[Adopted 7-27-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-01]
No manhole forming part of a public sanitary line within the
Township shall be elevated, except as hereinafter provided:
A.
In the event a person, individual, corporation, partnership or other
entity desires a manhole owned or maintained by THTMA[1] to be elevated, raised or altered in any way, said person,
individual, corporation, partnership or other entity shall make a
written request to THTMA.
[1]
Editor's Note: As set forth in the preamble to Ord. No. 2009-01,
THTMA refers to The Hempfield Township Municipal Authority.
B.
THTMA shall, within 10 business days of receipt of said request, either grant or deny permission for the elevation or alteration of said manhole or manholes. Subject to the exceptions set forth hereafter at Subsection D, the cost of elevating said manhole shall be borne by the person, individual, corporation, partnership or other entity for whom the request has been made; and the elevation of said manhole shall be accomplished by employees, agents, servants or workmen of THTMA or independent contractors for which prior written approval has been given by THTMA.
C.
In order to assure the payment for the cost of elevating the manhole(s),
the person, individual, corporation, partnership or other entity requesting
the elevation shall accomplish the following:
(1)
The sum of $500 or such greater amount as is estimated by THTMA's
Engineer as the expected cost of elevation of such manhole shall be
deposited with THTMA before any work is accomplished.
(2)
All work performed by THTMA in elevation of said manhole(s) shall
be charged against the amount of the deposit, which charge to include
the cost of materials, together with labor charges, in accordance
with the fee schedule published from time to time by THTMA.
(3)
Upon completion of the work, the balance of the deposit over and
above the cost of completion of the work shall be reimbursed unto
the applicant by THTMA, along with an itemized breakdown for the work,
with such reimbursement to be made within 30 days of completion.
D.
Any manholes which are required to be elevated in any public road,
public right-of-way or property owned by the Township as part of the
maintenance or improvement of such road or right of the Supervisors
by THTMA force work, with all deposits and costs for such work to
be waived.
No manhole located within the Township limits may be covered
by any substance, including dirt, concrete, asbestos or any other
material or substance by any person, individual, corporation, partnership
or other entity, and provided the following:
A.
The prohibition contained hereunder shall extend to the property
owners and any agent, employee or independent contractor acting for
or on behalf of such property owner.
B.
The prohibition contained herein shall extend to all manholes, whether
located on private property or within private or public rights-of-way,
whether contained wholly or partially within the cartway of such rights-of-way.
C.
THTMA is specifically empowered to grant exemptions to such prohibition
and, in the event that such exemption is granted, then THTMA shall
cause to be issued a certificate of exemption which will be the sole
and conclusive evidence of the grant of such exemption.
No sanitary sewer right-of-way currently or hereinafter located
in the Township and owned by either the Township or THTMA or which
is otherwise located in a private or public roadway or a street or
an unopened street or right-of-way of record shall be encumbered in
any manner as set forth hereinafter:
A.
No structure(s) shall be constructed or installed within the limits
of the permanent easement of such right-of-way and which prohibited
structure(s) shall include (but not be limited to) garages, swimming
pools, utility sheds, doghouses or other structures of either a temporary
or permanent basis.
B.
Fences may be installed; however, subject to the rights of either
the Township or THTMA at any time to remove such fence to perform
maintenance, repair or replacement of a public sewer line. In this
regard, any damage caused to such fence by reason of such removal
shall be borne by the owner of such fence, and neither the Township
nor THTMA shall have any obligation with respect to the repair, replacement
or maintenance of any fence so removed. Further, said fence shall
be in compliance with all other applicable codes, ordinances, resolutions
or regulations of the Township.
C.
Any plants or shrubbery located within the limitations of such right-of-way
shall be at the risk of the underlying owner of the property, and
may be removed by either the Township or THTMA as may be required
for performance of any maintenance, repair or replacement of any public
sewer lines; and neither the Township nor THTMA shall have any obligation
to the underlying property owner for any loss, repair or replacement
of any flowers or shrubbery which may be disrupted by such event.
D.
In the event there are any trees, shrubs or any structures located
within sewer line rights-of-way which, in the opinion of the consulting
engineer of THTMA, is causing or may cause or contribute to the blockage
of any public sewer line, or may cause any portion of such public
sewer line to be disrupted or otherwise cause injury to the public
sewer line, then THTMA may forward written notice of the same to the
property owner who shall cause the offending trees or shrubs to be
removed at his own cost and expense within 30 days from the date of
said notice; and, in the event of nonremoval, then THTMA shall have
the right to enter upon the right-of-way for the purposes of removing
such trees, shrubs or structures; with all costs to be taxed against
the property owner; and, in the event of nonpayment, the same shall
be filed as a municipal lien in accordance with appropriate statutory
law. In the event that THTMA causes the removal of the same, then
it may do so without being responsible to the property owner for the
cost of replacement of such trees, shrubs or structures, and no resulting
damage shall inure to the benefit of the property owner by reason
of the action taken by THTMA under the authority hereunder.
THTMA, through its authorized representatives, shall have the right to enter upon any property serviced by a public sewer line (whether or not the public sewer line is located on the property) for the purpose of inspection of any lateral sewer line connections within the Township. Any rights of entry hereunder shall be purposed to determine whether or not the lateral sewer lines or any source of effluent into such sewer line are otherwise in accordance with Chapter 67 of the Code of the Township of Hempfield and in accordance with the rules and regulations of THTMA, and also whether or not such lateral sewer lines are the source or cause of any infiltration of inflow into any public sewer lines located within the Township. The right of entry authorized hereunder shall also include the right to inspect any and all such lateral sewer lines (and any connection thereto) through dye testing, air testing, smoke testing or utilization of one or more portable t.v. cameras or such similar testing as may be used from time to time by THTMA, and also to inspect surface drains and lines to determine whether or not the same are connected into or intersect with any sanitary sewer lines, the effluent from which enters any public sewer line. In the event that as a result of such inspection, it is determined that any malfunction or defects are present and either infiltration or inflow are discovered or it is determined that nonpermissible materials are entering any public sewer lines, then the property owner and occupancy of the property upon which the source of such inflow or infiltration is located, given notice thereof, and which property owner shall be given a period not to exceed 30 days from receipt of written notice to cause the defective condition to be repaired or restored. In the event any property owner fails or refuses to perform the necessary corrective action within the time permitted, THTMA, through its authorized representatives shall have the right to enter upon said property for the purpose of causing such necessary corrective action and, in which event, any costs incurred by THTMA shall be reimbursed by the property owner and, in lieu thereof, shall be entered as a municipal lien under the applicable laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Any person, individual, corporation, partnership or other entity who shall violate any section of this Part 5 shall, upon conviction thereof before any District Justice, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $300 for each and every offense and costs and, in default of payment of said fines and costs, shall be imprisoned in the Westmoreland County Jail for a period not exceeding 30 days until such fine and costs are paid in full. Whenever such person shall have been notified in writing by the Township, or its duly appointed agent for such purpose, that such person is violating this Part 5, each full week that such person shall continue such violation after receipt of such notification shall constitute a separate offense, punishable by a like fine hereunder upon conviction thereof.
Any person violating any provisions of this chapter as a result
of which violation the Township or THTMA incurs costs and expenses
resulting from said violation and any resulting repair or clean-up
work resulting therefrom, shall be liable for and responsible for
said costs as set forth hereafter.
The method of enforcement and collection of the costs incurred
and permitted under this Part 5 shall be by either:
