[Adopted 9-20-2005 by Ord. No. 36-12]
The purpose and intent of this article is to
establish regulations pertaining to the underground installation of
any sanitary or stormwater piping or other underground facilities
in any property situate in Whitpain Township to assure that the underground
facilities so installed and any easement areas in which said installations
are placed shall be clear of any temporary or permanent construction
or landscaping of such a nature that will either impede or interfere
with access to said underground facilities or which could cause any
damage to the facilities through growth of root structures into the
facilities.
For purposes of this article, the following
definitions shall apply:
A tract parcel or strip of land, established by a legal description
and described in a deed of easement or declaration of covenants, easements
or restrictions and suitable for recording, in which is described
easement area, sanitary sewer pipes, stormwater pipes, electrical
wires or conduit or other utility services or other facilities, including
junction boxes, pumping stations, meter pits or other similar types
of equipment.
Any form or arrangement of building materials, including
walls and fences, which involves the necessity of providing support,
bracing, anchoring or other protection against the forces of the elements.
Any piping, conduit, electric wiring or other type of conveying
entity or structure; any juncture box, pumping station, meter pit,
or other similar types of equipment or facilities designed for installation
underground or at the surface of the ground and housed in a vault
or other underground structure.
No property owner or his, her or its, tenants,
subtenants, heirs, successors or assigns, of any property upon which
an easement shall be installed, whether underground, on the surface
of the ground or above ground, shall be permitted:
A.Â
To install any temporary or permanent structure, wall,
fence or building along or across, under, over or through any of the
underground facility;
B.Â
To install any temporary or permanent structure, wall,
fence or building along, across, under, over or through any easement
area in which such underground facility is installed or intended to
be installed;
C.Â
To install, plant, cultivate or otherwise permit the
installation of any landscaping or plant materials having a depth
of root structure when either initially installed or subsequently
expected to develop, which will, in any way, cause or risk damage
to, intrusion of or dislodgment of the underground facilities within
the easement area.
Any violation of any provision of this article
shall be deemed a summary criminal offense and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be subject to a fine of not less than $600, plus costs for each
day that the offense continues. Each day of noncompliance shall constitute
a separate offense.
[Adopted 10-4-2005 by Ord. No. 36-14]
A.Â
The Board of Supervisors finds that the discharge
of stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof run-off or subsurface
drainage into the public sanitary sewer system lines, pipes or facilities
either owned or operated by the Township or which are part of any
collection system for sanitary sewage or effluent within Whitpain
Township for transport to any other publicly owned wastewater treatment
plant, whether within or outside of the boundaries of Whitpain Township,
is detrimental to the maintenance and operation of sanitary sewer
collection and treatment facilities within Whitpain Township;
B.Â
The Township has determined to undertake the necessary
procedures to assure the reduction of infiltration and inflow into
the sanitary sewer collection and transmission lines and facilities
within the Township; and
C.Â
The purpose of this article is to prohibit the discharge
of stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff or subsurface
drainage into the sanitary sewer system and to establish a program
of investigations, inspections and corrective actions to minimize
and eliminate the introduction of said waters into the sanitary system
lines and facilities by illegal or improper direct connection or by
means of infiltration and inflow.
A.Â
No person, corporation, partnership or user of the
sanitary sewer system within Whitpain Township shall discharge or
cause to be discharged, or shall inadvertently permit the discharge,
of any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, waters
of the Commonwealth, subsurface drainage, foundation drainage, sump
pump drainage, or cooling waters into any of the sanitary sewer lines
or facilities owned or operated by the Township or other municipal
entities within Whitpain Township.
B.Â
All such waters and such other unpolluted drainage
shall be discharged to facilities that are specifically designed as
stormwater discharge facilities pursuant to the subdivision and land
development regulations and stormwater management regulations of Whitpain
Township[1] or through such natural outlets as are approved by the
Township and in compliance with the provisions of the Department of
Environmental Protection.
A.Â
Inspection program. To assure compliance with the
prohibition of connection of such waters to the sanitary sewer lines
or facilities, the Township shall establish a program of periodic
and systematic inspections of all properties within the Township which
are connected to the sanitary sewer lines and facilities.
B.Â
Notification of inspection. All properties owners
will be notified of the Township's request to inspect their property
by letter. Within 20 calendar days of receipt of the letter, the property
owner is requested to contact the Township to schedule an inspection
of the property and the sanitary sewer connections within the property.
The inspection shall be performed at no expense to the property owner.
C.Â
Report. Following the inspection of the property,
the Township shall issue a report to each property owner as to the
conclusions of the inspection. Any repairs or modifications to the
property owner's sanitary sewer lateral which are indicated in the
report shall be completed by the property owner and inspected and
approved by the Code Enforcement Department within 60 calendar days
of the issuance of the report by the Township.
D.Â
Penalties and surcharge. Any property owner who shall
either fail to schedule an inspection within 20 calendar days of receipt
of the original from the Township, or shall fail to make any repairs
or modifications within 60 calendar days following the receipt of
the report by the Township following the inspection, will be subject
to a surcharge of $50 on their quarterly sewer rental bill. For each
quarter or portion thereof that the property owner fails to respond
to the request for inspection or fails to make the repairs or modifications
as requested in the report, said surcharge shall increase by $25 per
each additional quarter until the proper inspection has occurred or
the repairs and modifications have been completed. The property owner
is responsible for obtaining all necessary permits from the Code Enforcement
Department prior to commencing repair work.
E.Â
Remedies. In the event that a property owner fails
to schedule an inspection or complete any repairs or modifications
within a maximum of 90 calendar days, the Township may undertake appropriate
measures necessary to assure compliance, including but not limited
to injunctive relief in equity or such other appropriate relief in
the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County. All costs incurred
by the Township in seeking compliance with the requirements of this
article, including attorney fees and engineering fees shall be the
responsibility of the property owner. Any such costs incurred by the
Township may be liened against the property which is the subject of
any such compliance proceedings.
