The purpose of this article is to establish
procedures for the use, construction and maintenance of existing and
new holding tanks designed to receive and retain sewage, whether from
residential or commercial 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 borough. These holding tanks are only a temporary means of
disposing of sewage and are only permitted for a period of one year.
The owner, within that one-year period, shall construct a permanent
means of sewage disposal.
Unless the context specifically and clearly
indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this article shall
be as follows:
BOROUGH
The Borough of Kane, McKean County, Pennsylvania.
HOLDING TANK
A watertight receptacle, whether permanent or temporary,
which receives and retains sewage conveyed by a water-carrying system
and is designed and constructed to facilitate the ultimate disposal
of the sewage at another site.
IMPROVED PROPERTY
Any property within the borough 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 or may be discharged.
OWNER
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any property located in the borough.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation
or other group or entity.
SEWAGE
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.
The Borough Manager is hereby authorized and
empowered to undertake within the borough the control and methods
of holding tank use, sewage disposal and sewage collection and transportation
thereof.
The Borough Manager is hereby authorized and
empowered to adopt such rules and regulations concerning sewage which
he may deem necessary from time to time to effect the purposes herein.
All such rules and regulations implemented by
the Borough Manager shall be in conformance with the provisions herein,
all other ordinances of the borough, and all applicable laws, and
applicable rules and regulations of administrative agencies of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The borough 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 with regards to holding tanks.
The owner of an improved property that utilizes
a holding tank shall:
A. Maintain the holding tank in conformance with this
or any ordinance of this borough, the provisions of any applicable
law, and the rules and regulations of the borough and any administrative
agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B. Permit only the borough or its agent to inspect holding
tanks on an annual basis.
C. Permit only the borough, its agent or an approved
septic hauler to collect, transport, and dispose of the contents therein
according to a pumping schedule, as described in Appendix A.
D. Construct permanent sewer facilities, that are approved
by the borough, within a period of one year of the date of issuance
of the permit for the holding tank.
Any person who violates any provisions of §
205-28 shall, upon conviction thereof by summary proceedings, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $300, and, in default of said fine and costs, to undergo imprisonment in the county prison for a period not in excess of 30 days.
In addition to any other remedies provided in this article, any violation of §
205-28 above shall constitute a nuisance and shall be abated by the borough by either seeking mitigation of the nuisance or appropriate equitable or legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.
The borough reserves the right to attach special
conditions to any or all holding tank permits, prior to issuance,
for the purposes of defining conditions specific to each permit, such
as pumping schedules, rates and posting of certain bonds to guarantee
construction of permanent disposal facilities.