[Adopted 8-14-1978 as Ord. No. 1048]
The purpose of this article is to establish
the procedure for granting a permit to use a sewage holding tank as
a temporary measure during any ban established by the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Resources making it impossible to add
new service connections to the municipal sanitary sewer system.
Unless the context specifically and clearly
indicates otherwise, the meanings of terms used in this article shall
be as follows:
The Borough Council of the Borough of Ephrata.
A watertight receptacle which receives and retains sewage
and is designed and constructed to facilitate ultimate disposal of
the sewage to an approved site. "Holding tanks" include but are not
limited to the following:
CHEMICAL TOILETA toilet using chemicals that discharge to a holding tank.
RETENTION TANKA holding tank where sewage is conveyed to it by a water-carrying system.
Any property within the Borough sewer service district upon
which there is to be 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.[1]
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any property located in the Borough sewer service district.[2]
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation
or other group or entity.
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.
A.
Upon application by the property owner to install
a holding tank to receive sanitary sewage as a temporary use, the
Borough Council will consider the granting of a holding tank permit
under the following regulations:
(1)
That connection to the municipal system is not available.
(2)
That the holding tank have a minimum size of 1,000
gallons and otherwise be of sufficient size to receive at least a
two-week estimated discharge of the sewerage system.
(3)
That the owner agrees to disconnect the sewer from
the holding tank and make permanent connections to the municipal sanitary
sewer system within 120 days after Council gives such notice.
(4)
That the owner removes the holding tank from the premises
or fills with solid substance with the inspection and approval of
the Borough upon connecting the sewer to the municipal sanitary sewer
system.
(5)
That the owner agrees to have the holding tank pumped
out as often as may be necessary to prevent the contents from becoming
septic but not less than once in every 10 days.
(6)
That the owner maintains the holding tank and the
area in good condition free from any health and safety hazards.
All such rules and regulations prescribed and
adopted by this article shall be in conformity with the provisions
of applicable Borough laws, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Resources and other regulations and controls established by Borough
codes and ordinances except for this temporary use of holding tanks.
The Borough Manager is hereby authorized to
issue a permit after the temporary use of a holding tank has been
granted by the Borough Council and to enforce the regulations of this
article and other ordinances in such a manner as to provide for the
health, welfare and safety of the area. He or she shall take necessary
steps to accomplish this, by orders to the owner, by actual performance
of the work or by bringing a citation before the local District Justice
for failure of the owner to comply.
The owner of a property served by a holding
tank for sanitary sewage shall:
A.
Install the tank and sewer system in an approved manner
and have the same inspected by the Borough's Plumbing Inspector.
B.
Maintain the holding tank in conformance with regulations
of this article and the provisions of applicable law.
C.
Contract with a reputable tank truck hauler to regularly
remove the contents of this holding tank to prevent the contents from
becoming septic at intervals not greater than 10 days.
D.
Submit two copies of said contract with the hauler
to the Borough Manager for approval, one copy to be returned to the
owner with the permit, if approved.
The owner shall make a contract with a reputable
tank truck hauler to remove the sewage from the holding tank with
these provisions:
A.
The tank truck must be permitted by the Lancaster
County Solid Waste Management Authority enforcement officer as a sanitary
vehicle, suitable to do the work intended, and is in a reasonable
good maintenance condition.[1]
B.
The contractor agrees to remove sewage without creating
a nuisance or an unsanitary condition.
C.
The contractor agrees to remove sludge and discharge
the same to an approved landfill or treatment plant and will not dispose
of the same in any sanitary sewer system of any municipality or authority
without the approval of the Borough of Ephrata. The disposal facility
must be stated in the contract, along with a permit from that facility.[2]
Any person who violates any provisions of this
article shall, upon conviction thereof by summary proceedings, be
sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $100 and no more than $300,
plus costs of prosecution, and in default of said fine and costs to
undergo imprisonment in the Lancaster County Prison for a period not
in excess of 30 days.
In addition to any other remedies provided in
this article, any violation shall constitute a nuisance and may be
abated by the Borough of Ephrata and the costs thereof billed to the
property owner. Failure to pay for this work may be collected or liened
as a municipal claim.
