[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of East Petersburg 7-5-2000 by Ord. No. 214. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
Borough residents depend on groundwater as a
water supply source, and significant Borough resources have been committed
to the development of groundwater supply sources. Because ground source
heat pump systems are constructed in the ground or use groundwater,
these systems create a potential for water quality degradation. Therefore,
the Borough Council finds that the installation, use and maintenance
of ground source heat pump systems are matters of legitimate concerns
with respect to public health, safety and welfare and that the regulation
of installation, use and maintenance of ground source heat pump systems
is warranted.
The following words and phrases shall have the
meanings set forth below:
The Borough of East Petersburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
The Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania or any agency successor thereto.
Ground source heat pump.
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation
or other legally recognized entity and the members of such partnership
and the officers of such corporation.
No person shall install, construct, drill or
excavate to facilitate the construction or installation of a GSHP
for use as a heating and/or cooling system for a structure without
first obtaining a GSHP permit from the Borough. No person shall drill
or excavate to repair or modify or to facilitate the repair or modification
of a GSHP system in the Borough without first obtaining a GSHP permit.
All GSHP systems installed and/or repaired or
modified within the Borough after the effective date of this chapter
shall comply with all of the following specifications:
A.
All ground source heat pump systems shall be closed
systems. No open-loop ground source heat pump systems shall be permitted.
B.
The installation specifications and drawings for the
GSHP shall be submitted to and approved by the Borough as conforming
to the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA)
installation standards, as same may be amended and updated from time
to time, and currently found in Appendix 1 of the GSHP Manual of the
DEP.
C.
Grout shall be mixed, pumped and placed in accordance
with the procedures recommended by the International Ground Source
Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) in its publication entitled "Grouting
Procedures for Ground Source Heat Pump Systems" (available from Ground
Source Heat Pump Publications, Oklahoma University, Stillwater, Oklahoma).
Acceptable grout materials are as follows:
D.
The vertical GSHP well (or wells) installation shall
be made only by a Pennsylvania-licensed well driller.
E.
No GSHP system shall be located within 100 feet of
any existing drinking water wells or any planned drinking water wells.
F.
With respect to each GSHP well installation, the Pennsylvania-licensed
well driller and/or GSHP installer shall provide the Borough before
activation of GSHP system:
(1)
Accurate written records and a written geologic log.
(2)
Accurate records with respect to grouting for each
such well.
(3)
As-built plans and related documentation for each
such system and well location.
(4)
Written documentation of the GSHP system testing and
certification.
(5)
A written plan for the operation of the GSHP system
(which meets specifications of the manufacturer of the GSHP system
equipment and is approved by the system installer) which, among other
matters, provides that:
(a)
Any GSHP system leaks or releases will be reported
by the applicant (and subsequent owners) to the Borough within 24
hours of the discovery of same, and the applicant (and subsequent
owners) covenants and agrees to take all appropriate action to minimize
any fluid release to the ground to promptly repair any system leaks.
(b)
In the event of the proposed discontinuance
of the use of the GSHP system, a system closure plan will be prepared
and submitted to the Borough for its approval.
G.
All GSHP systems in areas underlain by carbonate bedrock
must be vertical loop systems. Outside the carbonate bedrock areas,
either vertical or horizontal closed-loop GSHP systems may be used,
subject, however, to the review and approval of the plans for same
by the Borough.
H.
No GSHP system shall be connected in any way to any
sanitary or stormwater sewage disposal system.
I.
The piping for GSHP systems must be made of polyethylene
or polybutylene or a material approved by the Borough.
J.
Only water or potassium acetate may be used as the
circulating fluid for GSHP systems, unless similar inert fluid is
approved for use by the Borough.
The Borough Council shall designate the Zoning
Officer to administer this chapter. The officer so designated by the
Borough Council shall have the authority to accept applications, collect
fees, issue permits and conduct inspections under this chapter.
The applicants for GSHP permits shall pay all
fees for application and inspection as established by ordinance or
resolution of the Borough Council. No application shall be considered
complete until the fee is paid.
Maintenance of GSHP systems as follows:
A.
All GSHP systems shall be properly maintained in accordance
with manufacturers' specifications, the installers' specifications,
and any applicable DEP or federal regulations.
B.
Any person who owns a lot upon which a GSHP system
is installed and any person who occupies a structure which is served
by a GSHP system shall be responsible for maintaining the GSHP system.
C.
If a GSHP system malfunctions, the person responsible
for the maintenance of the GSHP system shall take all action necessary
to repair, modify or alter the GSHP system to eliminate the malfunction.
It shall be a violation of this chapter to commit
or permit any other person to commit any of the following acts:
A.
To install, repair, modify or alter a GSHP system
prior to obtaining a permit or in a manner which violates the terms
and conditions of any permit.
B.
To misuse or fail to maintain a GSHP system.
C.
To fail to report a malfunctioning GSHP system.
D.
To fail to remedy a malfunctioning GSHP system.
E.
To place false information on or omit relevant information
from an application for a GSHP permit.
F.
To fail to comply with any other provision of this
chapter.
Any person who has violated or permitted the
violation of any provision of this chapter shall, upon being found
liable thereof in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the
Borough, pay a judgment of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000
plus all court costs, including the reasonable attorneys' fees incurred
by the Borough as a result thereof. No judgment shall be imposed until
the date of the determination of a violation by the Magisterial District
Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment,
the Borough may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules
of civil procedure. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute
a separate violation.
