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.