[Adopted 8-5-1998 by Ord.
No. 72]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
An official statement from the Township Secretary of the
Township of Lancaster stating that there are no illegal stormwater
or surface water connections into the sanitary sewer system on the
specific property which is being sold, transferred, assigned, mortgaged
or refinanced.
Any commonly accepted method of testing wherein dye and/or
smoke is introduced into the stormwater, surface water or subsurface
water collection system and downspouts of real estate property to
determine if any illegal stormwater or surface water is entering the
sanitary sewer system.
The connection of any basement seepage, surface water, subsurface
drains, downspouts, roof drainage or surface areaway drainage into
the sanitary sewer system.
A written letter from the proper official of the Township
of Lancaster concerning municipal liens.
Any person, syndicate, associate, partnership, firm, corporation,
institution, agency, authority or other entity recognized by law as
the subject of rights and duties.
A temporary statement of certification from the proper official of the Township of Lancaster, issued pursuant to the terms of § 208-14 of this article.
The Township of Lancaster hereby designates the Western Butler County Authority, its officers and employees, as an agency authorized by the Township to identify, report and require disconnection of any illegal stormwater or surface water connections made (described § 208-19A), at any time prior to or from the effective date of this article, to the Western Butler County Authority sewer system, or other public sewer system, and for such purpose the Western Butler County Authority is authorized to enforce, consistent with the ordinances in effect within the Township and the provisions of this article with respect to illegal stormwater and surface water connections to the Western Butler County Authority sewer system. The Western Butler County Authority shall report to the Township all enforcement measures proposed within the Township pursuant to ordinances concurrently with undertaking such enforcement action.
After the effective date of this article, it shall be unlawful
for any person to sell, transfer, assign, mortgage or refinance any
real estate within the Township of Lancaster on which a building or
improvement exists, without first delivering to the purchaser, transferee,
assignee, mortgagee, or person or institution providing refinancing
a document of certification or a temporary document of certification
from the proper officials of the Township of Lancaster.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person selling, transferring, assigning, mortgaging or refinancing
real estate located within the Township of Lancaster, hereinafter
the "applicant," shall make application on a form furnished by the
Township of Lancaster at least 14 days before the date of sale, transfer,
assignment, mortgaging or refinancing. The applicant shall then have
the Western Butler County Authority perform a dye test and/or smoke
test on the property to be sold, transferred, assigned, mortgaged
or refinanced, said smoke test to involve the use of nontoxic, nonstaining
smoke which is forced through the real estate sewer system by the
use of air blowers. The Western Butler County Authority shall complete
the appropriate portions on the form that the property has been dye
tested and/or smoke tested, and certify the results of such test.
In the event that there are no illegal stormwater or surface water
connections, the Township Secretary or their designate shall issue
a document of certification upon the payment of a fee per applicable
Western Butler County Authority fee schedule. When an illegal storm
or surface connection is discovered by the means of the above-mentioned
testing, no document of certification will be issued until the illegal
connections are removed, inspected and approved by the Western Butler
County Authority.
A temporary document of certification may be used at the Township
of Lancaster's sole discretion only under the following circumstances:
A.
When such testing can not be performed because of weather conditions,
the applicant shall provide the Township with security in the amount
of $500 to guarantee that the appropriate test will be performed.
The applicant shall cause to have performed the appropriate test at
such time as weather conditions make such testing possible. In addition,
the applicant shall provide a signed written acknowledgment from the
purchaser, transferee, assignee, mortgagee, or refinancer of the real
estate, agreeing to correct, at the sole expense of said purchaser,
transferee, assignee, mortgagee, or refinancer, any violations that
may be discovered as the result of subsequent tests. Nothing in this
subsection shall prohibit any purchaser, transferee, assignee, mortgagee,
or refinancer from requiring the applicant to reimburse the purchaser,
transferee, assignee, mortgagee, or refinancer for any costs incurred;
provided, nevertheless, that primary liability shall run with the
land. No such agreement shall affect the Township's enforcement
powers or excuse the current owner from performance.
B.
When illegal stormwater or surface water connections have been discovered
and the necessary remedial activities to correct such connection would
require a length of time such as to create a practical hardship for
the applicant, the applicant may apply to the Township Secretary for
a temporary document of certification which may only be issued when
the applicant provides the Township with all of the following:
(1)
Cash security in the amount of the contract for the completion of
the necessary remedial work is posted with the Township; and
(2)
An agreement by the purchaser, transferee, assignee, mortgagee or
refinancer to be responsible for all cost overruns related to the
remedial work, together with a license to the Authority to enter upon
the property to complete such work in case of default by the contractor.
The Township Secretary shall determine, by regulation, when such temporary
document of certification shall expire, at which time the security
shall be forfeited, and the Township and/or Authority may use the
security to have the necessary remedial work completed.
In addition to the requirements set forth in §§ 208-12, 208-13 and 208-14 of this Chapter 208, Article II, of the Code of the Township of Lancaster for issuance of a document of certification set forth therein, any person selling real estate located within the Township of Lancaster must subject such person's real property to prior inspection, including inspection of interior premises of any building or residence, by authorized representatives of the Authority, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., prevailing time, and upon prior seven days' written advance notice at no cost to the person selling such real estate, to determine the presence of sump pump or other similar devices which discharge extraneous waters into the Western Butler County Authority sewer system. Such person shall not be issued a document of certification until such inspection has been performed and has revealed no device discharging extraneous waters into the Authority sewer system, or a follow-up inspection verifies that such device found to be previously in operation has been disconnected and removed.
The Western Butler County Authority is authorized in the course
of its program of testing, repair, rehabilitation, maintenance and
replacement of publicly owned treatment works of the Authority, when
it identifies deteriorating laterals and sewer service connections,
causing infiltration and inflow of extraneous waters into the publicly
owned treatment works of the Western Butler County Authority, to provide
written notice to the property owner or owners as to the condition
of such laterals and sewer service connections, together with a statement
that such deteriorating laterals and sewer service connections must,
at the property owner's expense, be promptly repaired, replaced
or rehabilitated. A copy of all written reports prepared by the Authority
in connection with its examination of deteriorating laterals and sewer
service connections shall be provided to the Township.
The Western Butler County Authority and its employees in performing
the duties and undertaking the programs identified in this article,
shall be empowered to enter upon any private property between the
hours of 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., prevailing time, with seven days'
advance written notice to the owner, for the purpose of conducting
inspections and/or enforcing this article and shall have only those
powers expressly set forth in this article and in other ordinances
of the Township or provided by law to perform its functions consistent
with such ordinances.
The powers conferred by the within article to the Township of
Lancaster and the Western Butler County Authority shall be in addition
to and not in substitution for any other powers conferred upon such
Authority and Township to enforce and require the elimination of illegal
stormwater and surface water connections to the Western Butler County
Authority sewer system and other public sewer systems maintained within
the borders of the Township of Lancaster.
A.
No property or property user in the Western Butler County Authority
sewer system shall discharge, or permit the discharge of, any stormwater,
surface water, springs, or natural watercourses, roof runoff, subsurface
drainage, foundation drains, driveway drainage, cooling water or unpolluted
industrial process water into said sanitary sewer system.
B.
The Western Butler County Authority is hereby authorized to conduct
by aforesaid advance written notice random periodic smoke and/or dye
tests, and any other appropriate test or inspection, without costs
to the residents of the Township of Lancaster, of all existing sewer
systems and structures in Township of Lancaster for compliance with
this article and other laws pertaining to sewer systems and structures.
C.
Every owner, lessee or occupier of land within the Township of Lancaster
serviced by the Authority shall submit to smoke and/or dye testing
by the Western Butler County Authority, which Authority has been designated,
authorized, constituted and appointed by the Township of Lancaster
as its sole and exclusive agent for such testing purposes, other than
as provided by this article. The owner, lessee or occupier of the
land shall permit said testing upon request of the Western Butler
County Authority to conduct such testing at no cost to the owner,
lessee, or occupier of land. Testing will not be required when the
owner, lessee or occupier of the land produces a valid document of
certification issued by the Township of Lancaster in accordance with
this article, which document of certification shall be sufficient
proof of compliance for purpose of this article for a period of one
year from the date of issuance.
D.
When illegal stormwater or surface water connections or conditions
have been discovered, all necessary remedial work to correct such
connection shall be completed by the owner, lessee, or occupier of
the premises, weather permitting, within 60 days of the date such
party receives notification of the illegal connection or condition.
E.
In the event the necessary remedial work would create severe economic
hardship for the owner, lessee or occupier of the premises, application
may be made to the Authority for an extension of up to an additional
six months to complete said remedial work. A "severe economic hardship"
shall be defined as any person or persons who qualifies as having
a level of income considered to be a low-moderate income under federal
guidelines. In the event the owner, lessee, or occupier of the premises
who established severe economic hardship is unable to effect the necessary
remedial work within the time permitted, including any extension thereof,
the Authority may undertake to have the necessary remedial work completed
at the expense of the owner, lessee, or occupier of the premises,
and to make any necessary arrangements for the payment of said work
by the owner, lessee, or occupier of the premises on an installment
basis, which arrangements shall be mutually satisfactory to the owner,
lessee or occupier. Under such circumstances, in the event satisfactory
arrangements are not agreed upon by the Authority and the owner, lessee,
or occupier, the Authority may file a lien against such property,
which lien shall remain in effect until payment in full or sale of
the property occurs.
The Township Supervisors are hereby authorized, empowered and
directed to make rules and regulations for the operation and enforcement
of this article as he deems necessary, which shall include, but not
be limited to:
A.
Establishing acceptable forms of security or guarantees;
B.
Establishing the forms of application, fees, and purchaser acknowledgments;
C.
Limiting the times of year in which temporary documents of certification
are available for reasons of weather;
D.
Such other rules and regulations as are necessary for the operation
and enforcement of this article.
Nothing in this article shall limit, in any fashion whatsoever,
the Township's rights to enforce its ordinances or the Laws of
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Nothing in this article shall be
a defense to any citation issued by any municipal corporation or the
commonwealth pursuant to any other law or ordinance.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person who shall fail, neglect or refuse to comply with
any of the terms or provisions of this article shall, upon conviction
in a summary proceeding brought before a Magisterial District Judge
under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a
summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than
$1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default of payment thereof,
the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
90 days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation continues
or is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense, and
each section of this article that is violated shall also constitute
a separate offense.
The provisions of this article are severable, and if any section,
sentence, clause or phrase shall be held by a court of competent jurisdiction
to be illegal, invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining portions
of this article shall not be affected or impaired hereby.
