The following definitions shall apply to the
regulation of sanitary sewer use and wastewater disposal in Pocopson
Township:
AVERAGE DAILY FLOW
Average number of gallons per day of sanitary sewage calculated
by taking the total quantity of flow delivered to a point during the
thirty-day time period immediately proceeding the date of calculation
and dividing by 30 days.
BILLING UNIT
Equal to that number which has been the basis for the design
of the wastewater treatment plant which may be memorialized by a resolution
adopted by the Board of Supervisors. In Sewer District One, the standard
billing unit will be 262.5 gallons per day. For residential customers,
each dwelling unit shall be considered a billing unit. With respect
to non-single-family dwellings, flats or apartments having the use
of the sewage collection system through one sewer lateral, each dwelling
unit shall be considered as one billing unit as if each such unit
had a direct and separate connection to the sewage collection system.
For commercial or industrial properties, the number of billing units
shall be determined by dividing the total daily water usage projected
from standard usage rates (as set forth in a resolution) for different
uses by 262.5. If there is a disagreement over actual usage, the daily
water usage may be verified by metering for at least one year when
the commercial or industrial operation has been fully operational,
but in any event the usage rate shall not be reduced by more than
20% of the standard usage rates.
[Amended 4-23-2012 by Ord. No. 1-2012]
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD)
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation
of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five calendar
days at 20° C., expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l).
COMBINED SEWER
A sewer intended to receive both wastewater and storm- or
surface water.
COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT
Any room, group of rooms, building or enclosure used or intended
for use in the operation of one business enterprise for the sale and
distribution of any product, commodity, article or service or used
or intended for use for any social, amusement, religious, educational,
charitable or public purpose and containing plumbing facilities for
kitchen, toilet or washing facilities.
COMMUNITY SEWAGE SYSTEM
A system, whether publicly or privately owned, for the collection
of sewage from two or more residential lots and for the treatment
or disposal of the sewage on one or more nonresidential lots.
CONNECTION NOTICE
Written notification by the Township, by personal service
or registered mail, that community or public sewer is available to
the property and that the property must connect thereto, at the owner's
expense, within 60 days.
DWELLING UNIT
Each single-family residence connected to a sewage collection
system shall be considered a dwelling unit. With respect to non-single-family
dwellings, including but not limited to apartments, having the use
of the sewage collection system through one sewer lateral, each residential
unit shall be considered a dwelling unit as if such unit had a direct
and separate connection to the collection system. Each store or office
having use of the sewage collection system through one sewer lateral
shall be considered at least one dwelling unit as if each such unit
had a direct and separate connection to the collection system. With
respect to commercial establishments connected to a separate lateral,
each store, office, etc., shall be considered a dwelling unit. With
respect to multiple, nonresidential establishments utilizing a single
toilet facility, the Township shall determine the number of dwelling
units. With respect to industrial establishments, the number of dwelling
units shall be determined by the Township. In no case shall the number
of dwelling units be less than one.
EQUIVALENT DWELLING UNIT (EDU)
This term is synonymous and interchangeable with "billing
unit" for purpose of establishing user fees, sewer rents, and tapping
fees.
FEE, DEBT SERVICE
The fee charged for the construction and financing costs,
which will be billed monthly or in another specified period determined
by the Township.
FEE, SEWER CONNECTION
A one-time fee charged by the Township at the time of connection
to the public sewer.
FEE, SEWER SERVICE
The annual sewer service charge, which will be billed monthly
or in another specified period as determined by the Township.
FEE, TAPPING
A one-time fee charged by the Township at the time of connection
to public sewer or upon determination by the Township based on a change
of use or volume of flow increasing the number of EDUs after the initial
connection is made.
GARBAGE
The animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling,
preparation, cooking and/or serving of foods from residences, offices,
hotels, stores, restaurants, commercial establishments and similar
uses within the Township.
NATURAL OUTLET
Any outlet, including storm sewers and combined sewer overflows,
into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface water
or groundwater.
OWNER
Any person who is the occupant, tenant or holder of title
to any property served by and connected to the public sewer.
PERSON
A natural person, a partnership, an association, a corporation,
a joint-stock company, a trust, an unincorporated association, a governmental
body, a political subdivision, a municipality, a municipal authority
or other group entity.
pH
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration,
indicating the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a substance. The
concentration is the weight of hydrogen ions, in grams, per liter
of solution. Neutral water, for example, has a pH value of seven and
a hydrogen ion concentration of 107.
PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE
The wastes from the handling, preparation, cooking and dispensing
of food that has been shredded to such a degree that all particles
will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing
in public sewers, with no particle greater than 1/2 inch (1.27 centimeters)
in any dimension.
PUBLIC SEWER
A common sewer contained within a temporary sewer district.
SANITARY SEWAGE SYSTEM
All facilities, including sewers, inceptors, force mains,
metering devices, pump stations, and other appurtenances, for the
collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sanitary sewage from
a community sewage system designated as a temporary or permanent sewer
district.
SANITARY SEWER
A sewer that carries water-borne wastes from residences,
commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions, together
with minor quantities of ground, storm and surface waters that are
not intentionally directed into the sewer.
SEPTAGE
Material removed from septic tanks serving individual or
small groups of homes and businesses. It does not include material
from septic tanks, holding tanks or other treatment units serving
industries, which is classified as industrial waste.
SEWAGE
Water that carries the wastes of a community. The preferred
term is "wastewater."
SEWER
A pipe or conduit that carries wastewater or drainage water.
SLUG
Any sanitary sewage discharge which, for a period of 15 minutes,
shall exceed five times the average daily flow. The term particularly
applies to the sudden emptying of large vats, tanks, or swimming pools
into the sanitary sewage system.
TOWNSHIP
Pocopson Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
TOXIC POLLUTANTS
Any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic
in the United States Environmental Protection Agency Regulations under
the provisions of the Clean Water Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-217), as heretofore
or hereafter amended.
WASTE, DOMESTIC
Customary household waste from kitchens, baths, showers,
sinks, water closets, lavatories and laundries.
WASTE, HOLDING TANK
Wastewater removed from temporary storage tanks serving individual
or small groups of businesses. It does not include industrial waste.
WASTE, INDUSTRIAL
The wastewater from industrial processes, trade or business
as distinct from domestic or sanitary wastes.
WASTEWATER
The spent water of a community. From the standpoint of the
source, it may be a combination of the liquid and water-carried waste
from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants, and institutions.
WASTEWATER FACILITIES
The structures, equipment and processes required to collect,
carry away, and treat domestic waste, septage, and holding tank waste
and industrial waste and dispose the effluent, including the treatment
facilities.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT WORKS
An arrangement of devices and structures for treating wastewater,
septage, holding tank waste, industrial waste, and sludge. Sometimes
used as synonymous with "waste treatment plant" or "wastewater treatment
plant," "water pollution control plant," or "sewage treatment plant."
WATERCOURSE
A natural or artificial channel for the passage of water,
either continuously or intermittently.
[Amended 4-23-2012 by Ord. No. 1-2012]
The Township creates two sewer districts as
follows:
A. Sewer
District Number One consisting of the community sewage system for
the area bound by SR 926, Brandywine Creek, SR 52, the Riverside development
and the Lenape Village Shops;
B. Sewer
District Number Two consisting of the community sewage system for
the area bound by The Preserve development, homes along the north
side of Corinne Road and Locust Grove Road including the historic
Locust Grove schoolhouse.
The following systems and discharges shall be
unlawful in Township:
A. It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit,
or permit to be deposited in any unsanitary manner, on public or private
property within Township in any area under the jurisdiction of said
Township, any human or animal excrement, garbage, or biological or
chemical waste.
B. It shall be unlawful to discharge through any natural
outlet within the Township, or in any area under jurisdiction of said
Township, any wastewater or other polluted waters, except where suitable
treatment has been provided in accordance with all of the provisions
of this article and other applicable law.
C. It shall be unlawful for any person owning any property
connected to the sanitary sewage system to erect, construct, use or
maintain or cause to be erected, constructed, used or maintained any
privy, cesspool, sinkhole, septic tank or other receptacle on such
premises or otherwise for receiving sanitary sewage after connection
to the sanitary sewer system.
D. It shall be unlawful to, at any time, erect, construct,
use or maintain any pipe, conduit, drain or other facility for the
discharge of sanitary sewage into the gutters of the Township, the
storm sewers of the Township or upon public or private property or
otherwise, except into the sanitary sewage system.
E. Any person who erects, constructs, uses or maintains
a privy, cesspool, sinkhole or septic tank on any property connected
to the sanitary sewage system or otherwise erects, constructs, uses
or maintains any pipe, conduit, drain or other facility for the discharge
of sanitary sewage in violation of this chapter shall be deemed and
be declared to be erecting, constructing, using and maintaining a
nuisance which the Township is hereby authorized and directed to abate
in a manner provided by law.
No connection shall be made to the sanitary
sewage system except with permission of the Township and in compliance
with this chapter and the approved Act 537 Sewage Facilities Plan
for the Township and all Act 537 Plan separate study areas within
the Township, as well as such rules and regulations as may, from time
to time, be enacted, adopted, approved or promulgated by the Township.
A. The Township or its duly authorized agent shall be
notified, in writing, when it is contemplated that the character of
a waste will be altered from that previously discharged in the sanitary
sewage system. Such notification shall be made prior to such change
and shall be submitted with a characterization analysis, the requirements
of which shall be determined by the Township, at the user's expense.
The Township or its duly authorized designee shall determine its acceptability
before such change takes place, and such discharge shall not occur
prior to the granting of approval by the Township.
B. There shall be no connection to the sanitary sewage
system, any industrial, commercial, or other processed waste whose
quality may be deemed to have a harmful affect on the sewage treatment
or sludge-handling process or which cannot be processed by the treatment
plant in the normal and ordinary course of operation. Without limiting
the foregoing, any commercial or institutional facility providing
food service of food processing (hot or cold) must install a grease
trap (750 gallon minimum capacity) prior to discharge to a community
or public sewer collection system. Grease traps will be subject to
inspection by the Township to insure adequate maintenance by the property
owner.
C. No matter having any one of the following characteristics
shall be discharged into the sanitary sewage system, with or without
pretreatment:
(1) Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than
150° F.
(2) Any water or waste which may contain more than 100
milligrams per liter of fat, oil and/or grease. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when,
in the opinion of the Township or its duly authorized agent, they
are necessary for the proper handling of wastewater containing excessive
amounts of grease and oil or sand, except that such interceptors shall
not be required for residential users. All interception units shall
be of type and capacity approved by the Township or its duly authorized
agent and shall be so located to be easily accessible for cleaning
and inspection. Such interceptors shall be inspected, cleaned and
repaired regularly, as needed, by the owner at his expense.
(3) Any gasoline, benzene, paint thinner, naphtha, fuel
oil or other inflammable or explosive liquid, solid, or gas.
(4) Any animal hair, ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw,
shavings, metal, glass, rags, slugs, feathers, tar, diapers, plastics,
woods, manure or any other solid or viscous substance capable of causing
obstruction to the flow in the sanitary sewage system or otherwise
interferes with the proper operation of the sewage collection, conveyance
or treatment systems.
(5) Any waters or waste having a pH lower than 6.5 or
higher than 9.5 or having any other corrosive property capable of
causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment or personnel of
the sanitary sewage system.
(6) Any waters or waste containing a toxic or poisonous
substance or pollutants with sufficient quantity to injure or interfere
with any sewage treatment process, constitute a hazard to animals
or humans or constitute a hazard in the receiving waters of the sanitary
sewage system. "Toxic waste" shall include, but shall not by definition
be limited to, arsenic, cadmium, cyanide, iron, trivalent chromium,
hexavalent chromium, nickel, copper, zinc, lead or mercury compounds.
This also includes any waste classified as hazardous under the Code
of Federal Regulations at 40 CFR Part 261, Identification and Listing
of Hazardous Waste, as may be amended from time to time.
(7) Any radioactive waste or isotopes of such half-life
or concentration as may exceed limits established by the Township
in compliance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations.
(8) Any waters or wastes containing pollutants of such
character and quantity that unusual attention or expense is required
to handle such materials at the sewage treatment plant or in the collection
and conveyance systems.
(9) Any noxious or malodorous gas or substance capable
of creating a public nuisance.
(10)
Any rates of flow taking on the properties of
a slug.
(11)
Any wastewaters containing dyes or materials
that will bleed colors to a substantial extent.
(12)
Any putrescible garbage that has not been properly
shredded. Garbage grinders that grind garbage to a maximum dimension
of 1/2 inch may be connected to sanitary sewers from homes, hotels,
institutions, restaurants, hospitals, catering establishments, or
similar places where garbage originates from the preparation of food
in kitchens for the purpose of consumption on the premises or when
served by caterers.
D. Establishments with food preparation facilities shall
be required to install adequately designed pretreatment units and
traps to reduce greases and biological oxygen demand (BOD) prior to
discharge into an individual or community sewage system or the sanitary
sewage system.
E. The construction, installation or use of any facility
which causes surface and/or subsurface stormwater or groundwater to
be discharged to the sanitary sewage system is prohibited. The facilities
prohibited shall include, but not be limited to, sump pumps, area
drains, yard drains, perimeter drains, foundation drains, roof liters,
downspouts, street inlets, storm sewers and cross-connections.
F. The DELCORA Standards, Rules and Regulations of 2011, attached hereto
as Exhibit A,are hereby collectively adopted as the Wastewater Treatment Regulations for the two sewer districts referenced in §
170-29.
[Added 4-23-2012 by Ord. No. 1-2012]
G. The DELCORA Local Limitations for the Eastern Service Area (the "Eastern
Limitations") and the DELCORA Local Limitations for the Western Service
Area (the "Western Limitations"), as set forth in DELCORA Resolution
No. 2011-01, attached hereto as Exhibits B is hereby adopted as the local limitations for all discharges of wastewater in the two sewer districts referenced in §
170-29. All such discharges of wastewater shall comply with the Western Limitations.
[Added 4-23-2012 by Ord. No. 1-2012]
H. To the extent the provisions in §§
170-30 and
170-31A through
E are inconsistent with the provisions of §
170-31 and Subsection
G, the most stringent provisions shall apply.
[Added 4-23-2012 by Ord. No. 1-2012]
In addition to civil penalties, the owner of
any occupied building from which discharges of improper sanitary sewage
are made shall be solely responsible for damages to the sewage system
and/or sewage treatment plant resulting from the discharge of such
improper sanitary sewage and for damages to others resulting from
improperly treated effluent from the treatment plant due to such discharges.
Those funds received by the Township from the
collection of sewer tapping fees, sewer rentals/user fees and all
interest and penalties thereon as herein provided for shall be segregated
and kept separate and apart from all other funds of the Township and
shall be used only for the purpose of operation, management, maintenance,
repair, alteration, replacement, inspection, depreciation, or other
expenses in relation to the sanitary sewage system.