[Amended 4-21-2025 by Ord. No. 2025-14]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Coarse material manufactured from stone, gravel or slag, having Type B characteristics as described in Department of Transportation specifications, Form 408, Section 703.3, Table B, and uniform size and grading equivalent to American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials No. 57, as described in Form 408, Section 703.3, Table C.
Areas used primarily for the production of crops and where the soil is without vegetative cover during certain periods of the year.
A method of demonstrated on-lot sewage treatment and disposal not described in this part.
An individual sewage system located on a single lot serving a single-family residence, where soil mottling is within 20 inches of the mineral soil surface, the installation, operation and replacement of which is guaranteed by the property owner.
Piping carrying liquid wastes from a building to the treatment tank or holding tank.
A system of piping, sand media, aggregate and collection piping in a buried liner used for the intermittent filtration and biochemical treatment of sewage.
The Clean Streams Law (35 P.S. § 691.1 to 691.1001).
A system employing the use of demonstrated on-lot sewage treatment and disposal technology in a manner specifically recognized by this article. The term does not include alternate or experimental sewage systems.
The Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The pump housed in a dosing tank which provides a measured volume of sewage effluent to the pressurized distribution system in an absorption area.
For the purpose of determining the number of lots in a subdivision only as it relates to the determination of planning exemptions and fees for planning module reviews under this article, that part of a multiple-family dwelling or commercial or industrial establishment with flows equal to 400 gallons per day (GPD). These flow figures are not intended to be used for the calculation of flows for the design of community sewerage systems or for the allocation of flows related to community sewerage systems. Community sewerage system flows for design and permitting purposes shall be calculated using the procedures established in the Department's Domestic Wastewater Facilities Manual (DEP-1357).
A method of on-lot sewage treatment and disposal not described in this article which is proposed for the purpose of testing and observation.
The tank housing the piping and sand of the free-access sand filter.
Areas where the predominant vegetative cover is comprised of trees with a closed canopy.
An accessible system of tanks, dose piping, sand media, aggregate and collection piping used for the intermittent filtration and biochemical treatment of sewage.
Material consisting of mesh polypropylene, polyester, nylon or similar material, used to prevent migration of fine aggregate into coarser aggregate.
An area where the predominant vegetative cover is comprised of grasses, bushes or trees not forming a closed canopy.
An individual sewage system which serves a single dwelling and which treats and disposes of sewage using a system of piping, treatment tanks and soil renovation through spray irrigation.
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 waters of this commonwealth or by means of conveyance to another site for final disposal.
A liquid, gaseous, radioactive, solid or other substance, which is not sewage, resulting from manufacturing or industry or other plant or works and mine drainage, silt, coal mine solids, rock, debris, dirt and clay from coal mines, coal collieries, breakers or other coal processing operations. The term includes substances whether or not generally characterized as waste.
A submersible pump used to convey effluent to the sand filter and from the sand filter to the chlorine/retention tank.
A soil horizon or condition in the soil profile or underlying strata which includes one of the following:
A seasonal high-water table, whether perched or regional, determined by direct observation of the water table or indicated by soil mottling.
A rock with open joints, fracture or solution channels, or masses of loose rock fragments, including gravel, with insufficient fine soil to fill the voids between the fragments.
A rock formation, other stratum or soil condition which is so slowly permeable that it effectively limits downward passage of effluent.
A municipality (or any combination of municipalities acting cooperatively or jointly under the laws of the commonwealth), county, county department of health or joint county department of health.
A part of a subdivision or a parcel of land used as a building site or intended to be used for building purposes, whether immediate or future, which would not be further subdivided. Whenever a lot is used for a multiple-family dwelling or for commercial, institutional or industrial purposes, the lot shall be deemed to have been subdivided into an equivalent number of single-family residential lots as determined by estimated sewage flows.
A city, incorporated town, township, borough or home rule municipality other than a county.
National Sanitation Foundation.
A Comprehensive Plan for the provision of adequate sewage systems adopted by a municipality possessing authority over the provision of the systems and submitted to and approved by the Department as provided by the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (35 P. S. § 750.1 et seq.) and 25 Pa. Code Ch. 71 (relating to administration of sewage facilities program).
No person may install, award a contract for construction or construct an individual or community on-lot sewage system or install, construct, occupy or use a building to be served by that system without first obtaining a permit from the local agency, except as provided in Subsections C through E.
A permit shall be required by the local agency for alterations or connections to an existing individual or community on-lot sewage system when the alteration or connection requires the repair, replacement or enlargement of a treatment tank or retention tank or the repair, replacement, disturbance, modification or enlargement of a soil absorption area or spray field or the soil within or under the soil absorption area or spray field.
Includes an individual; association; public or private corporation for profit or not for profit; partnership; firm; trust; estate; department; board; bureau or agency of the United States or the commonwealth; political subdivision; municipality; district; authority; or other legal entity which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties. The term includes the members of an association, partnership or firm and the officers of a local agency or municipal, public or private corporation for-profit or not-for-profit.
A private nuisance is an unreasonable, unwarranted, or unlawful use of property - whether public or private - that interferes with an individual's or a limited number of individuals' rights to the quiet, safe, and comfortable enjoyment of their own property. It involves any conduct, condition, or omission that substantially impairs another's reasonable use and enjoyment of their property, causing material annoyance, inconvenience, or harm. Examples may include excessive noise, vibrations, odors, or similar disturbances that affect one or a few property owners or occupants, rather than the community at large.
A public nuisance is an act, condition, or omission that unreasonably and significantly interferes with rights commonly held by the general public - such as those related to public health, safety, peace, comfort, or convenience. Such public nuisances affect an indefinite number of people or the community as a whole and may include activities or conditions that create widespread annoyance, discomfort, alarm, or risk. Public nuisances disrupt public order, diminish the collective quality of life, and may violate statutes, ordinances, or regulations designed to protect the community at large.
A person registered to practice engineering in this commonwealth who has experience in the characterization, classification, mapping and interpretation of soils as they relate to the function of on-lot sewage disposal systems.
A person registered to practice geology in this commonwealth who has experience in the characterization, classification, mapping and interpretation of soils as they relate to the function of on-lot sewage disposal systems.
A person certified as a sewage enforcement officer and who has documented two years' experience in the characterization, classification, mapping and interpretation of soils as they relate to the function of on-lot sewage disposal systems and either a bachelor of science degree in soils science from an accredited college or university or certification by the American Registry of Certified Professionals in Agronomy, Crops and Soils.
A watertight receptacle, which receives and retains sewage and is designed and constructed to facilitate ultimate disposal of the sewage at another site. The term includes the following:
CHEMICAL TOILETA permanent or portable nonflushing toilet using chemical treatment in the retaining tank for odor control.
HOLDING TANKA tank, whether permanent or temporary, to which sewage is conveyed by a water-carrying system.
PRIVYA tank designed to receive sewage where water under pressure is not available.
INCINERATING TOILETA device capable of reducing waste materials to ashes.
COMPOSTING TOILETA device for holding and processing human and organic kitchen waste employing the process of biological degradation through the action of microorganisms to produce a stable, humus-like material.
RECYCLING TOILETA device in which the flushing medium is restored to a condition suitable for reuse in flushing.
A substance that contains the waste products or excrement or other discharge from the bodies of human beings or animals; a substance harmful to the public health, to animal or aquatic life or to the use of water for domestic water supply or for recreation; or a substance which constitutes pollution under the Clean Streams Law.[1]
An official of the local agency who reviews permit applications and sewage facilities planning modules and issues permits as authorized by the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (35 P. S. § 750.1 et seq.) and conducts the investigations and inspections that are necessary to implement the Act and regulations thereunder.
A system of sewage collection, conveyance, treatment and disposal which will prevent the discharge of untreated or inadequately treated sewage or other waste into waters of this commonwealth or otherwise provide for the safe and sanitary treatment and disposal of sewage or other waste. The term includes:
INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE SYSTEMA 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 waters of this commonwealth or by means of conveyance to another site for final disposal.
INDIVIDUAL ON-LOT SEWAGE SYSTEMAn individual sewage system which uses a system of piping, tanks or other facilities for collecting, treating or disposing of sewage into a soil absorption area or spray field or by retention in a retaining tank.
INDIVIDUAL SEWERAGE SYSTEMAn individual sewage system which uses a method of sewage collection, conveyance, treatment and disposal other than renovation in a soil absorption area, or retention in a retaining tank.
COMMUNITY SEWAGE SYSTEMA sewage facility, whether publicly or privately owned, for the collection of sewage from two or more lots or two or more equivalent dwelling units and the treatment or disposal, or both, of the sewage on one or more of the lots or at another site.
COMMUNITY ON-LOT SEWAGE SYSTEMA community sewage system which uses a system of piping, tanks or other facilities for collecting, treating and disposing of sewage into a soil absorption area or retaining tank.
COMMUNITY SEWERAGE SYSTEMA publicly or privately owned community sewage system, which uses a method of sewage collection, conveyance, treatment and disposal other than renovation in a soil absorption area, or retention in a retaining tank.
A written permit issued by the Sewage Enforcement Officer, permitting the construction of an individual sewage system under this article.
Individual or community sewerage system designed to adequately treat sewage flows not greater than 2,000 GPD for final disposal using a stream discharge or other methods approved by the Department.
A layer of soil approximately parallel to the soil surface with characteristics produced by soil-forming processes.
A soil color pattern consisting of patches of different colors or shades of color interspersed with the dominant soil color which results from prolonged saturation of the soil.
The collection of soil horizons, including the natural organic layers on the surface.
A deflection device at the outlet tee or baffle of a septic tank designed to deflect buoyed solids from escaping the tank.
Piping, spray heads and ground surface to the outside edges of the wetted perimeter, used for the application and treatment of the sewage effluent in an individual residential spray irrigation system.
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or other parcel of land into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions of land, including changes in existing lot lines. The enumerating of lots shall include as a lot that portion of the original tract or tracts remaining after other lots have been subdivided therefrom.
A watertight tank designed to retain sewage long enough for satisfactory bacterial decomposition of the solids to take place. The term includes the following:
SEPTIC TANKA treatment tank that provides for anaerobic decomposition of sewage prior to its discharge to an absorption area.
AEROBIC SEWAGE TREATMENT TANKA mechanically aerated treatment tank that provides aerobic biochemical stabilization of sewage prior to its discharge to an absorption area.
Soil or soil profile, unaltered by removal or other man-induced changes, except for agricultural activities, that would adversely affect the siting or operation of on-lot systems.
Rivers, streams, creeks, rivulets, impoundments, ditches, watercourses, storm sewers, lakes, dammed water, ponds, springs and other bodies or channels of conveyance of surface and underground water, or of their parts, whether natural or artificial, within or on the boundaries of this commonwealth.
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Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 691.1 et seq.