[Ord. 53, 11/14/1977, Art. I]
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meanings
of terms used in this Part shall be as follows:
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation
of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days
at 20° C., expressed in milligrams per liter.
That part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system
which receives the discharge from soil, waste and other drainage pipes
inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer,
beginning five feet outside the inner face of the building wall.
The extension from the building drain to the public sewer
or other place of disposal, also called "house connection."
An acquired legal right for the specific use of land owned
by others.
Oil, fat or grease in a physical state such that it will
separate by gravity from wastewater by treatment in an approved pretreatment
facility. A wastewater shall be considered free of floatable oil if
properly pretreated and the wastewater does not interfere with the
collection system.
The animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling,
preparation, cooking and serving of foods.
The wastewater from industrial processes, trade or business,
as distinct from domestic or sanitary wastes.
Is permissive. (See "shall.")
Milligrams per liter.
Any outlet, including storm sewers, into a watercourse, pond,
ditch, lake or other body of surface water or groundwater.
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation
or group.
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration.
The concentration is the weight of hydrogen ions, in grams, per liter
of solution. Natural water, for example, has a pH value of seven and
a hydrogen-ion concentration of 10-7.
The wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of
food that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles will
be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in
public sewers with no particle greater than 1/2 inch in any dimension.
A common sewer controlled by a governmental agency or public
utility, and includes the lateral from the main sewer up to the curbline
or edge of the cartway pavement.
The Pennridge Wastewater Treatment Authority or its authorized
agents or representatives.
A sewer that carries liquid and water-carried wastes from
residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions,
together with minor quantities of ground-, storm- and surface waters
that are not admitted intentionally.
The same as wastewater; and both shall mean the spent water
of a community. Sewage and wastewater may be a combination of the
liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings,
industrial plants and institutions, together with any groundwater,
surface water and stormwater that may be present.
A pipe or conduit that carries wastewater or drainage water.
Is mandatory. (See "may.")
Any discharge of water or wastewater which, in concentration
of any given constituent or in quantity of flow, exceeds, for any
period of duration longer than 15 minutes, more than five times the
average twenty-four-hour concentration or flows during normal operation
and shall adversely affect the collection system or performance of
the wastewater treatment works.
A drain or sewer for conveying water, groundwater, subsurface
water or surface water from any source.
The Superintendent of Wastewater Facilities or of Water Pollution
Control of the Township or authorized deputy, agent or representative.
Total suspended matter that either floats on the surface
of, or is in suspension in, water, wastewater, or other liquids and
that is removable by laboratory filtering prescribed in "Standard
Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater," and referred
to as "nonfilterable residue."
East Rockhill Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Water of quality equal to or better than the effluent criteria
in effect or water that would not cause violation of receiving water
quality standards and would not be benefitted by discharge to the
sanitary sewers and wastewater treatment facilities provided.
The structures, equipment and processes required to collect,
carry away and treat domestic and industrial wastes and dispose of
the effluent.
An arrangement of devices and structures for treating wastewater,
industrial and sludge; sometimes used as synonymous with 'waste
treatment plant," or "wastewater treatment plant" or "water pollution
control plant."
A natural or artificial channel for the passage of water,
either continuously or intermittently.
[Ord. 53, 11/14/1977, Art. 2]
1.
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit or permit to
be deposited in any unsanitary manner on public or private property
within the Township or in any other area under the jurisdiction of
said Township any human or animal excrement, garbage or objectionable
waste.
2.
It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the
Township or in any area under the jurisdiction of said Township any
wastewater or other polluted waters, except where suitable treatment
has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this
Part.
3.
The owner of all houses, buildings or structures within 150 feet
of the public sewer and used for human occupancy, employment, recreation
or other purposes situated within the Township, where there is now
located or may in the future be located a public sanitary sewer of
the Township, is hereby required, at the owner's expense, to
install suitable toilet facilities therein and to connect such facilities
directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions
of this Part within 90 days after the date of official notice to do
so, provided that connection is feasible under normal engineering
practices.
[Ord. 53, 11/14/1977, Art. 3; as amended by Ord. 192, 4/18/2000]
1.
No unauthorized person or persons shall uncover, make any connections
with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance
thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Superintendent.
2.
There shall be two classes of building sewer permits: (A) for service
to residential establishments; and (B) for service to industrial and
commercial establishments producing industrial wastes. In either case,
the owner or his agent shall make application on a special form furnished
by the Township. The Superintendent shall have the authority to prescribe
the items to be included in the permit application. The application
for the permit shall list the name of the property owner and the name
of the registered plumber who is going to make the connection to the
public sewer. This permit application shall be supplemented by any
plans, specifications or other information considered pertinent in
the judgment of the Superintendent or PWTA. A permit and inspection
fee in an amount as established, from time to time, by resolution
of the Board of Supervisors for a residential building sewer permit
and a fee in an amount as established, from time to time, by resolution
of the Board of Supervisors for an industrial or commercial building
sewer permit shall be paid to the Township at the time the application
is filed. All building sewer permit applications under Subsection
2(B), above shall be reviewed and approved, in writing, by the PWTA
prior to permit issuance. The permit fees described in this subsection
are independent of and in addition to any charges, connection fees
or assessments the Township has against property owners for financing
the construction of the entire public sewer system in the Township
itself.
3.
All costs and expenses incidental to the installation and connection
of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall
indemnify the Township and PWTA from any loss or damage that may directly
or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.
4.
A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every
building, unless the Superintendent determines that the property can
be adequately served by less than one building sewer for each building
with negligible effect on the health, welfare and safety of the occupants
and users of the property as well as the public at large.
5.
Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings
only when they are found, on examination and test by the Superintendent,
to meet all requirements of this Part.
6.
The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building sewer and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing and backfilling the trench shall all conform to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Code [Chapter 5] or other applicable rules and regulations of the Township. In the absence of code provisions or in amplification thereof, the materials and procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and Water Pollution Control Federation (WPCF) Manual of Practice No. 9 shall apply.
7.
Whenever possible, the building sewer shall be brought to the building
at an elevation below the basement floor. In all buildings in which
any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public
sewer, sanitary sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted
by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer.
8.
No person or persons shall make connection of roof downspouts, sump
pumps, foundation, areaway drains or other sources of surface runoff
or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which in turn
is connected directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer.
9.
All connections to the public sewer shall be made by a plumber registered
by the Township to perform plumbing work in the Township or a person
deemed capable by the Township. The Superintendent shall require a
hydraulic (water) or air test at the expense of the property owner
on each connection to the public sewer, and the Superintendent shall
have authority to approve the kind and matter of the hydraulic (water)
or air test.
10.
The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Code [Chapter 5] or the procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the ASTM and the WPCF Manual of Practice No. 9. All such connections shall be made acceptably gastight or watertight and verified by proper testing. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the Superintendent before installation.
11.
The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the Superintendent
when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to
the public sewer. The connection and testing shall be made under the
supervision of the Superintendent or his representative. The type
of pipe and connection for the sewer pipe shall be approved by the
Superintendent.
12.
All excavations for building sewer installation shall be adequately
guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from
hazard. Streets, sidewalks, parkways and other public property disturbed
in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory
to the Township.
13.
No excavation, construction or connection work shall be commenced
within a Township right-of-way until the owner, his agents or independent
contractor shall have first filed a bond in double the amount of the
cost of the work to be performed, to be determined by Township, agreeing
to indemnify and save harmless the Township against any and all loss,
damages, costs and expenses which the Township may thereafter suffer,
incur, be put to or pay by reason of the failure to complete properly
any of the aforesaid excavation, construction or connection work.
14.
No permit granted by the Superintendent shall be construed to permit
any interference with, or disturbance of, any state or county or other
municipal highway pavement or any excavation in any road, street,
or public place unless the permit shall expressly so provided. No
permit shall be granted for such interference or disturbance of said
pavement or for excavation for sewer purposes in any public street
or public place unless the applicant shall first have obtained from
the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, county or municipality,
as the case may be, a permit therefor in accordance with requirements
of the municipality having jurisdiction. The applicant shall provide
such liability insurance as may be required before such permit is
issued. Any permit fee, bonding or other expense in connection with
issuance of a permit for opening any street or pavement shall be deemed
to authorize only those activities stated in the application therefor.
The permittee or his duly authorized representative shall guard, barricade
and light all excavations and restore all public property in a manner
satisfactory to the Township.
15.
All holding tanks, septic tanks and other on-site sewage disposal
systems may be retained by the property owner for use other than for
collection and treatment of any sanitary sewage, provided that the
use does not otherwise violate any Township ordinance or regulation
or any state or federal law or regulation. However, in the event any
on-site system retained by the property owner presents a health or
safety hazard or is not structurally sound, then, upon reasonable
notice to the property owner, the holding tank, septic tank, or other
on-site sewage disposal system is to be cleaned out or filled in or
shall be removed and the remaining space filled in within a reasonable
time unless the on-site system can be made structurally sound or the
health and safety hazard to the Township be abated to the satisfaction
of the Township.
[Ord. 53, 11/14/1977, Art. 5]
No person or persons shall maliciously, willfully, or negligently
break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface, or tamper with any structure,
appurtenance or equipment which is a part of the wastewater facilities.
Any person or persons violating this provision shall be subject to
prosecution under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[Ord. 53, 11/14/1977, Art. 6]
1.
The Superintendent and other duly authorized employees of the Township
or PWTA, bearing proper credentials and identification, shall be permitted
to enter all properties for the purposes of inspection, observation,
measurement, sampling and testing pertinent to discharge to the community
system in accordance with the provisions of this Part.
2.
The Superintendent and other duly authorized employees of the Township
or PWTA are authorized to obtain information concerning industrial
processes which have a direct bearing on the kind and source of discharge
to the wastewater collection system. The industry may withhold information
considered confidential. The industry must establish that the revelation
to the public of the information in question might result in an advantage
to competitors.
3.
While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to in Subsection 1 above, the Superintendent or duly authorized employees of the Township and PWTA shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the owner. For the purpose of this section, the term "owner" is defined to mean and include the lawful owner of the premises, the operator of any lawful business on the premises, the tenant, lessee and any other person lawfully occupying the premises by and with the consent and permission of the owner.
4.
The Superintendent and other duly authorized employees of the Township
or PWTA, bearing proper credentials and identification, shall also
be permitted to enter all private properties through which the Township
holds a duly negotiated easement for the purposes of, but not limited
to, inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, repair and maintenance
of any portion of the wastewater facilities lying within said easement,
which shall be done in full accordance with the terms of the duly
negotiated easement pertaining to the private property involved or
as condemned.
5.
The Superintendent shall have the right to enter the premises of
any property owner connected to the public sewer system at reasonable
times to trace the sewer pipe from its point of connection with the
public sewer to all toilets and other wastewater connections on the
premises to verify that no sump pumps or other illegal pumps or devices
have been connected to the sewer system.
[Ord. 53, 11/14/1977, Art. 7; as amended by Ord. 192, 4/18/2000]
1.
Any person found to be violating any provision of this Part, except
§ 18-595, shall be served by the Township with written notice
stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time
limit, as determined by the Superintendent or PWTA, for the satisfactory
correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time
stated in such notice, permanently cease all violations.
2.
Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit provided for in Subsection 1 of this section, upon conviction thereof in an action brought before a District Justice in the manner provided for the enforcement of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 plus costs and, in default of payment of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 90 days. Each day that a violation of this Part continues or each section of this Part which shall be found to have been violated shall constitute a separate offense.
3.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this Part shall become
liable to the Township for any expense, loss or damage occasioned
the Township by reason of such violation and shall be liable to the
PWTA for any expense, loss or damage occasioned the PWTA by reason
of such violation. The expenses, loss or damage to either the Township
or to the PWTA shall include, but not be limited to, legal expenses,
engineering expenses, expert witness fees and costs and court fees.
