[Adopted 8-19-1991 by Ord. No. 91-11]
The purpose of this article is to establish
procedures for the use and maintenance of holding tanks designed to
receive and retain sewage on a temporary basis, 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 meaning of terms used in this article shall
be as follows:
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:
CHEMICAL TOILETA toilet using chemicals that discharge to a holding tank.
COLLECTION FACILITIESSewer pipes, manholes and similar sewer system facilities, plugged to prevent outflow.
RETENTION TANKA holding tank where sewage is conveyed to it by a water-carrying system.
VAULT PIT PRIVYA holding tank designed to receive sewage where water under pressure is not available.
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.
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any property located in the Township.
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation
or other group or entity.
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.
Westtown Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
The Township 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
on a temporary basis and until such time as a permanent method of
sewage disposal has been provided for an improved property.
The Township is hereby authorized and empowered
to adopt such rules and regulations concerning holding tank sewage
disposal which it may deem necessary from time to time to effect the
purposes herein, provided said regulations shall 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, all applicable laws, and all applicable
rules and regulations of administrative agencies of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania having jurisdiction in this field.
If applicable, the Township shall have the right
and power to fix, alter, charge and collect rates, assessments and
other charges in the area served by holding tank sewage disposal 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 the Township or done pursuant to the direction of and with
permission from 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.Â
Maintain the holding tank in conformance with this
article and any other applicable ordinance of this Township, the provisions
of any applicable law, the terms of any applicable agreement between
the owner and the Township and the rules and regulations of the Township
and any cognizant administrative agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B.Â
Permit only the Township or anyone acting under the
direction of and/or permission from the Township to collect, transport
and dispose of the contents therein.
Any person who violates or permits a violation
of this article shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought
before a District Justice under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal
Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable
by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default
of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that
such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute
a separate offense, and each section of this article that is violated
shall also constitute a separate offense.
In addition to any other remedies provided in this article, any violation of § 132-23 above shall constitute a nuisance and may be abated by the Township by either seeking appropriate equitable or legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.
