Township of Warwick, PA Sewer Connections

Any property within this 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 sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes shall be or may be discharged.

INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENT

Any improved property located within this Township and used or intended for use, wholly or in part, for the manufacturing, processing, cleaning, laundering or assembling of any product, commodity or article, or any other improved property located within this Township, from which wastes, in addition to or other than sanitary sewage shall be discharged.

INDUSTRIAL WASTE

Any and all wastes discharged from and industrial establishment, other than sanitary sewage.

LATERAL

That part of the sewer system extending from a sewer to the curbline or, if there shall be no curbline, to the property line or, if no such lateral shall be provided, then "lateral" shall mean that portion of, or place in, a sewer which is provided for connection of any building sewer.

OWNER

Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole or partial, of any improved property.

PERSON

Any individual, partnership, company, association, society, trust, corporation, municipality, municipality authority or other group or entity, and the members of such partnership or association and the officers of such corporation.

SANITARY SEWAGE

Normal water-carried household and toilet wastes from any improved property excluding, however, the effluent from septic tanks or cesspools, rain, storm and ground water, as well as roof or surface water, drainage or percolating or seeping waters, or accumulation thereof, whether underground or in cellars or basements.

SEWER

Any pipe or conduit constituting a part of the sewer system used or usable for sewage collection purposes.

SEWER SYSTEM

All facilities, as of any particular time, for collecting, pumping, transmitting, treating and disposing of sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes, situate in or adjacent to this Township and owned by the Authority.

STREET

Any street, road, lane, court, cul-de-sac, alley, public way or public square.

TOWNSHIP

The Township of Warwick, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a municipal subdivision of the commonwealth, acting by and through its Board of Supervisors or, in appropriate cases, acting by and through its authorized representatives.

§ 245-13 Use of public sewer required.

[Amended 11-19-1997 by Ord. No. 178]

The owner of any improved property accessible to and whose principal building is within 150 feet from the sewer system shall connect such improved property with and shall use such sewer system, in such manner as this Township may require, within 60 days after notice to such owner from this Township to make such connection, for the purpose of discharge of all sanitary sewage and industrial wastes from such improved property; subject, however, to such limitations and restrictions as shall be established herein or otherwise shall be established by this Township, from time to time.

All sanitary sewage and industrial wastes from any improved property, after connection of such improved property with a sewer shall be required under Subsection A, above, shall be conducted into a sewer; subject, however, to such limitations and restrictions as shall be established herein or otherwise shall be established by this Township, from time to time.

No person shall place, shall deposit or shall permit to be placed or to be deposited upon public or private property within this Township any sanitary sewage or industrial wastes in violation of Subsection A, above. No person shall discharge or shall permit to be discharged to any natural outlet within this Township any sanitary sewage or industrial wastes in violation of Subsection A, above, except where suitable treatment has been provided which is satisfactory to this Township.

No privy vault, cesspool, sinkhole, holding tank, septic tank or similar receptacle shall be used or shall be maintained at any time upon any improved property which has been connected to a sewer or which shall be required under Subsection A, above, to be connected to a sewer. Every such privy vault, cesspool, sinkhole, holding tank, septic tank or similar receptacle in existence shall be abandoned and, at the discretion of this Township, shall be cleansed and shall be filled, at the expense of the owner of such improved property, under the direction and supervision of this Township; and any such privy vault, cesspool, sinkhole, holding tank, septic tank or similar receptacle not so abandoned and, if required by this Township, not cleansed and filled, shall constitute a nuisance, and such nuisance may be abated, as provided by law, at the expense of the owner of such improved property.

No privy vault, cesspool, sinkhole, septic tank or similar receptacle at any time shall be connected with a sewer.

The notice by this Township to make a connection to a sewer, referred to in Subsection A, above, shall consist of a copy of this article, including any amendments and/or supplements at the time in effect, or a summary of each section hereof, and a written or printed document requiring the connection in accordance with the provisions of this article and specifying that such connection shall be made within 60 days after the date such notice is given or served. Such notice may be given or served at any time after a sewer is in place which can receive and can convey sanitary sewage and industrial wastes for treatment and disposal from the particular improved property. Such notice shall be given or served upon the owner in accordance with law.

§ 245-14 Building sewers and connections.

[Amended 11-19-1997 by Ord. No. 178]

No person shall uncover, shall connect with, shall make any opening into or shall use, shall alter or shall disturb, in any manner, any sewer or any part of the sewer system without first obtaining a permit, in writing, from the Authority.

Application for a permit required under Subsection A, above, shall be made by the owner of the improved property served to or to be served or by the duly authorized agent of such owner.

No person shall make or shall cause to be made a connection of any improved property with a sewer until such person shall have fulfilled each of the following conditions:

(1)

Such person shall have notified the Authority of the desire and intention to connect such improved property to a sewer.

(2)

Such person shall have applied for and shall have obtained a permit as required by Subsection A, above.

(3)

Such person shall have given the Authority at least 24 hours notice of the time when such connection will be made so that this Township may supervise and inspect, or may cause to be supervised and inspected, the work of connection and necessary testing.

(4)

If applicable, such person shall have furnished satisfactory evidence to the Authority that any tapping, connection, customer facilities, administrative and inspection fees, as applicable, which may be charged and imposed by the Authority against the owner of each improved property who connects such improved property to a sewer has been paid.

Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, each improved property shall be connected separately and independently with a sewer through a building sewer. Grouping of more than one improved property on one building sewer shall not be permitted, except under special circumstances and for good sanitary reasons or other good cause shown, but then only after special permission of the Authority, in writing, shall have been secured and only subject to such rules, regulations and conditions as may be prescribed by the Authority.

All costs and expenses of construction of a building sewer and all costs and expenses of connection of a building sewer to a sewer shall be borne by the owner of the improved property to be connected; and such owner shall indemnify and save harmless this Township and the Authority from all loss or damage that may be occasioned, directly or indirectly, as a result of construction of a building sewer to a sewer.

A building sewer shall be connected to a sewer at the place designated by the Authority and where, if applicable, the lateral is provided. The invert of a building sewer at the point of connection shall be at the same or a higher elevation than the invert of the sewer. A smooth, neat joint shall be made and the connection of a building sewer to the lateral shall be made secure and watertight.

If the owner of any improved property located within this Township and accessible to and whose principal building is within 150 feet from the sewer system, after 60 days notice from this Township, in accordance with § 245-13A, shall fail to connect such improved property, as required, this Township may enter upon such improved property and construct such connection and may collect from such owner the costs and expenses thereof in the manner permitted by law.

§ 245-15 Rules and regulations.

[Amended 11-19-1997 by Ord. No. 178]

Where an improved property, at the time connection to a sewer is required, shall be served by its own sewage disposal system or sewage disposal device, the existing house sewer line shall be broken on the structure side of such sewage disposal system or sewage disposal device and attachment shall be made, with proper fittings, to continue such house sewer line as a building sewer. Every connection to the sewer system shall comply with all applicable rules and regulations of the Authority.

No building sewer shall be covered until it has been inspected and approved by the Authority. If any part of a building sewer is covered before so being inspected and approved, it shall be uncovered for inspection, at the cost and expense of the owner of the improved property to be connected to a sewer.

Every building sewer of any improved property shall be maintained in a sanitary and safe operating condition by the owner of such improved property.

Every excavation for a building sewer shall be guarded adequately with barricades and lights to protect all persons from damage and injury. Any street, sidewalk and other public property disturbed in the course of installation of a building sewer shall be restored, at the cost and expense of the owner of the improved property being connected, in a manner satisfactory to this Township.

If any person shall fail or shall refuse, upon receipt of a notice of this Township or the Authority, in writing, to remedy any unsatisfactory condition with respect to a building sewer within 60 days of receipt of such notice, this Township or the Authority may refuse to permit such person to discharge sanitary sewage and industrial wastes into the sewer system until such unsatisfactory condition shall have been remedied to the satisfaction of this Township and the Authority.

This Township reserves the right to adopt, from time to time, additional rules and regulations as it shall deem necessary and proper relating to connections with a sewer and with the sewer system, which additional rules and regulations, to the extent appropriate, shall be and shall be construed as part of this article.

§ 245-16 Prohibited discharges.

[Amended 11-19-1997 by Ord. No. 178]

No person shall contribute or cause to be contributed, directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater to the sewer system. These general prohibitions apply to all users of the sewer system, whether or not the user is subject to Federal Categorical Pretreatment Standards or any other federal, state or local pretreatment standards or requirements. No person shall discharge the following substances to the sewer system:

(1)

Any liquids, solids or gases which by reason of their nature or quantity are, or may be sufficient either alone or by interaction with other substances to cause fire or explosion, or be injurious in any other way to the sewer system including, but not limited to, wastestreams with a closed cup flashpoint of less than 140° F. or 60° C. using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21. At no time shall two successive readings on an explosion hazard meter at the point of discharge into the system (or at any point in the system) be more than 5% nor any single reading over 10% of the lower explosive limit (LEL) of the meter. Prohibited materials include, but are not limited to, gasoline, fuel oil, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, peroxides, chlorates, perchlorates, bromates, carbides, hydrides and sulfides, and any other substance which the Township, the Authority, the state or EPA has notified the owner is a fire hazard or a hazard to the sewer system.

(2)

Solids or viscous substances which may cause obstruction to the flow in a sewer or other interference with the operation of the wastewater treatment facilities such as, but not limited to, grease, garbage with particles greater than 1/2 inch in any dimension, animal guts or tissues, paunch manure, bones, hair, hides or fleshings, entrails, whole blood, feathers, ashes, cinders, sand, spent lime, stone or marble dust, metal, glass, straw, shavings, grass clippings, rags, spent grains, spent hops, wastepaper, wood, plastics, gas, tar, asphalt residues, residues from refining or processing of fuel or lubricating oil, mud, glass grinding or polishing wastes.

(3)

Any wastewater having a pH less than 6.0 or greater than 9.0, or wastewater having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and/or personnel of the sewer system.

(4)

Any wastewater containing toxic pollutants in sufficient quantity which, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, may injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, may constitute a hazard to humans and animals, may create a toxic effect in the receiving waters of the sewer system, or exceeds the limitations set forth in a categorical pretreatment standard. A toxic pollutant shall include, but not be limited to, any pollutant identified pursuant to § 307(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.

(5)

Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases or solids which either singly or by interaction with other wastes are sufficient in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems.

(6)

Any substance which may cause the sewer system's effluent or any other product of the sewer system such as residues, sludges or scums to be unsuitable for reclamation and reuse or to interfere with the reclamation process. In no case shall a substance discharged to the sewer system cause the sewer system to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations developed under § 405 of the Clean Water Act; any criteria, guidelines or regulations affecting sludge use or disposal developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, 42 U.S.C. § 6091 et seq., the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substance Control Act, or state criteria applicable to the sludge management method being used.

(7)

Any substance which will pass through and as a result cause the sewer system to violate its NPDES permit or the receiving water quality standards.

(8)

Any wastewater with objectionable color not removed in the treatment process such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions, which consequently impart color to the sewer system's treatment plant's effluent, thereby violating the NPDES permit. Color (in combination with turbidity) shall not cause the sewer system treatment plant effluent to reduce the depth of the compensation point for photosynthetic activity by more than 10% from the seasonably established norm for aquatic life.

(9)

Any wastewater having a temperature which will inhibit biological activity of the sewer system treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater which causes the temperature at the introduction into the sewer system to exceed 40° C. or 104° F.

(10)

Any pollutants, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.), released at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which cause interference to the sewer system. In no case shall a waste load having a flow rate or contain concentrations or qualities of pollutants that exceed for any period longer than 15 minutes, more than five times the average twenty-four-hour concentration, quantities or flow during normal operation, unless otherwise authorized in writing by the Authority.

(11)

Any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the Authority in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.

(12)

Grease, oil or sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the Authority, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing floatable grease in such amounts as to cause obstruction to the flow in a sewer or other interference with the operation of the wastewater treatment facilities, or any flammable wastes, sand or other harmful ingredients, except 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 Authority and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection. In the maintaining of these interceptors, the user and the owner(s) if different persons) shall be responsible for the proper removal and disposal by appropriate means of the captured material and shall maintain records of the dates and means of disposal which are subject to review by the Authority. Any removal and hauling of the collected materials not performed by the user's and/or owner's personnel must be performed by currently licensed waste disposal firms.

(13)

Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil or products of mineral oil origin in amounts that will cause interference or pass through.

(14)

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, cooling water, unpolluted industrial or nondomestic process water. The discharge of cooling water from air conditioning units with cooling towers or recirculating systems or from air conditioning units using flow-through or unrecirculating systems is prohibited. The sanitary sewers are not designed to handle the cooling water volumes produced by air conditioning units. Cooling water free from bacteria and harmful chemicals should be drained into storm sewers as approved by the state.

(15)

Any trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the Authority.

When the Township and/or the Authority determines that a person is contributing to the sewer system any of the above enumerated substances in such amounts as to interfere with the operation of the sewer system, the Authority shall advise such person of the impact of the contribution on the sewer system, and such person shall take necessary action to eliminate the interference.

§ 245-17 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 9-14-1983 by Ord. No. 83; 11-9-1988 by Ord. No. 133; 11-19-1997 by Ord. No. 178]

For each violation of the provisions of this article, the owner, agent, lessee or contractor or any other person who commits, takes part in or assists in any such violation shall be liable upon conviction thereof in a summary proceeding to pay a fine of not less than $200 nor more than $1,000 for each offense, together with the costs of prosecution. Each day or portion thereof in which a violation exists shall be considered a separate violation of this article, and each section of this article which is violated shall be considered a separate violation. In default of payment of such fine, such person shall be liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 30 days.

§ 245-18 Purpose.

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.