[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
Adams as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-11-1994 by Ord.
No. 65]
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Adams Township
Water Well Ordinance."
The intention of this article is to insure and protect the quality and
suitability of the domestic water supply, to secure and maintain the minimum
required isolation distances between water supplies and sewage disposal systems
or other sources of contamination and to collect information and data to aid
in the development of a plan to protect and preserve groundwater resources
in Adams Township.
Words used in this article shall have commonly accepted meanings or
the meanings hereinafter indicated unless specifically stated to the contrary:
An authorized representative of the municipality assigned
with the responsibility of enforcing this article.
Of or pertaining to a single-family home, household or residence.
The Adams Township Board of Supervisors.
Any repair which would increase the well's design capacity.
The Township of Adams.
An individual, partnership, association, company or corporation,
including officers, employees and agents of a partnership, association company
or corporation.
A.
No person or corporation, including contractors, shall
construct, drill, dig, reconstruct or make any major repair to any well for
the production of water for domestic purposes without the property owner,
or his duly authorized agent, first submitting an application for a permit
for such construction activity from the Code Enforcement Officer of the municipality.
Each well shall require a separate permit and approval.
B.
Application for such a well permit shall be made upon
a form supplied by the municipality and shall be submitted to the Township
Secretary or Code Enforcement Officer of the municipality.
C.
No person shall use a well for which a permit is required
by this article without a final inspection and obtaining final approval of
such construction from the Code Enforcement Officer.
A.
The application shall set forth the name and address
of the applicant and the address and location of the property upon which the
well is or is to be located.
B.
The applicant shall present an accurate scale plan showing
the location of all existing or proposed buildings, wells, utility lines (including,
but not limited to, gas, electric, water and sewer), setback lines for wells
and existing or proposed sewage disposal drain fields and septic tanks on
the lands of the applicant and on all immediately adjoining lands that may
be affected, the boundary line of the premises upon which the proposed well
is to be located, together with the boundary lines of adjacent premises, and
such other information as may be reasonably required. The plan shall be the
same scale plan as submitted for the sewage permit for the subject property.
C.
No well permit shall be issued for a particular property
until a sewage permit has been issued for said property, unless such property
is to be serviced by a public sewer system regulated and permitted by the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection or Pennsylvania Public
Utility Commission.
D.
No such well shall be located closer than 100 feet to
the nearest part of any existing or proposed on-site sewage disposal drain
field or closer than 100 feet to the nearest part of any existing or proposed
septic tank, whether on land of the applicant or adjoining lands.
E.
All wells shall be constructed a minimum distance of
five feet from all lot lines. In the case of a road right-of-way, the distance
shall be measured from the edge of the legal right-of-way line or any established
future roadway widening easement, whichever is greater. In no instance shall
a well be constructed less than 27 feet from the actual center line of a Township
road or less than 32 feet from the actual center line of a state road.
F.
All wells shall be minimum of six inches in diameter
and shall be provided with a watertight casing. The minimum length of the
casing shall be 40 feet or 10 feet into bedrock, whichever is greater. The
material of the casing shall be steel with a weight of 18.95 pounds per linear
foot or a minimum of Schedule 80 PVC for six-inch wells and an equivalent
weight for larger diameter wells. All joints between sections of steel casings
shall be made by continuous welding or watertight bonding for PVC. When a
pump section or discharge pipe enters or leaves a well through the side of
the casing, the circle of contact shall be watertight. All casings shall extend
at 18 inches above the final grade and shall be above the one-hundred-year
flood elevation of the site. The annular space between the bore hole and the
outside of the casing shall be filled with cement grout from the bottom of
the casing to a distance of no less than six feet below the ground surface.
Unconsolidated or carbonate water bearing formations may require special treatment.
All wells having a diameter of more than six inches must comply with the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection's regulations.
G.
Well permits may be denied because of unfeasibility of
constructing a well at a proposed location for reason of, but not limited
to, topography, adjoining structures or facilities or noncompliance with Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection Standards.
Upon receipt of any application for a well construction permit, the
municipality, through its duly authorized Code Enforcement Officer, shall,
within 15 days, perform an inspection of the premises upon which the well
is to be constructed. The inspection shall be conducted in accordance with
the provisions of this article and all other applicable requirements of the
commonwealth and municipality requirements. Upon completion of the inspection,
the Code Enforcement Officer shall:
All permits shall be issued on a form provided by the Township, which
shall be executed by the Code Enforcement Officer. Permits shall be prepared
in triplicate, and distribution of copies shall be made as follows:
Upon the completion of construction or at such other time as the Code
Enforcement Officer may deem appropriate, the applicant shall submit to the
municipality a copy of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
water well completion report and/or such forms which replace or supplement
such form. Then the municipality, through its Code Enforcement Officer, shall
perform a final inspection of the well to determine whether there has been
compliance with the permit issued and the required data and information has
been submitted. Upon completion of the said inspection and submission of the
required data and information, the Code Enforcement Officer shall:
All applications for a well permit shall be accompanied by a fee payable
to the municipality in accordance with a schedule of fees established from
time to time by resolution of the governing body of the municipality.
A.
The municipality, through its Code Enforcement Officer,
shall act upon each such application for permit within 15 days after a completed
application has been filed, and in the event of failure on the part of the
said Officer to render and communicate a decision to the applicant within
said time period, the applicant shall have the right to request a hearing
before the governing board.
B.
All permits shall be in effect as of the date of issuance
and shall remain in effect for period of one year thereafter. In the event
that construction under the permit has not been completed at the expiration
of one year from the date of issuance, the permit shall expire and the validity
of the permit shall cease and terminate.
If an applicant has shown that any mandatory provisions of this article
are unreasonable or cause undue hardships as they may apply to the subject
property, the governing board shall schedule a public hearing upon written
request of the applicant and upon payment of the required fee and may, in
its discretion, grant a variance or waiver to such applicant from the mandatory
provisions of this article so that substantial justice may be done and the
public interest secured. The granting of any such variance or waiver shall
not have the effect of nullifying the intent and purpose of this article.
In granting variances, waivers or modifications, the governing body may impose
such conditions as will, in its judgment, substantially secure the objectives
of the standards or requirements so modified. Any such hearing shall be held
in accordance with the provisions of the Local Agency Law.
A.
It shall be illegal to commence construction of a well
without first obtaining the required permit or operating a well without securing
the required construction approval. Any person who violates or permits a violation
of this article shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement
proceeding commenced by the Township before a District Justice, pay a fine
of not more than $600, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney's
fees, incurred by the Township in the enforcement of this article. No judgment
shall be imposed until the date of the determination of the violation by the
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. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense.
Further, the appropriate officers or agents of the Township are hereby authorized
to seek equitable relief, including injunction, to enforce compliance herewith.[1]
B.
For the purpose of this article, each day of a continuing
violation shall be considered a new and separate violation of this article.
C.
Any such fines collected hereunder shall be used for
general Township purposes.
No responsibility or liability for the construction or use of any well
shall be deemed to be placed upon the municipality or any of its officers,
agents or employees by virtue of the terms of this article or otherwise.
