The Municipal Authority of the Township of Patterson, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, shall be the governing body for this Part 2. The Board members are appointed by the Patterson Township Board of Commissioners by authority of and in accordance with the Pennsylvania Municipality Authorities Act of 1945, P.L. 382, 53 P.S. § 301 et seq., as amended. The Board shall contain five members.
A.
In addition to any other duty or responsibility otherwise
conferred upon this Board by this Article, the Board shall have the
duty and power as follows:
(1)
To recommend from time to time to the Patterson Township
Board of Commissioners such amendments to modify the provisions of
this Article.
(2)
To hold hearings upon appeals from orders or actions
of the Manager as may be provided under any provision of this Article.
(3)
To hold such other hearings relating to any aspect
or matter in the administration of this Part 2 and to make such determinations
and issue such orders as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes
of this Part 2.
B.
The Board, acting through its Chairman, shall have
the power to issue subpoenas requiring attendance and testimony of
witnesses and the production of documentary evidence relevant to any
matter properly heard by the Board.
C.
The Chairman, Vice Chairman or Chairman Pro-Tem shall
be authorized to administer oaths to those persons giving testimony
before the Board.
Any person aggrieved by any order or determination
of the Manager may appeal said order or determination to the Board
and have said order or determination reviewed by the Board under the
provisions of this section. A written notice of appeal shall be filed
with the Manager and with the Chairman, and said notice shall set
forth with particularity the action or inaction of the Manager complained
of and the relief being sought by the person filing said appeal. A
special meeting of the Board may be called by the Chairman upon the
filing of such appeal, and the Board may, in its discretion, suspend
the operation of the order or determination of the Manager appealed
from until such time as the Board has acted upon the appeal.
The Board of Appeals shall schedule an adjudicatory
hearing to resolve the disputed questions of fact and law whenever
provided by any provision of this Article.
At any such hearing, all testimony presented
shall be under oath or upon solemn affirmation in lieu of oath. The
Board shall make a record of such hearing, but the same need not be
a verbatim record. Any party coming before the Board shall have the
right to have said hearing recorded stenographically, but in such
event the record need not be transcribed unless any party seeks judicial
review of the order or action of the Board by common law writ of certiorari,
and in such event the parties seeking such judicial review shall pay
for the transcription and provide the Board with the original of the
transcript so that it may be certified to the court.
The Chairman may issue subpoenas requiring attendance
and testimony of witnesses or the production of evidence, or both.
A request for the issuance of a subpoena shall be made by lodging
with the Chairman, at least 10 days prior to the scheduled hearing
date, a written request for a subpoena, setting forth the name and
address of the party to be subpoenaed and identifying any evidence
to be produced. Upon endorsement of a subpoena by the Chairman, the
same shall be delivered to the Chief of Police for service by any
enforcement officer of Patterson Township, if the witness resides
within the Township. If the witness does not reside in Patterson Township,
the Chairman shall issue a written request that the witness attend
the hearing.
Upon agreement of all parties, the testimony
of any person may be taken by deposition or written interrogatories.
The party at such hearing bearing the affirmative
burden of proof shall first call his witnesses, to be followed by
witnesses called by other parties, to be followed by any witnesses
which the Board may desire to call. Rebuttal witnesses shall be called
in the same order. The Chairman shall rule on any evidentiary questions
arising during such hearing and shall make such other rulings as shall
be necessary or advisable to facilitate an orderly hearing subject
to approval of the Board. The Board, the Manager or his representative
and all parties shall have the right to examine any witnesses. The
Board shall not be bound by or limited to rules of evidence applicable
to legal proceedings.
The Board shall review and evaluate all appeals
and shall take into account the following factors:
A.
The Board shall consider whether or not the matter
appealed is subject to a national pretreatment standard containing
discharge limitations more stringent than those established by the
Manager and grant the relief requested on appeal only if such relief
may be granted within the limitations of applicable federal law.
B.
The Board shall consider whether or not the matter
appealed is subject to a discharge limit for a substance as a toxic
pollutant standard or prohibition under regulations promulgated by
the Environmental Protection Agency under the provisions of Section
307(a) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317) and then grant relief
only if such relief may be granted within the limitations of applicable
federal regulations.
C.
The Board shall consider whether or not the granting
of relief requested on appeal would create conditions that would reduce
the effectiveness of the wastewater facility, taking into consideration
the concentration of said pollutant in the wastewater facility's influent
and the design capability of the wastewater facility.
D.
The Board shall consider whether or not the granting
of relief requested on appeal might cause the wastewater facility
to violate the limitations in its NPDES permit taking into consideration
the concentration of the pollutant and in the wastewater facility's
influent and the demonstrated ability of the wastewater facility to
consistently remove such pollutant.
E.
The Board shall consider whether or not the granting
of relief requested on appeal would cause elements or compounds to
be present in the sludge of the wastewater facility which would prevent
sludge use or disposal in violation of any regulation promulgated
by the EPA under the provisions of Section 405 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1345).
F.
The Board may consider the cost of pretreatment or
other types of control techniques which would be necessary for the
user to achieve effluent reduction, but prohibitive cost alone shall
not be the basis for granting an exception.
G.
The Board may consider the age of equipment and industrial
facilities involved to the extent that such factors affect the quality
or quantity of the wastewater discharge.
H.
The Board may consider the process employed by the
user and process changes available which would affect the quality
or quantity of wastewater discharge.
I.
The Board may consider the engineering aspects of
various types of pretreatment or other control techniques available
to their use to improve the quality or quantity of wastewater discharge.
J.
The Board may consider an application for an exception
based upon the fact that water conservation measures instituted by
the user or proposed by the user result in a higher concentration
of particular pollutants in the wastewater discharge of the user without
increasing the amount of mass of pollutants discharged. To be eligible
for relief under this subparagraph, the appellant must show that,
except for water conservation measures, the appellant's discharge
has been or would be in compliance with the limitations on wastewater
strength set by the Manager; provided, however, that no such exception
shall be granted if the increased concentration of pollutants in the
appellant's wastewater would have a significant adverse impact upon
the operation of the wastewater treatment facility.
