As used in this article, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
ACT 537
The Act of January 24, 1966, P.L. 1535, as amended, 35 P.S.
§ 750.1 et seq., known as the "Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities
Act."
AUTHORITY
Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority.
AUTHORIZED AGENT
Any representative of the Township authorized by the Board
of Supervisors to carry out the provisions of this article.
BOARD
The Board of Supervisors of Doylestown Township.
BOARD OF SEWER APPEALS
A board which may be created by resolution of the Board of
Supervisors whose members shall be residents of Doylestown Township.
CESSPOOL
A covered pit with open jointed lining which receives the
sanitary sewage or other organic wastes directly from a building drain
or building sanitary sewer. It retains and allows liquid waste to
pass through the bottom and sides. This is an antiquated system which
predates the standards (Chapter 73, Title 25, Pa. Code).
COMMUNITY SANITARY SEWAGE SYSTEM
Any system, whether publicly or privately owned, for the
collection of sanitary sewage from two or more lots or structures,
and the treatment and/or disposal of the sewage on one or more lots
or at any other site.
EVIDENCE OF MALFUNCTION
Wet, murky conditions (not resulting from surface water runoff
or ponding) in areas designated as the absorption area of an OLDS.
These conditions are typically accompanied by high grass and/or increased
growth in the warmer months. In the winter, these areas generally
do not freeze and the area is typically spongy and soft. Snow does
not normally accumulate in these areas. Information received from
property owners concerning frequent septic tank pumping or difficulty
in pumping a septic tank due to backflow from the absorption area
is also evidence of malfunction. Other factors considered as evidence
of malfunctions are indications of previous repairs and/or extensions
of the system not permitted by the Bucks County Health Department,
and/or evidence of recently placed soil and/or dirt in the vicinity
where the absorption area is located. The installation of a garden,
shrubs and/or trees in the vicinity of the absorption area, as well
as the inability to distinguish gray water discharge, is also evidence
of a malfunction.
GRAY WATER
Domestically generated liquid wastes, including kitchen and
laundry wastes and water softener backwash.
HOLDING TANK
A watertight receptacle that receives and retains sewage
and is designed and constructed to facilitate ultimate disposal of
the sewage at another site.
MAINTENANCE
Those actions required to provide for the long-term proper
functioning of an on-lot sanitary sewage disposal system, including
but not limited to the pumping of septage from a septic tank, cesspool
or dry well and pump tank; the cleaning, pumping and/or leveling of
a distribution box; the removal of trees or growth affecting the operation
of an on-lot sanitary sewage disposal system; the diversion of surface
water away from an on-lot sanitary sewage disposal system; and the
reduction of flow from the structure being served (i.e., the installation
of water conservation devices).
MALFUNCTION
The condition which occurs when an on-lot sanitary sewage
disposal system discharges untreated or inadequately treated sewage
onto the surface of the ground, into the groundwater, or into the
surface waters of the commonwealth. Malfunction also occurs when sanitary
sewage backs up into the building connected to the system, or otherwise
causes a nuisance or hazard to the public health or pollution of the
ground or surface water or contamination of any public and/or private
drinking water wells.
MUNICIPALITY
Doylestown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
NEW SYSTEM
The installation of an on-lot sewage disposal system on a
property where a system has not previously existed or the installation
of a larger on-lot sewage disposal system in conjunction with the
expanded use of an existing structure. A new system does not include
replacement systems installed on properties with existing on-lot sewage
disposal systems where rehabilitation/repair efforts are required
to correct an existing malfunction.
OFFICIAL SEWAGE FACILITIES ACT 537 PLAN
The plan adopted by the Township and approved by the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection in furtherance of the requirements
as set forth in the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act.
ON-LOT SANITARY SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM (OLDS)
Any system for disposal of sanitary sewage involving pretreatment
and subsequent disposal of the clarified sewage into the soil for
final treatment and disposal, including both individual sanitary sewage
systems and community sanitary sewage systems.
PADEP
The Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
PERSON
Any individual, company, association, public or private corporation
for profit or not for profit, partnership, firm, trust, estate, department,
board, bureau or agency of the Commonwealth, political subdivision,
municipality, district, authority or any other legal entity whatsoever
which is recognized by law as having rights and duties. Whenever used
in any clause prescribing and imposing a penalty or imposing a fine,
the term "person" shall include the members of an association, partnership
or firm and the officers of any local agency or municipal, public
or private corporation for profit or not for profit.
PUMPER/HAULER, DESIGNER AND INSTALLER OF ON-LOT SEPTIC SYSTEMS
Any person, as that term is defined in this article, who
engages in the design, installation and/or cleaning of community or
individual sanitary sewage systems and/or who transports the septage
removed from these systems for disposal, and is licensed by the Bucks
County Health Department and the Township. For the purposes of this
article, persons identified herein shall be hereinafter referred to
as "pumper/hauler."
PUMPER'S REPORT
The form which shall be used by all licensed pumper/haulers
to report each pumping of an on-lot sanitary sewage disposal system
in the Township.
REGISTRATION and PUMPER/HAULER SELECTION FORM
The form which shall be made available by the Township. It
is the means for property owners to register their on-lot sanitary
sewage disposal system with the Township and to select a Township-licensed
pumper/hauler of their choice.
REHABILITATION or REPAIR
Work done to modify, alter or repair an existing on-lot sanitary
sewage disposal system or individual components thereof, including
the enlargement of the total absorption area, provided that the flows
from the structure being served are unchanged or reduced.
REPLACEMENT AREA
A portion of a lot, or property, sized to allow the installation
of a subsurface sanitary sewage disposal area, which is reserved to
allow for the installation of a replacement sanitary sewage system
in the event of the malfunction of the originally installed on-lot
sanitary sewage disposal system.
REPLACEMENT SYSTEM
An on-lot sanitary sewage disposal system which replaces
a previously installed on-lot sanitary sewage disposal system which
cannot be repaired or rehabilitated to a condition acceptable to the
Bucks County Health Department.
SEPTAGE
The residual scum and sludge pumped from septic systems.
SEWAGE
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 which constitutes
pollution under the Act of June 22, 1937 (P.L. 1987, No. 394), known
as "The Clean Streams Law," as amended.
SEWAGE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER (SEO)
A person certified by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection who issues and reviews permit applications and/or conducts
such investigations and inspections as are necessary to implement
the Sewage Facilities Act (Act 537) and the rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder and this or any other ordinance adopted by
the Township.
SEWAGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
A comprehensive set of legal and administrative requirements
encompassing the requirements of this article and other administrative
requirements adopted by the Township to effectively enforce and administer
this article.
SUBDIVISION
The definition of "subdivision" shall be the definition as
set forth in the Doylestown Township Subdivision and Land Development
Ordinance.
TOWNSHIP
Doylestown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
WATER TEST
The bacteriological water test supplied by the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection which analyzes the presence
of bacteriological contamination, including coliform organisms in
drinking water.
WATERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
All streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways,
wells, springs, reservoirs, aquifers, irrigation systems, drainage
systems and all other bodies or accumulations of water, surface or
underground, natural or artificial, public or private, which are contained
within, flow through or border upon the state or any portion thereof,
and as defined by the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Act.
ZONING OFFICER
An individual employed by the municipality to administer
and enforce the Township Zoning Ordinance.