[Adopted 1-16-1995 by Ord. No. 298 (Ch.
117, Part 4, Art. XIII, of the 1982 Code)]
A.
This part shall
be known and may be cited as the "Sewage Management Program for the
Township of Muhlenberg."
B.
As mandated by
the municipal codes, the Clean Streams Law (35 P.S. §§ 691.1
to 691.1001) and the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (Act of January
24, 1966, P.L. 1535, as amended, 35 P.S. § 750.1 et seq.,
known as "Act 537"), municipalities have the power and the duty to
provide for adequate sewage treatment facilities and for the protection
of the public health by preventing the discharge of untreated or inadequately
treated sewage. The Official Sewage Facilities Plan for the Township
of Muhlenberg indicates that it is necessary to formulate and implement
a sewage management program to effectively prevent and abate water
pollution and hazards to the public health caused by improper treatment
and disposal of sewage.
C.
The purpose of
this part is to provide for the inspection, maintenance and rehabilitation
of on-lot sewage disposal systems; to further permit the municipality
to intervene in situations which are public nuisances or hazards to
the public health; and to establish penalties and appeal procedures
necessary for the proper administration of a sewage management program.
As used in this part, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
The Act of January 24, 1966, P.L. 1535, as amended, 35 P.S.
§ 750.1 et seq., known as the "Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities
Act."
A certified Sewage Enforcement Officer, Code Enforcement
Officer, professional engineer, Plumbing Inspector, Municipal Secretary
or any other qualified or licensed person who is delegated by the
municipality to function within specified limits as the agent of the
municipality to carry out the provisions of this part.
The Board of Commissioners, Muhlenberg Township, Berks County,
Pennsylvania.
An individual employed by the municipality to administer
and enforce other ordinances in the municipality.
Any system, whether publicly or privately owned, for the
collection of sewage from two or more lots and the treatment and/or
disposal of the sewage on one or more lots or at any other site.
The Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania (DEP).
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 any waters of this commonwealth.
The condition which occurs when an on-lot sewage disposal
system discharges sewage onto the surface of the ground, into groundwaters
of this commonwealth, into surface waters of this commonwealth, backs
up into the building connected to the system or otherwise causes a
nuisance hazard to the public health or pollution of ground or surface
water or contamination of public or private drinking water wells.
Systems shall be considered to be malfunctioning if any of the conditions
noted above occur for any length of time during any period of the
year.
Muhlenberg Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
A comprehensive plan for the provision of adequate sewage
disposal systems, adopted by the municipality and approved by the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, as described
in and required by the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act.[1]
Any system for disposal or sewage involving pretreatment
and subsequent disposal of the clarified sewage into the soil for
final treatment and disposal, including both individual sewage systems
and community sewage systems.
Any individual, association, public or private corporation
for profit or not for profit, partnership, firm, trust, estate, department,
board, bureau or agency of the commonwealth, political subdivision,
municipality, district, authority or any other legal entity whatsoever
who or which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.
Whenever used in any clause prescribing and imposing a penalty or
imposing a fine or imprisonment, the term "person" shall include the
members of an association, partnership or firm and the officers of
any local agency or municipal, public or private corporation for profit
or not for profit.
Work done to modify, alter, repair, enlarge or replace an
existing on-lot sewage disposal system.
A portion of a lot or a developed property, sized to allow
the installation of a subsurface sewage disposal area, which is reserved
to allow that installation in the event of the malfunction of the
originally installed on-lot sewage disposal system.
Any substance that contains any of the waste products or
excrement or other discharge from the bodies of human beings or animals
and any noxious or deleterious substances being 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 or which constitutes
pollution under the Act of June 22, 1937 (P.L. 1987, No. 394) known
as the "Clean Streams Law," as amended.[2]
The official of the local agency who issues and reviews permit
applications and conducts such investigations and inspections as are
necessary to implement Act 537 and the rules and regulations promulgated
thereunder.
Any area or areas of a municipality for which a sewage management
program is recommended by the municipality's adopted Act 537 Official
Sewage Facilities Plan. A sewage management district may encompass
the entire municipality.
A comprehensive set of legal and administrative requirements
encompassing the requirements of this part and other administrative
requirements adopted by the municipality to effectively enforce and
administer the article.
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.
From the effective date of this part, its provisions
shall apply in any portion of the municipality identified in the municipality's
Act 537 Official Sewage Facilities Plan as a sewage management district.
Within such an area or areas, the provisions of this part shall apply
to all persons owning any property serviced by an on-lot sewage disposal
system and to all persons installing or rehabilitating on-lot sewage
disposal systems. If necessary, the entire municipality may be identified
as a sewage management district.
A.
No person shall
install, construct or request bid proposals for construction or alter
an individual sewage system or community sewage system or construct
or request bid proposals for construction or install or occupy any
building or structure for which an individual sewage system or community
sewage system is to be installed without first obtaining a permit
indicating that the site and the plans and specifications of such
system are in compliance with the provisions of the Pennsylvania Sewage
Facilities Act[1] and the standards adopted pursuant to that Act.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 750.1
et seq.
B.
No system or
structure designed to provide individual or community sewage disposal
shall be covered from view until approval to cover the same has been
given by the Municipal Sewage Enforcement Officer. If 72 hours have
elapsed, excepting Sundays and holidays, since the Sewage Enforcement
Officer issuing the permit received notification of completion of
construction, the applicant may cover said system or structure, unless
permission has been specifically refused by the Sewage Enforcement
Officer.
C.
The municipality
may require applicants for sewage permits to notify the municipality's
certified Sewage Enforcement Officer of the schedule for construction
of the permitted on-lot sewage disposal system so that inspection(s)
in addition to the final inspection required by Act 537 may be scheduled
and performed by, the municipality's certified Sewage Enforcement
Officer.
D.
No building or
occupancy permit shall be issued by the municipality or its Codes
Enforcement Officer for a new building which will contain sewage-generating
facilities until a valid sewage permit has been obtained from the
municipality's certified Sewage Enforcement Officer.
E.
No building or
occupancy permit shall be issued and no work shall begin on any alteration
or conversion of any existing structure if said alteration or conversion
will result in the increase or potential increase in sewage flows
from the structure until the municipality's Codes Enforcement Officer
and the structure's owner receive from the municipality's Sewage Enforcement
Officer either a permit for alteration or replacement of the existing
sewage disposal system or written notification that such a permit
will not be required. The certified Sewage Enforcement Officer shall
determine whether the proposed alteration or conversion of the structure
will result in increased sewage flows.
F.
Sewage permits
may be issued only by a certified Sewage Enforcement Officer employed
by the municipality for that express purpose. The Department of Environmental
Protection shall be notified by the municipality as to the identity
of its currently employed certified Sewage Enforcement Officer.
A.
Any supplements
or revisions to the municipality's Official Sewage Facilities Plan
which are prepared pursuant to the applicable regulations of the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection for subdivision or development
of land within an identified sewage management district shall provide
for the testing, identification and reservation of an area of each
lot or developed property suitable for the installation of a replacement
on-lot sewage disposal system. This requirement is in addition to
the testing, identification and reservation of an area for the primary
sewage disposal system.
B.
No permit shall
be issued for any proposed new on-lot sewage disposal system on any
newly created or subdivided property in any sewage management district
unless and until a replacement area is tested, identified and reserved.
A.
Any on-lot sewage
disposal system may be inspected by the municipality's authorized
agent at any reasonable time as of the effective date of this part.
B.
The inspection
may include a physical tour of the property, the taking of samples
from surface water, wells, other groundwater sources, the sampling
of the contents of the sewage disposal system itself and/or the introduction
of a traceable substance into the interior plumbing of the structure
served to ascertain the path and ultimate destination of wastewater
generated in the structure.
C.
The municipality's
authorized agent shall have the right to enter upon land for the purposes
of inspections described above.
D.
An initial inspection
shall be conducted by the municipality's authorized agent within one
year of the effective date of this chapter for the purpose of determining
the type and functional status of each sewage disposal system in the
sewage management district. A written report shall be furnished to
the owner of each property inspected, and a copy of said report shall
be maintained in the municipal records.
E.
A schedule of
routine inspections may be established by the municipality if necessary
to assure the proper function of the systems in the sewage management
district.
F.
The municipality
and its authorized agent shall inspect systems known to be, or alleged
to be, malfunctioning. Should said inspections reveal that the system
is indeed malfunctioning, the municipality and its authorized agent
shall take action to require the correction of the malfunction. If
total correction is not technically or financially feasible in the
opinion of the authorized agent and a representative of the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection, then action by the property
owner to mitigate the malfunction shall be required.
G.
There may rise
geographic areas within the municipality where numerous on-lot sewage
disposal systems are malfunctioning. A resolution of these area-wide
problems may necessitate detailed planning and a municipally sponsored
revision to that area's Act 537 Official Sewage Facilities Plan. When
a DEP-authorized Official Sewage Facilities Plan revision has been
undertaken by the municipality, mandatory repair or replacement of
individual malfunctioning sewage disposal systems within the study
area may be delayed, at the discretion of the municipality, pending
the outcome of the plan revision process. However, the municipality
may compel immediate corrective action whenever a malfunction, as
determined by municipal officials and the Pennsylvania DEP, represents
a serious public health or environmental threat.
Only normal domestic wastes shall be discharged
into any on-lot sewage disposal system. The following shall not be
discharged into the system:
A.
Industrial waste.
B.
Automobile oil
and other nondomestic oil.
C.
Toxic or hazardous
substances or chemicals, including but not limited to pesticides,
disinfectants, acids, paints, paint thinners, herbicides, gasoline
and other solvents.
D.
Clean surface
water or groundwater, including water from roof or cellar drains,
springs, basement sump pumps and french drains.
A.
Any person owning
a building served by an on-lot sewage disposal system which contains
a septic tank shall have the septic tank pumped by a qualified pumper/hauler
within six months of the effective date of this part. Thereafter,
that person shall have the tank pumped at least once every three years.
Receipts from the pumper/hauler shall be submitted to the municipality
within the prescribed six-month and three-year required pumping periods.
B.
The required
pumping frequency may be increased, at the discretion of the authorized
agent: if the septic tank is undersized; if solids buildup in the
tank is above average; if the hydraulic load on the system increases
significantly above average; if a garbage grinder is used in the building;
if the system malfunctions or for other good cause shown. If any person
can prove that their system tank had been pumped within three years
of the six-month anniversary of the effective date of this part, then
the municipality may delay that person's initial required pumping
to conform to the general three-year frequency requirement.
C.
Any person owning
a property served by a septic tank shall submit, with each required
pumping receipt, a written statement from the pumper/hauler or from
any other qualified individual acceptable to the municipality that
the baffles in the septic tank have been inspected and found to be
in good working order. Any person whose septic tank baffles are determined
to require repair or replacement shall first contact the municipality's
certified Sewage Enforcement Officer for approval of the necessary
repair.
D.
Any person owning
a building served by an on-lot sewage disposal system which contains
an aerobic treatment tank shall follow the operation and maintenance
recommendations of the equipment manufacturer. A copy of the manufacturer's
recommendations and a copy of the service agreement shall be submitted
to the municipality within six months of the effective date of this
part. Thereafter, service receipts shall be submitted to the municipality
at the intervals specified by the manufacturer's recommendations.
In no case may the service or pumping intervals for aerobic treatment
tanks exceed those required for septic tanks.
E.
Any person owning
a building served by a cesspool or dry well shall have that system
pumped according to the schedule prescribed for septic tanks. As an
alternative to this scheduled pumping of the cesspool or dry well,
the owner may secure a sewage permit from the certified Sewage Enforcement
Officer for a septic tank to be installed preceding the cesspool or
dry well. For a system consisting of a cesspool or dry well preceded
by an approved septic tank, only the septic tank must be pumped at
the prescribed interval.
F.
The municipality
may require additional maintenance activity as needed, including but
not necessarily limited to cleaning and unclogging of piping, servicing
and the repair of mechanical equipment, leveling of distribution boxes,
tanks and lines, removal of obstructing roots or trees, the diversion
of surface water away from the disposal area, etc.
A.
No person shall
operate and maintain an on-lot sewage disposal system in such a manner
that it malfunctions. All liquid wastes, including kitchen and laundry
wastes and water softener backwash, shall be discharged to a treatment
tank. No sewage system shall discharge untreated or partially treated
sewage to the surface of the ground or into the waters of the commonwealth
unless a permit to discharge has been obtained from the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection.
B.
The municipality
shall issue a written notice of violation to any person who is the
owner of a property in the municipality which is found to be served
by a malfunctioning on-lot sewage disposal system or which is discharging
raw or partially treated sewage without a permit.
C.
Within seven
days of notification by the municipality that a malfunction has been
identified, the property owner shall make application to the municipality's
certified Sewage Enforcement Officer for a permit to repair or replace
the malfunctioning system. Within 30 days of initial notification
by the municipality, construction of the permitted repair or replacement
shall commence. Within 60 days of the original notification by the
municipality, the construction shall be completed unless seasonal
or unique conditions mandate a longer period, in which case the municipality
shall set an extended completion date.
D.
The municipality's
certified Sewage Enforcement Officer shall have the authority to require
the repair of any malfunction by the following methods: cleaning,
repair or replacement of components of the existing system, adding
capacity or otherwise altering or replacing the system's treatment
tank, expanding the existing disposal area, replacing the existing
disposal area, replacing a gravity distribution system with a pressurized
system, replacing the system with a holding tank or other alternatives
as appropriate for the specific site.
E.
In lieu of or in combination with the remedies described in Subsection D above, the municipal Sewage Enforcement Officer may require the installation of water conservation equipment and the institution of water conservation practices in structures served. Water-using devices and appliances in the structure may be required to be retrofitted with water-conserving devices and appliances. Wastewater generation in the structure may also be reduced by requiring changes in water usage patterns in the structure served. The use of laundry facilities may be limited to one load per day or discontinued altogether, etc.
F.
In the event that the rehabilitation measures in Subsections A through E are not feasible or do not prove effective, the municipality may require the owner to apply to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for a permit to install an individual spray irrigation treatment system or a single-residence treatment and discharge system. Upon receipt of said permit, the owner shall complete construction of the system within 30 days.
G.
Should none of
the remedies described above prove totally effective in eliminating
the malfunction of an existing on-lot sewage disposal system, the
property owner is not absolved of responsibility for that malfunction.
The municipality may require whatever action is necessary to lessen
or mitigate the malfunction to the extent that it feels necessary.
The municipality, upon written notice from the
Municipal Sewage Enforcement Officer that an imminent health hazard
exists due to failure of a property owner to maintain, repair or replace
an on-lot sewage disposal system as provided under the terms of this
part, shall have the authority to perform or contract to have performed
the work required by the certified Sewage Enforcement Officer. The
owner shall be charged for the work performed and, if necessary, a
lien shall be entered therefor in accordance with law.
A.
All septage originating
within the municipal sewage management district shall be disposed
of at sites or facilities approved by the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection. Approved sites or facilities shall include
the following: septage treatment facilities, wastewater treatment
plants, composting sites and approved farmlands.
B.
Septage of pumper/haulers
operating within the municipal sewage management district shall operate
in a manner consistent with the provisions of the Pennsylvania Solid
Waste Management Act (Act 97 of 1980, 35 P.S. §§ 6018.101
through 6018.1003).
A.
The municipality
shall fully utilize those powers it possesses through enabling statutes
and ordinances to effect the purposes of this part.
B.
The municipality
shall employ qualified individuals to carry out the provisions of
this part. Those employees shall include a certified Sewage Enforcement
Officer and may include a Codes Enforcement Officer, secretary, administrator
or other persons as required. The municipality may also contract with
private qualified persons or firms as necessary to carry out the provisions
of this part.
C.
All permits,
records, reports, files and other written material relating to the
installation, operation and maintenance and malfunction of on-lot
sewage disposal systems in the sewage management district shall become
the property of the municipality. Existing and future records shall
be available for public inspection during required business hours
at the official municipal office. All records pertaining to sewage
permits, building permits, occupancy permits and all other aspects
of the municipality's sewage management program shall be made available,
upon request, for inspection by representatives of the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection.
D.
The Board shall
establish all administrative procedures necessary to properly carry
out the provisions of this part.
E.
The Board may
establish a fee schedule and subsequently collect fees to cover the
cost to the municipality of administering this program.
A.
Appeals from
decisions of the municipality or its authorized agents under this
part shall be made to the Board of Commissioners of Muhlenberg Township,
in writing, within 30 days from the date of the decision in question.
B.
The appellant
shall be entitled to a hearing before the Board of Commissioners at
its next regularly scheduled meeting, if the appeal is received at
least 14 days prior to that meeting. If the appeal is received within
14 days of the next regularly scheduled meeting, the appeal shall
be heard at the subsequent meeting. The municipality shall thereafter
affirm, modify or reverse the aforesaid decision. The hearing may
be postponed for a good cause shown by the appellant or the municipality.
Additional evidence may be introduced at the hearing, provided that
it is submitted with the written notice or appeal.
C.
A decision shall
be rendered, in writing, within 30 days of the date of the hearing.
If a decision is not rendered within 30 days, the release sought by
the appellant shall be deemed granted.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
This part shall be enforced by action brought
before a Magisterial District Judge in the same manner provided for
the enforcement of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of
Criminal Procedure. Any person, partnership, corporation or other
entity who or which violates or permits a violation of the provisions
of this part shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding, pay a
fine of not more than $1,000 plus the costs of prosecution and, in
default of the payment of the fine and costs of prosecution, shall
be imprisoned for a period not exceeding 30 days.
