[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of
Abington 4-13-1961 by Ord. No. 1024. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to stop, fill up, confine,
pave or otherwise interfere with any drain, ditch, watercourse or drainage
facility in the Township of Abington without first obtaining from the Township
Secretary a permit authorizing such work to be performed; and no drain, ditch,
watercourse or drainage facility shall be stopped, filled up, confined, paved
or otherwise interfered with except in strict accordance with the terms and
conditions of such permit and the plans and specifications therefor.
The application for a permit shall be on the form prescribed by the
township, verified by affidavit made by the owner and accompanied by plans
and specifications prepared by a registered engineer or surveyor. The plans
and specifications shall show the exact nature of the work to be performed;
the course, structure and capacity of all drains, ditches, watercourses and
drainage facilities; the method of drainage of the adjacent territory and
any other necessary information and explanatory details required by the township.
All design shall conform to Township of Abington standards.
Before approving the application, the township shall, where it is deemed
necessary, be assured by means of a proper completion guaranty in the form
of a bond, with surety satisfactory to the township, or the deposit of funds
or securities in escrow sufficient to cover the cost of the required construction,
as estimated by the Township Engineer, that the said construction will subsequently
be performed by the owner.
The application, plans and specifications shall be submitted in quadruplicate
to the Township Engineer. Before acting upon any such plan, the Commissioners
may, in their discretion, arrange for a public hearing, after giving such
notice as they may deem desirable in each case. The Commissioners are authorized
to alter such plans and to specify any changes or modifications of any kind
which they, in their discretion, may deem necessary with respect thereto,
and may make their approval of such plans subject to any alterations, changes
or modifications. All plans, when so approved, shall be signed on behalf of
the township by the President of the Board of Commissioners, the Secretary
and Township Engineer and shall be filed in the office of the Township Engineer,
where the same shall be available for public inspection.
The Township Engineer shall be notified at least 24 hours in advance
of the commencement of the work in order that provision may be made for proper
inspection thereof. Samples of material and every reasonable facility for
ascertaining whether the work is in conformity with the provisions of this
chapter and the Township of Abington Subdivision Ordinance[1] and any supplements or amendments thereto shall be furnished to
the proper officers of the township.
[Amended 3-11-1976 by Ord. No. 1420; 12-8-1988
by Ord. No. 1644]
An application fee of $100 shall be paid to the Township Secretary when
the application is filed, plus an amount equal to 5% of the estimated cost
of the work as determined by the Township Engineer for the necessary inspection.
The inspection charge shall be based at a rate of $40 for each hour or portion
thereof that a township inspector is engaged at the site and also shall include
the actual cost of any material tests. Upon completion of the work, any moneys
collected for inspection and material tests and not expended shall be refunded
to the owner.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon
conviction thereof in a summary proceedings, be sentenced to pay a fine not
exceeding $25 for each offense, and in default of the payment of such fine
and costs, shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not more than 10 days, and
when any person shall have been notified by the Township Engineer or by service
of summons in a prosecution or by any other way that such person is committing
a violation of this chapter, each day in which the violation is continued
after such notification shall constitute a separate offense, punishable by
like penalty.
The Township of Abington shall have no responsibility with respect to
conditions arising as a result of the failure on the part of any person to
comply with the requirements of this chapter.
The Commissioners of the Township of Abington may enter upon any lands
or enclosures and cut, open, maintain and repair such drains or ditches through
the same as in their judgment are necessary to carry the water from the streets
or highways.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be held to restrict or limit
the State Department of Highways or any county in the exercise of any of its
powers and duties under the provisions of any law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
nor to obviate the necessity of securing the consent of the Water and Power
Resources Board where required by existing law.
