[Ord. 95-5, 11/13/1995, § I]
1. 
This Part shall be known as the "Smith Township Onlot Sewage Disposal System Permit Ordinance."
2. 
This Part is adopted pursuant to Section 7(a)(1) of the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act, as amended [35 P.S. § 740.7(a)(1)].
3. 
The purpose of this Part is to provide for the permitting of all on-lot sewage disposal systems within the Township in accordance with the standards and regulations of 25 Pa. Code, Chapters 72 and 73, including those systems otherwise eligible for an exemption from the permitting requirements of the Act, as authorized by Section 7(a)(1) of the Act and to provide that all systems permitted by the Department of Environmental Resources such as, but not limited to, spray irrigation, small flow treatment facility and the like, shall also be permitted when deemed appropriate by the appropriate officer or representative of the Department of Environmental Resources.
[Ord. 95-5, 11/13/1995, § II]
1. 
From and after the effective date of this Part, all persons proposing to install an on-lot sewage disposal system on any lot within the Township, including those persons proposing to install such a system on a lot 10 acres or larger and who are otherwise qualified for a permit exemption in accordance with the provisions of Section 7(a)(1) of the Act, shall apply to the Township for a permit for the installation of such system. The permit requirements for properties that meet the ten-acre exemptions shall only be to the extent that the same are required under the aforesaid Act, wherein any and all exemptions provided by the same shall apply to all applicable properties in the Township.
2. 
No person shall install or commence construction of any on-lot sewage disposal system for which a permit is required until such permit has been issued by a Sewage Enforcement Officer employed by or contracted to the Township.
[Ord. 95-5, 11/13/1995, § III]
1. 
Any person violating any of the provisions of this Part shall be subject to the civil and criminal penalties authorized pursuant to Sections 13 and 13.1 of the Act, as amended. [Note — the penalties are not specified here because of the delayed effective date of the penalty provisions of the 1994 amendments to the Act. Those provisions become effective December 15, 1995. Thus, the incorporation by reference.]
2. 
In addition to the penalties for noncompliance set forth in Subsection 1 above, it is further provided that all of the civil and equitable remedies set forth in Sections 12, 14 and 15 of the Act (35 P.S. §§ 750.12, 750.14 and 750.15), as amended, shall be applicable to violations of this Part.
[Ord. 2009-2, 4/13/2009]
The Township reaffirms the delegation to the Washington County Sewage Council to administer the requirements of Act 537 and the Smith Township ordinances governing all aspects of on-lot sewage collection, treatment and discharge.
[Ord. 2009-2, 4/13/2009]
As used in this Part, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ACT 537
The act of January 24, 1966, P.L. 1535, as amended, 53 P.S. § 750.1 et seq., known as the "Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act."
ALTERNATE ON-LOT SEWAGE SYSTEMS
Any on-lot sewage system so designated as an alternate type by the Department of Environmental Protection.
AUTHORIZED AGENT
A certified sewage enforcement officer, code enforcement officer, professional engineer, plumbing inspector, municipal secretary, or any other qualified or licensed person who is delegated by the municipality to function within the specified limits as the agent of the municipality to carry out the provisions of this Part 4B.
BOARD
The Board of Supervisors, Smith Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania.
CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER (CEO)
An individual employed by the municipality to administer and enforce other ordinances in the municipality.
COMMUNITY SEWAGE SYSTEM
Any system, whether publicly or privately owned, for collection of sewage from two or more lots and the treatment and/or disposal of the sewage on one or more lots or at any other site.
DEPARTMENT
The Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE SYSTEM
A system of piping, tanks or other facilities serving a single lot and collecting and disposing of sewage in whole or in part into the soil or into any waters of the commonwealth.
MALFUNCTION
The condition which occurs when an on-lot sewage disposal system discharges sewage onto the surface of the ground, into groundwaters of the commonwealth, or into surface waters of the commonwealth, backs up into the building connected to the system, or otherwise causes a nuisance hazard to the public health or pollution of ground- or surface water or contamination of public or private drinking water wells. Systems shall be considered to be malfunctioning if any of the conditions noted above occur for any length of time during any period of the year.
MARGINAL SOIL CONDITIONS
Anytime the municipality's certified sewage enforcement officer determines a parcel or lot as having marginal soils after properly treating said parcel or lot.
MUNICIPALITY
Smith Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania.
OFFICIAL SEWAGE FACILITIES PLAN
A comprehensive plan for the provision of adequate sewage disposal systems, adopted by the municipality and approved by the Department of Environmental Protection, as described in and required by the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act.
ON-LOT DISPOSAL SYSTEM
Any system for disposal of sewage involving pretreatment and subsequent disposal of the clarified sewage into the soil for final treatment and disposal; including both individual sewage systems and community sewage systems, including but not limited to drip irrigation systems, AB out systems, small stream discharge systems, community on-lot systems and any other currently DEP-approved sewage disposal systems or which may be approved by DEP in the future, it being the intent of this Part to address all such systems.
PERSON
Any individual, association, public or private corporation for profit or not for profit, partnership, firm, trust, estate, department, board, bureau or agency of the commonwealth, political subdivision, municipality, district, authority, or any other legal entity whatsoever which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties. Whenever used in any clause prescribing and imposing a penalty or imposing a fine or imprisonment, the term shall include the members of an association, partnership or firm and the officers of any local agency or municipal, public or private corporation for profit or not for profit.
REHABILITATION
Work done to modify, alter, repair, enlarge or replace an existing on-lot sewage disposal system.
REPLACEMENT AREA
A portion of a lot or a developed property, sized to allow installation of a subsurface sewage disposal area, which is reserved to allow that installation in the event of the malfunction of the originally installed on-lot disposal system.
SEWAGE
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 substances 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, or which constitutes pollution under the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L. 1987, No. 394), known as "The Clean Stream Law," as amended.
SEWAGE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER (SEO)
The designated official of the municipality who issues and reviews permit applications and conducts such investigations and inspections as are necessary to implement Act 537 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, which includes the WCSC/Council.
SEWAGE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Any area or areas of a municipality for which a sewage management program is recommended by the municipality's adopted Act 537 Official Sewage Facilities Plan. A sewage management district may, or may not, encompass the entire municipality.
SEWAGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
A comprehensive set of legal and administrative requirements encompassing the requirements of this Part and other administrative requirements adopted by the municipality to effectively enforce and administer this Part.
WASHINGTON COUNTY SEWAGE COUNCIL (WCSC)
The Washington County Sewage Council, an intergovernmental cooperative organization which provides certain services to member municipalities.
[Ord. 2009-2, 4/13/2009]
From the effective date of this Part, its provisions shall apply in any portion of the municipality identified in the municipality's Act 537 Official Sewage Facilities Plan as a sewage management district. Within such an area or areas, the provisions of this Part shall apply to all persons owning any property serviced by a now on-lot sewage disposal system and to all persons installing or rehabilitating or repairing on-lot sewage disposal systems with a new alternate-type system. If necessary, the entire municipality may be identified as a sewage management district.
[Ord. 2009-2, 4/13/2009]
1. 
Any supplements or revisions to the municipality's Official Sewage Facilities Plan which are prepared pursuant to the applicable regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for subdivision or development of land within an identified sewage management district shall provide for the testing, identification, and reservation of an area of each lot or developed property suitable for the installation of a replacement on-lot sewage disposal system. This requirement is in addition to the testing, identification and reservation of an area for the primary sewage disposal system.
2. 
No permit shall be issued for any proposed on-lot sewage disposal system on any newly created or subdivided property in any sewage management district that has any lots designated as marginal soils unless and until a replacement area is approved, identified and reserved for the lots with the marginal soils designation. The replacement area must be identified on the land survey at the time of subdivision approval.
[Ord. 2009-2, 4/13/2009]
This § 425 is only applicable when the Township revises its Official Sewage Facilities Plan and is only applicable to the area or areas affected by such revision.
A. 
Any on-lot sewage disposal system may be inspected by the municipality's authorized agent at any reasonable time as of the effective date of this Part.
B. 
The inspection may include a physical tour of the property, the taking of samples from surface water, wells, or other groundwater sources, the sampling of the contents of the sewage disposal system itself and/or the introduction of a traceable substance into the interior plumbing of the structure served to ascertain the path and ultimate destination of wastewater generated in the structure.
C. 
The municipality's authorized agent shall have the right to enter upon land for purposes of inspection described above.
D. 
An initial inspection shall be conducted by the municipality's authorized agent within one year of the effective date of this Part for the purpose of determining the type and functional status of each on-lot sewage disposal system in the sewage management district. A written report shall be furnished to the owner of each property inspected as evidence of said inspection, and a copy of said report shall be maintained in the municipal records.
E. 
A schedule of routine inspections may be established by the municipality, if necessary, to assure the proper function of the on-lot sewage disposal systems in the sewage management district.
F. 
The municipality and its authorized agent shall inspect systems known to be, or alleged to be, malfunctioning. Should said inspections reveal that the system is indeed malfunctioning, the municipality and its authorized agent shall take action to require the correction of the malfunction. If total correction is not technically or financially feasible, in the opinion of the authorized agent and a representative of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, then action by the property owner to mitigate the malfunction shall be required.
G. 
There may arise geographic areas within the municipality where numerous on-lot sewage disposal systems are malfunctioning. A resolution of these area-wide problems may necessitate detailed planning and a municipality-sponsored revision to the area's Act 537 Official Sewage Facilities Plan. When a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection authorized Official Sewage Facilities Plan revision has been undertaken by the municipality, mandatory repair or replacement of individual malfunctioning sewage disposal systems within the study area may be delayed, at the discretion of the municipality, pending the outcome of the plan revision process. However, the municipality may compel immediate corrective action whenever a malfunction, as determined by the municipal officials and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, represents a serious public health or environmental threat.
[Ord. 2009-2, 4/13/2009]
1. 
Only normal domestic wastes shall be discharged into any on-lot sewage disposal system. The following shall not be discharged into the system:
A. 
Industrial wastes;
B. 
Automobile oil and other nondomestic oil;
C. 
Toxic or hazardous substances or chemicals, including but not limited to pesticides, disinfectants, acids, paints, paint thinners, herbicides, gasoline and other solvents; or
D. 
Clean surface water or groundwater, including water from roof or cellar drains, springs, basement sump pumps and french drains.
[Ord. 2009-2, 4/13/2009]
1. 
The provisions of this Part are not applicable to conventional leech field and sand mound sewage systems.
2. 
The provisions of this Part are applicable to all new alternate systems currently listed in the DEP Alternate Systems Guidance Manual as well as other alternate on-lot sewage systems subsequently approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
3. 
The provisions of this Part are applicable to community on-lot disposal systems, small stream discharge systems and holding tanks.
4. 
The provisions of this Part are applicable to on-lot disposal systems located in subdivisions with marginal conditions for long-term use of on-lot sewage disposal.
5. 
The Township specifically delegates to WCSC the enforcement of the provisions of this Part, any other Township and DEP requirements, rules, regulators and provisions regarding municipal governance and enforcement of on-lot sewage systems, except as to malfunction of any such systems, which shall be addressed by the Township.
6. 
The Township and the WCSC shall jointly prepare and approve, by resolution, rules, regulations and requirements for on-lot septic systems applicable to this Part, including permitting approval and maintenance of said systems.
[Ord. 2009-2, 4/13/2009]
1. 
Any person failing to comply with any provisions of this Part shall be subject to a fine of not less than $300 and costs, and not more than $500 and costs, or in default thereof shall be confined in the county jail for a period of not more than 30 days. Each day of noncompliance shall constitute a separate offense.
2. 
The penalty for actual malfunctions of any on-lot sewage septic system will come under the rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania Code, Title 73, Section 73.11(c), and the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes (Health and Safety), Title 35, § 150.14, Nuisance, and Title 35, § 750.13, Penalties.