[Adopted 5-11-1976 by Ord. No. 92]
Every owner of property in the Township of Fallowfield whose
property is accessible to and whose principal building is within 150
feet from any line of any public sanitary sewer presently in existence
or to be constructed in the future by Pigeon Creek Sanitary Authority
(hereinafter called the "Authority"), shall connect, at his own cost,
the house, buildings or other structures located on said property
with the aforementioned public sanitary sewers for the purpose of
disposing of all acceptable sanitary sewage emanating from said property.
It shall be unlawful for any owner, lessee or occupier of any
property which is accessible to and whose principal building is within
150 feet from any line of the aforementioned public sanitary sewers
to employ any means, either by septic tank, cesspool, privy vault,
mine hole or otherwise, for the disposal of acceptable sanitary sewage
other than into and through said public sanitary sewers.
Where any house, building or structure in the Township located
on the aforementioned property is now or hereafter may be using any
method for the disposal of acceptable sanitary sewage other than through
the aforementioned public sanitary sewers, it shall be the duty of
the Township Secretary or, upon the written direction of the Township,
an authorized representative of the Authority to notify the owner,
lessee or occupier of such structure in writing, either by personal
service, certified mail or registered mail, to disconnect the same
and make proper connection for the discharge and disposal of all acceptable
sanitary sewage through said public sanitary sewers, as herein provided,
within 60 days after receipt of such notice. Any owner or lessee or
occupier of a structure who cannot comply with the provisions of this
section as to connection within the sixty-day period stipulated above
due to causes beyond his control shall apply to the Authority for
a time extension of up to six months in duration. Said application
shall be made on a form to be furnished by the Authority and shall
contain a voluntary agreement on the part of the applicant under which
the applicant shall agree to commence paying the regular monthly sewer
rates immediately even though actual connection to said public sanitary
sewers will not be accomplished until some stated later date within
said six-month extension period.
No privy vault, cesspool, septic tank or similar receptacle
for human excrement shall at the present time or at any time hereafter
be connected with the aforementioned public sanitary sewers.
No privy vault, cesspool, septic tank or similar receptacle
for human excrement shall hereafter be maintained upon any property
from which connection with any of the aforementioned public sanitary
sewers shall have been made. Any such privy vault, cesspool, septic
tank or other receptacle not abandoned as required by this section
shall constitute a nuisance and may be abated on order of the Board
of Supervisors as provided by law at the expense of the owner of such
property.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation whose
property is connected to any aforementioned public sanitary sewers
to connect any roof drain thereto or permit any roof drain to remain
connected thereto or to permit, allow or cause to enter into said
public sanitary sewers any stormwater, foundation drain water, springwater
or surface water, or any sewage or industrial waste from any property
other than that for which a permit is or has been issued.
Henceforth, no person, firm or corporation shall make or cause
to be made any connection with any of the aforementioned public sanitary
sewers until he has fulfilled all of the following conditions:
A.
He shall make application to the Township, or the Authority, as the
Township's agent, upon a permit form to be formulated and supplied
by the Authority for permission to connect to the aforementioned public
sanitary sewers. Among other things, the applicant must state the
character and use of each structure located upon his property.
B.
No work shall commence before the issuance of the aforementioned
connection permit.
C.
He shall give the designated inspector of the Township or the Authority
at least 24 hours' notice of the time when such connection shall be
made in order that said inspector can be present to inspect and approve
the work of connection. The inspector shall signify his approval of
the connection by endorsing his name and the date of approval on the
aforementioned connection permit in the possession of the permittees.
D.
At the time of inspection of the connection, the owner or owners
of properties shall permit the inspector full and complete access
to all sanitary and drainage arrangements and facilities in each building
and in and about all parts of the property. No new building sewer
line shall be covered over, or in any manner concealed, until after
it is inspected and approved by said inspector.
The construction of all new building sewer lines or house service
sewers shall be done in accordance with the specifications, plans
and procedures established by the Authority in its Sewage Collection
and Disposal System Rules and Regulations, as the same may be from
time to time published and amended, copies of which, upon adoption
by the Authority, shall be maintained on file with the Township Secretary
and the Authority.
Unless written permission is obtained from the Authority, separate
connections will be required for each individual occupied building
whether constructed as a detached unit or as one of a pair or row,
but a single connection will be permitted to serve a school, factory,
apartment house or other permanent multiple unit structure whose individual
apartments or units may not be subject to separate ownership. The
Authority, however, does not assume any obligation or responsibility
for damages caused by or resulting from any permitted single connection
for multiple units as aforementioned.
All sanitary sewage discharged in the aforementioned public
sanitary sewers shall meet the requirements of the aforesaid Rules
and Regulations to be established by the Authority. The discharge
of industrial wastes into said public sanitary sewers, without the
prior written consent of the Authority, is hereby prohibited. Any
industrial establishment desiring to discharge industrial wastes into
said public sanitary sewers shall make application to the Authority
for a permit therefor. The applicant for such permit shall furnish
the Authority with such information as is required for the purpose
of determining whether the proposed discharge of industrial wastes
will conform with the requirements of said Rules and Regulations of
the Authority. The granting of such permit may be made contingent
upon the applicant providing and maintaining, at the expense of the
applicant, apparatus for regulating the rate of discharge and/or pretreating
such wastes prior to discharge and for the proper sampling thereof,
from time to time, as the Authority may deem necessary.
In case any owner of property accessible to and whose principal building is within 150 feet of the aforementioned public sanitary sewers shall neglect or refuse to comply with the provisions of this article or the written notice as prescribed in § 297-13 hereof, the Township or the Authority as its agent may perform or cause to be performed such work and labor and furnish or cause to be furnished such material as may be necessary to comply with the provisions of this article at the cost and expense of such owner or owners, together with 10% additional thereof and all charges and expenses incidental thereto, which sum shall be collected from said owner or owners for the use of the Authority as debts are by law collectible, or the Township or the Authority, as its agent, may, by its proper officer, file a municipal claim or lien therefor against such premises as provided by law.
[Amended 4-22-1997 by Ord. No. 144]
A.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this article shall,
upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a Magisterial
District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure,
be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of
not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default of payment
thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding 90 days.[1]
B.
Each day that a violation is found to exist shall be considered a
separate violation.
C.
The fine shall be in addition to any and all other remedies available
at law or in equity, wherein, and not by way of limitation, the Township
shall have the right to bring an action in equity to abate and/or
cause a termination of said violation or violating condition, wherein
the party determined to be responsible shall also be subject to the
payment of court costs, attorney's fees and the like. This remedy
is in addition to and not in limitation of any other remedy or sanction
that is available at law or in equity.
D.
This article or ordinances shall be prosecuted and/or enforced by
the Township Zoning Officer, Ordinance Enforcement Officer, any Township-designated
law enforcement agency, or any other Township official as previously
designated or appointed, including, but not limited to, the Tax Collector.
[Amended 7-29-1997 by Ord. No. 146[2]]
