[Adopted 3-1-1993 by Ord. No. 5-93]
Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise, the meanings of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
ACT
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the "Clean Water Act," as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.
AUTHORITY
The Berks-Montgomery Municipal Authority, a Pennsylvania municipal authority.
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF INDUSTRIAL USER
A. 
A principal or executive officer of at least the level of vice president, if the industrial user is a corporation;
B. 
A general partner or proprietor if the industrial user is a partnership or proprietorship, respectively;
C. 
A duly authorized representative of the individual designated above if such representative is responsible for the overall operation of the facilities from which the indirect discharge originates.
IMPROVED PROPERTY
Any property within the Township of Colebrookdale, Berks County, upon which there is erected a structure intended for continuous or periodic habitation, occupancy, or use, by human beings, and from which structure sewage and/or industrial waste shall be or may be discharged.
INDIRECT DISCHARGE
The discharge or introduction of pollutants from any source regulated under Section 307(b) or (c) of the Act[1] into the sewage system (including holding tank waste discharged into the system).
INDUSTRIAL USER
A source of indirect discharge of industrial waste which does not constitute a discharge of pollutants under regulations issued pursuant to Section 402 of the Act.[2]
INDUSTRIAL WASTE
Any solid, liquid or gaseous substance or form of energy or discharge, rejected or escaping in the course of any industrial, manufacturing, trade, or business process, or waste conversion, storage, or recycling process, or in the course of the development, recovery, or processing of natural recourses, as distinct from sewage, including such groundwater, surface water or stormwater as may be present and blended therewith.
OWNER
Any person vested with ownership legal or equitable, sole or partial, of any property located in the Township of Colebrookdale, Berks County.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, copartnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint-stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity or other legal entity, or their legal representatives, agents or assigns. The masculine gender shall include the feminine, and the singular shall include the plural where indicated by the context.
POLLUTANT
Any dredged soil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical waste, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged into water.
POLLUTION
The man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, or radiological integrity of water.
PRETREATMENT
The reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into the Authority' system. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical, or biological processes, or by processed changes using other means, except as prohibited by 40 CFR 403.6(d).
SEWAGE SYSTEM
All of the facilities, as of any particular time, for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage and industrial waste in the Township of Colebrookdale, Berks County, owned, maintained and operated by the Authority.
SHALL; MAY
"Shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissive.
WASTE WATER
Is the liquid and water-carried industrial or domestic waste from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, and institutions which contributes into or enters the Authority's system. Wastewater includes sewage.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 33 U.S.C. § 1317(b) and (c).
[2]
Editor's Note: See 33 U.S.C. § 1342.
A. 
The owner of any improved property located within the Township and abutting on or adjoining any street or highway in which is located a line of the sewer system, or whose principal building is within 150 feet from the sanitary sewer, shall make connection therewith in such manner as the Township or the Authority may require, within 60 days after notice to such owner from the Township or Authority to make such connection, for the purpose of discharge of all wastewater from such improved property, subject to such limitations and restrictions as shall be established herein or otherwise shall be established by the Township or the Authority from time to time. In no event shall any pollutant or any toxic waste be discharged into the sewage system by any industrial user, significant industrial user, or any person, except under and pursuant to written contract with the Authority and/or under and pursuant to a permit issued by the Authority. Unless expressly manifested to the contrary, It shall be assumed hereinafter, that all reference to the reception of wastewater and sewage exclude therefrom any and all pollutants and toxic waste and other industrial discharge except as may be authorized to be included by specific and individual contract with the Authority and/or pursuant to a permit issued by the Authority.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B. 
All sewage and industrial waste from any improved property, after connection of such improved property with the sewer as required in accordance with Subsection A hereinabove set forth, shall be conducted into a sewer, subject to such limitations and restrictions as established hereinafter or otherwise as may be established by the Authority, from time to time.
C. 
Prohibited acts.
(1) 
No person shall place or deposit or permit to be placed or deposited upon public or private property within the Township any sewage or wastewater in violation of Subsections A and B hereinbefore set forth.
(2) 
No person shall discharge or permit to be discharged to any natural outlet or waters of the state within this Township any sewage or wastewater in violation of Subsections A and B hereinbefore set out, except where suitable treatment has been provided which is satisfactory to the Authority.
(3) 
This section shall not apply to discharges of stormwater under and pursuant to 40 CFR § 122.26 (a)(3).
D. 
Privy vaults, cesspools, etc.
(1) 
No privy vault, cesspool, sinkhole, septic tank, or similar receptacle shall be used and maintained at any time upon any improved property which has been or is connected to a sewer or which shall be required under Subsection A to be connected to a sewer.
(2) 
Every such privy vault, cesspool, sinkhole, septic tank, or similar receptacle in existence shall be abandoned and, at the discretion of the Township, shall be cleansed and filled under the direction and supervision of the Township, and any such privy vault, cesspool, sinkhole, septic tank, or similar receptacle not so abandoned, and, if required by the Township, cleansed and filled, shall constitute a nuisance and such nuisance may be abated as provided by law, at the expense of the owner of such improved property.
(3) 
No connection from any cesspool, privy vault, sinkhole, septic tank, or similar receptacle shall be made with any sanitary sewer lateral or main.
E. 
Notice to connect to the Authority's system shall be made by either the Township or the Authority forwarding to the owner a copy of this article, including the amendment theretofore in effect, and a written document ordering the connection.
A. 
Except as otherwise provided in this Subsection A, each improved property shall be connected separately and independently to the sewer through a building sewer. Grouping of more than one improved property on one building sewer lateral shall not be permitted, except under special circumstances and for good sanitary reasons or other good cause shown, but then only after special permission of the Authority, in writing, shall have been secured.
B. 
All costs and expenses of construction of a building sewer lateral and all costs and expenses of connection of a building sewer lateral to the sewer shall be borne by the owner of the improved property to be connected; and such owner shall indemnify and save harmless this Township and the Authority from all loss or damage that may be occasioned, directly or indirectly, as a result of construction of a building sewer lateral or of connection of a building to the sewer.
C. 
Lateral connection placement; invert at point of connection.
(1) 
A building sewer lateral shall be connected to the sewer at the place designated by the Authority and where the lateral is provided.
(2) 
The invert of a building sewer lateral at the point of connection shall be at the same or a higher elevation than the invert of the sewer. A smooth, neat joint shall be made and the connection of a building sewer to the lateral shall be made secure and watertight.
D. 
If the owner of any improved property, located in the Township and abutting on or adjoining a street or highway in which is located a line of the sewer system, after 60 days' notice from the Township or Authority, in accordance with § 434-16A, shall fail to connect such improved property, as required, the Township or Authority may impose fines upon the owner for failure to connect as ordered, which fines shall be in accordance with this article.
A. 
It shall be unlawful to discharge without an appropriate Authority permit to any natural outlet within the Township of Colebrookdale, Berks County, or in any area under the jurisdiction of the Authority, and/or to the Authority any wastewater except as authorized by the Authority's Inspector and the Authority's Engineer in accordance with the provisions of this article and the Authority's regulations.
B. 
Every sewer line of any improved property shall be maintained in a sanitary and safe operating condition and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Berks-Montgomery Municipal Authority by the owner of such improved property at the owner's sole expense.
C. 
No owner of improved property shall repair or install sewer connections to the Authority's system or allow the same to be done for him except upon the issuance of an appropriate permit by the Berks-Montgomery Municipal Authority in accordance with its rules and regulations.
D. 
No plumber or plumbing firm shall be permitted to repair or install any sewer connections to the Authority's system except in accordance with the Authority's rules and regulating.
E. 
Prohibited substances.
(1) 
No user shall contribute to or cause to be contributed, directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater which will interfere with the operation or performance of the Authority's system. A user shall not contribute any of the following substances to the Authority:
(a) 
Discharges of trucked or hauled waste;
(b) 
Discharges of any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes with a half life or concentration which may exceed limits established by the Municipal Authority Inspector and/or Authority Engineer pursuant to applicable state or federal regulations.
(c) 
Any wastewater which causes a hazard to human life or creates a public nuisance.
(d) 
Surface water from roofs, pavements, streets, yards, or any other source shall not be allowed to drain into the sanitary sewer system.
(e) 
Condensing water of air-conditioning or refrigeration equipment, excluding condensate, shall not be allowed to enter the sanitary sewer system.
(f) 
Waters from floor drains, sump pumps, wall gutters, roof leaders, french drains, or perforated pipe shall not be allowed to enter the sanitary sewer system.
(g) 
Discharge prohibitions. No user shall contribute or cause to be contributed, directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater which will interfere with the operation or performance of the Authority's system. These general prohibitions apply to each user introducing pollutants into the Authority's system whether or not the user is subject to National Categorical Pretreatment Standards or any other national, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements. A user shall not contribute the following substances to the Authority:
[1] 
Any liquids, solids, or gases which by reason of their nature or quantity are, or may be, sufficient, either alone or by interaction with other substances, to cause fire, explosion or any other injury to the Authority's system, or to the operation of the system. Prohibited materials include, but are not limited to, gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, peroxides, chlorates, per chlorates, bromates, carbides, hydrides, sulfides, and any substance having more than 100 ppm of fat, oil, or grease.
[a] 
No waste stream shall be discharged to the Authority which has a closed cup flash point of less than 140° F. or 60° C. using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21. This prohibition shall also apply to aqueous solutions containing less than 25% alcohol by volume.
[2] 
Solid or viscous substances which may cause obstruction to the flow in the sewer, or other interference with the operation of the wastewater treatment facilities, or which may pass through to surface waters, such as, but not limited to, petroleum oil, non-biodegradable cutting oil, grease, garbage with particles greater than 1/2 inch in any dimension, animal guts or tissues, paunch manure, bones, hair, hide, or fleshing, entrails, whole blood, feathers, ashes, cinders, sand, spent lime, stone, or marble dust, metal, glass, straw, shavings, grass clippings, rags, spent grains, spent hops, wastepaper, wood, plastics, gas, tar, asphalt residues, residues from refining, or processing of fuel or lubricating oil, mud, or glass grindings, or polishing wastes.
[3] 
Any wastewater having a pH less than 6.0 or higher than 8.5, or wastewater having any other corrosive properties capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment, and/or personnel of the Authority's system.
[4] 
Any wastewater containing toxic pollutants in sufficient quantity, either singularly or by interaction with other pollutants, to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a toxic effect in the receiving waters of the Authority's system, or exceed the limitations set forth in a categorical pretreatment standard. A toxic pollutant shall include but not be limited to any pollutant identified pursuant to Section 307(a) of the Act.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 33 U.S.C. § 1317(a).
[5] 
Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, or solids, which either singularly or by interaction with other wastes are sufficient to create a public nuisance or hazard to life, or are sufficient to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance and repair, or are capable of causing any worker health and/or safety problems.
[6] 
Any substance which may cause the system's effluent, or any other product of the Authority's operation, such as residues, sludges or scums, to be unsuitable for reclamation and reuse, or which could interfere with the reclamation process. In no case shall a substance discharged to the Authority's system cause the system to be in noncompliance with: sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations developed under Section 405 of the Act,[2] any criteria, guidelines, or regulations applicable to sludge use or disposal developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substance Control Act,[3] or state criteria applicable to the sludge management method being used.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 33 U.S.C. § 1345.
[3]
Editor's Note: See 42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq., 42 U.S.C. § 7401 et seq., and 15 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq., respectively.
[7] 
Any substance which will cause the Authority's system to violate its NPDES and/or state disposal system permit or the receiving water quality standard.
[8] 
Any wastewater with objectionable color not removed in the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye waste and vegetable tanning solutions.
[9] 
Any wastewater having a temperature which will inhibit biological activity in the Authority's treatment plant resulting in interference and in all events any wastewater which, alone or in conjunction with other wastewater, causes the plant's in fluent to exceed 104° F. (40° C.).
[10] 
No wastewater containing total solids of such character and quantity that unusual attention or expense is required to handle such materials for sewage treatment processes.
[11] 
Any pollutants, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.), released at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which a user knows, or has reason to know, will cause interference to the Authority's plant. A user, who discharges such pollutant causing interference, shall not be responsible therefore if, and only if a) the user did not know, or have reason to know, that the discharge would cause pass-through or interference, and b) the user was at the time in compliance with existing limits for each pollutant in its discharge, or, in the absence of limits, its discharge at the time of the pass-through or interference had not changed materially from its prior discharges occurring when the Authority was in compliance with its NPDES permit. In no case shall a sludge load have a flow rate or contain concentration or quantities of pollutants that exceed, for any time period longer than 15 minutes, more than five times the average twenty-four-hour concentration, quantities, or flow during normal operations.
F. 
In order to ensure the health and welfare of the community in general, the Authority is authorized to refuse to permit any person to discharge sewage and/or industrial waste into the sewer system in the absence of compliance by the said person with the Authority's rules and regulations.
G. 
The Authority shall adopt rules and regulations as it shall deem necessary and proper relating to sewer connections, sewer service, pretreatment, pollution standards, inspection and recording, rates and fines, and such other matters as may be necessary for the continued safe and efficient operation of the sewer system.
H. 
The Authority shall adopt rules and regulations enforcing the pretreatment requirements of the Act, which rules and regulations shall be applicable to all users within the Township of Colebrookdale.
A. 
The Township of Colebrookdale hereby grants to the Berks Montgomery Municipal Authority, it successors and assigns, an easement and right-of-way over, through, and under any and all roads, streets, lanes, courts, alleys, public squares, and other public properties of the Township of Colebrookdale for the purpose of constructing, replacing, repairing, altering, maintaining, and operating a sewer system and the lines requisite thereto in the Township of Colebrookdale, to such an extent, and in such locations, as the Berks Montgomery Municipal Authority shall in its exclusive jurisdiction, deem necessary, up to and including the full width of any and all rights-of-ways, easements, streets, roads, lanes, courts, alleys, and other properties of the Township of Colebrookdale, together with free ingress, egress, and regress, therein, thereto, thereon, and thereunder; to hold the same for so long as the said Berks Montgomery Municipal Authority shall be the designated Municipal Authority for the treatment of waste and sewage product in the Township of Colebrookdale.
B. 
The Township of Colebrookdale designates the Berks Montgomery Municipal Authority as the exclusive Municipal Authority for the construction and operation of a sewer system and sewer facility in the Township of Colebrookdale.
A. 
The Sewer Authority is hereby authorized to impose penalties and fines for noncompliance by any person with its rules and regulations. Additionally, the Authority is authorized to deny to persons the right to work on the system; to deny service to persons; and to terminate service to persons; all for failure to comply with its rules and regulations and this article. The Authority shall exercise its police powers for purposes of enforcement of this article.
B. 
Any user found to have violated an order of the Authority or willfully or negligently having failed to comply with any provision of this article and/or the Authority's rules and regulations shall, upon being found liable therefor, pay a fine of not more than $600, plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Township in the enforcement proceedings. If the penalty is not paid, the Township 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. The Authority is hereby authorized to bring any prosecution as may be required in order to enforce the penalties set out herein for noncompliance with its regulations and/or this article.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
C. 
The Authority is specifically authorized to enforce the provisions of the Solid Waste Management Act (1980, July 7, P.L. 380, No. 97)[1] in accordance with the enforcement provisions contained therein for municipalities.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 et seq.
D. 
Any person who knowingly makes any false statements, representations, or certification in any application, record, report, plan or other document filed or required to be maintained pursuant to the Authority's rules and regulations, or who falsifies, tampers with, or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required under the Authority's rules and regulations, shall be prosecuted in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for submitting false reports to authorities together with any and all other criminal penalties applicable to such conduct, and to that end, the Authority is hereby authorized to commence enforcement for such violation in accordance with the procedure authorized by law.
E. 
Fines and costs imposed under provisions of this article shall be enforceable and recoverable in the manner and at the time provided by applicable law.
F. 
Municipal Authority Inspector.
(1) 
The Authority shall appoint a Municipal Authority Inspector who shall have the powers, duties and qualifications prescribed by this article, or otherwise prescribed by the Authority. The duties of the Municipal Authority Inspector shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
(a) 
To make any required inspections and supervise any tests necessary to ensure that all provisions of this article and the Authority's regulations are being faithfully complied with, and to remove or correct or to order the removal or correction of any work or materials that are faulty and/or not approved.
(b) 
To observe and prevent, whenever possible, any infraction of the Authority's regulations, and any and all federal, state, and Township regulations applicable to the inhabitants of the geographical area served by the Authority.
(c) 
The Municipal Authority Inspector shall, upon properly identifying himself, be given access to any structure or area in order to fulfill his/her duty to make inspections to determine whether any drainage connection is adequate, faulty, improperly used, neglected, or abandoned, or whether any unlawful repair, alteration, installation, or addition has been made thereon. Such inspections shall be made at times reasonably convenient to the occupants.
(d) 
When an investigation reveals any condition that is or may be unsanitary, inadequate, violative of the Authority's regulations, or dangerous to life or health, the inspector shall issue an order to the owner of the property wherein such condition exists to take such action as may be necessary and adequate to correct and completely abate and remove the unlawful or objectionable condition. The order shall be in writing. A copy shall be sent to or served on the owner, and shall state the nature of the correction ordered. The condition shall be abated or corrected by the owner within the time stated in the order.
(2) 
The Inspector shall have the right to enter the premises of any user at any time during operations to determine whether the user is complying with all requirements of this article and any wastewater discharge permit or order issued thereunder. Users shall allow the Inspector ready access to all parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection, sampling, records examination and copying, and the performance of any additional duties.
(a) 
Where a user has security measures in force which require proper identification and clearance before entry into its premises, the user shall make necessary arrangements with its security guards so that, upon presentation of suitable identification, the Inspector will be permitted to enter without delay for the purposes of performing specific responsibilities.
(b) 
The Inspector shall have the right to set up on the user's property, or require installation of, such devices as are necessary to conduct sampling and/or metering of the user's operations.
(c) 
Any temporary or permanent obstruction to safe and easy access to the facility to be inspected and/or sampled shall be promptly removed by the user at the written or verbal request of the Inspector and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall be born by the user.
(d) 
Unreasonable delays in allowing the Inspector access to the user's premises shall be a violation of this article.
(e) 
In connection with said inspection, the Inspector shall have the right to take such samples of any solid, semisolid, liquid or contained gaseous material as he may deem appropriate for analysis. If such analysis is in fact made, copies of the results of same shall be made available to the property operator within five days after receipt of same by the Authority.
(3) 
If the Inspector has been refused access to a building, structure, or property, or any part thereof, and is able to demonstrate probable cause to believe that there may be a violation of these regulations, or that there is a need to inspect and/or sample as part of a routine inspection and sampling program of the Authority designed to verify compliance with this regulation or any permit or order issued hereunder, or to protect the overall public health, safety and welfare of the community, then the Inspector may seek issuance of a search warrant from the appropriate commonwealth official authorized to issue a search warrant. Probable cause shall exist where:
(a) 
The Inspector has been refused access to the property, building, premises, place, book, record, log, or physical evidence or has been prevented from taking samples or conducting tests; and
(b) 
The sampling, testing, inspection or examination is authorized and required by this article or the Authority's Regulations and/or any other applicable law; or
(c) 
That the Inspector has reason to believe that a violation of this article or the Authority's regulations has or will occur giving rise to the necessity for such inspection, sampling, test or examination.
G. 
Any discharge to the Authority's system in contravention of this article, the Authority's regulations, any permit issued by the Authority or any other applicable law, state or federal, is hereby declared to be a public nuisance which the Authority may, after notice, declare to be a Nuisance and prosecute as authorized herein or by any other applicable statute, including the Pennsylvania Water Pollution Control Act, 35 P.S. § 691.1 et seq.
In the event any provision, section, sentence, or clause or part of this article shall be held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect or impair any remaining provision, section, sentence, clause or part of this article, it being the intent of this Township that such remainder shall remain in full force and effect.
It is declared that enactment of this article is necessary for the protection, benefit and preservation of the health, safety, and welfare of the inhabitants of this Township as well as the preservation of the constitutionally guaranteed natural waterways of the Township. The same can only be guaranteed by insuring against the introduction of pollutants into the Authority's system such as will interfere with the operation of the system or contaminate the system's end products, or the receiving waters, or the atmosphere, or such as would otherwise impinge, impede, or interrupt the Authority's system.
All ordinances and all parts of ordinances inconsistent with this article shall be and in the same are expressly repealed.