[Adopted 4-4-2016 by Ord.
No. 205]
The purpose of this article is to establish procedures for the
installation, use and maintenance of sewage grinder pumps and any
associated force mains or low-pressure laterals. 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 this municipality.
Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise,
the meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
A municipality's Official Plan as defined in the Pennsylvania
Sewage Facilities Act, Act of January 24, 1966, P.L. 1535 (1965),
No. 537, as amended, 35 P.S. §§ 750.1 through 750.20a
("Sewage Facilities Act" or "Act 537").
The Southwest Delaware County Municipal Authority of Aston,
Pennsylvania, or any other municipal authority as defined by the Municipality
Authorities Act of 2001 (2001, June 19, P.L. 287, No. 22, and as amended
thereafter, 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 5601 et seq.) or municipality
authorized by law to enact ordinances or adopt resolutions regarding
sewage conveyance, treatment and disposal in the Borough of Chester
Heights.
The Borough of Chester Heights, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Any electric-motor-driven, submersible, centrifugal pump
capable of macerating all material found in normal domestic sanitary
sewage, including reasonable amounts of objects such as plastics,
sanitary napkins, disposable diapers, rubber and the like, to fine
slurry, and pumping this material through a small diameter discharge.
Any property within the Borough of Chester Heights 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.
A change in the municipality's Act 537 Plan to provide for
additional or newly identified future or existing sewage facilities'
needs, as defined fully in Section 1 of the Sewage Facilities Act,
35 P.S. § 750.1.
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any residential, business, institutional, industrial
or commercial property located in the municipality.
Any substance that contains any of the waste products or
excrement or other discharge from the bodies of human beings or animals
and any noxious or deleterious substance 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 any substance
which constitutes pollution under the Clean Streams Law, 35 P.S. §§ 691.1
through 691.1001, as amended.
The connection of existing properties or proposed new land development
to an existing or proposed sewerage system through the use of sewage
grinder pumps, their associated force mains, or low-pressure laterals
shall occur only after the Borough, Authority and Department approve
such connections in an Official Plan Revision to the municipality's
Act 537 Plan or an exemption from sewage facilities planning, recognizing
such connection is approved by the Department. A connection may also
occur if the Department has determined that sewage facilities planning
is not required for the connection.
A.
The Borough is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt such rules
and regulations concerning sewage which it may deem necessary from
time to time to effect the purposes herein.
B.
The Borough is hereby authorized and empowered to take such other
actions as necessary, including, but not limited to, entering into
agreements with property owners that assure proper operation and maintenance
of sewage facilities within the Borough's borders, including, but
not limited to, sewage grinder pumps and any associated force mains
or low-pressure laterals.
C.
The Borough is empowered to authorize an Authority to enact ordinances
or adopt resolutions regarding sewage conveyance, treatment and disposal
in the Borough of Chester Heights.
A.
The Borough shall exercise its powers and legal authority set forth
herein, and under all applicable statutes, ordinances, and other laws
to effect the purposes of this article.
B.
The Borough or Authority may enter into an agreement with each property
owner proposing to install or who has installed a sewage grinder pump
or low-pressure sewage system to assure the short- and long-term operation
and maintenance, use, service, repair or replacement of such systems.
C.
All grinder pumps and low-pressure sewer systems (and the installation,
use, operation, maintenance, service, repair and replacement thereof)
shall comply with the rules and regulations of the Borough and Authority
in effect from time to time.
D.
All grinder pumps and low-pressure sewer systems shall be connected
to the sewage collection and conveyance system in full compliance
with the rules and regulations of the Borough and Authority in effect
from time to time.
E.
The Authority shall maintain control over the type of grinder pumps
used and assure that full service capability is available locally
on short notice.
F.
The Borough and Authority shall bear no responsibility for the purchase,
installation, use, operation, maintenance, service, repair, or replacement
of the grinder pump and/or its low-pressure force main or lateral,
except as otherwise set forth herein.
A.
Each property owner served by a grinder pump shall bear full responsibility
for providing, installing, using, operating, maintaining, servicing,
repairing and replacing his/her grinder pump and/or its low-pressure
force main or lateral, unless otherwise set forth herein.
B.
Each property owner served by a grinder pump shall have full responsibility
for using the pump consistent with the manufacturer's instructions
and shall avoid introducing into the sewerage system materials that
may damage the impellers on the pump, including, but not limited to,
items designated as biodegradable in septic tanks.
C.
Each property owner served by a grinder pump shall close the sewage
system and cease operations during any period when the grinder pump
and/or low-pressure system serving a property is inoperable for more
than one day.
D.
The use of a grinder pump on an improved property for sanitary sewage
from a business building, institution, or commercial or industrial
establishment must be of a duplex type approved for the use by the
Authority. Each grinder pump shall be equipped with a flow measurement
system consisting of an inline magnetic flow meter and remote transmitter
approved by the Authority.
E.
Each property owner served by a grinder pump shall enter into a sewage
grinder pump operations and maintenance (O & M) agreement with
the Authority. Such agreement shall be recorded by the property owner
at his or her own expense at the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in
and for Delaware County, Pennsylvania, with evidence thereof to the
Authority.
In the event that the Borough or Authority elects to perform
the property owner's obligations contained in this article or any
agreements entered into by the property owner and the Borough or Authority,
the Borough and/or the Authority shall charge the property owner the
cost incurred by the Borough or the Authority in performing the property
owner's obligations hereunder or in any subsequent agreements, and
the property owner shall reimburse the Borough and/or Authority for
all such costs.
In the event of the property owner's failure to perform under
this article or any subsequent agreements resulting therefrom, the
Borough and/or Authority shall have the right to pursue whatever legal
or equitable remedy they shall deem appropriate, including, but not
limited to, bringing an action for specific performance against the
property owner to compel compliance with this article or any subsequent
agreement resulting herefrom. The Borough and/or Authority shall also
have the right to file a municipal lien against the property to secure
to the Borough and/or Authority any reimbursement of costs due to
them.
All such rules and regulations adopted by the Borough to effectuate
this article shall be in conformity with the provisions herein, all
other ordinances of the Borough, and all applicable laws and applicable
rules and regulations of administrative agencies of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
