[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Marcus Hook as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 12-19-1978 by Ord. No. 712]
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Borough of Marcus Hook Sewer Ordinance of 1978."
[Added 1-4-2011 by Ord. No. O-10-5, approved 1-4-2011]
The Council President and Borough Secretary are authorized to execute the agreement of sale and transfer of the Marcus Hook Sewage Collection System to the Delaware County Regional Water Quality Control Authority (DELCORA).
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BOROUGH
The Borough of Marcus Hook, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and the duly elected, qualified and acting Council members thereof.
DELCORA
The Delaware County Regional Water Control Authority.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE
Any solid, liquid or gaseous substance or waterborne wastes or form of energy rejected or escaping from any industrial, manufacturing, trade or business process or from the development, recovery or processing of natural resources, as distinct from sanitary sewage.
PERSON
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation or group.
SANITARY SEWAGE
The normal water-carried household and toilet wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments.
SEWER SYSTEM
All facilities owned and operated by the Delaware County Regional Water Quality Control Authority (DELCORA) for collecting and transporting sanitary sewage.
[Amended 1-4-2011 by Ord. No. O-10-5, approved 1-4-2011]
WATER SUPPLIER
The Chester Municipal Authority of Chester, Pennsylvania, and its successors and assigns.
Every property in the Borough of Marcus Hook adjoining or abutting upon any street or alley in which a public sewer is now or shall hereafter be located shall be connected with such sewer in such manner and within such time as the Borough may order, for the purpose of the discharge of all fecal matter, human excrement, kitchen and laundry waste and other sewage from such premises. All such sewage shall, after such connection, be conducted into such sewer. Every such property shall be connected separately and independently with the sewer through the house connection branch directly opposite the building or nearest in a downstream direction. Grouping of buildings on one house sewer shall not be permitted except under special circumstances and for good sanitary reasons, with special permission granted by the Borough Council upon recommendation of the Borough Engineer.
If the owner of the property, after 45 days' notice from the Borough to make connection of such property with a Borough sewer, shall fail to make such connection, the Borough may make such connection and may collect the cost thereof from such owner by a municipal claim or in an action of assumpsit, as is provided by law.
No person shall make or cause to be made any connection of his property with any of the Borough sewers until he has fulfilled all of the following conditions:
A. 
He shall notify the Borough Council of his desire and intention to make such connection.
B. 
He shall pay a sewer connection fee and a sewer inspection fee, as provided in § 167-10, which shall be payable to the Borough Secretary, for the use of the Borough.
C. 
He shall have applied for and obtained a permit to excavate in the street, in accordance with the Borough ordinance regulating the same.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 175, Streets and Sidewalks, Art. III, Excavations in Streets.
D. 
He shall have given the Borough Secretary at least 24 hours' notice of the time when such connection shall be made, in order that the Borough Engineer or his authorized agent can be present to supervise the work of connection.
All work of making connections to any of the Borough sewers shall be done under the personal supervision of the Borough Engineer or his authorized agent and shall conform to the following requirements:
A. 
All sewer connections shall be made at the place where the Y in the Borough sewer is provided, but if no Y is provided in the Borough sewer, then the property owner making such connection shall, at his expense, put in the Y in making such connection.
B. 
All joints shall be sealed and made airtight and shall be made smooth and clean inside, with all sewers in straight alignment and of proper grade, so as to provide free flow of sewage matter without any obstructions, and to be made in accordance with the Borough's specification for its sanitary sewers.
C. 
All work pertaining to the connection with the Borough's sewers shall be, financially and otherwise, the responsibility of the owner of the property with which connection is made, subject to the right of supervision hereby reserved by the Borough.
No person shall connect or cause to be connected with any of the public sewers in the Borough, directly or indirectly, any steam exhaust, boiler blowoff, sediment drip or any pipe carrying or constructed to carry hot water or acid, germicide, grease, brewery mash, gasoline, naphtha, benzine, oil or any other substance detrimental to the sewers or to the operation of the sewerage system or the sewage disposal works of the Borough.
No privy vault, cesspool or similar receptacle for human excrement shall at any time, now or hereafter, be connected with any of the Borough sewers.
[Amended 12-3-2018 by Ord. No. O-18-5; approved 12-3-2018]
No privy vault, cesspool or similar receptacle for human excrement shall hereafter be maintained upon any premises from which connection with any of the Borough sewers shall have been made. Every such privy vault, cesspool or other receptacle shall, within 30 days after final enactment of this article in the case of premises now connected with a sewer, and within 30 days after connection with a sewer in the case of premises hereafter so connected, be abandoned, cleansed and filled under the direction and supervision of the Health Officer of the Borough. Any such privy vault, cesspool or other receptacle not abandoned, cleansed and filled as required by this section shall constitute a nuisance and such nuisance may be abated on order of the Code Enforcement Officer as provided by law, at the expense of the owner of such property.
There is hereby imposed upon each owner of property in the Borough connecting to the sewer system after the effective date of this article, for each single unit connected either directly or indirectly to the sewer system, a connection charge of $100 for each connection to be made to a lateral of the sewer system at the curbline or property line. A connection unit shall be determined and classified according to the provisions of § 167-12 hereof. There is further imposed upon each owner of property connecting to the sewer system an inspection fee, for service of the Borough Engineer or Plumbing Inspector, of $10 for each connection.
A. 
Policy and purpose. For the calendar year beginning January 1, 1979, and each calendar year thereafter, there is hereby imposed an annual service charge upon the owners of all property in the Borough served or to be served by the Borough's facilities for the use of the wastewater collection system, conveyance system and treatment plant and for the use of extensions, replacements, improvements or renewals thereof (collectively called the "Borough system").
B. 
The total amount of annual service charges fixed by the Borough each year hereunder shall be sufficient to cover the said Borough user's proportionate share of the following of the Borough's annual costs:
(1) 
Cost of administration;
(2) 
Cost of operating, maintaining, repairing and replacing the Borough collection system;
(3) 
Cost of operating, maintaining, repairing and replacing the relative portion of the conveyance system serving the Borough users;
(4) 
The charges made by DELCORA to the Borough for transmission and treatment of sewage;
(5) 
Debt service on the Borough's outstanding bonds pertaining to the system;
(6) 
Reasonable amounts to provide working capital and operating reserves in the system; and
(7) 
An amount sufficient to establish a margin of safety of 10% of the total items one through six inclusive above. In determining the total amount of revenue required each year from all users of the Borough system through service charges, the Borough shall reduce the amounts actually anticipated to be needed to cover items (1), (2), (3) and (4) above by the sum of the following:
(a) 
The amounts of any federal, state or private grants to be received during or applicable to said year relating to any such said costs; and
(b) 
Surcharges, penalties, fines, insurance proceeds and similar payments from other sources.
C. 
In determining the total amount of costs to be used in determining the annual rate for Borough users, the Borough will deduct from the total annual cost allocable to the Borough system, including areas of other municipalities presently served by the Borough system under agreements with such municipalities, the proportionate share of such total costs which is chargeable to such other municipalities for their shares of the said costs of the portions of the Borough system used by other municipalities.
A. 
The annual service charge shall be on a unit basis, the annual amount or rate per unit to be determined by dividing the total amount of costs as determined under the provisions of § 167-11 hereby by the total number of units in the Borough. The Borough shall annually adopt a resolution which shall compute the total amount of service charges to be collected, the total number of units in the Borough and the amount or rate per unit to be charged for said year.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The current resolution fixing the annual service charge to be imposed upon all users of the sanitary sewer facilities in the Borough is on file in the Municipal Offices. Res. No. R-88-18 adopted and approved December 5, 1988, fixed the rate for the calendar year 1989 at $0 per unit.
B. 
The service charge for each unit connected directly or indirectly to the Borough system shall be at the rate of one unit per year. For the purpose of determining units, the following rules shall govern and be controlling:
(1) 
A family unit is considered to be four persons.
(2) 
A single-family dwelling containing a single-family unit, whether detached, semidetached or row, shall be considered one unit.
(3) 
Each additional family occupying a single-family dwelling shall be classed as one unit.
(4) 
Each apartment in a multifamily dwelling shall be classed as one unit.
(5) 
A hotel, apartment hotel, boardinghouse or other like building shall be charged a basic unit plus an additional unit for every four persons occupying the building on the yearly average.
(6) 
Boarding schools or colleges shall be charged one unit for every four persons living or working therein on the yearly average.
(7) 
Day schools or colleges shall be charged one unit for every 12 students, teachers and operating personnel on a yearly average.
(8) 
Churches and parsonages shall each be considered to be one unit.
(9) 
Hospitals, nursing and convalescent homes shall be charged one unit for every four patients and operating personnel on a yearly average.
(10) 
Public buildings, buildings used for municipal purposes, libraries and similar buildings shall be charged one unit for every 12 persons using or occupying the building on a yearly average.
(11) 
Commercial users, except self-service laundries, shall be charged one unit for each four employees or operating personnel on a yearly average. Commercial establishments using water for other than sanitary fixture purposes and discharging into the sanitary sewer shall be charged an extra number of units for said extra discharge based on 250 gallons per day constituting one unit; provided, however, that if the strength of said discharge exceeds 300 parts per million of BOD5 and/or 300 parts per million of suspended solids, then the said establishment shall be subject to a surcharge determined in accordance with the provisions relating to industrial users.
(12) 
Self-service laundries or a laundry business using individual washers of ordinary size shall be charged on the basis of one unit for each two machines. Any odd number shall be charged as one full unit. Any washing machines larger than the ordinary size (approximately nine pounds) shall be charged one unit for each 18 pounds of capacity.
(13) 
Industrial users, except major industrial users, shall be charged for their sanitary sewage on the basis of one unit for each four employees or operating personnel. Industrial users, except major industrial users, discharging industrial wastewater into the sanitary sewer shall be charged for such industrial wastes on the basis provided in § 167-13 hereof.
(14) 
Standard household mechanical grinding units which discharge ground organic matter into the sanitary sewer where installed shall be charged on the basis of one unit for every such grinder.
(15) 
In case a combination of two or more dwelling units, households, flats, apartments, stores, shops, offices or business or industrial units, or two or more families using separate cooking and/or bathroom facilities in one dwelling, have the use of the sewer system through one sewer lateral, each and every such dwelling unit, household, flat, apartment, store, shop, office or business or industrial unit or such family shall be considered a connection unit and shall be charged the foregoing sanitary sewage charges the same as if each such unit or family had a direct and separate connection to the sewer system.
(16) 
Where these regulations provide for a number of persons, other than dwelling groups, constituting one unit, four persons or less shall constitute one unit or one additional unit. Connection to and use of the sewer system for less than 1/2 year shall be charged as and for 1/2 unit; connection and use for more than 1/2 year shall be charged a full unit.
(17) 
Wherever a rate is based totally or partially upon the number of pupils, patients or employees, including teachers and operating personnel, a unit shall be computed and based upon the daily average number of pupils, patients or employees for the full calendar year immediately preceding the date of annual or partial billing. The daily average number for new establishments shall be estimated by the Borough and adjusted for the subsequent billing.
(18) 
Any establishment or property user may be classified by the Borough on a comparative or equitable basis in all cases where the classification overlaps or is not clearly applicable, and the user shall be notified of his new or adjusted or determined classification.
(19) 
The minimum annual service charge for any property shall be not less than the rate for one unit; provided, however, that any property connected to the Borough system for less than 1/2 year shall be 1/2 unit while a property connected for more than 1/2 year shall be charged for one unit.
(20) 
In any case in which the above rules are not exactly applicable, the Borough shall fix applicable rates with the same force and effect as if set forth herein.
C. 
On or before January 31 of each year, the owner of every hotel, apartment hotel, boarding school or college, day school or college, church, hospital, nursing home, public building, building used for municipal purposes, library, self-service laundry, commercial user and industrial user shall submit to the Borough, on forms supplied by the Borough, setting forth the information required by the Borough to determine the respective number of units to be charged, calculated in accordance with the provisions of Subsection B hereof. If any such user fails to provide such information by said date, the Borough will estimate the number of units to be charged to said user and the decision of the Borough will be final and binding for the current year.
A. 
The annual service charge for industrial users shall be based on water use and the actual biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and suspended solids (SS) concentration of the industrial discharge. The water use, BOD and SS data shall be converted to equivalent units by the formula presented in Subsection B.
B. 
The industrial units shall be calculated as follows:
Where
IU
=
Industry's units.
AWU
=
Industry's annual water use (gallons).
A
=
Proportion of Borough's cost attributable to wastewater flow.
B
=
Proportion of Borough's cost attributable to BOD strength.
C
=
Proportion of Borough's cost attributable to SS strength.
*
NOTE: Where these figures are less than 300 mg/l per liter in BOD or SS, the value in parenthesis shall be equal to one.
C. 
The specific values for A, B and C shall be established annually by the Borough based on actual expenses incurred by the Borough in providing wastewater collection, conveyance and treatment service by the Borough and DELCORA. For 1978 these values shall be established as follows:
A
=
0.7
B
=
0.0
C
=
0.3
D. 
Each industrial user shall furnish representative wastewater characteristic reports conducted by a certified testing laboratory acceptable to the Borough on a quarterly basis. The Borough shall furnish the report form to the industry. The Borough shall request more frequent reporting for specific industries which exhibit significant variations in waste strength.
E. 
The Borough reserves the right to conduct independent wastewater characteristics analyses to verify industry reports. The Borough shall use its analyses results in cases where there are significant discrepancies between industry reports and the Borough's analysis.
F. 
Annual water use data shall be obtained from the Chester Water Authority records in cases where the industry uses Chester Water Authority. If the industry uses self-supplied water, the industry shall report its actual water use. In the event the water used by an industry in any year, as shown by the Chester Water Authority or other records, exceeds by a substantial amount the total water actually discharged by the industry into the sewer, the industry may request an adjustment in the annual water use factor to properly reflect the actual annual flows discharged to the sewer. In such cases, the industry may at its option install a meter acceptable to the Borough to measure the wastewater flows or may establish a fixed ratio to be applied to its water usage by agreement with the Borough.
A. 
Upon the demolition of any building or structure connected to the Borough system, the Borough will, upon application by the owner of the property, exonerate said premises from payment of further service charges commencing with January 1 of the year following the year during which the demolition occurred and continuing as long as said property remains undeveloped.
B. 
In the resolution to be adopted each year establishing the annual service charges, the Borough may exempt from service charges for said year such types of buildings as it deems just, reasonable and proper.
C. 
The Borough may, upon application of the owner, exonerate from payment of service charges any building or structure which has been vacant for a continuous period of at least six months and is not expected to be occupied for at least one year during such vacancy. In granting such exoneration, the Borough may require the owner to disconnect the connection to the Borough system. Thereafter such building or structure shall not be reoccupied or reconnected until the owner has obtained a permit from the Borough or its nominee.
A. 
Bills for service charges to all Borough users discharging industrial wastewater into the Borough's system will be submitted to all users annually on or about the first day of February each year. The annual bills shall be due and payable upon presentation. Service charges paid on or before April 1 of the year due shall be subject to a discount of 2%. Service charges paid after the first day of June of the year due shall be subject to a penalty of 5%. All service charges not paid on or before December 31 of the year due shall be deemed to be delinquent and shall be filed with the Solicitor, who shall proceed to collect delinquent service charges, together with interest at the rate of 6% per annum on the amount of the service charge plus penalty and costs accrued thereon, either by action at law or by filing a lien or liens for the same in accordance with law.
B. 
When the annual service charge due from any user is delinquent, the Borough Council is authorized to request and require the Chester Water Authority or any other public utility supplier to shut off the water supply to said premises for neglect or failure to pay said service charges and to continue said shutoff until said bill has been paid. Prior to requesting said Chester Water Authority or other public utility supplying water to the premises, the Borough shall comply with the provisions of the Act of 1949, P.L. 482, as amended (53 P.S. § 2261 et seq.), relating to notice.
All funds received by the Borough from the collection of the sewer rentals and charges and all penalties thereon, as herein provided for, shall be segregated, earmarked and deposited in a separate fund to be designated "Sewer Revenue Account." Said funds shall be used only for the purposes specified in § 167-11A.
[Amended 9-6-1988 by Ord. No. O-88-5, approved 9-6-1988]
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable for each offense by a fine of up to the maximum amount provided from time to time by state statute.
[Adopted 2-3-1992 by Ord. No. O-92-1; approved 2-3-1992]
A. 
This article is adopted to promote and protect the public health, safety, comfort, convenience and other aspects of the general welfare. These general goals include, among other things, the specific enforcement of the Clean Water Act and the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law[1] and the various regulations promulgated by DELCORA, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and such other agencies which may succeed the aforementioned agencies, and the implementation of the Delaware County Wastewater Management Plan and the National Pretreatment Standards, 40 C.F.R. § 401 et seq.
[Amended 12-2-1996 by Ord. No. O-96-9, approved 12-2-1996; 12-5-2011 by Ord. No. O-11-8, approved 12-5-2011]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 691.1 et seq.
B. 
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Marcus Hook Wastewater Treatment Ordinance."
[Amended 12-5-2011 by Ord. No. O-11-8, approved 12-5-2011]
The DELCORA Standards, Rules and Regulations of 2011, attached hereto as Exhibit "A,"[1] are hereby collectively adopted as the Wastewater Treatment Regulations for the Borough of Marcus Hook.
A. 
It is intended that this article provide for the enforcement and prosecution of the DELCORA Standards, Rules and Regulations and the National Pretreatment Standards.
B. 
It is the specific intent of this article to provide a means of enforcement of the National Pretreatment Standards promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as set forth in 40 CFR 401 et seq., 1983 and pursuant to the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.
C. 
The DELCORA Standards, Rules and Regulations shall be minimum standards and shall apply uniformly to each class or kind of user within the Borough of Marcus Hook.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said exhibit is on file in the Borough offices.
The Borough Council of the Borough of Marcus Hook hereby ordains and establishes that any person, firm or corporation who fails or refuses to comply with the DELCORA Standards, Rules and Regulations embodied in DELCORA Resolution No. 91-03, adopted May 22, 1991, as the same may be amended from time to time, which is incorporated herein by reference and attached hereto as Appendix A,[1] shall be subject to the penalties set forth in this article.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is on file in the Borough offices.
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision of this article shall be subject to pay a fine of up to $1,000 or the maximum legal limit of the fining authority, whichever is greater, and/or, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not to exceed 90 days. Every day that each violation continues of this article and/or DELCORA's Standards, Rules and Regulations, as amended, shall constitute a separate offense.
A. 
The Borough of Marcus Hook hereby appoints DELCORA or its designee as its agent having the power of the Borough of Marcus Hook to institute proceedings in the name of the Borough of Marcus Hook against any and all persons, firms or corporations who violate the provisions of this article.
B. 
In cases involving the enforcement of this article, the Solicitor of DELCORA or its designee may cause subpoenas to be issued for witnesses for the prosecution and may conduct the hearing on behalf of the Borough of Marcus Hook.
[Added 12-2-1996 by Ord. No. O-96-9, approved 12-2-1996; amended 12-5-2011 by Ord. No. O-11-8, approved 12-5-2011]
The DELCORA Local Limitations for the Eastern Service Area (the "Eastern Limitations") and the DELCORA Local Limitations for the Western Service Area (the "Western Limitations"), as set forth in DELCORA Resolution 2011-01, attached hereto as Exhibit "B,"[1] is hereby adopted as the local limitations for all discharges of wastewater in the Borough of Marcus Hook. All such discharges of wastewater shall comply with the Western Limitations.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said exhibit is on file in the Borough offices.