[Adopted 9-7-1976 by Ord. No. 54]
Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms and phrases used in this article shall be as follows:
AUTHORITY
The Washington Township Municipal Authority, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, a municipality authority of the commonwealth.
BUILDING SEWER
The extension from the sewage drainage system of any structure to the lateral of a sewer.
COMMONWEALTH
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
PROPERTY
Any property within this Township upon which there is erected a structure intended for continuous or periodic habitation, occupancy or use by human beings and from which structures sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes shall be or may be discharged.
INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENT
Any property located in this Township used or intended for use, wholly or in part, for the manufacturing, processing, cleaning, laundering or assembling of any product, commodity or article, or any other property located in this Township from which wastes, in addition to or other than sanitary sewage, shall be discharged.
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
Any and all wastes discharged from an industrial establishment, other than sanitary sewage.
LATERAL
That part of the sewer system extending from a sewer to the curbline or, if there shall be no curbline, to a point designated by the Township, or, if no such lateral shall be provided, then "lateral" shall mean that portion of, or place in, a sewer which is provided for connection of any building sewer.
OWNER
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole or partial, of any property.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, company, association, society, trust, corporation or other group or entity.
SANITARY SEWAGE
Normal water-carried household and toilet wastes from any improved property excluding such ground, surface or stormwater as may be present.
[Amended 6-20-1994 by Ord. No. 128]
SEWER
Any pipe or conduit constituting a part of the sewer system used or usable for sewage collection purposes.
SEWER SYSTEM
All facilities, as of any particular time, for collecting, pumping, transporting, treating and disposing of sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes, situate in or adjacent to this Township and owned by the Authority.
STREET
Includes any street, road, lane, court, cul-de-sac, alley, public way or public square.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of Washington, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, a municipal subdivision of the commonwealth, acting by and through its Board of Supervisors, or, in appropriate cases, acting by and through its authorized representatives.
A. 
The owner of any property accessible to and whose principal building is within 150 feet from the sewer system shall connect such property with and shall use such sewer system, in such manner as this Township may require, within 60 days after notice to such owner from this Township to make such connection, for the purpose of discharge of all sanitary sewage and industrial wastes from such property; subject, however, to such limitations and restrictions as shall be established herein or otherwise shall be established by this Township, from time to time.
B. 
All sanitary sewage and industrial wastes from any property, after connection of such property with a sewer shall be required under Subsection A, shall be conducted into a sewer; subject, however, to such limitations and restrictions as shall be established herein or otherwise shall be established by this Township, from time to time.
C. 
Deposit and discharge prohibited.
(1) 
No person shall place, shall deposit or shall permit to be placed or to be deposited upon public or private property within this Township any sanitary sewage or industrial wastes in violation of Subsection A.
(2) 
No person shall discharge or shall permit to be discharged to any natural outlet within this Township any sanitary sewage or industrial wastes in violation of Subsection A, except where suitable treatment has been provided which is satisfactory to this Township.
D. 
No privy vault, cesspool, sinkhole, septic tank or similar receptacle shall be used or shall be maintained at any time upon any property which has been connected to a sewer or which shall be required under Subsection A to be connected to a sewer.
E. 
No privy vault, cesspool, sinkhole, septic tank or similar receptacle at any time shall be connected with a sewer.
F. 
The notice by this Township to make a connection to a sewer, referred to in Subsection A, shall consist of a copy of this article, including any amendments and/or supplements at the time in effect, or a summary of each section thereof, and a written or printed document requiring the connection in accordance with the provisions of this article and specifying that such connection shall be made within 60 days from the date such notice is given. Such notice may be given at any time when a sewer is in place which can receive and can convey sanitary sewage and industrial wastes for treatment and disposal from the particular property. Such notice shall be served upon the owner in accordance with law.
G. 
No building floor drain, sump pump, drain spout, or any device permitting stormwater, water table, or surface water to enter the sewer shall be permitted.
[Added 6-20-1994 by Ord. No. 128]
A. 
No person shall uncover, shall connect with, shall make any opening into or shall use, shall alter or shall disturb, in any manner, any sewer or any part of the sewer system without first obtaining a permit, in writing, from this Township.
B. 
Application for a permit required under Subsection A shall be made by the owner of the property served or to be served or by the duly authorized agent of such owner.
C. 
No person shall make or shall cause to be made a connection of any property with a sewer until such person shall have fulfilled each of the following conditions:
(1) 
Such person shall have notified the Secretary of the Township of the desire and intention to connect such property to a sewer;
(2) 
Such person shall have applied for and shall have obtained a permit as required by Subsection A;
(3) 
Such person shall have given the Secretary of the Township at least 24 hours' notice of the time when such connection will be made so that this Township may supervise and inspect or may cause to be supervised and inspected the work of connection and necessary testing; and
(4) 
If applicable, such person shall have furnished satisfactory evidence to the Secretary of this Township that any tapping (or connection) fee which may be charged and imposed by the Authority against the owner of each property who connects such property to a sewer has been paid.
D. 
Except as otherwise provided in this Subsection D, each property shall be connected separately and independently with a sewer through a building sewer. Grouping of more than one property on one building sewer 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 this Township, in writing, shall have been secured and only subject to such rules, regulations and conditions as may be prescribed by this Township.
E. 
All costs and expenses of construction of a building sewer and all costs and expenses of connection of a building sewer to a sewer shall be borne by the owner of the property to be connected; and such owner shall indemnify and shall save harmless this Township and the Authority from all loss or damage that may be occasioned, directly or indirectly, as a result of the construction of a building sewer, the connection of a building sewer to a sewer, or the abandonment of a privy vault, cesspool, sinkhole, septic tank or similar receptacle as required under § 271-2D of this article.
F. 
Connection of building sewer.
(1) 
A building sewer shall be connected to a sewer at the place designated by this Township and where, if applicable, the lateral is provided.
(2) 
The invert of a building sewer at the point of connection shall be at the same or 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.
G. 
If the owner of any property abutting on or adjoining any street in which a sewer constituting part of the sewer system is located, after 60 days' notice from this Township requiring the connection of such property with a sewer, in accordance with § 271-2A, shall tail to connect such property, as required, this Township may make such connection and may collect from such owner the costs and expenses thereof by a municipal claim, an action in assumpsit or such other legal proceeding as may be permitted by law.
A. 
Where a property, at the time connection to a sewer is required, shall be served by its own sewage disposal system or sewage disposal device, the existing house sewer line shall be broken on the structure side of such sewage disposal system or sewage disposal device and attachment shall be made, with proper fittings, to continue such house sewer line as a building sewer.
B. 
No building sewer shall be covered until it has been inspected and approved by the Township. If any part of a building sewer is covered before so being inspected and approved, it shall be uncovered for inspection, at the cost and expense of the owner of the property to be connected to a sewer.
C. 
Every building sewer of any property shall be maintained in a sanitary and safe operating condition by the owner of such property.
D. 
Every excavation for a building sewer shall be guarded adequately with barricades and lights to protect all persons from damage and injury. Any street, sidewalk and other public property disturbed in the course of installation of a building sewer shall be restored, at the cost and expense of the owner of the property being connected, in a manner satisfactory to this Township.
E. 
If any person shall fail or shall refuse, upon receipt of a notice of this Township, in writing, to remedy any unsatisfactory condition with respect to a building sewer, within 60 days of receipt of such notice, this Township may refuse to permit such person to discharge sanitary sewage and industrial wastes into the sewer system until such unsatisfactory condition shall have been remedied to the satisfaction of this. Township and the Authority.
F. 
This Township reserves the right to adopt, from time to time, additional rules and regulations as it shall deem necessary and proper relating to connections with a sewer and with the sewer system, which additional rules and regulations, to the extent appropriate, shall be and shall be construed as part of this article.
[Amended 6-20-1994 by Ord. No. 128; 9-15-1997 by Ord. No. 141][1]
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this article 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 section of this article that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense. The minimum fine to be imposed is $50 per day or portion thereof for a first offense; $100 per day or portion thereof for a second offense and $500 per day or portion thereof for each subsequent offense. The Magisterial District Judge may impose a fine of more than the minimum amounts set forth above.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III).
It is declared that enactment of this article is necessary for the protection, benefit and preservation of the health, safety and welfare of inhabitants of this Township.