[Adopted 10-14-1963 by Ord. No. 282]
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise,
the meanings of the terms used in this article shall be as follows:
The Borough of Palmerton, Carbon County, Pennsylvania.
The engineer employed by the Borough, or an authorized member
of his staff.
The extension from the sewage drainage system of any structure
to the lateral of a sewer.
Solid wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing
of food and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.
Any property within this 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 sanitary
sewage and/or industrial waste shall be or may be discharged.
Any solid, liquid or gaseous substance or waterborne wastes
or form of energy ejected or escaping from any industrial, manufacturing,
trade or business process or from the development, recovery or processing
of natural resources, as distinct from sanitary sewage.
That part of the sewer system extending from a sewer to the
curbline or, if there shall be no curbline, to the property line,
or, if no such lateral shall be provided, then "lateral" shall mean
that portion of or place in a sewer which is provided for connection
of any building sewer.
Any watercourse, ditch, pond, lake or other body of surface
water or groundwater.
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any property located in this Borough.
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation
or group.
The normal, water-carried household and toilet wastes from
residences, business buildings, institutions and commercial and industrial
establishments.
A sewer which carries sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes
and to which stormwater, surface water and groundwater may or may
not be admitted with the approval of the Borough.
A pipe or conduit for carrying sanitary sewage and/or stormwater,
surface drainage and industrial discharges.
All facilities owned by or leased to the Borough for the
collection and disposal of sanitary sewage and industrial waste.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit
or permit to be deposited in an unsanitary manner upon public or private
property within the Borough, or in any area under the jurisdiction
of the Borough, human or animal excrement, garbage or other objectionable
waste.[1]
B.
It shall be unlawful to discharge sanitary sewage
into any natural outlet within the Borough or to discharge industrial
waste or other polluted water into said outlets unless the person
so doing is operating with the approval of, or under a permit issued
by, the Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
C.
It shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool or similar receptacle intended or used for the disposal of sanitary sewage within the Borough where such sewage emanates from any premises described in Subsection D below.
D.
Connection required.
(1)
Each owner of any improved property situated in the
Borough and abutting on or adjoining any street in which a sewer forming
a part of the sewer system is located where the principal building
is within 200 feet of said sewer shall, at his own expense, install
suitable sanitary facilities therein and connect such facilities directly
with such sewer in accordance with the provisions of this article
within 45 days after the date of official notice to do so given in
the manner provided by law. In the event that any owner of such property
shall refuse or neglect to connect with such sewer within said forty-five-day
period, the Borough or its agents may enter upon such property and
construct such connection. In such case, the Borough shall forthwith,
upon completion of the work, send an itemized bill of the cost of
the construction of such connection to the owner of the property to
which connection has been so made, which bill shall be payable forthwith.
In case of neglect or refusal by the owner of such property to pay
said bill, it shall be the duty of the Borough to file municipal liens
for said construction of said connection, the same to be subject in
all respects to the general law provided for the filing and recovery
of municipal liens. The above regulations shall not apply to the owner
of any property who is operating under a permit from, or with the
approval of, the Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
(2)
Such private sanitary facilities may not be connected to any sanitary sewer operated by or for the Borough until the owner of the premises has received a sewer permit from the Borough as set forth in § 105-17; provided, however, that the Borough or its agents may construct such a connection under this Subsection D even though the owner of the premises has not received such sewer permit.
A.
No person shall uncover, connect with, make any opening
into or use, alter or disturb in any manner any sewer or the sewer
system without first obtaining a permit, in writing, from this Borough.
B.
Application for a permit required under Subsection A shall be made by the owner of the improved property to be served. The application shall be accompanied by a deposit of $1,500 for new construction or $1,000 for repairs to an existing connection. Any and all costs incurred during the construction in excess of the deposit will be the responsibility of the applicant. If the costs are less than the deposit, a refund will be given to the applicant upon completion of all invoicing.
[Amended 8-8-1977 by Ord. No. 373; 8-15-1990 by Ord. No.
493; 6-22-2006 by Ord. No. 642; 8-28-2008 by Ord. No. 661[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance was approved 9-2-2008.
C.
No person other than the Borough and its agents shall
make or cause to be made a connection of any improved property with
a sewer until such person shall have fulfilled each of the following
conditions:
(1)
Such person shall have notified the Secretary of the
Borough of the desire and intention to connect to a sewer.
(3)
Such person shall have given the Secretary of this
Borough at least 24 hours' notice of the time when such connection
will be made so that this Borough may supervise and inspect the work
of connection and necessary testing.
D.
Except as otherwise provided in this Subsection D, each improved property shall be connected separately and independently with a sewer through a building sewer. Grouping of more than one improved property on one building sewer shall not be permitted except under special circumstances and for good sanitary reasons or other good cause shown and only after special permission of the Borough, in writing, shall have been secured and subject to such rules, regulations and conditions as may be prescribed by the Borough.
E.
All costs and expenses of construction of a building
sewer and all costs and expenses of connection of a building sewer
to a lateral shall be borne by the owner of the improved property
to be connected, and such owner shall indemnify and save harmless
this Borough from all loss or damage that may be occasioned, directly
or indirectly, as a result of construction of a building sewer or
of connection of a building sewer to a lateral.
F.
A building sewer shall be connected to a sewer at
the place designated by the Borough and where the lateral is provided.
The invert of a building sewer at the point of connection shall be
at a higher elevation than the invert of the sewer. A smooth, neat
joint shall be made, and the connection of a building sewer to the
lateral shall be made secure and watertight.[2]
A.
Where an improved property, at the time connection
to a sewer is required, shall be served by its own sewage disposal
system or device, the existing house sewer line shall be broken on
the structure side of such sewage disposal system or device, and attachment
shall be made, with proper fittings, to continue such house sewer
line as a building sewer.
B.
No building sewer shall be covered until it has been
inspected and approved by this Borough. If any part of a building
sewer is covered before so being inspected and approved, it shall
be uncovered for inspection at the cost and expense of the owner of
the improved property to be connected to a sewer.
C.
Every building sewer of any improved property shall
be maintained in a sanitary and safe operating condition by the owner
of such improved property.
D.
Every excavation for a building sewer shall be guarded
adequately with barricades and lights to protect all persons from
damage and injury. Streets, sidewalks and other public property disturbed
in the course of installation of a building sewer shall be restored,
at the cost and expense of the owner of the improved property being
connected, in a manner satisfactory to this Borough.
E.
If any person shall fail or refuse, upon receipt of
a notice of the Borough, in writing, to remedy any unsatisfactory
condition with respect to a building sewer, within 60 days of receipt
of such notice, this Borough may refuse to permit such person to discharge
sanitary sewage and industrial wastes into the sewer system until
such unsatisfactory condition shall have been remedied to the satisfaction
of this Borough.
F.
The Borough reserves the right to adopt, from time
to time, additional rules and regulations as it shall deem necessary
and proper relating to connections with a sewer and the sewer system,
which additional rules and regulations, to the extent appropriate,
shall be and shall be construed as part of this article.
The Borough Engineer and other duly authorized
employees of the Borough bearing proper credentials and identification
shall be permitted to enter upon all properties for the purposes of
inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing, in accordance
with the provisions of this article.
[Amended 2-19-1980 by Ord. No. 404]
A.
Any person who shall violate any provision of this article shall be served by the Borough with written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in such notice, permanently cease all violations. Any person who shall continue any violation beyond such time limit shall be punishable as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, § 1-17A, of the Code of the Borough of Palmerton.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
B.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this
article, in addition to becoming liable for a fine and penalty, shall
become liable to the Borough for any expense, loss or damage occasioned
the Borough by reason of such violation.
