The purpose of this article 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 article 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 meanings of terms used in this article shall
be as follows:
AUTHORITY
The Board of Supervisors of Worcester Township, or the Worcester
Municipal Authority, a Pennsylvania Municipal Authority, if and when
created.
HOLDING TANK
A watertight receptacle which receives and retains sewage
and is designed and constructed to facilitate disposal of the sewage
at another site. "Holding tank" includes but is 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, 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 supply or for recreation.
TOWNSHIP
Worcester Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
The Authority is hereby authorized and empowered
to undertake within the Township the control and methods of holding
tank sewage disposal and the collection and transportation thereof.
The Authority 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 Authority, 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.
The owner of an improved property that utilizes
a holding tank shall:
A. Maintain the holding tank in conformance with this
article or any ordinance of this Township, the provisions of any applicable
law and the rules and regulations of the Authority and any administrative
agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B. Permit only the Authority or anyone acting under the
direction of the Authority to collect, transport and dispose of the
contents therein.
[Amended 8-21-1996 by Ord. No. 150]
Any person who violates any provisions of §
122-7 shall, upon conviction thereof by summary proceedings, be sentenced as provided in Chapter
1, Article
II, General Penalty. A new and separate offense shall be deemed to be committed for each day that such violation exists.
In addition to any other remedies provided in this article any violation of §
122-7 above shall constitute a nuisance and may be abated by the municipality or the Authority by either seeking appropriate equitable or legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.