[Editor's Note: The McCandless Sanitary Authority owns and operates the sewer system and sets rates for its utilization.]
[Ord. 229, passed 6-29-1959]
For the purpose of this article, the following terms are defined:
COMMUNITY SYSTEM
All or part of a device or devices intended to treat or dispose of the sewage of equivalent volume of domestic sewage from two or more residences, buildings or occupied parcels of land.
PERSON
An individual, firm, corporation, partnership or association.
PRIVATE SYSTEM
All or part of a device or devices intended to treat or dispose of the sewage from a single residence, building or occupied parcel of land on the individual parcel.
SEWAGE
Waste water discharged from any plumbing fixture.
[Ord. 229, passed 6-29-1959]
No person shall cause to be installed on any piece or parcel of ground under his ownership, care or control, either a private system or a community system, unless a permit has been obtained from the Director of the Allegheny County Health Department. A permit must also be obtained from the Secretary of Health of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania when a community system is to be installed.
[Ord. 229, passed 6-29-1959; Ord. 799, passed 7-28-1980]
(a) 
No person shall construct a private system or community system where public sewers are reasonably accessible.
(b) 
No person shall continue a private system or community system on any parcel or piece of ground abutting on or contiguous to or reasonably accessible to any public sewers of adequate capacity to carry the additional volume.
[Ord. 285, passed 8-1-1960; Ord. 1203, passed 5-26-1998]
(a) 
Requirement. Every owner of property in the Town whose property abuts upon any line of the sanitary sewers of the Town or the Town Sanitary Authority, shall connect, at his own cost, the building, buildings or other structures located on such property with the sanitary sewers of the Town or the Authority for the purpose of disposing of all drainage as is customarily disposed of in a system of sanitary sewers. In the case of a sanitary sewer line constructed in a public street or highway right of way, property on either side of the street or highway shall be considered as abutting the sewer line.
(b) 
Other disposal methods prohibited. No owner, lessee or occupier of any property abutting on any line of the sanitary sewer system of the Town or Authority shall employ any means, either by septic tank, mine hole or otherwise, for the disposal of sanitary sewage, other than into and through the sanitary sewers of the Town or Authority.
(c) 
Notice to connect. Where any structure on abutting property as aforesaid 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 the Town or Authority, it shall be the duty of the Town Secretary or other person authorized by Council to notify the owner, lessee or occupier of such structure in writing, either by personal service, certified mail or registered mail, to disconnect the same and make proper connections for the discharge and disposal of sewage through the sanitary sewer system of the Town or the Authority as hereinafter provided, within 60 days after receipt of such notice. However, notwithstanding anything herein or hereafter contained to the contrary, no owner, lessee or occupier of such structure shall be required to tap where his sewage would not by natural gravity flow into the sanitary sewer.
(d) 
Failure to connect; action by town. In case any owner of property adjoining or adjacent to such sewer neglects or refuses to connect with and use the sewers for such period of service, 60 days after notice to do so has been served upon him, either by personal service, certified mail or by registered mail as aforesaid, the Town or its agents or the Authority or its agents may enter upon such property and construct such connection. In such case, the Town Secretary or the Authority Secretary, or other authorized person 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 the bill, a municipal lien for such construction shall be filed within six months of the date of completion of the construction of the connection, the same to be subject in all respects to the general law providing for the filing and recovery of municipal liens.
(e) 
Written reports of and required repairs of deteriorating or poorly constructed laterals and sewer service connections. The Authority is authorized in the course of its program of repair, rehabilitation, maintenance and replacement of publicly owned treatment works of the Authority, when it identifies deteriorating or poorly constructed laterals and sewer service connections, causing infiltration and inflow of extraneous waters into the publicly owned treatment works of The McCandless Township Sanitary 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 or poorly constructed laterals and sewer service connections must, at the property owner's expense, be promptly repaired, replaced or rehabilitated within 60 days of receipt of said notice. A copy of all written reports prepared by the Authority in connection with its examination of deteriorating or poorly constructed laterals and sewer service connections shall be provided to the Town.
[Ord. 285, passed 8-1-1960]
Any person required to connect with the sewer system of the Town or the Authority, shall make application for a tapping permit on forms furnished by the Town or the Authority, and shall set forth in the application, the character of the structure and use, the lot number and location, and the name of the person who is to make the connection and shall pay the required fee for the tapping.
[Ord. 285, passed 8-1-1960]
No privy vault, cesspool, septic tank, mine hole or similar receptacle for human excrement shall at any time, now or hereafter, be connected with the sanitary sewers of the Town or the Authority.
[Ord. 285, passed 8-1-1960]
No privy vault, cesspool, septic tank, mine hole or similar receptacle for human excrement shall hereafter be maintained upon any premises from which connection with any of the Town or Authority sewers shall have been made. The Town may, at its discretion require every such privy vault, cesspool, septic tank, mine hole or other receptacle within 30 days after final enactment of this section (August 1, 1960), 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, to be abandoned, cleansed and filled under the direction and supervision of the Town or the Authority. Any such privy vault, cesspool, septic tank, mine hole or other receptacle not abandoned, cleansed and filled as required by this section shall constitute a nuisance and such nuisance may be abated on order of the Town or the Authority as provided by law, at the expense of the owner of such property.
[Ord. 285, passed 8-1-1960]
No person, firm or corporation connected to the Town or Authority sewer system shall connect any roof drain thereto or permit, allow or cause to enter into such sewer system any storm water or surface water or any sewage from any property other than that for which the permit was issued, or any other substance, liquid, gas or solid which is prohibited by the terms of any other rule, regulation or ordinance adopted by the Town or the Authority for the operation of the sewer system.
[Ord. 285, passed 8-1-1960]
The construction of all private sewers or laterals and their connections with any lines of the sewer system shall be done in accordance with the plans and specifications established by the Town and the Authority as the same may be from time to time amended, copies of which are on file at the McCandless Municipal Building. All construction and connections shall be inspected by the Town or Authority engineers before being covered.
[Ord. 1203, passed 5-26-1998; Ord. 1291, passed 11-24-2003]
(a) 
No property owner or property user in the sewer system shall discharge, or permit the discharge of any storm water, surface water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, foundation drains, driveway drainage, cooling water or unpolluted industrial process water into said Sanitary Sewer System.
(b) 
The McCandless Township Sanitary Authority is hereby authorized to conduct random periodic smoke and/or dye tests, and any other appropriate test or inspection, without cost to the residents of the Town of McCandless, of all existing sewer systems and structures in the Town of McCandless for compliance with this article and other laws pertaining to sewer systems and structures.
(c) 
Every owner, lessee or occupier of land within the Town shall submit to dye testing by the McCandless Township Sanitary Authority, which Authority has been designated, authorized, constituted and appointed by the Town of McCandless as its sole and exclusive agent for such testing purposes. The owner, lessee or occupier of the land shall permit said testing upon request of the McCandless Township Sanitary Authority to conduct such testing. Testing will not be required when the owner, lessee or occupier of the land produces a valid Document of Certification issued by the Town of McCandless Inspector in accordance with Ordinance No. 1049, or issued by MTSA in accordance with Ordinance No. 1203, which Document of Certification shall be sufficient proof of compliance for purposes of Ordinance No. 1049 for a period of 18 months from the date of issuance.
(d) 
When illegal storm water or surface water connections 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 45 days of the date such party receives notification of the illegal connection.
[Ord. 1291, passed 11-24-2003]
(a) 
Any person who violates any provision of Article 917, except for Sections 917.04(e) or 917.10, shall for every offense, be fined not more than $600 together with costs, or shall be imprisoned for not more than 90 days, or both, at the discretion of the court. Each day that the violation continues after the expiration of the appropriate period of notice shall constitute a separate offense.
(b) 
Any person, firm or corporation who is found to have violated any order of the Authority and/or the Town, or who willfully violated or failed to comply with any provision of Sections 914.04(e) or 917.10 and the orders, rules, regulations and permits issued hereunder shall pay a fine of $250 following adjudication by a District Justice for each violation. Each day on which a violation shall occur or continue to occur shall be deemed a separate and distinct violation. In addition to the penalties provided herein, the Authority and the Town may recover penalties, damages, costs, reasonable attorney fees, court costs, court reporters fees and other expenses of litigation by appropriate suit at law against the person or user found to have violated Sections 917.04(e) or 917.10 or the orders, rules, regulations, and permits issued hereunder.
(c) 
Upon final adjudication that a violation of Sections 917.04(e) or 917.10 exists and refusal or failure to act by the property owner to undertake the repair, replacement or rehabilitation identified by written notice as herein provided, The McCandless Township Sanitary Authority shall have the right to enter onto the subject property to conduct the necessary work to bring the property into compliance with Sections 917.04(e) or 917.10 at the expense of the property owner, and further, upon the failure of the property owner to pay said expense, the McCandless Township Sanitary Authority shall have the right to file a lien against the subject property for the amount of said expense, together with costs of filing and perfecting such lien.