[Adopted 7-23-1984 by Ord. No. 71]
The purpose of this article is to establish procedures for the use and
maintenance of sewage holding tanks designed to receive and retain sewage
from residential or commercial uses, and it is hereby declared that the enactment
hereof is necessary for the protection, benefit and preservation of the health,
safety and welfare of the inhabitants of this Township.
Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise, the
meaning of the following terms used in this article shall be as herein defined:
BOARD
The Supervisors of North Coventry Township.
HOLDING TANK
A watertight receptacle which receives and retains sewage and is
designed and constructed to facilitate ultimate disposal of the sewage at
another sight. This term is limited to a "retention tank" which is a holding
tank where sewage is conveyed to it by a water carrying system.
IMPROVED PROPERTY
Improved property shall mean any property within the Township 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 or any property upon which such a structure is
intended to be erected if public sewage disposal is to be available to any
existing or proposed structure within 24 months of date of enactment of this
article, or if public sewage disposal is not to be available within 24 months
of the date of enactment of this article, then the term "improved property"
shall mean any property within the Township upon which there is presently
erected a structure intended for continuous or periodic habitation or commercial
or industrial usage providing said improved property is experiencing a malfunction
of an existing on-lot septic system, which malfunction cannot feasibly be
rectified.
OWNER
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole or partial,
of any property located in this Township.
PERSON
Any individual, association, public or private corporation for profit
or not for profit, partnership, firm, trust, estate, department, board, bureau
or agency or any other legal entity whatsoever, which is recognized by law
as the subject of rights and duties. Whenever used in any clause prescribing
and imposing a penalty or imposing a fine or imprisonment, the term "person"
shall include the members of an association, partnership or firm and the officers
of any agency or corporation.
SEWAGE
Any substance which contains any of the waste products or excrement
or other discharge from the bodies of human beings 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 sewage or pollution under the Pennsylvania Clean Streams
Law or any other local, state or federal government regulations as
the same now exist or as hereinafter enacted or amended.
SEWAGE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
The local enforcement officer appointed by the Board who issues and
reviews permit applications and conducts such investigations and inspections
as are necessary to implement this article and the rules and regulations promulgated
hereunder.
SEWAGE SYSTEM
A system of piping, tanks or other facilities serving a single lot
and collecting and disposing of sewage in whole or in part into a holding
tank for ultimate conveyance to another site for final disposal.
TOWNSHIP
North Coventry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Prior to the installation of a holding tank, the following procedures
shall be required:
A. Application for a permit to install a holding tank shall
be made to the Board prior to the commencement of construction of any building
on the improved lot which the holding tank proposes to serve, or, in the event
of existing construction, prior to the installation of any such holding tank.
B. The application shall contain the following information:
(1) A copy of the permit application filed with the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection and/or the Chester County Health Department,
as applicable, including all such information required by the Pennsylvania
Sewage Facilities Act Application for Sewage Disposal Systems form ER-BCE-128,
or equivalent.
(2) A schematic plan of the proposed installation, including
the tank design and capacity and all appurtenances to the tank, including
the proposed sewage system.
(3) A specific description of the proposed sewage system
to which the holding tank is to be connected.
(4) A copy of the holding tank manufacturer's specifications
for the tank.
(5) The specifications for the safety control device, described in §
289-6 hereof.
(6) A description of the maintenance control and disposal
plan proposed by the owner to service the holding tank, including a copy of
the maintenance contract.
(7) A plot plan of the property showing the location of the
buildings of the proposed buildings and the location of the holding tank.
(8) A description of the zoning district in which the property
is located.
(9) A description of the proposed use and the maximum number
of people the holding tank will serve.
(10) A copy of the maintenance security documentation is required by §
289-11.
(11) A specific description, including a schematic drawing, of the proposed backup system required by §
289-16.
(12) If used, a copy of the permit granted by the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection and/or the Chester County Health Department
for use of the holding tank on the property.
(13) A copy of the written contract with a licensed sewage
contractor for the collection, transportation and disposal of the contents
of the proposed holding tank.
C. If the Sewage Enforcement Officer determines that an
application is incomplete, or such Officer is unable to verify the information
submitted, the applicant shall be notified in writing within 10 working days
and the time for acting thereon shall be extended 15 working days beyond the
date of receipt of adequate supplementary or amendatory data.
Use of holding tanks within this Township are restricted to:
A. Those cases in which the Department of Environmental
Protection or the Chester County Health Department determines that such holding
tank use is necessary to abate a nuisance or a public health hazard; or
B. Emergency use when no other Department of Environmental
Protection or Chester County Health Department approved sewage disposal system
can be installed upon the property because of physical restrictions peculiar
to the property.
Prior to the issuance of any certificate of approval or permit hereunder,
the owner shall file with the Board a copy of the maintenance contract in
which the owner has contracted with a licensed sewage disposal hauler to remove
the contents of the holding tank for purposes of disposing of the sewage at
another site within the time and in the manner prescribed by this article
and the regulations of any other regulatory authority having jurisdiction.
Such contract shall be renewed or replaced and kept in full force and effect
during the entire period in which a holding tank is utilized on the improved
property. Failure to maintain such a contract shall cause an immediate revocation
of the holding tank permit.
The Board may, from time to time, adopt such rules, regulations, standards
and procedures as shall be determined necessary in order to properly administer
the provisions of this article. Provided, however, no such rule or regulation,
standard or procedure shall be adopted if the same is inconsistent with any
Pennsylvania statute or rule or regulation promulgated thereunder. Upon such
promulgation by the Board, the same shall become fully enforceable under the
Board of this article.
Each holding tank disposal sewage system shall, in its design and plan,
provide for a viable backup system that can be installed and implemented if
the tank becomes inoperative. Such system shall be capable of implementation
within 72 hours after the tank becomes inoperative.
In addition to the grounds for revocation detailed hereinabove, a certificate
of approval, provisional permit or final permit shall be revoked by the Board
or the Sewage Enforcement Officer for any one or more of the following reasons:
A. When any change which has occurred in physical conditions
of any improved property will materially affect the operation of the sewage
system or the disposal system covered by the permit issued by the Board; or
B. When one or more test material to the issuance of the
permit have not been properly conducted; or
C. When information material to the issuance of the certificate
or permit have been falsified; or
D. If the owner fails to file a request for a hearing in
accordance with the requirements hereinabove, the revocation shall be effective
and final.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this article shall,
upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced
by the Township before a Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine of not more
than $600, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, incurred
by the Township in the enforcement of this article. No judgment shall be imposed
until the date of the determination of the violation by the Magisterial District
Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the
Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules of Civil
Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense.
Further, the appropriate officers or agents of the Township are hereby authorized
to seek equitable relief, including injunction, to enforce compliance herewith.
[Adopted 2-9-1998 by Ord. No. 106]
It is declared that enactment of this article is necessary for the protection,
benefit and preservation of the health, safety and welfare of inhabitants
of this Township.