[Adopted 7-20-1998 by Ord. No. 8-98]
A. 
The purpose of this article is to establish procedures for the design, installation, use, and maintenance of community on-lot sewage disposal systems (COLDS) designed to receive, treat, and dispose of sewage from sanitary sources. 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 Township.
B. 
This article is intended to provide a method of sewage treatment and disposal under circumstances where the Township does not have the capability to convey, treat, and/or dispose of sewage via a Township or Township-authorized agency's publicly held conveyance, treatment, and/or disposal system, and where the construction, use, and maintenance that are or may be associated with individual sewage disposal systems pose or may present potential health risks.
As part of any zoning and subdivision approval proposing the use of a COLDS, compliance with these rules and regulations shall be a condition of any approval, including the condition that the system shall be subject to a continuing offer of dedication to the Township. All COLDS, as herein defined, to be constructed shall have as the official permittee the Township of Colebrookdale, Berks County, as required by the Township's Act 537 plan. No COLDS shall be accepted for dedication except in accordance with these rules and regulations. The provisions set forth in this scope shall be memorialized in appropriate textual notes prominently set forth on the approved final subdivision and land development plan.
As used herein, the following terms shall have the meanings herein described unless otherwise provided:
AUTHORITY
Berks-Montgomery Municipal Authority (BMMA).
BOARD
The Board of Commissioners of Colebrookdale Township, Berks County.
CAPITAL RESERVE FUND
An interest-bearing revolving fund, established for or by the Authority with monies contributed by each COLDS developer, for the purpose of financing major equipment and facility repair, replacement, or upgrade. A separate capital reserve fund shall be established for each COLDS.
COMMUNITY ON-LOT SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEMS (COLDS)
A system of piping, tanks, or other facilities serving two or more lots and collecting, treating, and disposing of domestic sewage into a soil absorption area or retaining tank located on another site.
DEP
The bureau or office of the Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania administering the issuance of permits and enforcing regulations promulgated by the Environmental Quality Board governing the issuance of permits for COLDS.
DESIGN STANDARDS
Design standards for COLDS as established by DEP (25 Pa. Code Chapter 73) as well as all relevant installation and locational standards established by such regulations and specifications for the design, installation, and use of COLDS as set forth in "Colebrookdale Township, Berks County Rules and Regulations" are incorporated herein by reference as though set forth at length.
ENGINEER
The Township's or Authority's duly appointed engineer or engineering firm which provides the Boards with technical and engineering consultation.
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 sanitary sewage shall or may be discharged.
OWNER
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation, or other group or entity who desires to construct a COLDS to service two or more lots.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation, or other group or entity.
SEO
The Colebrookdale Township Sewage Enforcement Officer having jurisdiction in Colebrookdale Township and responsible for the issuance of permits and promulgation or enforcement of regulations concerning COLDS, with respect to Colebrookdale Township, Berks County.
SANITARY SEWAGE
Any substance that contains any of the waste products or excrement or other discharge from the bodies of human beings and any noxious or deleterious substance being harmful or inimical to the public health or to animal or aquatic life or the use of water from domestic water supply or for recreation. Specifically excludes wastewaters of industrial origin.
TOWNSHIP
Colebrookdale Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
A. 
The Board hereby authorizes and empowers the Authority to undertake within the Township the control of methods of COLDS design, installation, and operation.
B. 
The Board hereby authorizes and empowers the Authority to enter into or acquire escrow agreements, construction and performance bonds, and engineering services to ensure COLDS are designed, constructed, and operated in accordance with any applicable rules and regulations of the Board.
C. 
The Board is empowered to take ownership of all operating COLDS within the Township. Method and manner of possession of COLDS will be as dictated by the Board's Rules and Regulations and the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
D. 
The Board hereby authorizes and empowers the Authority to operate, maintain, improve, and/or abandon any COLDS owned by the Board.
A. 
The Authority is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt such rules and regulations concerning COLDS which it may deem necessary from time to time to effect the purposes herein.
B. 
All such rules and regulations adopted by the Authority shall be in conformance with the provisions herein, all other ordinances of the Township, and all applicable laws and rules and regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Authority shall have the right and power to fix, alter, charge, and collect rates, assessments, and other charges at reasonable and uniform rates as authorized by applicable law.
A. 
Any person who is the owner of any existing or proposed COLDS serving as means of sewage disposal within the Township is subject to all requirements of this article.
B. 
The Owner of any proposed COLDS shall be responsible for obtaining all required permits from the Township, the Authority, DEP, and any other agencies requiring permits for such an installation. The owner of any proposed COLDS shall be responsible for its construction and startup in accordance with the requirements of this article.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person, firm, or corporation who shall violate any of the provisions of this article and the orders, rules, regulations, and permits issued hereunder 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. In addition to the penalties provided herein, the Township may recover penalties, damages, costs, reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and other expenses of litigation by appropriate suit at law against the person or user found to have violated this article or the orders, rules, regulations, and permits issued hereunder.
In addition to the penalties provided in § 434-47, the Authority is authorized to file appropriate actions at law or in equity in the Court of Common Pleas in and for Berks County or before any other body having jurisdiction, including the Authority under the Local Agency Law,[1] over the persons and activities herein regulated to abate any violations and remove any COLDS not owned, operated, maintained, or constructed in accordance with the provisions of this article. Violations of this article are declared to be public nuisances, abatable as such.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 2 Pa.C.S.A. § 551 et seq.
The Township and/or Authority and its agents and employees shall have the right of access to and may enter any building, property, lands, premises, or place as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this article and the rules and regulations promulgated hereunder. In connection with such inspection or investigation, samples may be taken of any solid, semisolid, liquid, or contained gaseous material for analysis.
If any sentence, clause, section, or part of this article is for any reason found to be unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid, such unconstitutionally, illegality, or invalidity shall not effect 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 Commissioners of Colebrookdale Township, that this article would have been adopted had such unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid sentence, clause, section, or part thereof not been included therein.