Every owner of property in the Township of South
Strabane whose property abuts upon any public sanitary sewer presently
in existence or to be constructed in the future by South Strabane
Township Sanitary Authority shall connect, at its own cost, the house,
building or other structures located on said property with the aforementioned
public sanitary sewers for the purpose of disposing of all acceptable
sanitary sewage emanating from said property.
It shall be unlawful for any owner, lessee or
occupier of any property in the Township abutting upon any aforementioned
public sanitary sewer to employ any means, either by septic tank,
cesspool, privy vault, mine hole or otherwise, for the disposal of
acceptable sanitary sewage other than into and through said public
sanitary sewers.
Where any house, building or structure in the
Township abutting upon any aforementioned public sanitary sewer is
now or hereafter may be using any method for the disposal of acceptable
sanitary sewage other than through said public sanitary sewer, it
shall be the duty of the Township Secretary or the authorized representative
of South Strabane Township Sanitary Authority (hereinafter called
the "Authority") to notify the owner, lessee or occupier of such structure,
in writing, either by personal service, certified mail or registered
mail, to disconnect the same and make proper connection for the discharge
and disposal of all acceptable sanitary sewage through the said public
sanitary sewers, as herein provided, within 60 days after receipt
of such notice. Any owner or lessee or occupier of a structure who
cannot comply with the provisions of this section as to connection
within the sixty-day period stipulated above due to causes beyond
his control shall apply to the Authority within said sixty-day period
for a time extension of up to six months in duration. Said application
shall be made on a form to be furnished by the Authority and shall
contain a voluntary agreement on the part of the applicant under which
the applicant shall agree to commence paying the regular monthly sewer
rates immediately, even though actual connection to the public sanitary
sewers will not be accomplished until some stated later date within
the said six-month extension period.
No privy vault, cesspool, septic tank, mine
hole or similar receptacle for human excrement shall at the present
time or at any time hereafter be connected with the aforesaid public
sanitary sewers.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or
corporation connected to any aforementioned public sanitary sewers
to connect any roof drain thereto or permit any roof drain to remain
connected thereto or to permit, allow or cause to enter into said
public sanitary sewers any stormwater, foundation drain water, springwater,
surface water, or any sewage or industrial waste from any property
other than that for which a permit is issued.
No person, firm or corporation shall make or
cause to be made any connection with any of the aforementioned public
sanitary sewers until he has fulfilled all of the following conditions:
A. He shall make application to the Township or the Authority,
as the Township's agent, upon a permit form to be formulated and supplied
by the Township or the Authority, for permission to connect to the
aforementioned public sanitary sewers. Among other things, the applicant
must state the character and use of each structure located upon his
property.
B. He shall pay to the Township or the Authority the
required tap connection fee of $2,500 for the first building or structure
on each property and an additional fee equal to the actual cost to
the Authority for each separate connection requested by the property
owner over the first connection for additional buildings or structures
on the property connected to the aforementioned public sanitary sewers
at the time of making application for permission to make such connection
or connections.
[Amended 6-6-1985 by Ord. No. 6-1985; 12-18-1990 by Ord. No. 3-1990; 10-13-1992 by Ord. No. 6-1992; 6-10-1997 by Ord. No. 7-1997; 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. 1-2006; 7-26-2011 by Ord. No.
5-2011]
C. No work shall commence before the payment of the aforesaid
tap connection fee and issuance of the aforementioned connection permit.
D. He shall give the designated inspector of the Township
or the Authority at least 24 hours' notice of the time when such connection
shall be made in order that said inspector can be present to inspect
and approve the work of connection. The inspector shall signify his
approval of the connection by endorsing his name and the date of approval
on the aforementioned connection permit in the possession of the permittees.
E. At the time of inspection of the connection, the owner
or owners of properties shall permit the inspector full and complete
access to all sanitary and drainage arrangements and facilities in
each building and in and about all parts of the property. No building
sewer line shall be covered over or in any manner concealed until
after it is inspected and approved by said inspector.
[Amended 6-26-2011 by Ord. No. 4-2011]
The construction and number of all building
sewer lines or house service sewers shall be done in accordance with
the specifications, plans and procedures established by the Township
and the Authority in the Sewer System Rules and Regulations, as the
same may be from time to time published and amended, copies of which,
upon adoption, shall be maintained on file with the Township Secretary
and the Authority. In addition hereto, all of the provisions of the
ordinance adopted on July 1, 1954, by the Township concerning sewage
treatment services being provided by the Washington-East Washington
Joint Authority shall be complied with.
If the owner or owners of any occupied houses, buildings or structures in the Township shall neglect or refuse to comply with the provisions of this article or the written notice as prescribed in §
187-15 hereof, the Township or the Authority may perform or cause to be performed such work and labor and furnish or cause to be furnished such material as may be necessary to comply with the provisions of this article at the cost and expense of such owner or owners, together with 10% additional thereof and all charges and expenses incidental thereto, which sum shall be collected from said owner or owners for the use of the Township or the Authority as debts are by law collectible, or the Township or the Authority, as its agent, may, by its proper officer, file a municipal claim or lien therefor against said premises as provided by law.
"Unacceptable sanitary sewage" and other terms
used herein for purposes of this article shall have the same definitions
as those which are set forth in the Sewer System Rules and Regulations,
said rules and regulations to be applicable to all users of the aforementioned
public sanitary sewers.
In addition to any penalty hereinabove prescribed, any person, firm or corporation failing to make a proper connection within the time specified after receipt of proper notice as provided in §
187-15 hereof shall be punishable as provided in §
1-2, Summary proceedings, of the Code of the Township of South Strabane.