[Adopted 8-1-1995 by Ord. No. 4-95]
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
AUTHORITY
The Washington Township Sewer Authority, as presently or hereafter constituted, which has been created by the governing body of Washington Township and to which has been referred by the governing body of Washington Township the specific project of sewers.
COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT
Any structure or any portion thereof intended to be used wholly or in part for the purpose of carrying on a trade, business or profession or for social, amusement, religious, educational, charitable or public use, and which contains plumbing for kitchen, toilet or washing facilities. Hotels, motels, boarding- or rooming houses and institutional dormitories shall be included in this definition.
COUNCIL
The group of elected officials acting as the governing body of Washington Township.
INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENT
Any structure intended to be used wholly or in part for the manufacturing, fabricating, processing, cleaning, laundering or assembly of any product, commodity or article.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE - 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 sewage. OWNER
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole or partial, of any property served, directly or indirectly, by the sewer system.
PERSON
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation or group.
PRIVATE DWELLING UNIT
Any room, group of rooms, manufactured home, structure, dwelling or enclosure intended to be occupied as separate living quarters by a family or other group of persons living together or by persons living alone, but excluding institutional dormitories. Each private dwelling unit in a double house, row or connecting house, in a manufactured home park or in an apartment will be billed as a separate entity.
SANITARY SEWAGE
The normal water-carrying household and toilet wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions, commercial and industrial establishments.
SEWER SYSTEM
All temporary and permanent facilities at any time, and from time to time, owned by the Authority or leased to and operated by the township and used or usable for or in connection with collection of wastewaters.
TOWNSHIP
Washington Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania.
WATER SUPPLIER
The public agency or private company furnishing water service to the particular property connected to the sewer system.
There is hereby imposed upon each owner of each property connecting to the sewer system a connection fee, to be established annually at the first Council meeting of each year, for each connection made to such sewer system, which shall be due and payable upon application for permit to make connection to the sewer system.
There is hereby imposed upon each owner of each property connecting to the sewer system an inspection fee, to be established annually at the first Council meeting of each year, for each connection made to such sewer system, which shall be due and payable upon application for permit to make connection to the sewer system.
There is hereby imposed upon each owner of each property served by the sewer system and having the use thereof a sewer rent or charge, payable at the Township Municipal Building or any pay agency as designated by Washington Township Council. All rents or charges will be rendered and are due and payable monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, annually or any time period selected by Washington Township Council for the use, whether direct or indirect, of the sewer system, based on the schedule of classifications hereinafter set forth.
A. 
In the event that a private dwelling unit which is connected to the sewer system is vacated for a period of one year and the owner determines that the unit shall no longer be utilized as a residence or occupied in any manner thereafter, the owner may apply to have the private dwelling unit disconnected from the sewer system in the following manner:
(1) 
Submit a written affidavit stating that the private dwelling has been vacant for one year.
(2) 
Pay any rent or charges to date.
(3) 
The application will be submitted to Washington Township Council for its review at a duly convened meeting.
(4) 
Should approval be given to disconnect, the owner agrees to pay a disconnection fee to the township in an amount as set annually by the township.
(5) 
The owner must agree that he/she will restore the property site to the condition that existed prior to such disconnection.
B. 
In the event that the owner decides to occupy the private dwelling unit after disconnection, the owner shall be required to submit an application for reconnection and must pay the connection and inspection fees, as set annually by the township, prior to connection thereof.
A. 
The following rent or charge, imposed upon the owner of each property served by the sewer system, shall be established at the first Council meeting of each year according to the following schedule:
Equivalent Domestic Unit Schedule for Sewer Rent or Charge (EDU)
Each single-family dwelling
1
Each two-family dwelling
2
Each manufactured home
1
Each apartment house, per rental unit
1
Each retail store, business, industry or office
Having 10 or fewer employees, attached to or forming part of the owner's residence
1
Each additional 10 employees or fraction thereof
1/2
Each Retail store, business, industry or office
Having 10 or fewer employees, not attached to or forming part of the owner's residence
1 1/2
Each additional 10 employees or fraction thereof
1/2
Each campground, per 10 camping sites
1
Each restaurant, tavern and club, per 26 seats or stools or fraction thereof, or drive-in restaurant per four car spaces or fraction thereof
1
Each hotel, motel and boardinghouse, per four rental rooms or fraction thereof
1
Each service station, garage or automobile repair shop without carwash facilities
Two bays or less
2
Each additional bay over two
1
Each service station, garage or automobile repair shop with carwash facilities, each bay
1
Each laundromat, per washer
1/4
Each barbershop or beauty shop, whether or not attached to or forming part of the owner's residence
1 1/2
Each firehouse or hall
1 1/2
Each church
1
Each swimming pool or large community building
3
Each school, public or private, having toilet facilities only, per 25 pupils or fraction thereof
1
Toilet facilities and kitchen, per 25 pupils or fraction thereof
1
Toilet facilities and gymnasium, per 25 pupils or fraction thereof
1
Toilet facilities, kitchen and gymnasium, per 25 pupils or fraction thereof
1
Each improved property having a commercial (3/4 horsepower or greater) garbage grinder, per grinder
1
Each business or industry providing showers for employees
Seven or fewer employees
1
Each additional seven employees or fraction thereof
1
Each funeral home
2
Each automatic car wash, per bay
1
B. 
As an alternative to any listed equivalent domestic unit (EDU) calculation, a user may elect to have his/her EDU's determined by the use of a meter installed at the user's expense in accordance with the township's rules and regulations, with each 6,250 gallons per month or a fraction thereof equal to one EDU. Equivalent domestic unit determination on this basis shall be rounded to the nearest 0.5 unit and no EDU determination for any customer will be less than one EDU per month. The minimum payment due on the regular billing cycle shall be calculated by the meter reading.
C. 
If two or more dwellings, apartments, stores, offices, industrial units, etc., are connected through a single lateral, or if two or more families use separate cooking and/or toilet facilities in a single dwelling, or if two or more types of use are made of the same property, the sewer rent or charge payable under the foregoing schedule shall be computed as though each such dwelling, apartment, store, office, industrial unit, etc., and each such family and each such type of use were a separate property or user, with a separate connection to the sewer.
D. 
Sewer rent or charge for business or industrial units payable under the foregoing schedule shall be computed on the basis of the average number of employees for the calendar quarter preceding the date of the last billing.
E. 
In the event that the township is not provided, upon request, with accurate information, including supporting documentation, to determine the number of employees or pupils using any property or such other data as may be necessary to determine a user classification, the township's estimate or determination thereof shall be conclusive.
F. 
The township reserves the right to change the rent or charge from time to time, to add or delete property classifications and, in cases of dispute, to determine the proper classification of a given property.
A. 
Industrial waste may be discharged into the sewer system only with the written consent of and pursuant to agreement with the township, and provided that the rules and regulations which may from time to time be adopted by the township and prescribed for the pretreatment of industrial waste are fully complied with to the satisfaction of the township. Industrial wastes to be acceptable for collection and/or treatment must not be in excess of the characteristics listed below:
(1) 
The five-day 20º C. biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) shall not exceed 400 parts per million on an average twenty-four-hour composite sample.
(2) 
The suspended solids content shall not exceed 400 parts per million on an average twenty-four-hour composite sample.
(3) 
The total solid content shall not exceed 1,100 parts per million on an average twenty-four-hour composite sample.
(4) 
The pH shall not be less than 6.0, nor shall it exceed 9.0, or be found to be excessively corrosive.
(5) 
The temperature shall not exceed 150º F.
(6) 
The color shall not be such as to require special treatment to render the effluent acceptable for discharge into the receiving stream.
(7) 
The waste shall not contain grease and oil, inflammable material, nonbiodegradable material or any oxygen scavenger sufficient in quantity to be injurious to the treatment facilities or interfere with any treatment process or to constitute a hazard to human or animal life.
(8) 
The waste shall not contain any other solid or viscous material capable of causing obstruction to the flow in the sewers or at the treatment facilities, or any material capable of causing interference with the proper operation of the treatment facilities of the township.
(9) 
The waste shall not contain any material requiring unusual processing or expense at the treatment facilities of the township.
B. 
Where required in the opinion of the consulting engineer(s) for the township, the user shall provide at its expense such preliminary treatment or handling as may be necessary to modify the objectionable characteristics or control the quantities and rates of discharge of such waste or wastes, as necessary.
No person shall discharge into the sewer system any roof water, surface or underground drainage water, stormwater or any exhaust steam, or any oils, tar, grease, gas, benzine or other combustible gases or liquids, or any garbage (unless treated in an approved manner), offal, insoluble solids or other dangerous or harmful substances which would adversely affect the functioning of the sewer system or the processes of sewage treatment.
When directed by the township, industrial establishments shall install, pay for and maintain manholes and other devices as may be approved by the township to facilitate observation, measurement and sampling of industrial wastes discharged to the sewer system. The township or its duly authorized representative shall, at all reasonable times, be permitted to enter upon any and all properties for the purpose of inspecting, observing, measuring and sampling industrial wastes discharged to the sewer system. The owner of any industrial establishment that desires to connect to the sewer system, or which is connected to the sewer system and plans to change its operations so as to materially alter the characteristics and volumes of industrial wastes discharged thereto, shall notify the township, in writing, at least 10 days before making such connection or changing its operations.
The township representatives shall have access at all reasonable times to water and any other meters used for establishing or determining water consumption, water excluded from the sewer system and/or wastes discharged into the sewer system.
If the use or classification of any property should change within any calendar year, the difference in sewer rent or charge, if any, prorated on a monthly basis to the end of the then-current billing period, will be charged or credited, as the case may be, on the bill for the succeeding billing period. Additional classifications and additional sewer rents or charges may be established by the township from time to time.
The sewer rent or charge imposed shall be payable as set forth in § 105-27. Rent or charges for each billing period shall be billed and payable within 15 days after the end of the billing period, i.e., on the 15th day of each month following the billing period. Rent or charges for any billing period in which a connection is made shall be prorated, and shall be billed in conjunction with the next regular billing or by special billing, as the officials responsible may elect.
A. 
If the sewer rent or charge for sewer service as set forth in § 105-27 hereof is not paid within 30 days after the date of the mailing of the bill for such rent or charges, the township shall impose the maximum penalty as allowed by law, which, as of the date of this article, is 5% of the outstanding sewer rent or charge. If the bill shall remain unpaid for an additional 60 days, or for a total period of 150 days, the township may file a lien against said property in the office of the Prothonotary of Erie County, Pennsylvania, and the cost of the filing of the lien shall be set annually by the township. If a lien is filed, interest at the maximum allowable rate on the sewer rent or charge shall commence as of the date of the filing of said lien. The township shall have the right to collect the lien in the manner provided by law.
B. 
The owners of the structure connected to the sewer system must provide, in writing, a correct address of the structure. Failure to receive a sewer bill will not be considered an excuse for nonpayment nor for permitting an extension of the period during which bills are payable at face.
C. 
In the case of sanitary sewer service to a residential dwelling unit which is not owner-occupied, the owner must provide to the township the address of the owner, the name of the tenant and the billing address of the tenant. Within 30 days after the bill for sewer service first becomes overdue, the township shall notify the owner by first-class mail at the address the owner provided to the township, and at the billing address of the tenant, as provided by the owner. If the owner should fail to notify the township, in writing, of the name and mailing address of the tenant occupying a residential unit, the township shall not be required to notify the tenant.
D. 
Payments made, as evidenced by the United States Post Office mark on or previous to the end of the period during which the bills are payable at face, will be deemed to be payment within such period.
The funds received by the township from the collection of the sewer rent and charges and all penalties and interest thereon, as herein provided for, shall be segregated and kept separate and apart from all other funds of the township, and shall be used only for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the township in the operation, maintenance, repair, alteration, inspection, depreciation or other expenses in relation to such sewer system, and for such payments as the township may be required to make under any lease or agreement it may enter into in connection with the financing of the sewer system pursuant to the provision of the Act of May 2, 1945, P.L. 382, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 301 et seq.
The township reserves the right to, and may from time to time, adopt, revise, amend and readopt such rules and regulations as it deems necessary and proper for the use and operation of the sewer system, and all such rules and regulations shall be and become a part of this article.
This article and any rules and regulations hereunder shall become effective immediately and shall be applicable to all properties as soon as they respectively become connected with and have the right to use the sewer system. The township reserves the right to make such changes from time to time as, in its opinion, may be desirable or beneficial and to amend this article or to change the rates or charges in such manner and at such times as, in its opinion, may be advisable.
[Added 12-3-1996 by Ord. No. 7-96; amended 7-1-1997 by Ord. No. 3-97]
A person may not make connection to the sewer system without a valid permit issued by the township. Any person who violates or permits the violation of this section shall be required to pay a criminal fine of $1,000 per violation and shall be imprisoned to the extent allowed by law for the punishment of summary offenses.