[Adopted 5-27-1968 by Ord. No. 223, approved 5-27-1968]
[Amended 8-10-2021, approved 8-10-2021]
Every owner of property in the Borough of Masontown service area whose property abuts upon any public sanitary sewer presently in existence or to be constructed in the future shall connect, at his 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 Borough of Masontown abutting upon any 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 Borough abutting upon any 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 sewers, it shall be the duty of the Borough Secretary, or such other person as shall be authorized by the Borough Council, 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.
A. 
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.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation connected to the 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 sewer any stormwater, foundation drain water, springwater or surface water or to permit or allow to enter into said public sanitary sewers any sewage or industrial waste from any property other than that for which a permit is issued.
C. 
The above prohibited connections provisions shall apply to all past, present and future persons, firms or corporations connected to the aforementioned public sanitary sewers.
[Added 8-12-1997, approved 8-12-1997]
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 Borough upon a permit form to be formulated and supplied by the Borough 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. 
Tap-in fee; approved connections;
[Amended 6-26-1979, approved 6-27-1979; 6-9-1987 by Ord. No. 1987-1, approved 6-9-1987; 5-28-2002, approved 5-28-2002; 8-10-2021 approved 8-10-2021]
(1) 
He shall pay the required tap-in fee in effect and set by regulations adopted by the Borough to the Borough or its designated agent at the time of making application for permission to make a connection.
Tap Fee Schedule
Size of Sewer Connection
(inches)
Tap Fee
6
$1,250
Other
TBD
(2) 
The connection to the Borough's sewage system shall be made by Borough personnel using approved tapping saddle or wye connections in accordance with the specifications, plans and procedures established by the Borough. Said connection will be extended to the owner's property line. Should the cost of physically making the connection exceed the tap-in fee, the property owner shall be responsible for paying the additional costs.
C. 
No work shall commence before the payment of the aforesaid tap-in fee and issuance of the aforementioned connection permit.
D. 
He shall give the designated inspector of the Borough 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 permittee.
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.
The construction of all building sewer lines or house service sewers shall be done in accordance with the specifications, plans and procedures established by the Borough, as the same may be from time to time published and amended, copies of which shall be placed on file with the Borough Secretary.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 7A, added 11-9-1970, approved 11-9-1970, which immediately followed this section and dealt with the expense of laying new public sanitary sewer lines, was repealed 4-23-1973, approved 5-14-1973.
[Added 6-26-1979, approved 6-27-1979; amended 6-9-1987 by Ord. No. 1987-1, approved 6-9-1987]
The expense of the laying of any new public sewer line or the extension of any existing sewer line shall be borne by the abutting property owners on a front-foot basis. The Borough reserves the right to waive the above assessment as to any property owner who, at the time of any extension, is currently connected to the existing sewer system and who shall not receive any actual or potential benefits from the extension of the existing sewer line.
Unless written permission is obtained from the Borough, separate connections and tap-in fees will be required for each individual occupied building, whether constructed as a detached unit or as one of a pair or row, but a single connection will be permitted to serve a school, factory, apartment house or other permanent multiple-unit structure whose individual apartments or units may not be subject to separate ownership. The Borough, however, does not assure any obligation or responsibility for damages caused by or resulting from any permitted single connection for multiple units as aforementioned.
If the owner or owners of any occupied house, building or structure in the Borough shall neglect or refuse to comply with the provisions of this article or the written notice as prescribed in § 115-9 hereof, the Borough 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 Borough as debts are by law collectible, or the said Borough may, by its proper officer, file a municipal claim or lien therefor against said premises as provided by law.
The term "acceptable sanitary sewage" is defined as that sewage or industrial waste which shall not:
A. 
Have a temperature higher than 100° F.
B. 
Contain more than 120 parts per million by weight of tar, oil or grease.
C. 
Contain any gasoline, benzine, naphtha, fuel oil or other flammable or explosive liquids, solids or gases.
D. 
Contain any garbage which has not been ground up by household-type or other suitable garbage grinders.
E. 
Contain any ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, paunch manure, cotton, wool or other fibers or any other solid or viscous substances capable of causing interference with the proper operation of the public utility system.
F. 
Have a pH lower than 5.5 or higher than 8.5 or have any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazards to structures, equipment or personnel of the public utility system.
G. 
Contain any toxic or poisonous substance in sufficient quantity to damage or interfere with any sewage treatment process, constitute hazards to humans or create any hazard in the operation of the public utility system. "Toxic wastes," by definition, shall include but not be limited to wastes containing cyanide, chromium and/or copper ions.
H. 
Contain noxious or malodorous gases or substances capable of creating a public nuisance.
The Borough reserves the right to refuse permission to connect, to compel discontinuance of use or to compel pretreatment of industrial wastes or unacceptable sanitary sewage at the expense of the owner in order to prevent discharges deemed harmful or to have a deleterious effect upon any portion of the public utility system. The Borough also reserves the right to require users having large variations in rates of waste discharge to install acceptable regulating devices for equalizing waste flows at the users' expense. The Borough's representatives shall have access at all reasonable time to all premises in the Borough to inspect and test any privately owned meters used for establishing or determining water consumption, water excluded from the public utility system and sewage or wastewaters discharged to the public utility system from said premises.
[Amended 6-9-1987 by Ord. No. 1987-1, approved 6-9-1987]
Any person who shall violate any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable by a fine of not more than $300 and costs of such proceedings or, upon default of payment of such fine and costs, by imprisonment in the county jail for a term of not more than 30 days; provided, however, that if the District Justice determines that the defendant is without the financial means to pay the fines and costs immediately or in a single remittance, such defendant shall be permitted to pay the fines or costs in installments and over such periods of time as the District Justice deems to be just.