[Adopted 6-21-1993 by Ord. No. 93-3; amended in its entirety 2-15-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-02]
The purpose of this article is to establish procedures for the
use and maintenance of existing and new holding tanks designed to
receive and retain sewage, whether from residential or commercial
uses, and it is hereby declared that the enactment of this article
is necessary for the protection, benefit and preservation of the health,
safety and welfare of the inhabitants of this municipality.
Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise,
the meanings of terms used in this article shall be as follows and
as supplemented by the definitions, terms, phrases and abbreviations
included in the Union Township Municipal Authority's latest Rules
and Regulations:
The Board of Supervisors of Union Township, Berks County,
Pennsylvania.
A watertight receptacle which receives and retains sewage
conveyed by a water-carrying system and is designed and constructed
to facilitate the ultimate disposal of the sewage at another site.
Any property within this Township upon which there is erected
a building or 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.
Union Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any improved property.
Any individual, partnership, copartnership, firm, company,
corporation, association, joint-stock company, trust, estate or governmental
entity, or any other legal entity, or their legal representatives,
agents or assigns. This definition includes all federal, state and
local governmental entities.
A treatment works, as defined by Section 212 of the Act (33
U.S.C. § 1292), which is owned by a municipality.
Any substance that contains any of the waste products or
excrement or other discharge from the bodies of human beings and any
noxious or deleterious substance which is 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, including gray water
(household showers, dishwashing operations, etc.).
The governing body is hereby authorized and empowered to undertake
within the Township the control and methods of holding tank use, sewage
disposal and sewage collection and transportation thereof.
The governing body is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt
such rules and regulations concerning sewage which it may deem necessary
from time to time to effect the purpose of this article.
All rules and regulations adopted by the governing body pursuant
to this article shall be in conformity with the provisions hereof,
all other ordinances of the Township, all applicable laws and all
applicable rules and regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
and its departments and agencies.
The governing body shall have the right and power to fix, alter,
charge and collect rates, assessments and other charges in the area
served by its facilities at reasonable and uniform rates as authorized
by applicable laws and regulations.
A.
The collection and transportation of all sewage from any improved property utilizing a holding tank shall be done solely by or under the direction and control of the governing body, in compliance with the regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), as set forth in 25 Pa. Code, Chapter 71, Administration of Sewage Facilities Planning Program, and Chapter 73, Standards for Sewage Disposal Facilities.
B.
The disposal of sewage from holding tanks shall be made only at sites
which have been approved by the Department of Environmental Protection
for that purpose.
C.
All permits for the utilization of holding tanks within the Township
for the collection of sewage issued after the effective date hereof
shall expire one year from the date of issuance and shall not be renewable
except at the discretion of the governing body, upon their review,
for such additional period of time as shall be deemed appropriate
by the governing body.
D.
The Sewage Enforcement Officer of the governing body will receive,
review and retain pumping receipts for each permitted holding tank.
E.
The governing body, directly and through its Sewage Enforcement Officer,
will complete and retain annual inspection reports for each permitted
tank.
The owner of an improved property that utilizes a holding tank
shall:
A.
Maintain the holding tank in conformance with this article and all
other applicable ordinances of the Township, the provisions of any
applicable law and the rules and regulations of the governing body,
of DEP and of any other administrative agency of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
B.
Permit the governing body or its agent to inspect the holding tank
on an annual basis.
C.
Permit only a licensed hauler to collect, transport and dispose of
the contents of the holding tank at a licensed permanent dumping site.
D.
Provide proof to the governing body that the hauler and dumping site
are both licensed by DEP or other appropriate governmental agency.
E.
Provide the governing body, through its Sewage Enforcement Officer,
with receipts indicating that the holding tank has been pumped on
a regular basis.
F.
Discontinue the use of such holding tanks if a permit for its use has been issued pursuant to this article and rules and regulations adopted hereunder within one year from the date of issuance of the permit and begin using sewage collection and disposal use in place of such holding tank, unless the permit has been renewed by the governing body pursuant to § 156-29 above.
G.
Fill any holding tank which has remained unused for a period of two
consecutive years as follows: Every tank or similar receptacle in
existence shall be abandoned and shall be emptied of all liquid sewage
and accumulated solids prior to abandonment of the structure, as directed
by the Township. This must be completed by a septage hauler licensed
in the State of Pennsylvania. Once empty, the top of the structure
shall be removed or crushed and the tank shall be filled with soil,
sand or stone, at the expense of the owner of such improved property,
under the direction and supervision of the Township. Any such tank
or similar receptacle not so abandoned and filled shall constitute
a nuisance, and such nuisance will need to be abated, as provided
by law, at the expense of the owner of such improved property. Prior
to filling with soil, holes must be provided in the bottom of the
tank to allow for drainage of the tank. Documentation showing the
septage hauler's report/invoice, stone/sand invoice and other information,
as applicable, shall be provided to the Township's inspector upon
request. The holding tank may also be completely removed and properly
backfilled to the satisfaction of the Township and Sewage Enforcement
Officer.
H.
Execute and record the required Holding Tank Maintenance Agreement
and deposit the sum of $1,000 for each 1,000 gallons of holding tank
capacity, or part thereof, with the governing body, to be held by
the governing body in a separate Township account, to assure reimbursement
to the governing body of the costs of collecting, transporting and
disposing of the contents of the holding tank or repairing or correcting
malfunctions of the holding tank or ameliorating health hazards caused
by the utilization of the holding tank, and the governing body shall
have the right to withdraw funds from the account for such purposes
without any specific consent of the owner. If the cost of collecting,
transporting and disposing of the contents of the holding tank four
times exceeds $1,000, then the owner shall deposit such additional
sum in said account. In the event it becomes necessary for the governing
body to draw on the account for the purpose set forth herein, the
owner shall replenish the account immediately upon request of the
Township and as dictated in the agreement so that the balance required
herein is maintained at all times. Failure of the owner to comply
with the requirements of this subsection shall be grounds for immediate
revocation of the holding tank permit.
A.
Any permit for the use of a holding tank in the Township issued by authority of the governing body pursuant to this article or any rules and regulations adopted hereunder shall be valid for only one year and shall not be renewable, except as set forth above in § 156-29C.
B.
Any person who sells, transfers or conveys an improved property in
the Township which utilizes a permitted holding tank for collection
and disposal of sewage shall give written notice to the purchaser
or transferee thereof that the permit for the holding tank shall expire
one year from the date of the issuance thereof and shall not be renewable
and shall furnish a true and accurate copy of the holding tank permit
to the new owner.
No permit for the use of a holding tank in Union Township shall
be issued, whether pursuant to this article, any rules and regulations
adopted hereunder or otherwise, unless a public health hazard exists
that needs to be abated and all other possible means of collecting
and disposing of sewage at the property in question have been considered
and found to be unusable.
In addition to any other remedies provided in this article, any violation of § 156-30 above shall constitute a nuisance and shall be abated by the municipality by either seeking mitigation of the nuisance or appropriate equitable or legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.
