[Adopted 11-27-2001 by Ord. No. 1638 (Ch. 18, Part 5, of the
1995 Code)]
This article shall be known as the "City of DuBois Property
and Public Wastewater Treatment System Inspection Ordinance."
This article is adopted under authority of the Pennsylvania
Sewage Facilities Act, Act No. 537 of 1966 (1966, Jan. 24, P.L. 1535,
§ 1, effective July 1, 1967), as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 750.1 et seq.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A certificate issued by the City Manager, stating that the
real property has been inspected and found to be in compliance with
this article.
The duly appointed Manager of the City of DuBois or any person
designated by the City Manager or by the City Council in the absence
of a City Manager as the person authorized to take applications or
conduct inspections under this article.
Any condition on any real property which permits the introduction
into the public wastewater treatment system of any surface water or
groundwater not otherwise required to be treated as wastewater. This
definition includes, but is not limited to, downspouts, roof drains,
sump pumps and surface water drains or pipes.
Any person, firm, association, partnership, corporation or
the chief executive officer or general manager of any firm, association,
partnership or corporation.
Any real property on which is situated any building which
has facilities connected to the public wastewater treatment system
operated by the City of DuBois, or vacant property which has facilities
connected to the public wastewater treatment system operated by the
City of DuBois.
The conveyance of any interest in real property, with or
without consideration, whether by deed, lease, assignment or any other
form of transaction and whether or not the transfer is to a person
related by blood or marriage to the transferor.
A.
Any person intending to transfer any interest in any real property
within the City of DuBois shall, prior to making such transfer, apply
to the City Manager for a certificate of compliance on a form provided
by the City.
B.
Within 14 days after an application is filed with the City Manager,
the City Manager shall cause the real property to be inspected for
compliance with this article. Failure of the City Manager to conduct
an inspection of the premises or to issue a certificate of compliance
within the fourteen-day period shall not be deemed as an approval
of the application.
C.
Within five days after inspection, the City Manager shall issue a
certificate of compliance under this article unless the inspection
of the premises demonstrates the existence of an illegal connection
to the property.
D.
If the inspection demonstrates that the property is not in compliance,
the City Manager shall issue a denial, which identifies the nature
of the violation and the action required by the applicant to correct
the violation.
E.
A certificate of compliance will be valid for one year from the date
of compliance.
A.
Where the applicant is notified of a violation, the applicant shall not transfer the real property until the violation has been corrected, a reinspection has occurred and the City Manager has issued a certificate of compliance, or until the applicant has entered into an escrow arrangement provided under § 340-37 of this article.
B.
When the applicant has corrected the violation, the applicant shall
notify the City Manager of the correction on a form provided by the
City. Within 14 days after receipt of the notice of correction, the
City Manager shall cause the real property to be reinspected. If the
inspection demonstrates that the violation has been corrected, the
City Manager shall issue a certificate of compliance within five days
after completion of the inspection.
C.
Where the reinspection demonstrates that the violation has not been corrected to the requirements of the City, a second notice of violation shall be issued to the applicant, and the procedure for correction and certification of correction shall be the same as for an original inspection, except a reinspection will be charged. No escrow created under § 340-37 shall be distributed until a certificate of compliance is issued by the City Manager.
A.
Where the applicant desires to transfer real property prior to correction
of a violation, the applicant shall make an arrangement with the person
in charge of closing the real property transfer to hold in escrow
an amount sufficient to cover the cost of making the required corrections.
B.
An applicant who proposes to proceed under this section shall first
submit to the City Manager a detailed and reliable estimate from a
qualified plumber of the cost to make such corrections and a statement
from the closing agent for the real estate transaction that 110% of
the cost of making such corrections will be held in an escrow account
until the City Manager issues a certificate of compliance.
C.
Upon approval of the documents described in Subsection B of this section, the City Manager shall give the applicant written authority to proceed with the transfer of the real property.
D.
Upon completion of the corrections, the applicant or the new property owner shall notify the City Manager that repairs have been completed. Within 14 days after receipt of such notice, the City Manager shall cause the real property to be inspected for compliance with this article, and the procedure thereafter shall be conducted in the same manner as provided in § 340-35 of this article.
E.
Where an authorization to proceed is granted under this section,
all violations shall be corrected within 60 days after the authorization
is issued by the City Manager.
A.
No person shall cause or permit the introduction of surface water
or groundwater into the public wastewater treatment system operated
by the City of DuBois in violation of this article.
D.
No person shall distribute any monies held in an escrow arrangement authorized under § 340-37 of this article unless a certificate of compliance has been issued by the City Manager.
E.
A smoke test that reveals sections of the sewer line leaking on adjacent
properties shall result in the adjacent owner(s) being contacted and
given 90 days to correct the problem. Problems that are detected relative
to the City sewer system will be recorded and noted for corrections.
If two or more properties are connected to a common lateral, and the
person requesting the certificate of compliance cannot reach an agreement
with the other owners on repairs, the owner needing the certificate
of compliance may:
A.
By making an application, the applicant grants to the City the right
of entry onto the applicant's property for the purpose of making the
necessary inspection required under this article. Entry shall not
occur except upon prior notice to the applicant and only during regular
business hours or at another reasonable time acceptable to the applicant.
Each application under this article shall be accompanied by
a nonrefundable application fee of $100. A follow-up inspection, if
needed, is included in the $100 fee. Additional inspections will be
charged $100 for each inspection.
The City of DuBois may from time to time conduct inspections
of the lines that comprise the public wastewater treatment system
of the City of DuBois in its continuing effort to properly maintain
and upgrade its system for the benefit of the users of said system.
The public wastewater treatment system of the City of DuBois may be
inspected by the procedures commonly known as smoke testing or dye
testing or by any other method approved within the industry for the
purposes of conducting such inspections upon a public wastewater treatment
system. If such inspections reveal that sections of the sewer lines
are leaking, then the owners of the real property connected to the
offending line will be contacted and given 90 days to correct the
problem through the installation of a new lateral. In such circumstances,
the City will not charge for a sewer tap.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code revisions (see Ch. 1,
General Provisions, Art. II)]
Any person failing to comply with the provisions of this article
shall be subject to the summary offense penalties of 35 P.S. § 750.13
and, in addition thereto, may be subject to the civil penalties of
35 P.S. § 750.13a. Each day of noncompliance shall constitute
a separate offense.
