The purpose of this chapter is to establish
procedures for the use and maintenance of existing and new privies
designed to receive and retain sewage, whether from residential or
commercial uses, and it is hereby declared that the enactment of this
chapter 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 chapter shall
be as follows:
AUTHORITY
The Borough of Athens, Bradford County, Pennsylvania.
IMPROVED PROPERTY
Any property within the Borough 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.
MUNICIPALITY
The Borough of Athens, Bradford County, Pennsylvania.
OWNER
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any property located in the Borough.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation
or other group or entity.
PRIVY
A watertight receptacle, whether permanent or temporary,
which receives and retains sewage where water under pressure or piped
wastewater is not available and is designed and constructed to facilitate
the ultimate disposal of the sewage at another site.
SEWAGE
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 or any substance
which constitutes pollution under the Clean Streams Law (35 P.S. §§ 691.1
to 691.1001).
The Authority is hereby authorized and empowered
to undertake within the Borough the control and methods of privy use,
sewage disposal and sewage collection and transportation thereof.
The Authority 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.
All such rules and regulations adopted by the
Authority shall be in conformity with the provisions herein, all other
ordinances of the Borough and all applicable laws and applicable rules
and regulations of administrative agencies of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.
The Authority shall have the right and power
to fix, charge and collect rates, assessments and other charges in
the area served by its facilities at reasonable and uniform rates
as authorized by applicable law.
The collection and transportation of all sewage
from any improved property utilizing a privy shall be done solely
by or under the direction and control of the Authority, and the disposal
thereof shall be made only at such site or sites as may be approved
by the Department of Environmental Resources of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.
The owner of an improved property that utilizes
a privy shall:
A. Maintain the privy
in conformance with this chapter or any ordinance of this Borough,
the provisions of any applicable law and the rules and regulations
of the Authority and any administrative agency of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
B. Permit only the
Authority or its agent to collect, transport and dispose of the contents
therein.
C. Abandon the privy
consistent with applicable public health and environmental standards
and obtain a permit for and install an approved on-lot system meeting
Chapter 73 standards in the event that water under pressure or piped
wastewater becomes available to the property.
D. Permit the Authority
to enter upon lands to inspect the privy for proper operation, maintenance
and contents disposal.
[Amended 3-9-1998 by Ord. No. 513, approved 3-9-1998; at time of
adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person who violates any provisions of §
387-7,
387-8 or
387-9 shall, upon being found liable therefor, pay a fine of not more than $600, plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement proceedings. If the penalty is not paid, the Borough shall initiate a civil action for collection in accordance with the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense, and each section of this chapter that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense. In addition to or in lieu of enforcement under this section, the Borough may enforce this chapter in equity in the Court of Common Pleas of Bradford County.
In addition to any other remedies provided in this chapter, any violation of §
387-9 above shall constitute a nuisance and shall be abated by the municipality or the Authority by either seeking mitigation of the nuisance or appropriate equitable or legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.