The purpose of this Part
3 is to establish procedures for the use and maintenance of holding tanks designed to receive and retain sewage whether from residential or commercial uses and it is hereby declared that the enactment of this Part
3 is necessary for the protection, benefit and preservation of the health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of this Township.
Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this Part
3 shall be as follows:
HOLDING TANK
A watertight receptacle which receives and retains sewage
and is designed and constructed to facilitate ultimate disposal of
the sewage at another site. Holding tanks include but are not limited
to the following:
B.
RETENTION TANKA holding tank where sewage is conveyed to it by a water carrying system.
C.
VAULT PIT PRIVYA holding tank designed to receive sewage where water under pressure is not available.
IMPROVED PROPERTY
Any property within the 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 sewage
shall or may be discharged.
OWNER
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any property located in the Township.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, company, association, society,
corporation or other group or entity.
SEWAGE
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 substance being harmful or inimical
to the public health, or to animal or aquatic life or to the use of
water for domestic water or for recreation.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of West Whiteland, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
The Township is hereby authorized to undertake
within the Township the control and methods of holding tanks, sewage
disposal and the collection and transportation thereof.
The Township is hereby authorized and empowered
to adopt such rules and regulations concerning sewage which it may
deem necessary from time to time to effect the purposes herein, provided
said regulations will not conflict with the rules and regulations
of the Chester County Health Department and/or the Department of Environmental
Protection of Pennsylvania.
All such rules and regulations adopted by the
Township shall be in conformity with the provisions herein, all other
ordinances of the Township, and all applicable laws, and applicable
rules and regulations of administrative agencies of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
The Township shall have the right and power
to fix, alter, charge and collect rates, assessments, and other charges
in the area served by its facilities at reasonable and uniform rates
as authorized by applicable law.
The collection and transportation of all sewage
from any improved property utilizing a holding tank shall be done
solely by or under the direction and control of the Township, and
the disposal thereof shall be made only at such site or sites as may
be approved by the Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania and/or the Chester County Health Department.
The owner of an improved property that utilizes
a holding tank shall:
A. Maintain the holding tank in conformance with this Part
3 or any ordinance of this Township, the provisions of any applicable law, and the rules and regulations of the Township and any administrative agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B. Permit only the Township or anyone acting under the
direction of the Township to collect, transport and dispose of the
contents therein.
[Amended 6-10-1997 by Ord. No. 257]
Any person, firm or corporation who violates or permits the violation of any provision of this Part
3 shall be subject to a fine in the amount of at least $25, but not to exceed $1,000, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the Township. Each twenty-four-hour period during which a violation of this Part
3 continues shall constitute a separate offense. Upon a finding of liability for committing said violation or permitting said violation, in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township, the defendant shall pay the fine plus costs and attorney fees. No judgment shall be imposed until the date of determination of a violation by a District Justice. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure.
In addition to any other remedies provided in this Part
3, any violation of §
253-32 above shall constitute a nuisance and may be abated by the Township by seeking appropriate equitable or legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.