[Adopted 2-20-1964 by Ord. No. 262 (Ch. XX, Part 1, of the 1971 Code
of Ordinances)]
Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise,
the meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
Tamaqua Borough Authority, a municipal authority of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
The Borough of Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania,
a municipal corporation of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, acting
by and through its Council or, in appropriate cases, acting by and
through its authorized representatives.
The extension from the sewage drainage system of any structure
to the lateral of a sewer.
The group of elected officials acting as the governing body
of the Borough.
The unit of measure by which a charge is assessed upon each
improved property, which shall be deemed to constitute the equivalent
amount of wastewater discharged by an average single-family dwelling
unit.
[Added 9-18-2001 by Ord.
No. 544]
Any property located within this Borough upon which there
is erected a structure intended for continuous or periodic habitation,
occupancy or use by human beings or animals and from which structure
sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes shall be or may be discharged.
Any solid, liquid or gaseous substance or form of energy
ejected or escaping in the course of any industrial, manufacturing,
trade or business process or in the course of the development, recovery
or processing of natural resources, as distinct from sanitary sewage.
That part of the sewer system extending from a sewer to the
curbline or, if there shall be no curbline, to the property line or,
if no such lateral shall be provided, then "lateral" shall mean that
portion of, or place in, a sewer which is provided for connection
of any building sewer.
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any property located in this Borough.
Any individual, firm, partnership, company, association,
society, trust, corporation or other group or entity.
The normal water-carried household and toilet wastes from
any improved property.
Any pipe, main or conduit constituting a part of the sewer
system and used or usable for collecting and transporting sanitary
sewage and industrial wastes.
All facilities, as of any particular time, for collecting,
transporting, pumping, treating and disposing of sanitary sewage and
industrial wastes, situate in or adjacent to this Borough, owned by
the Authority and leased to this Borough for operation and use.
Includes any street, road, lane, court, alley, public square
or highway.
[Amended 5-6-1975 by Ord.
No. 348; 9-18-2001 by Ord. No. 543]
All owners of improved property whose structure is within 150
feet of any public sewer line shall be required to connect thereto
for the purpose of discharge of all sanitary sewage and industrial
wastes from such improved property, subject to such rules and regulations
as may be adopted by the Council of the Borough of Tamaqua.
All sanitary sewage and industrial wastes from any improved property, after connection of such improved property with a sewer, as required under § 260-2 of this article, shall be conducted and discharged into such sewer, subject to such rules, regulations, limitations and restrictions as shall be established herein or otherwise shall be established by this Borough, from time to time.
A.
No privy vault, cesspool, sinkhole, septic tank or similar receptacle shall be used or maintained upon any improved property, after the expiration of the time specified in § 260-2 of this article, from which improved property connection with a sewer shall have been made or shall be required to be made; and it shall be unlawful for any owner of an improved property, after the expiration of the time specified in § 260-2 of this article, to erect, construct, use or maintain thereon any privy vault, cesspool, sinkhole, septic tank or similar receptacle for disposition of sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes or to discharge sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes in any manner other than into the sewer system.
B.
Every such privy vault, cesspool, sinkhole, septic tank or similar
receptacle shall be abandoned and, at the discretion of this Borough,
shall be cleansed and filled at the expense of the owner of such improved
property, under the direction and supervision of this Borough; and
any such privy vault, cesspool, sinkhole, septic tank or similar receptacle
not so abandoned and, if required by this Borough cleansed and filled,
shall constitute a nuisance and such nuisance may be abated, as provided
by law, at the expense of the owner of such improved property.
No privy vault, cesspool, sinkhole, septic tank or similar receptacle
at any time shall be connected with a sewer.
The notice to be given by this Borough to the owner of any improved
property abutting on or adjoining any street in which there is a sewer
requiring such owner to connect such improved property to such sewer
shall be given by this Borough as soon as a sewer is in place which
can receive sanitary sewage and industrial wastes from the particular
improved property and which can transport the same for treatment and
disposal.
The notice to be given by this Borough to the owner of any improved property abutting on or adjoining any street in which there is a sewer requiring such owner to connect such improved property to such sewer, which notice is referred to in § 260-2 of this article, shall consist of a written or printed document requiring such connection in accordance with provisions of this article and specifying that such connection shall be made within 60 days from the date such notice is given. Such notice shall be served upon the owner of such improved property either by personal service or by registered mail or by such other method as at the time may be provided by law.
If the owner of any improved property abutting on or adjoining
any street in which there is a sewer, after 60 days' notice from this
Borough to connect such improved property to such sewer, in accordance
with the foregoing sections of this article, shall fail to connect
such improved property to such sewer, as required and in the manner
provided in this article, this Borough may make such connection and
may collect from such owner the costs and expenses thereof by a municipal
claim, an action in assumpsit or by such other legal proceeding as
may be permitted or provided by law.
No person shall uncover, connect with, make any opening into
or use, alter or disturb, in any manner, any sewer or any part of
the sewer system without first obtaining a permit, in writing, from
this Borough.
Application for a permit required under § 260-10 of this article shall be made by the owner of the improved property to be served.
No person shall make or shall cause to be made any connection
of any improved property with a sewer until such person shall have
fulfilled each of the following conditions:
A.
Such person shall have notified the Secretary of this Borough of
the desire and intention to connect to a sewer.
B.
Such person shall have applied for and obtained a permit as required by § 260-10 of this article.
C.
Such person shall have given the Secretary of this Borough at least
24 hours' notice of the time when such connection will be made so
that this Borough, by its authorized representatives, may supervise
and inspect the work performed in making such connection and can supervise
the testing thereof, if necessary.
D.
All owners of improved property who are required to connect to the
Tamaqua sewer system shall pay to the Borough of Tamaqua a tapping
fee of $550 for each equivalent dwelling unit situate on the improved
property which discharges sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes.
The aforementioned fee shall include an administration fee of $50,
a $325 fee for sewer capacity and a $175 fee for sewer collection.
[Amended 9-18-2001 by Ord. No. 544; 10-1-2002 by Ord. No. 557; 7-5-2005 by Ord. No. 605; 3-1-2016 by Ord. No. 683]
Except as otherwise provided in this § 260-13, each improved property shall be connected separately and independently with a sewer through a building sewer. Grouping of more than one improved property on one building sewer shall not be permitted, except under special circumstances and for good sanitary reasons or other good cause shown, but then only after special permission of this Borough, in writing, shall have been secured and subject to such rules, regulations and conditions as may be prescribed by this Borough.
All costs and expenses of construction of a building sewer and
all costs and expenses of connection of a building sewer to a sewer
shall be borne by the owner of the improved property to be connected;
and such owner shall indemnify and save harmless this Borough from
all loss or damage that may be occasioned, directly or indirectly,
as a result of construction of a building sewer or of connection of
a building sewer to a sewer.
A building sewer shall be connected to a sewer at the place
designated by this Borough and where the lateral is provided. The
invert of a building sewer at the point of connection shall be at
the same or a higher elevation than the invert of the sewer. A smooth,
neat joint shall be made and the connection of a building sewer to
the lateral shall be made secure and watertight.
Where an improved property, at the time connection to a sewer
is required, shall be served by its own sewage disposal system or
device, the existing house sewer line shall be broken on the structure
side of such sewage disposal system or device and attachment shall
be made, with proper fittings, to continue such house sewer line as
a building sewer.
No building sewer shall be covered until it has been inspected
and approved by this Borough. If any part of a building sewer is covered
before so being inspected and approved, it shall be uncovered for
inspection at the cost and expense of the owner of the improved property
to be connected to a sewer.
Every building sewer of any improved property shall be maintained
in a sanitary and safe operating condition by the owner of such improved
property.
Every excavation for a building sewer shall be guarded adequately
with barricades and lights to protect all persons from damage and
injury. Streets, sidewalks and other public property disturbed in
the course of installation of a building sewer shall be restored,
at the cost and expense of the owner of the improved property being
connected, in a manner satisfactory to this Borough.
If any person shall fail or refuse, upon receipt of a notice
from this Borough, in writing, to remedy any unsatisfactory condition
with respect to a building sewer, within 60 days of receipt of such
notice, this Borough may refuse to permit such person to discharge
sanitary sewage and industrial wastes into the sewer system until
such unsatisfactory condition shall have been remedied to the satisfaction
of this Borough.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into any
sewer, directly or indirectly, any substance which could be detrimental
to a sewer or the operation of the sewer system.
This Borough reserves the right to refuse to any person the
privilege of connection of any improved property to the sewer system,
or to compel the discontinuance of use of a sewer by any person, or
to compel the pretreatment of industrial wastes, in order to prevent
the discharge into the sewer system of any wastes which may be deemed
by this Borough to be harmful to the sewer system or to have a deleterious
effect on sewage treatment processes.
This Borough reserves the right to adopt, from time to time,
additional rules and regulations as it shall deem necessary and proper
relating to connections with a sewer and the sewer system, which additional
rules and regulations, to the extent appropriate, shall be and shall
be construed as part of this article.
[Amended 7-5-2005 by Ord.
No. 605]
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article,
upon conviction before a Magisterial District Judge, shall pay a fine
not exceeding $600, together with costs of prosecution. Each violation
continuing throughout a twenty-four-hour period shall constitute a
separate offense.
Fines and costs imposed under provisions of this article shall
be enforceable and recoverable in the manner at the time provided
by applicable law.
It is declared that enactment of this article is necessary for
the protection, benefit and preservation of the health, safety and
welfare of the inhabitants of this Borough.
