[Adopted 10-20-1959 as Ord. No. 72]
A.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD)
CONSULTING ENGINEER
GARBAGE
INDUSTRIAL WASTE
NATURAL OUTLET
PERSON
PH
PRIVATE WELL
PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE
RECORDS
SANITARY SEWAGE
SANITARY SEWER
SEWAGE
SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT
SEWAGE WORKS
SEWER
STORM SEWER OR STORM DRAIN
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
TOWNSHIP
TOWNSHIP ENGINEER
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise,
the meaning of the terms used in this article shall be as follows:
The quantity of dissolved oxygen required for biochemical
oxidation of decomposable organic matter under aerobic conditions
in a period of five days at a temperature of 20° C., expressed
in parts per million by weight. Such "BOD" shall be determined as
described under the heading "Biochemical Oxygen Demand" in the Standard
Methods for the Examination of Water, Sewage and Industrial Wastes
(latest edition), as published jointly by the American Public Health
Association, the American Water Works Association and the Federation
of Sewage and Industrial Wastes Association.
The registered professional engineer employed by the Township
for the design and supervision of construction of sewers and appurtenances
and a new sewage treatment plant within the Township, or any member
of his staff.
Solid wastes from the preparation or cooking and dispensing
of food and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.
Any solid, liquid or gaseous substance or waterborne wastes
or form of energy rejected or escaping from any industrial, manufacturing,
trade or business process or from the development, recovery or processing
of natural resources, as distinct from sanitary sewerage.
Any outlet into a watercourse, ditch, pond, lake or other
body of surface or ground water.
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation
or group.
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen
ions in grams per liter of the solution.
Any well owned by any person for his private use in providing
water for any purpose whatever.
Garbage which has been shredded to such a degree that all
particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally
prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than one-half
(1/2) inch in any dimension.
Includes books, documents, papers, apparatus, data, readings,
records of analysis, plans and graphs.
The normal water-carried household and toilet wastes from
residences, business buildings, institutions and commercial and industrial
establishments.
A sewer which carries sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes
and to which storm-, surface and ground waters are not intentionally
admitted.
Any combination of water-carried waste from residences, buildings,
industrial establishments, institutions, manufacturing plants, processing
plants, commercial establishments or other places in which such wastes
are produced, together with such ground-, surface, storm- or other
water as may be present.
Any devices and/or structures and facilities used for treating
of sanitary sewage and industrial wastes.
All facilities for collecting, pumping, transporting, treating
and disposal of sanitary sewage and industrial wastes.
A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
A sewer which carries storm- and surface water, drainage
and some industrial water discharges, such as cooling and air-conditioning
waters, but excludes sanitary sewage and polluted industrial wastes.
The dry weight of the solids physically suspended in a flow
of sewage, industrial waste or water, expressed in parts per million
by weight, as determined by the method of determining suspended matter
described under the heading "Suspended Matter" in the Standard Methods
for the Examination of Water, Sewage and Industrial Wastes (latest
edition), as published jointly by the American Water Works Association,
the American Public Health Association and the Federation of Sewage
and Industrial Wastes Association.
The Township of Upper Merion, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
The Engineer employed by the Township of Upper Merion or
an authorized member of his staff.
B.
"Shall" is mandatory; and "may" is permissive.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit
or permit to be deposited in any unsanitary manner upon public or
private property within the Township or in any area under the jurisdiction
of the Township human or animal excrement, garbage or other objectionable
waste.
B.
It shall be unlawful to discharge sanitary sewage
into any natural outlet within the Township or to discharge industrial
waste or other polluted water into said outlets unless the person
so doing is operating with the approval of or under a permit issued
by the Department of Health of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
C.
It shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any
privy, privy vault or cesspool, other than a septic tank, intended
or used for the disposal of sewage within the limits of the Township.
No septic tank shall be constructed or used in said Township except
in accordance with the provisions of Ordinance No. 31, known as the
"Septic Tank Ordinance," enacted by the Board of Supervisors of the
Township on the sixth day of February 1956.[1]
D.
Each owner of any house, building or property used
for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purposes, situated
in the Township and abutting on any street, alley or right-of-way
in which there has been constructed a public sanitary sewer and where
the principal building is within 150 feet of said sewer, shall at
his own expense install suitable sanitary facilities therein and connect
such facilities and industrial waste outlets directly with the proper
public sanitary sewer in accordance with the provisions of this article
within 60 days after the date of official notice to do so, given in
the manner provided by law. In the event that any owner of property
shall refuse or neglect to connect with such sewer system within said
sixty-day period, the Board of Supervisors of the Township or its
agents may enter upon such property and construct such connection.
In such case, the Board of Supervisors shall forthwith, upon completion
of the work, send an itemized bill of the cost of the construction
of such connection to the owner of the property to which connection
has been so made, which bill shall be payable forthwith. In case of
neglect or refusal by the owner of such property to pay said bill,
it shall be the duty of the Board of Supervisors to file municipal
liens for said construction of said connection, the same to be subject
in all respects to the general law provided for the filing and recovery
of municipal liens. The above regulations shall not apply to the owner
of any property who is operating under a permit from or with the approval
of the Department of Health of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
E.
Each owner of any premises as set forth in Subsection D above shall make application in writing to the Township for a permit to make the required connection to the public sanitary sewer. Such application shall set forth the name of the owner or owners, the location of the lot, including the street and number and a description thereof, together with a plan of said premises showing the proposed connection and the sanitary facilities. Each applicant shall execute a bond in favor of the Township and pay the requisite fee as hereinafter set forth. The bond shall be in the amount of $500 and shall be conditioned upon the following: "That the applicant shall well and faithfully observe and comply with all the rules and regulations of said Township of Upper Merion printed on the reverse side of this bond (an exact copy of which is hereby acknowledged as having been received with said permit), and also with all ordinances of said Township relating thereto, and will indemnify and save harmless the said Township of Upper Merion of and from all suits or actions of any name or description brought against the said Township of Upper Merion for or on account of any damages or injuries received or sustained by any party or parties in the construction of said connection or the maintenance thereof, or by or in consequence of any negligence in guarding the same, or by or on account of any act or omission of the said party or his agents or employees, and shall also well and faithfully comply with all the conditions of said permit in every particular, and shall pay or cause to be paid, when due and payable, each and every assessment that shall hereafter be made upon his real estate abutting the line of said Township sewer system for the construction of the same, then this obligation to be void and of no effect, otherwise to be and remain in full force and virtue." Upon the execution of the said bond, the applicant shall be entitled to a permit to make such connection, and the applicant, at his own expense, shall construct a connecting sewer line from the sewer main in the street to the curbline of the applicant's property.
[Amended 3-8-1971 by Ord. No. 71-271]
F.
All connections made to any public sanitary sewer
of the Township shall be constructed in compliance with standard rules
and regulations heretofore adopted by the Township governing the making
of connections, which rules and regulations shall be printed on the
reverse side of each bond and each permit.
A.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged
any stormwater, surface drainage, ground drainage, roof runoff, subsurface
drainage, cooling water or unpolluted industrial process waters into
any public sanitary sewer.
B.
Stormwater and all other unpolluted drainage shall
be discharged into such sewers as are specifically designated as storm
sewers, if available, or to a natural outlet approved by the Township
Engineer. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters shall
be discharged into a storm sewer approved by the Township Engineer
or into a natural outlet if such storm sewer or outlet is not available.
C.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged
any of the following-described waters or wastes into any public sanitary
sewer:
(1)
Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than
150° F.
(2)
Any water or waste which may contain more than 100
parts per million, by weight, of fat, oil or grease.
(3)
Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil or other
flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.
(4)
Any garbage that has not been properly shredded.
(5)
Any ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal,
glass, rags, feather, tar, plastics, wood, paunch manure or any other
solid or viscous substance capable of obstruction to the flow in sewers
or other interference with the proper operation of the sewage works.
(6)
Any waters or wastes containing a toxic or poisonous
substance in sufficient quantity to injure or interfere with any sewage
treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals or create
any hazard in the receiving waters of the sewage treatment plant.
(7)
Any waters or wastes containing suspended solids of
such character and quantity that unusual attention or expense is required
to handle such materials at the sewage treatment plant.
(8)
Any noxious or malodorous gas or substance capable
of creating a public nuisance.
D.
Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided
for outlets connected with the public sanitary sewers when, in the
opinion of the Township Engineer, they are necessary for the proper
handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts or
any flammable wastes, sand or other harmful ingredients, except that
such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters
or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity
approved by the Township Engineer and shall be located so as to be
readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection. Grease
and oil interceptors shall be constructed of impervious materials
capable of withstanding abrupt and extreme changes in temperature.
They shall be of substantial construction, watertight and equipped
with easily removable covers which, when bolted in place, shall be
gastight and watertight.
E.
Where installed, all grease, oil and sand interceptors
shall be maintained by the owner, at his expense, in continuously
efficient operation at all times.
F.
The admission into the public sewers of any polluted waters or industrial wastes containing any quantity of substances having the characteristics described in Subsection C of this section shall be subject to the review and approval of the Township Engineer. Where necessary, the owner of the property or premises producing such waste shall provide, at his expense, such preliminary treatment as may be necessary to reduce objectionable characteristics or constituents to within the maximum limits provided for in Subsection C above or to control the quantities or rates of discharge of such waters or wastes. Construction drawings, specifications and other pertinent information relating to the proposed preliminary treatment facilities shall be prepared by the owner at his expense and shall be submitted for the approval of the Township Engineer, and no construction of such facilities shall be commenced until said approvals are obtained in writing.
G.
Where preliminary treatment facilities are provided
for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in
satisfactory and effective operation by the owner at his expense.
H.
In lieu of introducing untreated or partially treated
industrial wastes and polluted waters into the public sanitary sewers
of the Township, the owner of premises producing such wastes may construct
and operate at his expense private waste treatment facilities, with
the effluent discharged to a natural outlet, provided that such facilities
are constructed and operated in compliance with the statutes of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
I.
Where such private waste treatment facilities are
provided, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and
effective operation by the owner at his expense.
J.
When required by the Township Engineer, the owner
of any property served by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes
discharging into the public sanitary sewers shall install a suitable
control manhole in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling
and measurement of the wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall
be accessible and safely located and shall be constructed in accordance
with plans approved by the Township Engineer. The manhole shall be
installed by the owner at his expense and shall be maintained by him
so as to be safe and accessible at all times.
K.
Information to be filed; calculation of charges.
(1)
Every person and establishment, other than residences,
discharging industrial and sanitary wastes into the public sewers
of the Township or into any sewer connected therewith, shall forthwith
file a report with the Township Engineer on forms supplying the following:
(a)
Name and address.
(b)
Title of official making report.
(c)
Location of establishment.
(d)
The nature of the business conducted in such
establishment.
(f)
The average daily number of employees employed
in each establishment by shifts.
(g)
The source of water supply of each establishment
and the volume of water used by each establishment daily, specified
separately as to each source.
(h)
Such additional information as is deemed applicable
to ascertain the volume, nature and composition of the waste so discharged.
L.
Every person discharging any industrial waste mixture
into the public sanitary sewer or sewers connected thereto shall keep
and maintain records of the data required to be furnished in the questionnaire
as defined above, and such records shall be available for inspection
during regular business hours by authorized representatives or employees
of the Township upon presenting written credentials of their authority,
and such representatives or employees shall be permitted to make and
retain copies of such records.
M.
Garbage-grinding devices.
[Added 10-12-1964 by Ord. No. 64-150]
(1)
No person shall operate, use or maintain a garbage-grinding
device unless he shall have first obtained a permit from the Township
Engineer upon application. The specifications and operating conditions
described by the equipment manufacturer shall be a part of the application.
(2)
All discharge from any garbage grinder must pass through
a one-half-inch screen.
(4)
The fee stated aforesaid shall not be due and payable
as to any garbage-grinding device presently installed that is operated,
used or maintained on the date this subsection is adopted, provided
that the required applications as set forth below are duly made.
(5)
All persons operating, using or maintaining a garbage-grinding
device prior to the adoption of this amendment shall have 60 days
from the date of its adoption in which to secure a permit from the
Township Engineer.
(6)
Anyone failing to comply with the provisions of this
subsection shall be deemed in violation of this article.
No person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently
break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure,
appurtenance or equipment which is part of the municipal sewage works.
The Township Engineer and other duly authorized
employees of the Township bearing proper credentials and bearing proper
identification shall be permitted to enter upon all properties for
the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and
testing in accordance with the provisions of this article.
A.
Any person who shall violate any provision of this article, other than § 133-14, shall be served by the Township with written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in such notice, permanently cease all violations. Any person violating § 133-14 of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine as set forth in Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III, General Penalty Provisions.
[Amended 12-31-1991 by Ord. No. 91-593]
C.
All fines and penalties imposed for violation of any
provision of this article shall be paid to the Treasurer of the Township
for the use of the Township. Default in payment of the fine and costs
shall make the defendant liable to imprisonment for a term not to
exceed 30 days.
D.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this
article, in addition to becoming liable for a fine and penalty, shall
become liable to the Township for any expense, loss or damage occasioned
the Township by reason of such violation.