[Adopted 7-14-2003 by Ord. No. 178]
A.
This article shall be known and may be cited as "An
Ordinance Providing for a Sewage Management Program for West Lampeter
Township."
B.
In accordance with municipal codes, the Clean Streams
Law (Act of June 27, 1937, P.L. 1987, No. 394, as amended, 35 P.S.
§§ 691.1 to 691.1001), and the Pennsylvania Sewage
Facilities Act (Act of January 24, 1966, P.L. 1535, as amended, 35
P.S. § 750.1 et seq., known as "Act 537"), it is the power
and the duty of Township of West Lampeter to provide for adequate
sewage treatment facilities and for the protection of the public health
by preventing the discharge of untreated or inadequately treated sewage.
The Official Sewage Facilities Plan for Township of West Lampeter
indicates that it is necessary to formulate and implement a sewage
management program to effectively prevent and abate water pollution
and hazards to the public health caused by improper treatment and
disposal of sewage.
C.
The purpose of this article is to provide for the
regulation, inspection, maintenance and rehabilitation of on-lot sewage
disposal systems; to further permit intervention in situations which
may constitute a public nuisance or hazard to the public health; and
to establish penalties and appeal procedures necessary for the proper
administration of a sewage management program.
A.
AUTHORIZED AGENT
BOARD
COMMUNITY SEWAGE SYSTEM
DEPARTMENT
INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE SYSTEMS
MALFUNCTION
OFFICIAL SEWAGE FACILITIES PLAN
ON-LOT SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM
PERSON
PSMA
PSMA-CERTIFIED INSPECTOR
QUALIFIED
REGISTERED
REHABILITATION
SEWAGE
SEWAGE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER (SEO)
SEWAGE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
SEWAGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
SUBDIVISION
TOWNSHIP
As used in this article, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
A sewage enforcement officer, duly appointed employee of
the Township, professional engineer, plumbing inspector, or any other
PSMA-certified person who is authorized to function within specified
limits as an agent of West Lampeter Township to administer or enforce
the provisions of this article.
The Board of Supervisors, Township West Lampeter, Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania.
Any system, whether publicly or privately owned, for the
collection of sewage from two or more lots, and the treatment and/or
disposal of the sewage on one or more lots or at any other site.
The Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania (DEP).
A system of piping, tanks or other facilities serving a single
lot and collecting and disposal of sewage in whole or in part into
the approved soil or into any waters of this commonwealth.
A condition which occurs when an on-lot sewage disposal system
discharges sewage onto the surface of the ground, into groundwaters
of this commonwealth, into surface waters of this commonwealth, backs
up into a building connected to the system or in any manner causes
a nuisance or hazard to the public health or pollution of ground or
surface water or contamination of public or private drinking water
wells. Systems shall be considered to be malfunctioning if any condition
noted above occurs for any length of time during any period of the
year.
Any comprehensive plan for the provision of adequate sewage
disposal systems, adopted by the Board and approved by the DEP, pursuant
to the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (Act 537), as amended.[1]
Any system for disposal of domestic sewage involving pretreatment
and subsequent disposal of the clarified sewage into an approved subsurface
soil absorption area or retaining tank. This term includes both individual
sewage systems and community sewage systems.
Any individual, association, public or private corporation
for profit or not for profit, partnership, firm, trust, estate, department,
board, bureau of agency of the commonwealth, political subdivision,
municipality, district, authority, 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 local
agency or municipal, public or private corporation for profit or not
for profit.
The Pennsylvania Septage Management Association.
An individual who has successfully completed the PSMA Course
101 within the past two years or has in some way maintained PSMA certification
in an approved manner.
An individual who has successfully completed the PSMA Course
101 within the past two years or has in some way maintained PSMA certification
in an approved manner.
Any corporation (with individual PSMA-certified field workers)
or any PSMA-certified individual who has applied for, and obtained,
recognition by West Lampeter Township and shall be permitted to conduct
field inspections and/or make repairs to on-lot sewage disposal systems.
Work done to modify, alter, repair, enlarge or replace an
existing on-lot sewage disposal system.
Any substance that contains any of the waste products or
excrement or other discharge from the bodies of human beings or animals
and any noxious or deleterious substances 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
pollution under the Act of June 22, 1937 (P.L. 1987, No. 394), known
as "The Clean Streams Law," as amended.[2]
A person certified by DEP who is hired or employed by the
Township. Such person is authorized to conduct investigations and
inspections, review permit applications, issue or deny permits and
do all other activities as may be provided for such person in the
Sewage Facilities Act,[3] the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder and this
article or any other ordinance adopted by the Township.
Any area or areas of the Township designated in the Official
Sewage Facilities Plan adopted by the Board as an area for which a
Sewage Management Program is to be implemented.
A comprehensive set of legal and administrative requirements
encompassing the requirements of this article, the Sewage Facilities
Act, the Clean Streams Law,[4] the regulations promulgated there under and such other
requirements adopted by the Board to effectively enforce and administer
this article.
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or other parcel
of land into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions
of land, including changes in existing lot lines. The enumerating
of lots shall include as a lot that portion of the original tract
or tracts remaining after other lots have been subdivided therefrom.
The Township of West Lampeter, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
From the effective date of this article, its
provisions shall apply in any portion of the Township identified by
the Board as a sewage management district. Within such area or areas,
the provisions of this article shall apply to all persons owning any
property serviced by an on-lot sewage disposal system and to all persons
installing or rehabilitating on-lot sewage disposal systems.
A.
No person shall install, construct or request bid
proposals for construction, or alter an individual sewage system or
community sewage system or construct or request bid proposals for
construction or install or occupy any building or structure for which
an individual sewage system or community sewage system is to be installed
without first obtaining a permit from the SEO which permit shall indicate
that the site and the plans and specifications of such system are
in compliance with the provisions of the Clean Streams Law (35 P.S.
§§ 691.1 to 691.1001) and the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities
Act (35 P.S. § 750.1 et seq.) and the regulations adopted
pursuant to those Acts.
B.
No system or structure designed to provide individual
or community sewage disposal shall be covered from view until approval
to cover the same has been given by an SEO. After 72 hours have elapsed,
excepting Sundays and holidays, after which the SEO issuing the permit
has received notification of completion of construction, the applicant
may cover said system or structure unless permission has been specifically
refused by the SEO.
C.
Applicants for sewage permits may be required to notify
the SEO of the schedule for construction of the permitted on-lot sewage
disposal system so that inspection(s) in addition to the final inspection
required by the Sewage Facilities Act[1] may be scheduled and performed by an SEO.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 750.1
et seq.
D.
No building or occupancy permit shall be issued for
a new building, which will contain sewage generating facilities until
a valid sewage permit has been obtained from an SEO.
E.
No building or occupancy permit shall be issued and
no work shall begin on any alteration or conversion of any existing
structure, if said alteration or conversion will result in the increase
or the potential increase in sewage flows from the structure, until
either the structure's owner receives a permit for alteration or replacement
of the existing sewage disposal system or the structure's owner and
the appropriate officials of the Township receive written notification
from an SEO that such a permit will not be required. The SEO shall
determine whether the proposed alteration or conversion of the structure
will result in increased sewage flows.
F.
Sewage permits may be issued only by an SEO hired
or employed by the Township. The DEP shall be notified as to the identity
of each SEO so hired or employed by the Township.
G.
Where appropriate, the Township will allow the installation
of denitrification systems approved by the DEP. Such systems shall
be permitted and a portion of the review shall be the execution of
an agreement with the Township concerning the operation and maintenance
of the system.
A.
Any on-lot sewage disposal system may be inspected
by an authorized agent at any reasonable time as of the effective
date of this article.
B.
Property owners of on-lot sewage disposal systems
shall, on a triennial basis, register such systems with the Township
on forms provided and pay a fee as established by the Board of Supervisors.
Such fees will be due on the first day of a given calendar year.
C.
Such inspection may include a physical tour of the
property, the taking of samples from surface water, wells, other groundwater
sources, the sampling of the contents of the sewage disposal system
itself and/or the introduction of a traceable substance into the interior
plumbing of the structure served to ascertain the path and ultimate
destination of wastewater generated in the structure.
D.
An authorized agent shall have the right to enter
upon land for the purposes of inspections described in this section.
E.
A schedule of routine inspections may be established
to assure the proper functioning of the sewage systems in the sewage
management district.
F.
An SEO shall inspect systems known to be, or alleged
to be, malfunctioning. Should said inspections reveal that the system
is indeed malfunctioning, the authorized agent shall order action
to be taken to correct the malfunction. If total correction cannot
be done in accordance with the regulations of DEP including, but not
limited to, those outlined in Chapter 73 of Title 25 of Pennsylvania
Code, or is not technically or financially feasible in the opinion
of the authorized agent and a representative of DEP, then action by
the property owner to mitigate the malfunction shall be required.
G.
If there arises a geographic area where numerous on-lot
sewage disposal systems are malfunctioning, a resolution of these
area-wide problems may necessitate detailed planning and a revision
to the portion of the Sewage Facilities Plan pertaining to areas affected
by such malfunctions. If a DEP-authorized Official Sewage Facilities
Plan Revision has been undertaken, repair or replacement of individual
malfunctioning sewage disposal systems within the area affected by
the revision may be delayed, pending the outcome of the plan revision
process. However, immediate corrective action will be compelled whenever
a malfunction, as determined by Township officials and/or the DEP,
represents a serious public health or environmental threat.
A.
Only normal domestic wastes shall be discharged into
any on-lot sewage disposal system.
B.
The following shall not be discharged into the system.
(1)
Industrial waste.
(2)
Automobile oil and other nondomestic oil.
(3)
Toxic or hazardous substances or chemicals, including,
but not limited to, pesticides, disinfectants (excluding household
cleaners), acids, paints, paint thinners, herbicides, gasoline and
other solvents.
(4)
Clean surface or ground water, including water from
roof or cellar drains, springs, basement sump pumps and french drains.
A.
Each person owning a building served by an on-lot
sewage disposal system, shall have such system inspected by West Lampeter
Township or other authorized agent as sanctioned by the Township once
every three years or as required by the Township. Thereafter such
system shall have the tank pumped at a frequency established by the
Pennsylvania Septage Management Association schedule or whenever an
inspection reveals that the septic tank is filled with solids or scum
in excess of 1/3 of the liquid depth of the tank. Certification from
the pumper/hauler shall be submitted to the Township within the prescribed
six-month and three-year pumping period. That certification shall
include a statement that the physical condition of the tank, including
baffles, was inspected, and the tank and baffles are in satisfactory
condition.
B.
The required pumping frequency may be increased at
the discretion of an authorized agent if the septic tank is undersized,
if solids buildup in the tank is above average, if the hydraulic load
on the system increases significantly above average, if a garbage
grinder is used in the building, if the system malfunctions or for
other good cause shown. If any person can prove that such person's
septic tank has been pumped within three years of the six-month anniversary
of the effective date of this article, then that person's initial
required pumping may be delayed to conform to the general three-year
frequency requirement except where an inspection reveals a need for
more frequent pumping frequencies.
C.
Any person owning a property served by a septic tank
shall submit, with each required pumping service, a written statement,
from the pumper/hauler or from any other qualified individual acceptable
to the Township, that the baffles in the septic tank have been inspected
and found to be in good working order. Any person whose septic tank
baffles are determined to require repair or replacement shall first
notify the Township of the necessary repair.
D.
Any person owning or building a structure served by
an on-lot sewage disposal system, which contains an aerobic, or denitrification
treatment tank shall follow the operation and maintenance recommendations
of the equipment manufacturer. A copy of the manufacturer's recommendations
and a copy of the service agreement shall be submitted to the Township
within six months of the effective date of this article. Thereafter,
service receipts shall be submitted to the Township at the intervals
specified by the manufacturer's recommendations. In no case may the
service or pumping intervals for the treatment tanks exceed those
required for septic tanks.
E.
Additional maintenance activity may be required as
needed including, but not limited to, cleaning and unclogging of piping,
servicing and the repair of mechanical equipment, leveling of distribution
boxes, tanks and lines, removal of obstructing roots or trees, and
the diversion of surface water away from the disposal area.
A.
No person shall operate or maintain an on-lot sewage
disposal system in such a manner that it malfunctions. All liquid
wastes, including kitchen and laundry wastes and water softener backwash,
shall be discharged to a treatment tank. No sewage system shall discharge
untreated or partially treated sewage to the surface of the ground
or into the waters of the commonwealth unless a permit for such discharge
has been obtained from DEP.
B.
A written notice of violation shall be issued to any
person who is the owner of any property which is found to be served
by a malfunctioning on-lot sewage disposal system, or which is discharging
sewage without a permit.
C.
Remediation of a permitted repair or replacement shall
commence within 30 days of notification by the Township that a malfunction
has been identified, unless seasonal or unique conditions mandate
a longer period, in which case the Township may grant an extension
of time.
D.
An SEO or other authorized agent shall have the authority
to require the repair of any system found to be unsatisfactory by
the following methods: cleaning, repair or replacement of components
of the existing system, adding capacity or otherwise altering or replacing
the system's treatment tank, expanding the existing disposal areas,
replacing the existing disposal area, replacing a gravity distribution
system with a pressurized system, replacing the system with a holding
tank or any other alternative appropriate for the specific site.
E.
In lieu of, or in combination with, the remedies described in Subsection D above, an SEO may require the installation of water conservation equipment and the institution of water conservation practices in structures served. Water using devices and appliances in the structure may be required to be retrofitted with water saving appurtenances or they may be required to be replaced by water conserving devices.
F.
In the event that the rehabilitation measures in Subsections A through E are not feasible or effective, the property owner may be required to apply for a permit to install an individual spray irrigation treatment system or to DEP for a single residence treatment and discharge system. Upon receipt of said permit the owner shall complete construction of the system within 30 days unless seasonal or unique conditions mandate a longer period, in which case the Township may grant an extension of time.
G.
Should none of the remedies described in this section
be totally effective in eliminating the malfunction of an existing
on-lot sewage disposal system, the property owner is not absolved
of responsibility for that malfunction. The Township may require whatever
action is necessary to lessen or mitigate the malfunction to the extent
necessary.
The Township, upon written notice from an SEO
or authorized agent that an imminent health hazard exists due to failure
of property owner to maintain, repair or replace an on-lot sewage
disposal system as provided under the terms of this article, shall
have the authority to perform, or contract to have performed, the
work required by the SEO or authorized agent. The property owner shall
be charged for the work performed and, if necessary, a lien shall
be entered therefor in accordance with law.
A.
All septage originating within the sewage management
district shall be disposed of in accordance with the requirements
of the Solid Waste Management Act (Act 97 of 1980, 35 P.S. § 6018.101
et seq.) and all other applicable laws and at sites or facilities
approved by DEP.
B.
Pumper/hauler of septage operating within the sewage
management district shall operate in a manner consistent with the
provisions of the Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Act (Act 97
of 1980, 35 P.S. §§ 6018.101 to 6018.1003) and all
other applicable laws.
A.
The Township shall fully utilize those powers it possesses
through enabling statutes and ordinances to effect the purposes of
this article.
B.
The Township shall hire or employ qualified individuals
to carry out the provisions of this article. Those employees shall
include an SEO and may include an administrator and such other persons
as may be necessary. The Township may also contract with private qualified
persons or firms as necessary to carry out the provisions of this
article.
C.
All permits, records, reports, files and other written
materials relating to the installation, operation and maintenance
and malfunction of on-lot sewage disposal systems in the sewage management
district shall become the property of, and be maintained by, the Township.
Existing and future records shall be available for public inspection
during regular business hours at the official office of the Township.
All records pertaining to sewage permits, building permits, occupancy
permits and all other aspects of the sewage management program shall
be made available, upon request, for inspection by representatives
of DEP.
D.
The Board shall establish all administrative procedures
necessary to properly carry out the provisions of this article.
E.
The Board shall establish a fee schedule, and authorize
the collection of fees to cover the cost of the administration of
this program.
A.
Appeals from final decisions of the Township or any
of its authorized agents under this article shall be made to the Board
in writing within 30 days from the date of written notification of
the decision in question.
B.
The appellant shall be entitled to a hearing before
the Board at its regularly scheduled meeting, if a written appeal
is received at least 14 days prior to that meeting. If the appeal
is received within 14 days of the next regularly scheduled meeting,
the appeal shall be heard at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
The Board shall thereafter affirm, modify, or reverse the aforesaid
decision. The hearing may be postponed for a good cause shown by the
appellant or the Board. Additional evidence may be introduced at the
hearing provided that it is submitted with the written notice of appeal.
C.
A decision shall be rendered in writing within 30
days of the date of the hearing.
Any person failing to comply with any provision
of this article shall be subject to a fine of not less than $500 and
costs, and not more than $5,000 and costs, or in default thereof shall
be confined in the county jail for a period of not more than 90 days.
Each day of noncompliance shall constitute a separate offense.
