[Adopted 11-13-1972 by Ord. No. 12-72 (Ch.
18, Part 1, of the 1988 Code)]
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 meaning of terms used in this article shall
be as follows:
Bethlehem Township Municipal Authority, a Pennsylvania municipal
authority.
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.
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 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.
Bethlehem Township, Northampton 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 is hereby authorized and empowered
to adopt such rules and regulations concerning sewage which it may
deem necessary from time to time to effect the purposes herein.
All such rules and regulations adopted by the
Authority shall be in conformity with the provisions herein, all other
ordinances of the Township and all applicable laws and applicable
rules and regulations of administrative agencies of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
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 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 8-15-1988 by Ord. No. 8-88]
Any person who violates any provisions of § 202-8 shall, upon conviction thereof by summary proceedings, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $300 and costs, and in default of said fine and costs, to undergo imprisonment in the Northampton County Prison for a period not in excess of 90 days.
In addition to any other remedies provided in this article, any violation of § 202-8 shall constitute a nuisance and may be abated by the Township or the Authority by either seeking appropriate equitable or legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.
