The intent of this article is to establish procedures for the use and maintenance of retaining tanks designed to receive and retain sewage from certain residential uses, and 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 during the time that a connection ban is in effect.
The Board is hereby authorized and empowered to undertake within the Township the control and methods of retaining tank sewage disposal and the collection and transportation thereof.
All such rules and regulations adopted by the Board shall be in conformity with the provisions herein, all other ordinances of the Township, all applicable laws and applicable rules and regulations of administrative agencies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, particularly the Department of Environmental Protection and, in particular, the regulations set forth in Chapter 71, Sections 71.51 and 71.52, and Chapter 73, Sections 73.81 and 73.82.
All applications for retaining tank systems shall include a contract for maintenance by a disposal agency approved by the Board. Such contract shall include but not be limited to the name of the contractor, method of maintenance, method of disposal, frequency of inspection and ultimate place of disposal of all waste. Such contract shall be required to remain in force for the entire period of operation of the system. Failure by the owner to renew such contract or submit proof of another approved contract shall constitute a violation of this article. The system must be inspected by the approved disposal agency a minimum of three times per year. Further, prior to the issuance of any building permits for any residential dwelling that will utilize a retaining tank, a performance bond must be posted with the Township in an amount equal to three years' contract price for sewage removal and for the cost of removal of the retaining tank as estimated by the Township Engineer, which shall run for the entire period that the retaining tank is to be in use. This bond shall be conditioned upon the landowner maintaining the retaining tank system in accordance with the rules and regulations of this article.
The Board shall, by resolution, have the power to fix, alter, charge and collect such fees or costs as may be necessary to properly enforce this article.
By obtaining permission to use a retaining tank under this article, the owner of the subject property shall agree that any failure to make timely removal of the contents of the retaining tank, or any other violation of this article or sanitary requirements will subject the owner to an automatic revocation of the use and occupancy permits issued for the subject properties.
The collection and transportation of all sewage from any improved property using a retaining tank shall be done under the direction of the Board, and the disposal thereof shall be made only at such site or sites as may be approved by the Department of Environmental Resources of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The installation of a retaining tank, at the expense of an improved property owner, shall be required when it is determined that the malfunctioning of an on-lot sewage system constitutes a public health hazard. Such installation shall be required only after all other means of on-site sewage disposal have been determined to be inadequate.
The owner of an improved property that utilizes a retaining tank shall:
A. 
Maintain the retaining tank in conformance with this article or any ordinance of this Township, the provisions of any applicable law and the rules and regulations of the Board and any administrative agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B. 
Permit only an approved agency acting in accordance with the regulations of the Board to collect, transport and dispose of the contents therein.
C. 
Remove the retaining tank system within 30 days after connection to the public sewage system.
D. 
Within 24 hours of the execution of an agreement of sale for the sale of any lot to be connected to a retaining tank, submit to the Township an executed statement in a form to be designed by the Township Sewage Enforcement officer in which the purchaser acknowledges that the purchaser has been advised of the terms of this article and understands the procedures, penalties and fines for noncompliance with this article.