[Adopted 6-6-1975 by Ord. No. 27]
A.
A sewage enforcement officer has the power and duty
to issue, deny and revoke permits, and to take all other actions necessary
to administer and enforce Section 7 of the act (35 P.S. § 750.7),
except that a sewage enforcement officer may not conduct hearings
under Section 16 of the act (35 P.S. § 750.16).
B.
A sewage enforcement officer shall issue permits only within the jurisdiction of Kidder Township. When a sewage enforcement officer encounters a conflict of interest as specified in Subsections F through K, Kidder Township shall employ a certified sewage enforcement officer not having a conflict of interest regarding the system or lot.
C.
Kidder Township shall notify the sewage enforcement
officer and the Department in writing of the specific conditions of
employment, including, but not limited to, the following:
D.
A sewage enforcement officer shall accept payment
only from Kidder Township for services performed in conjunction with
administration of the act.
E.
A sewage enforcement officer shall only accept an
application or other processing fees for Kidder Township under the
following conditions:
(1)
The fee is in the amount prescribed by Kidder Township's
adopted fee schedule.
(2)
The fee is rendered in accordance with Kidder Township's adopted receipt system as required by § 142-6A(7) (relating to powers and duties of Kidder Township).
(3)
The sewage enforcement officer has received written
direction from Kidder Township to accept these fees on behalf of Kidder
Township.
G.
A sewage enforcement officer may not plan, design,
construct, sell or install an individual or community on-lot sewage
system within the geographic boundaries of the sewage enforcement
officer's authority, as specified by Kidder Township.
H.
A sewage enforcement officer may not, orally or in
writing, suggest, recommend or require the use of any particular consultant,
soil scientist or professional engineer, or any individual or firm
providing these services where these services may be required or are
subject to review under this article.
I.
A sewage enforcement officer may not perform consulting
or design work or related services required or regulated under the
act within the municipality by which the officer is employed or with
which the officer has a contractual relationship unless the services
are set in the fee schedule of Kidder Township. The fees are paid
directly to Kidder Township and the records and products relating
to consultation or design work are reviewed by and any subsequent
permit is issued by another sewage enforcement officer employed by
or under contract with Kidder Township.
J.
A sewage enforcement officer may not conduct a test,
issue a permit, participate in the official processing of an application
or official review of a planning module for an individual or community
on-lot sewage system in which the sewage enforcement officer, a relative
of the sewage enforcement officer, a business associate of the sewage
enforcement officer or an employer of the sewage enforcement officer,
other than Kidder Township, has a financial interest.
K.
For purposes of Subsection J, a “financial interest” includes full or partial ownership, agreement or option to purchase, leasehold, mortgage or another financial or proprietary interest in; or serving as an officer, director, employee, contractor, consultant, or another legal or fiduciary representative of a corporation, partnership, joint venture or other legal entity which has a proprietary interest in one or more of the following:
(1)
One or more lots to be served by the system.
(2)
The development or sale of the lots to be served by
the system.
(3)
A contract, either written or oral, to perform a service
in the development of one or more of the lots to be served by the
system. The service may be before or after the fact of development
and may include professional as well as other services.
(4)
A contract, either written or oral, to sell, plan,
design, construct, install or provide materials or component parts
for the system.
L.
Prior to issuing a permit, the sewage enforcement
officer shall conduct personally, observe or otherwise confirm in
a manner approved by the Department all tests used to determine the
suitability of a site for an individual or community on-lot sewage
system. A sewage enforcement officer shall accept testing conducted
by a prior sewage enforcement officer for Kidder Township, provided
the site, data and prior testing meet the criteria specified in § 72.26(b)—(d).[2] When a sewage enforcement officer accepts testing by a
prior officer, a copy of the Department's Verification of Prior Testing
form or other form as may be specified by the Department shall be
attached to each copy of the permit application.
[2]
Editor's Note: Refers to Pennsylvania Code
Title 25, Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act.
M.
Prior to issuing a permit, the sewage enforcement
officer shall confirm that the application is complete and that the
proposed system design is in compliance with the requirements of the
act and this part.
N.
The sewage enforcement officer shall give timely written
notice to applicants or permittees of approval, denial or revocation
of a permit under this article.
O.
The sewage enforcement officer shall advise Kidder
Township of a violation of the act or this part, known to the sewage
enforcement officer, which occurs within Kidder Township's jurisdiction.
P.
The sewage enforcement officer shall advise Kidder
Township of its responsibility to restrain a violation of the act
or this part and shall independently take action within the scope
of his authority necessary to restrain or correct the violation.
Q.
The sewage enforcement officer shall submit the Department's
copy of the completed Application For Sewage Disposal System, with
necessary attachments, within seven days of acting upon the application.
A.
Kidder Township has the power and duty to:
(1)
Employ or contract with sewage enforcement officers
to administer Section 7 of the act (35 P.S. § 750.7) and
this part.
(2)
Employ or contract with other technical and administrative
personnel necessary to support the activities of the sewage enforcement
officer.
(3)
Set rates of compensation for the sewage enforcement
officer and other employees necessary for the administration of the
act by Kidder Township.
(4)
Maintain offices and purchase equipment and supplies
necessary for the administration of the act.
(5)
Establish a schedule of fees for the processing of
applications and other services provided by Kidder Township. This
fee schedule may establish different charges for various activities
and types of systems consistent with the administrative costs of reviewing
applications, conducting necessary tests and investigations and supervising
the installation of the system.
(6)
Collect the appropriate fees as designated in the
established fee schedule. Kidder Township shall maintain records of
income, expenses and transactions of Kidder Township in a manner consistent
with accepted accounting practices.
(7)
Establish a system of receipts for monetary transactions.
The receipt system shall provide to Kidder Township and to the applicant
a record of the amount tendered to Kidder Township and the specific
purpose of the transaction.
(8)
Adopt and maintain standards and procedures for applications
and permits for individual and community on-lot sewage systems identical
to those of the Department, as contained in this part.
(9)
Adopt and maintain other regulations Kidder Township
deems necessary for the administration and enforcement of Section
7 of the act as long as they are consistent with the act and this
part.
(10)
Submit reports and data to the Department as required
by this part or an order of the Department.
(11)
Submit to the Department annually the name and address
of its certified sewage enforcement officer and alternate sewage enforcement
officer.
(12)
Make or cause to be made inspections and tests necessary
to carry out Sections 7, 8, 12, 13, 13.1, 14, 15 and 16 of the act.
For this purpose, the authorized representatives of Kidder Township
have the right to enter upon lands.
(13)
Proceed under Sections 7, 8, 12, 13, 13.1, 13.2(b)
14, 15 and 16 of the act to restrain violations of the act and this
part and to abate nuisances in accordance with existing statutes,
or as defined in the act.
(14)
Notify the Department in writing within 15 days of
a change in the sewage enforcement officer or his address.
(15)
Cease issuing permits in designated areas when ordered
to do so by the Department under Section 10(7) of the act [35 P.S.
§ 750.10(7)], after notice and opportunity for a Departmental
hearing. The Kidder Township may issue permits in these areas for
the abatement of existing health hazards and public nuisances.
(16)
When applicable, establish a program for requiring,
verifying, forfeiting, administering and enforcing the provision of
financial assurances under § 73.151 (relating to standards
for financial assurances).[2] Costs for administering this program shall be included
in the fee schedule of Kidder Township.
[2]
Editor's Note: Refers to Pennsylvania Code
Title 25, Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act.
(17)
Adopt by resolution a list of individuals who are
sewage enforcement officers employed by companies or corporations
under contract with the Kidder Township to perform the services of
sewage enforcement officers.
(18)
Set and collect fees necessary to support the administrative
and personnel costs of a maintenance inspection and enforcement program.
(19)
Charge for engineering or consulting services required
by Kidder Township to complete its review of a permit application.
The application or review fees charged for these services shall be
reasonable and in accordance with the ordinary and customary charges
by the engineer or consultant for similar service in the community,
and fees may not exceed the rate or cost charged by the engineer or
consultant to Kidder Township when fees are not reimbursed by or otherwise
imposed on applicants.
(a)
If the applicant disputes the amount of the
fees or charges, the applicant shall, within 10 working days of the
date of billing, notify Kidder Township that the fees or expenses
are disputed as unreasonable or unnecessary, in which case Kidder
Township may not delay or disapprove an application for any approval
or permit due to the applicant's dispute over fees or charges.
(b)
If, within 20 days from the date of billing,
Kidder Township and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of fees
or charges which are reasonable and necessary, the applicant and Kidder
Township shall comply with the procedure established in Section 8(b)(4)
of the act [35 P.S. § 750.8(b)(4)] to resolve the fee or
charge dispute.
(20)
Complete and provide to the applicant the results
of any site suitability review, soil probe testing and soil percolation
testing within 20 working days of Kidder Township's receipt of a permit
application.
(a)
The testing and results of the testing may be
deferred to a later date that the applicant may request in writing
or by a later date agreed to by the sewage enforcement officer and
the applicant, which is confirmed in writing by the sewage enforcement
officer.
(b)
A one-call system serial number shall be obtained
prior to soil testing by the permit applicant or the contractor retained
by the applicant to perform the test excavation. This notification
shall take place no less than three and no more than 10 working days
prior to the excavation. The deadline for permit review by Kidder
Township in this subsection does not apply to an applicant who fails
to comply with the one-call system notification requirement.
(c)
It is the obligation of the applicant to have
the site prepared in the manner required by written instructions provided
to the applicant after receipt of at least 48 hours' notice from Kidder
Township or sewage enforcement officer of the anticipated time the
soils tests will be performed. Written instructions shall include
provisions for deferral of testing due to weather.
(d)
Failure of Kidder Township to comply with these
time limits shall entitle the applicant, upon request, to a refund
of fees paid by the applicant for soil testing that was not performed
by Kidder Township, and the applicant shall be entitled to submit
results of soils tests, on forms provided by the Department conducted
in a manner consistent with this article by a certified sewage enforcement
officer, who need not be employed by or under contract with Kidder
Township. These test results shall be accepted by Kidder Township
and its sewage enforcement officer, who shall rely upon the results
of these tests in acting on an application.
(e)
An applicant who, after receiving the notice
of testing, fails to have the site prepared for soil testing in a
manner required by Kidder Township, does not have the right to submit
the results of soils testing performed by a certified sewage enforcement
officer not employed by or under contract with Kidder Township, nor
is the applicant entitled to a refund of fees paid for soil testing
as provided in this section.
(f)
Neither the municipality, Kidder Township, Kidder
Township's sewage enforcement officer nor the Department will be held
liable on a cause of action arising out of soil tests performed under
this section by a certified sewage enforcement officer not employed
by or under contract with Kidder Township.
(21)
Make inspections of and verify measurements made by
applicants on public or private properties which are determined by
Kidder Township's authorized representative to have natural or man-made
features from which specific isolation distances are required prior
to the approval of on-lot sewage disposal system usage in subdivisions
or individual lots. Kidder Township's authorized representative shall
have the right to enter upon lands for these purposes.
(22)
Determine if a proposed individual residential spray
irrigation system will create a nuisance or adversely impact existing
and proposed drinking water supplies and report this information to
any affected municipality served by Kidder Township.
(23)
Assure that an individual residential spray irrigation
system discharge is sampled at least once per year by the property
owner through a testing laboratory for fecal coliforms, carbonaceous
biological oxygen demand, suspended solids and disinfectant residual
or effectiveness. Individual effluent samples may not exceed a BOD5 of 25 mg/l and suspended solids concentration of 30
mg/l. Free chlorine residual shall be maintained at a range of 0.2
- 2.0 ppm unless a higher level is required to control disease producing
organisms. This disinfection shall produce an effluent which will
contain a concentration not greater than 200 fecal coliform organisms
per 100 milliliters in a single sample. The Kidder Township shall
review the results of these samples and the most recent system inspection
conducted under § 73.167 (relating to operation and maintenance)
and take any necessary action to resolve operational or maintenance
problems identified through the sample results. Additional sampling
may be required by the Kidder Township if the annual sample indicates
a violation of the limitations specified in this subsection.
(24)
A county health department and joint county departments
of health may also administer the continuing maintenance provisions
of § 71.73 (relating to sewage management programs) when
the municipality relinquishes and the county health department or
joint county department of health accepts the authority and conforms
with § 71.73.
B.
Kidder Township may offer a program to provide financial
assurance, for a fee, for systems installed under § 73.77
(relating to general requirements for bonded disposal systems). Financial
assurance provided by the Kidder Township shall comply with § 73.151.
C.
Kidder Township may not orally or in writing, suggest,
recommend or require the use of a particular consultant, soil scientist
or professional engineer, or an individual or firm providing these
services when these services may be required or are subject to review
under this part.
The Supervisors shall from time to time by resolution
designate one or more persons qualified by the Department of Environmental
Protection to perform the functions as a certified sewer enforcement
officer to serve in that capacity at the will of the Supervisors.
The Township Secretary shall be the custodian
of all applications, test results, permit copies and related documentation
concerning the testing, applications and permits issued or in any
manner related to the duties of the certified sewage enforcement officer.
Any certified sewage enforcement officer designated
by the Township who has any applications charged to him in any calendar
month shall submit, in writing, monthly to the Township Secretary
a list of all of the applications in his possession and the activity
or disposition concerning said applications. If any application has
been made by any person requesting a permit, the name and address
of that person shall be included in this report. This written report
shall be made available at the first public meeting of the Supervisors
held monthly in each succeeding month and shall become part of the
official Township records.
A.
The person (as defined in the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act) when making application for a permit shall submit to the Township Treasurer or his designee the amount deemed to be appropriate for the type of inspection set forth in § 142-11 below. This payment shall be in cash or by certified check or bank money order or bank check or other guaranteed payment. Personal checks are not to be accepted.
B.
Each application for a sewage permit on land area
owned by an applicant of less than two acres shall be accompanied
by a plot plan prepared from an actual field survey by a registered
land surveyor or engineer. The plan shall show the physical locations
of any man-made structures and shall certify that clearly designated
markers physically exist on the property at all property corners.
The plot plan shall have the seal of the surveyor or engineer attesting
to the actual field survey.
[Added 12-17-1986 by Ord. No. 50]
[Amended 10-27-1987 by Ord. No. 55[1]]
B.
C.
Design review: $50.
D.
Port-a-Pot permit: $0.
H.
Call-back inspections on any system: $50.
I.
Well permit: $80. (Includes site analysis and staked
locations.)
J.
Renewal or transfer of well permit: $40.
K.
Additional miscellaneous fees.
(1)
$50 to stake a lot for filling in as requested by
the applicant or agent.
(2)
$50 for field work on a general lot inspection as
requested by the applicant or agent.
(3)
$100 for inspection of residential or commercial establishments
which connect to a central sewage line of a privately owned sewage
treatment plant.
(4)
$100 for reevaluation and recertification of an existing
on-lot septic system.
The permit required under this article is required
by the Township for all buildings as defined by Act 537 without limitation
to lot size. Specifically any lot regardless of size may not be issued
a building permit unless a sewage permit is first obtained in accordance
with the procedures set forth in this Act.
Fees for enforcement, review of subdivisions,
and review of official plan revisions shall be filed by the certified
enforcement officer with the Township Secretary at the time of the
appointment. Such fees shall not be deemed to be in effect unless
accepted in writing by the Township in accordance with the statutes
governing the contracts by the Supervisors in accordance with the
statutes applicable thereto.
[Added 12-8-1987 by Ord. No. 59]
Any appeal to the Board of Supervisors of a
decision of the sewage enforcement officer of Kidder Township shall
be accompanied by cash or a check to cover the costs of said hearing.
The amount to be deposited shall be that as established from time
to time by resolution of the Kidder Township Board of Supervisors.