[Adopted 5-28-1975]
This article shall be known and may be cited
as the "Athens Township Sanitation Ordinance."
No person shall install an individual sewage
disposal system or construct any building in which an individual sewage
disposal system is to be installed or major alterations are to be
made to an existing system without first obtaining a permit indicating
that the site and plans and specifications of such system are in compliance
with this article and the standards and regulations of the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection. This article shall apply without
regard to the area or size of the real property on which said individual
sewage disposal system is to be constructed.
Application for the permit shall be submitted,
in writing, to Athens Township on forms supplied by Athens Township
and shall be submitted to the licensing officer as hereinafter described.
Said forms may be those supplied by the Committee on Sanitation for
Bradford County.
The Board of Supervisors of Athens Township
shall, by resolution, designate a licensing officer who shall serve
at the pleasure of said Board of Supervisors. The salary of said officer
shall be as fixed by said Board of Supervisors. Said officer may be
the nominee of the Committee on Sanitation for Bradford County with
the salary as set by agreement with said Committee.
The inspection officer, upon consideration of
the application for permit and sewage facility plans, shall, within
seven days after receiving said permit, issue said permit or deny
a permit. Denial of the permit shall be supported by a statement,
in writing, of the reasons for such action. In the event that the
data submitted by the applicant is incomplete, the time for acting
upon said permit shall be extended for seven days beyond the date
of submission of adequate supplementary or amendatory data.
No system or structure designed to provide individual
sewage disposal to any realty improvement shall be covered from view
until approval to cover the same has been given by the inspection
officer. If 72 hours have elapsed, excepting Sundays and holidays,
since the inspection officer received notification of completion of
construction, the applicant may cover said system or structure unless
permission has been refused by the inspection officer.
In case any permit is denied or revoked, a hearing
shall be held thereon before the Board of Supervisors of Athens Township
within 15 days after request therefor is made by the applicant. Within
seven days following the date of such hearing, the applicant shall
be notified, in writing, of the determination of said hearing.
In the event that the inspection officer determines
that any change has occurred in the physical condition of any land
of a realty improvement which will materially affect the operation
of the individual sewage disposal system covered by the permit, the
permit shall be revoked and a new permit shall be obtained before
construction shall proceed, provided that no additional charge shall
be made if a second permit is applied for within 30 days after the
first permit shall be issued.
The inspection officer shall have the power
to make or cause to be made such inspections and tests as may be necessary
to carry out the provisions of this article and shall have the right
to enter upon such lands for such purposes.
[Amended 7-29-1987 by Ord. No. 56]
A.
There is hereby set as a license fee for a permit
under the provisions of this article the sum of $75 for each project,
lot or facility to be tested, which shall be paid at the time of application
for a permit. This license fee shall pay for the inspection of the
data with respect to said permit and for checking the percolation
data.
B.
There is hereby set as an inspection fee under provisions
of this article the sum of $15, which shall be paid prior to the final
inspection. This inspection fee shall pay for the final inspection
prior to covering of the ground and for the percolation completion
test for each on-site project, lot or facility.
C.
These license and inspection fees may be hereafter
revised or altered by a resolution of the Board of Supervisors of
Athens Township.
Each application for a permit shall be considered
by the inspection officer. His decisions with respect to issuing said
permit or denying said permit shall be based upon the following standards:
A.
The standards and regulations of the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection.
B.
The likelihood of said sewage disposal system discharging
waste into surface or subsurface water systems.
C.
The capability of the individual sewage disposal system
to treat and purify sewage discharges.
D.
The soil conditions, including percolation, evaporation
and any and all other soil conditions which might affect the sewage
system.
E.
The available space for a suitable disposal system.
F.
The availability of public or private sewage disposal
systems in the vicinity.
The Board of Supervisors of Athens Township
shall have the power to institute in the Court of Common Pleas of
Bradford County proceedings to restrain the violation of this article.
[Amended 8-28-1996 by Ord. No. 128; 5-28-1997 by Ord. No.
133; 10-27-1999 by Ord. No. 159]
Any person who violates any of the provisions
of this article or who resists or interferes with any officer, agent
or employee, in accordance with the provisions of this article, in
the performance of his duties shall be guilty of a summary offense.
Upon conviction thereof, such person shall be subject to a fine of
not less than $100 nor more than $300.
