[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Robinson as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 2-10-1992 by Ord. No. 2-1992]
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 meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
A watertight receptacle, whether permanent or temporary,
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 the Township 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 sewage
shall or may be discharged.
Robinson Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania.
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any property located in the Township.
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation
or other group or entity.
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 substance 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.
The municipality 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 municipality 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 purposes herein. Said rules and regulations
shall be enacted and/or adopted by resolution.
All such rules and regulations adopted by the municipality shall
be in conformity with the provisions herein, all other ordinances
of the Township and all applicable laws and applicable rules and regulations
of administrative agencies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The municipality shall have the right and power to fix, alter,
charge, set, impose, and collect rates, assessments and other charges
in the area served by its facilities at reasonable and uniform rates
as authorized by applicable law. Additionally, the municipality shall
have the right and power to authorize any person to install and maintain
a holding tank subject to the rules and regulations of the municipality
and subject to the bonding requirements as pertains to the maintenance
and servicing of the same, which shall be determined and fixed by
the municipality within its sole discretion. Said rates, assessments
and other charges as well as the rules and regulations pertaining
to bonding requirements or otherwise shall be enacted and/or adopted
by resolution.
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 municipality, and the disposal thereof
shall be made only at such site or sites as may be approved by the
Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Until such time as directed otherwise by the municipality, it shall
be the responsibility of the owner who uses or intends to use or has
a holding tank on his or her premises to obtain and use a person or
entity as licensed and/or approved by the Department of Environmental
Protection for purposes of collection and transportation of all sewage
from the holding tank to the disposal site.
B.
The municipality will receive, review and retain pumping receipts
from permitted holding tanks.
C.
The municipality will obtain and retain annual inspection reports
for each permitted tank.
D.
At such time as the municipality directs the owner to discontinue
and/or cease any further activity as pertains to the holding tank
and/or the person or service providing transportation or collection
services, the owner shall immediately comply and therein no further
activity as pertains to the same shall be permitted nor condoned except
upon express consent and authorization by the municipality.
E.
At such time as municipal sewer facilities are installed and/or are
available for use as pertains to a premises or improved property which
is currently being serviced by a holding tank, upon demand by the
municipality to said owner, the use of the holding tank shall cease
and discontinue and therein the owner shall make use of the municipal
sewage system pursuant to the rules, regulations and requirements
then in effect and shall make no further use of said holding tank
except as may be specifically permitted by the municipality.
F.
The municipality shall not issue any permit for nor authorize the
use of any holding tank for use or service on or for any property
for which any sewage treatment facility has been approved or certified
by the Sewage Enforcement Officer of the municipality and/or by the
Department of Environmental Protection. Wherein the municipality is
strictly prohibited from allowing the use of any holding tank on or
for any property within the Township that otherwise could be served
by another available or approved sewage treatment system.
The owner of an improved property that utilizes a holding tank
shall:
A.
Maintain the holding tank in conformance with this article or any
ordinance of this Township, the provisions of any applicable law,
and the rules and regulations of the municipality and any administrative
agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B.
Permit only the municipality or its agent to inspect holding tanks
on an annual basis or, if directed by the municipality, have said
holding tank inspected on an annual basis by a person or entity certified
to do so and thereafter submit the results of said inspection to the
municipality. Nothing in this section nor otherwise in this article
shall be construed or interpreted to indicate that the same in any
way interferes with any rights, duties, obligations or authorities
of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
C.
Permit only the person or service authorized by the municipality
and the Department of Environmental Protection to collect, transport
and dispose of the contents therein.
D.
Provide a bond or similar financial security as excepted by the municipality
conditioned upon compliance with all of the provisions contained in
this article and in an amount sufficient to meet the cost and/or expense
of collecting, transporting and disposing of the contents therein,
based on maximum capacity, for a number of four procedures. The municipality
may amend and/or alter the amount of the bond and/or financial security
required by resolution and/or set the same by resolution at such time
or times as deemed appropriate by the Board of Supervisors of the
municipality.
E.
Use only such holding tank as is permitted by the Department of Environmental
Protection and/or any other regulatory agency, bureau or department
that has jurisdiction thereof.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this
article, or who fails to act in compliance with this article, shall
be subject to the summary offense penalties of 35 P.S. § 750.13
and, in addition thereto, may be subject to the civil penalties of
35 P.S. § 750.13a.
In addition to any other remedies provided in this article, any violation of § 352-8 above shall constitute a nuisance and shall be abated by the municipality by either seeking mitigation of the nuisance of appropriate equitable or legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction or by any other means as provided by law or in equity.
All ordinances or resolutions or parts of ordinances or resolutions,
insofar as they are inconsistent herewith, be and the same are hereby
repealed.
If any sentence, clause, section or part of this article is
for any reason found to be unconstitutional, illegal or invalid, such
unconstitutionality, illegality or invalidity shall not affect or
impair any of the remaining provisions, sentences, clauses, sections,
or parts of this article. It is hereby declared as the intent of the
Board of Supervisors of the Township that this article would have
been adopted had such unconstitutional, illegal or invalid sentence,
clause, section or part thereof not been included therein.
This article shall become effective five days after its adoption.
[Adopted 11-12-2001 by Ord. No. 2-2001]
Every owner of property in Robinson Township whose property
abuts upon any line of the sanitary sewers of the Midway Sewerage
Authority (hereinafter called the "Authority") shall connect, at his
own costs, the building, buildings or other structures located on
said property that are within 150 feet of said sanitary sewers with
said sanitary sewers for the purpose of disposing of all sanitary
sewage as is customarily disposed of in a system of sanitary sewers.
It shall be unlawful for any owner, lessee or occupier of any
property who is required to connect to the sanitary sewer system of
said Authority to employ any means, either by septic tank or otherwise,
for the disposal of sanitary sewage other than into and through the
sanitary sewers of said Authority.
Where any structure is now or hereafter may be connected to
any septic tank or using any method by which sanitary sewage is disposed
of or eliminated other than through the sanitary sewer system of said
Authority, it shall be the duty of the Authority to notify the owner,
lessee or occupier of such structure, in writing, either by personal
service or certified mail, to disconnect the same and make proper
connections for the discharge and disposal of sewage through the sanitary
sewer system of the Authority, as hereinafter provided, within 60
days after receipt of such notice, and the Authority is hereby authorized
to do so in its own name and/or on behalf of the Township.
In case any owner of property required to connect to such sewer
shall neglect or refuse to connect with and use said sewers for such
period of 60 days after notice to do so has been served upon him/her,
either by personal service or by certified mail as aforesaid, the
Authority or its agents may enter upon such property and construct
such connection. In such case, the Authority Secretary or other authorized
person on behalf of the Authority shall forthwith upon completion
of the work send an itemized bill of the cost of construction of such
connection to the owner of the property to which connection has been
so made, which bill shall be payable forthwith. In case of neglect
or refusal by the owner of such property to pay said bill, a municipal
lien for said construction shall be filed within six months of the
date of completion of the construction of said connection, the same
to be subject in all respects to the general law providing for the
filing and recovery of municipal liens. Robinson Township hereby authorizes
and empowers the Authority to act on behalf of the Township or in
its own right in regards to the previous provisions.
Any person required to connect a residential property with the
sewer system of the Authority shall make application for a tapping
permit therefor to the Authority on forms furnished by the Authority
and shall set forth in said application the character of structure
and use, the lot number and location, and the name of the person who
is to make the connection.
No privy vault, cesspool, septic tank or similar receptacle
for human excrement shall at any time, now or hereafter, be connected
with the sanitary sewers of the Authority.
No privy vault, cesspool, septic tank or similar receptacle
for human excrement shall hereafter be maintained upon any premises
from which connection with any of the sanitary sewers of the Authority
shall have been made. Every such privy vault, cesspool, septic tank
or other receptacle shall, within 30 days after final enactment of
this article in the case of premises now connected with a sewer, and
within 30 days after connection with a sewer in the case of premises
hereafter so connected, be abandoned, cleansed and filled under the
direction and supervision of the Authority or its agents. Any such
privy vault, cesspool, septic tank or other receptacle not abandoned,
cleansed, or filled as required by this section shall constitute a
nuisance and may be abated on order of the Board of the Authority,
as provided by law, at the expense of the owner of such property and
with the authorization and authority of the Township so to do.
The construction of all private sewers or laterals and their
connections with any lines of the sewer system shall be done in accordance
with rules and regulations established by the Authority, and shall
be inspected by the Authority Engineer, or his representative, before
being covered.
The Township hereby delegates to the Authority the sole and
exclusive authority and responsibility to set all charges and fees
for tapping permits.
The tap charge herein fixed and established shall be payable
at the time the application shall be made for a permit to tap into
said sanitary system.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to
tap into said sanitary system before making payment of the charges
herein established.
Any person, persons, partnership or any agents or executive
officers of any corporation violating any provision of this article
shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not less than $100
and not more than $600 and cost of prosecution, and, in default of
the payment of said fine and costs, the defendant may be committed
to the county jail for a period not exceeding 30 days. The Authority
is specifically authorized and empowered to enforce all of the terms
and requirements of this article.
The provisions of this article shall be severable, and, if any
of the provisions shall be held to be unconstitutional or invalid
for any reason, such decision shall not affect the validity of any
of the remaining provisions of this article. It is hereby declared
as the legislative intent that this article would have been adopted
had such unconstitutional or invalid provision not been included therein.
