems maintained within the borders of the Municipality of
Murrysville.
A.
No property owner or property user of the public sanitary sewer system
of Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority shall discharge
or permit the discharge of any stormwater, surface water, roof runoff,
subsurface drainage, foundation drains, driveway drainage, cooling
water or unpolluted industrial process water into said sanitary sewer
system.
B.
Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority is hereby authorized to conduct random periodic smoke and/or dye tests and any other appropriate test or inspection of all existing sewer systems and structures in the Municipality to determine compliance with this ordinance and other laws pertaining to sewer systems and structures; provided, however, that no inspection fee shall be charged for such inspection tests under § 193-22.6D.
C.
Upon satisfactory completion of testing of any property by the Franklin
Township Municipal Sanitary Authority or upon the completion of required
remedial action to maintain any property in compliance with the terms
hereof, the property owner shall be issued a certification of sewer
lateral setting forth the identification of the property owner, identification
of the property by street address and tax map number, the date, nature
and results of testing, and the completion of any required remedial
action.
D.
Every owner, lessee or occupier of land within the territory serviced
by Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority shall submit to
smoke and/or dye testing or other appropriate test or inspection by
Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, its employees, agents
and/or designees. The owner, lessee or occupier of the land shall
permit said testing upon request. Testing will not be required when
the owner, lessee or occupier of the land produces a valid certification
of sewer lateral issued by the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary
Authority, its agent or designee, which certification of sewer lateral
shall be sufficient proof of compliance for purposes of this Ordinance
three years from the date of issuance.
E.
When illegal stormwater or surface water connections have been discovered,
all necessary remedial work to correct such connection shall be completed
by the owner, lessee or occupier of the premises, weather permitting,
within 45 days of the date such party receives notification of the
illegal connection.
Nothing in this ordinance shall limit, in any fashion whatsoever,
the right of the Municipality to enforce ordinances or the laws of
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Nothing in the ordinance shall be
a defense to any citation issued by any Municipal Corporation of the
Commonwealth pursuant to any other law or ordinance.
A.
Any person selling or refinancing real estate located within the
Municipality of Murrysville and connected to the public sanitary sewer
system of Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority must subject
such person's real property to prior inspection, including inspection
of interior[1] premises of any building or residence, by authorized representatives
of Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, at reasonable hours
and upon prior written notice, to determine compliance with the Rules
and Regulations of Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority.
Such person shall not be issued a certification of sewer lateral until
such inspection has been performed and has revealed no illegal connections
or devices discharging extraneous waters into the sewer system or
other violation of the rules and regulations of Franklin Township
Municipal Sanitary Authority, or a follow-up inspection verifies that
any violations identified in the initial inspection have been disconnected
and removed.
(1)
An inspection certificate shall not be required on the sale
of a new structure to its initial occupant; provided, however, that
it was inspected by the Authority in the due course of construction
within 24 months prior to proposed sale.
(2)
An inspection certificate shall not be required on a sale of
a structure for which a certificate was previously issued within the
preceding 60 months, conditioned, however, upon submission of a written
representation of the property owner, under oath, that there has been
no alteration(s) giving rise to an unlawful discharge into the public
sanitary sewer system.
(3)
An inspection certificate shall not be required on a refinancing
of a structure for which a certificate was previously issued within
the preceding 60 months, conditioned, however, upon a submission of
a written representation of the property owner, under oath, that there
has been no alteration(s) giving rise to an unlawful discharge into
the public sanitary sewer system.
[1]
*[NOTE: Authority’s personnel entry for an interior
inspection of the premises to require owner’s consent or demonstration
of probable cause. Such limitation shall not apply to devices used
by the Authority to inspect the interior of an owner’s pipeline(s)
connecting to the public sanitary sewer system.]
B.
Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority shall, from time to
time by resolution, adopt such standard forms or applications as may
be necessary and appropriate for the facilitation of the inspections
and certifications required herein.
C.
Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority shall, from time to
time by resolution, adopt a standard charge or fee for the inspection
of property prior to sale or refinance and the same shall be due and
payable as part of a lien certification covering sewage charges. A
copy of the proposed fee schedule for issuance of a certificate is
attached hereto;[2] provided, however, the Authority is free to adopt revisions
thereto, from time to time, without necessity of prior approval of
the Municipality of Murrysville.
[2]
Editor's Note: Said fee schedule is on file in the Municipality
offices.
A.
Any person, firm, or corporation who is found to have violated any
order of Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, or who willfully
violated or failed to comply with any provision of this ordinance
and the orders, rules, regulations and permits issued hereunder shall
pay a fine or penalty of up to $1,000 following conviction thereof
by a Magisterial District Judge in a private criminal complaint. In
addition, the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority may recover
damages, costs, reasonable attorney fees, court costs, and such other
fees and expenses of litigation incurred by Franklin Township Municipal
Sanitary Authority in the prosecution of this claim.
B.
Upon final adjudication that a violation of this ordinance exists
and refusal or failure to act by the property owner to undertake the
repair, replacement of rehabilitation identified by written notice
as herein provided, Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority
shall have the right to enter onto the subject property to conduct
the necessary work to bring the property into compliance with this
ordinance at the sole expense of the property owner, and further,
upon the failure of the property owner to pay said expense, Franklin
Township Municipal Sanitary Authority shall have the right to file
a lien against the subject property for the amount of said expenses,
together with costs of filing and perfecting such lien.
C.
Proceedings before the Magisterial District Judge and/or the Westmoreland
County Court of Common Pleas on a violation or enforcement action,
as aforesaid, shall be initiated by the Franklin Township Municipal
Sanitary Authority, without necessity for the joinder of the Municipality
of Murrysville for such purposes.
The provisions of this ordinance are severable, and if any section,
sentence, clause or phrase shall be held by a court of competent jurisdiction
to be illegal, invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining portions
of this ordinance shall not be affected or impaired thereby.
The provisions of this Ordinance shall be codified as part of
the Code of the Municipality of Murrysville.
Any ordinance or part of ordinance conflicting with the provisions
of this ordinance be and the same are hereby repealed to the extent
of such conflict.
