[Adopted 8-22-1990 by Ord. No. 90-139]
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 residents of Harborcreek Township. It should
be further stated that the use of holding tanks shall be considered
to be a temporary measure taken for the disposal of sewage when, at
the time of application, alternate methods for sewage disposal are
not feasible.
Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise,
the meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
HOLDING TANK
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.
IMPROVED PROPERTY
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.
MUNICIPALITY
The Township of Harborcreek, Erie County, Pennsylvania.
OWNER
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any property located in the Township.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation
or other group or entity.
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.
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 and which rules and
regulations may be adopted by the Board of Supervisors by resolution
or resolutions duly adopted by the Board at any public meeting of
the Board of Supervisors.
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.
Any application for a sewage holding tank shall be accompanied
by a nonrefundable application and review fee of $100 made payable
to Harborcreek Township, and each year thereafter the owner of lands
in which a sewage holding tank is located shall pay to Harborcreek
Township an annual inspection fee of $100 for each sewage holding
tank on the owner's property in order to reimburse Harborcreek Township
its costs for the annual holding tank inspections required of Harborcreek
Township. The fees established hereunder may from time to time hereafter
be reviewed by the Board of Supervisors and, where appropriate, be
changed by resolution of the Board of Supervisors duly adopted at
a regularly scheduled public meeting of the Board of Supervisors of
Harborcreek Township. No approvals hereunder shall be granted by the
Township until all fees under this article have been paid to Harborcreek
Township and the owner or tenant has been issued an on-lot sewage
disposal permit by the County of Erie Department of Health. The municipality
shall have the right and power to fix, alter, 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.
Prior to any installation or operation of a sewage holding tank
by an owner or tenant of improved property, it shall also be necessary
for the owner or tenant to apply for and secure from the County of
Erie Department of Health an on-lot sewage disposal permit.
The owner of an improved property that utilizes a holding tank
shall:
A. Maintain
the holding tank in conformance with this or any ordinance of the
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.
C. Permit
only the municipality or its agent to collect, transport, and dispose
of the contents therein. The municipality must approve the contractor
who collects, transports and disposes of the sewage.
D. First secure
the required Harborcreek Township and County of Erie Department of
Health permit before installing, operating, maintaining or altering
a holding tank under this article.
Any person who violates any provisions of §
360-8 of this article shall, upon conviction thereof by summary proceedings, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $300, and in default of said fine and costs to undergo imprisonment in the County Prison for a period not in excess of 30 days.
In addition to any other remedies provided in this article, any violation of §
360-8 of this article shall constitute a nuisance and shall be abated by the Township by either seeking mitigation of the nuisance or appropriate equitable or legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction. Any and all actions taken by the municipality to abate the nuisance shall be done at the cost of the owner.
All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict herewith
are hereby repealed, as is Harborcreek Township Ordinance No. 90-133.
If any provision, 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 Harborcreek Township that this article
would have been adopted had such unconstitutional, illegal or invalid
provision, sentence, clause, section or part thereof not been included
therein.
This article shall become effective upon its adoption.
[Adopted 3-16-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-203]
Words used in this article for which definitions are not established
shall be given their usual customary meaning. Terms defined in other
ordinances of the Township shall be defined in accordance with said
definitions. Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise,
the meaning of the following terms when used in this article shall
be set forth below:
APPLICANT
The owner of the property or, where applicable, the lessee
of the property accorded authority under a lease to apply for a permit
which pertains to the sanitary sewer system.
AUTHORITY
The Harborcreek Township Sewer Authority.
AUTHORITY ENGINEER
The professional engineer employed by the Authority, his
or her assistant or designee, or any consulting engineer retained
by the Authority.
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE
A.
Of a corporation, the president, secretary, treasurer or vice
president or other person submitting written confirmation of authority
to perform the act for and on behalf of the corporation.
B.
Of a partnership or limited partnership, a general partner.
C.
Of an individual, the individual or other person submitting
a written confirmation of authority to perform the act for and on
behalf of said individual, so long as the owner remains ultimately
liable for performance.
D.
Of a federal, state or local governmental entity, a director
or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation
and performance of the activities of the entity or their designee.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD)
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation
of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures for five days
at 20° C., usually expressed as a concentration (e.g., milligrams
per liter).
BUILDING SEWER
That collection of pipes, cleanouts, small diameter pressure
sewers, curb boxes and related appurtenances which transport sewage
from a premises on private property to the public sanitary sewer main.
The term includes building laterals and building drains and the term
"service connection."
CONNECTION
Extends to the installation, alteration, modification or
termination/disconnection of an existing service connection to the
sanitary sewer system, unless expressly provided otherwise in this
article. This term refers to the act of effecting or altering a service
connection to the sanitary sewer system.
GARBAGE
Solid waste from the preparation of cooking, dispensing of
food and/or from the handling, storage and sale of produce.
GRINDER PUMP
A mechanism that shreds and pressurizes sewage, consisting
of motor, pump and shredder as well as housing, wiring and alarms,
and usually considered a part of the building sewer.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE
Shall be construed to mean any liquid, gaseous, radioactive,
solid or other substance, not ordinary waste or sewage but including
discharges from pretreatment facilities, resulting from any manufacturer
or industry or from any establishment including those recovering or
processing natural resources, and shall include all such substances
whether or not generally characterized as waste.
NATURAL OUTLET
Any outlet into a watercourse, ditch, pond, lake or other
body of surface water or groundwater.
OWNER
The person, firm, corporation, partnership, association or
other entity having an interest as owner, whether legal or equitable,
sole or partial, in any premises which is or may be furnished public
sanitary sewerage service.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, firm, company, corporation,
association, joint-stock company, trust, limited-liability company,
estate, governmental entity or other legal entity or their legal representatives,
agents or assigns.
PRIVATE SEWER SYSTEM
All or any portion of a sewerage system not owned by the
Authority and/or the Township.
PRIVATE WELL
Any well owned by any person for his, her or its private
use in providing water for any purpose whatsoever.
PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE
Garbage which has been shredded to such a degree that all
particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally
prevailing in public sewers with no particle greater than 1/2 inch
in any dimension.
PUBLIC SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM or PUBLIC SYSTEM
All sanitary sewers, pumping stations, sewerage treatment
works, pressure systems and other facilities owned or operated by
the Authority for the collection, conveyance and treatment of sanitary
sewage and industrial waste along with their appurtenances and any
additions, extensions or improvements that may be made by the Authority
and/or its agents or representatives.
RECORDS
Includes books, documents, papers, apparatus, data, readings,
records of analysis, graphs, plans, investigative reports and ledgers.
SANITARY SEWER
A sewer which carries sewage and/or industrial wastes and
to which stormwater, surface water and groundwater are not intentionally
or lawfully admitted.
SERVICE CONNECTION or SERVICE LATERAL
Includes the pipe, cleanout, small diameter pressure sewer
and related appurtenances that transport sewage, normally from a single
premises, from the edge of the public right-of-way and/or easement
to and including the attaching connection at the sanitary sewer main.
SEWAGE
Any combination of water-carried wastes from residences,
buildings, industrial establishments, commercial establishments, institutions,
manufacturing plants, processing plants or other places in which such
wastes are produced, together with such groundwater, surface water,
stormwater or other water as may be present. This includes but is
not limited to human waste and gray water (dish washing operations,
household showers, clothes washing machines and slop sinks, etc.).
SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT
Includes all devices, facilities and/or structures used for
treatment of sewage and/or industrial wastes.
SEWAGE WORKS
All facilities for collecting, pumping, transporting, treating
and disposal of sewage and industrial wastes.
SEWER
A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
SHALL
When used in this article, means a mandatory obligation.
STORM SEWER or STORM DRAIN
Includes any sewer or conveyance which carries stormwater,
surface water, drainage and some industrial water discharges (such
as cooling and air-conditioning waters), but excludes sewage and polluted
industrial waters.
STORMWATER
Includes any flow occurring during or following any form
of natural precipitation and resulting from such precipitation, including
snow melt. The term shall include but not be limited to flows from
sump discharges, detention or retention facilities, downspouts, roof,
and other drains and other conveyance facilities.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
Solids which either float on the surface of or are in suspension
in water, sewage or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory
filtering in accordance with standard laboratory procedure.
TOWNSHIP ENGINEER
The professional engineer employed by the Township, his or
her assistant or designee, or any consulting engineer retained by
the Township.
[Amended 7-6-2011 by Ord.
No. 2011-203-1]
A. The owner of each and every house, building or structure located
in Harborcreek Township which is used for human occupancy, employment,
recreation or other purpose and abuts on any street, highway, easement
or right-of-way in which there has been constructed a sanitary sewer
shall, at the owner's sole expense, install suitable sanitary
sewer facilities therein and connect such facilities and industrial
waste outlets directly with the public sanitary sewer system in accordance
with the provisions of this article and with the rules and regulations
adopted by the Authority governing use and operation of the sanitary
sewer system within 60 days after the date of official notice to do
so given in the manner provided by law. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
if a house, building or other structure described above shall be located
more than 150 feet from the public sanitary sewer, the owner thereof
shall not be required to connect to said system as outlined above.
If any portion of said house, building or structure lies within 150
feet of said sanitary sewer line, connection must be made in accord
with this section.
B. The owner of any property upon which a new, altered or reconstructed
building is constructed on or after enactment of this article shall
not occupy or cause or allow to be occupied such building until such
time as the building's sanitary facilities and any industrial
waste outlets are properly connected to the public sanitary sewer
system.
In lieu of introducing untreated or partially treated industrial
wastes and polluted waters into the public sanitary sewer system,
the owner of premises producing such wastes, upon receiving and complying
with all applicable permits and regulations of the Township, the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection, the United States Environmental
Protection Agency and/or the Erie County Health Department, may, at
the owner's sole cost and expense, construct and operate private
waste treatment facilities, with the effluent discharged to a natural
outlet. The Township and/or the Authority may refuse to allow an on-lot
system where it does not meet the rules and regulations. Authorized
private waste treatment facilities shall be maintained and operated
at all times in a satisfactory and effective manner and in accordance
with all regulations.
Where preliminary treatment facilities are provided for any
waters or wastes, such preliminary facilities shall be maintained
continuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner
at the owner's sole expense.
It shall be unlawful and a violation of this article for any
person, directly or indirectly, to do or cause or allow to be done
any of the following:
A. The placement or deposit of sewage, municipal waste or other objectionable
wastes upon any public or private property within Harborcreek Township
or in any area under the jurisdiction of Harborcreek Township.
B. The discharge of sewage into any natural outlet within Harborcreek
Township.
C. The discharge of industrial wastes or other polluted water into any
natural outlet within Harborcreek Township, unless the person doing
so is operating with the prior approval of or under a permit issued
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection.
D. The construction or maintenance of any privy, privy vault or cesspool,
other than an on-lot sewage system approved by the Township and constructed
in accordance with current regulations of the Erie County Department
of Health and/or the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
E. The discharge of any stormwater, surface drainage, ground drainage,
roof runoff, subsurface drainage or unpolluted industrial process
waters into any public sanitary sewer:
(1) Stormwater and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged
into such sewers as are specifically designated as storm sewers, if
available, or to a natural outlet approved by the Township.
(2) Unpolluted process waters shall be discharged into a storm sewer
approved by the Township or, with prior approval of the Township,
into a natural outlet if such storm sewer or outlet is not available.
F. Discharge of any of the following described waters or wastes into
any public sanitary sewer:
(1) Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than 150° F.;
or
(2) Any gasoline, benzene, naptha, fuel oil or other flammable or explosive
liquid, solid or gas; or
(3) Any garbage that has not been properly shredded; or
(4) Any ashes, sand, cinders, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags,
feathers, tar, plastics, wood, paunch manure or any other solid or
viscous substance not meeting the definition of properly shredded
garbage and/or which is capable of obstruction to the flow in sewers
or other interference with the proper operation of the sewage works;
or
(5) Any waters or wastes containing a toxic or poisonous substance in
sufficient quantity to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment
process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals or create any hazard
in the receiving waters of the sewage treatment plant; or
(6) Any waters or wastes containing suspended solids of such character
and quantity that unusual attention or expense is required to handle
such materials at Authority pump stations or at the sewage treatment
plant; or
(7) Any noxious or malodorous gas or substance capable of creating a
public nuisance; or
(8) Water or wastes containing substances which are not in conformance
with the provisions and pollutant limitations of the Harborcreek Township
Industrial Waste Ordinance, Ordinance No. 94-156, as amended.
G. Construction or effectuation by any owner(s) themselves or by or
through their contractors, agents or assigns, of a connection, alteration
to or termination of a connection to the sanitary sewer system in
a manner contrary to or not in strict compliance with the terms of
an approved permit.
H. Construction or effectuation by any owner(s) themselves or by or
through their contractors, agents or assigns, of a connection, alteration
to or termination of a connection to the sanitary sewer system in
any manner contrary to or not in strict compliance with the terms
of this article or rules and regulations governing the sewer system.
I. Performance of any work involving connections to the Harborcreek
Township sewer system by a person not approved by the Harborcreek
Township Sewer Authority or who has been suspended from performing
said work by the Authority per the terms of this article or rules
and regulations adopted by the Authority.
J. Failure or refusal to connect to the public sewer system within the
time authorized by an issued permit or any extension of time allowed
after good cause shown.
K. Failure or refusal to connect to the public sewer system prior to
commencement of occupancy of a building constructed, altered or reconstructed
under a building permit issued on or after the effective date of this
article.
L. Failure or refusal to connect to the public sewer system within 60
days after the date of the Township's notice to connect or within
any extension of time allowed after good cause shown.
M. Failure or refusal to effect repairs or take other prescribed remedial
action to a connection effected to the sewer system within the time
period specified in writing by a directive from the Township or the
Authority.
N. Failure or refusal to disconnect an unlawful or improper connection
to the sanitary sewer system within the time period specified in writing
by a directive from the Township or the Authority.
O. The negligent, willful, malicious or reckless breaking, damage, destruction,
uncovering, defacement or tampering of or with any structure, appurtenance
or equipment which is a part of the public sanitary sewer system or
sewage works.
P. Violation of any provision of this article concerning regulation
of discharge of industrial wastes.
Q. Failure or refusal to allow the Township or the Authority access
to a premises or to records required under this article or by rules
and regulations governing the sewer system.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion
of this article or its application to any person, property or circumstances
is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court, such
holding shall not be construed to affect the validity of any of the
remaining provisions of this article or its application, for such
portion shall be deemed as a separate, distinct and independent provision
from the remaining provisions which shall be and remain in full force
and effect. It is hereby declared the legislative intent that this
article would have been adopted had such valid or unconstitutional
provision of its application not been included herein.
All ordinances or parts of any ordinances inconsistent herewith
are hereby repealed. This article shall not be construed to amend
or repeal the Industrial Waste Ordinance, as amended.