The purpose of this article 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. 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 municipality.
[Adopted 6-14-2010 by Ord. No. 3-2010]
Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of Fermanagh, Juniata County, Pennsylvania.
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 be or may be discharged.
The Township of Fermanagh, Juniata County, Pennsylvania.
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole or partial, of any property located in the Township.
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation or other group or entity.
A watertight receptacle, either permanent or temporary, designed and constructed to facilitate the ultimate disposal of the sewage at another site, which receives and retains sewage at sites where no piped water under pressure and no piped wastewater is available.
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 PS §§ 691.1 through 691.1001).
The Agency 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 Agency 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 Agency 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.
The Agency 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.
A.
The property owner must show that site and soil suitability testing of the lot has been conducted by the Sewage Enforcement Officer and that the site meets the 25 Pa. Code Chapter 73 (Standards for Sewage Disposal Facilities) requirements for the ultimate sewage disposal by an approved on-lot sewage disposal system if water under pressure or piped wastewater becomes available to the lot.
B.
At such time that piped water or water under pressure becomes available, the property owner must remove the privy and replace the privy with an approved on-lot sewage disposal system.
C.
The conditions of use described in Subsection A above do not apply:
(1)
To a privy to be used on an isolated lot which is one acre or larger and is not nor will be served by piped water or water under pressure in the future.
(2)
To temporary use of portable retention tanks where their use is proposed at construction sites or at the site of public gatherings and entertainment.
D.
Specific conditions for use of privies shall be incorporated in the permit application and permit for the proposed use of a privy.
E.
The Agency is provided the opportunity to inspect the privy for proper operation, maintenance and content disposal.
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 Agency, and the disposal thereof shall be made only at such site or sites as may be approved by the Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The owner of an improved property that utilizes a privy shall:
A.
Maintain the privy in conformance with this or any ordinance of this Township, the provisions of any applicable law, and the rules and regulations of the Agency and any administrative agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B.
Permit only the Agency 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 25 Pa. Code Chapter 73 standards in the event that piped water, water under pressure or piped wastewater become available to the property.
D.
Permit the Agency to enter upon lands to inspect the privy for proper operations, maintenance and contents disposal.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person who violates any provisions of § 123-53, 123-54 or 123-55 shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a Magisterial District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense, and each provision of § 123-53, 123-54 or 123-55 that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense.
In addition to any other remedies provided in this article, any violation of § 123-55 above shall constitute a nuisance and shall be abated by the municipality or the Agency by either seeking mitigation of the nuisance or appropriate equitable or legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.
All ordinances or resolutions or parts of ordinances or resolutions, insofar as they are inconsistent herewith, be and the same are hereby repealed.
If any 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 the Township of Fermanagh that this article would have been adopted had such constitutional, illegal or invalid sentence, clause, section or part thereof not been included therein.
This article shall become effective five days after its adoption.