[Adopted 5-26-1998 by Ord. No. 253]
A.
This article shall be known and may be cited as "Municipal
Management of On-Lot Subsurface Sewage Disposal Facilities."
B.
The purpose of this article is to provide for the inspection,
maintenance and rehabilitation of on-lot sewage disposal systems; to further
permit the municipality to intervene in situations which are public nuisances
or hazards to the public health; and to establish penalties and appeal procedures
necessary for the proper administration of a sewage management program.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
The Act of January 24, 1966, P.L. 1535, as amended, 35 P.S. § 750.1
et seq., known as the "Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act."
A certified sewage enforcement officer, code enforcement officer,
professional engineer, plumbing inspector, municipal secretary or any other
qualified or licensed person who is delegated by the municipality to function
within specified limits as the agent of the municipality to carry out the
provisions of this article.
The Board of Supervisors of Antrim Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
An individual employed by the municipality to administer and enforce
other ordinances in the municipality.
Any system, whether publicly or privately owned, for the collection
of sewage from two or more lots, and the treatment and/or disposal of the
sewage on one or more lots or at any other site.
The Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania (DEP).
A system of piping, tanks or other facilities serving a single lot
and collecting and disposing of sewage in whole or in part into the soil or
into any waters of this commonwealth.
A condition which occurs when an on-lot sewage disposal system discharges
sewage onto the surface of the ground, into groundwaters of this commonwealth,
into surface waters of this commonwealth, backs up into the building connected
to the system or otherwise causes a nuisance hazard to the public health or
pollution of groundwater or surface water or contamination of public or private
drinking water wells.
Antrim Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
Any system for disposal of sewage involving pretreatment and subsequent
disposal of the clarified sewage into the soil for final treatment disposal;
including both individual sewage systems and community sewage systems.
Any individual, association, public or private corporation for profit
or not for profit, partnership, firm, trust, estate, department, board, bureau
or agency of the commonwealth, political subdivision, municipality, district,
authority or any other legal entity whatsoever which is recognized by law
as the subject of rights and duties. Whenever used in any clause prescribing
and imposing a penalty or imposing a fine or imprisonment, the term "person"
shall include the members of an association, partnership or firm and the officers
of any local agency or municipal, public or private corporation for profit
or not for profit.
Work done to modify, alter, repair, enlarge or replace an existing
on-lot sewage disposal system.
A portion of a lot or a developed property, sized to allow the installation
of a subsurface sewage disposal area, which is reserved to allow that installation
in the event of the malfunction of the originally installed on-lot sewage
disposal system.
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 substances 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 or which constitutes pollution under the Act of June 22,
1937 (P.L. 1987, No. 394), known as the "Clean Streams Law," as amended.[1]
The official of the local agency who issues and reviews permit applications
and conducts such investigations and inspections as are necessary to implement
Act 537 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
Any area or areas of a municipality for which a sewage management
program is recommended by the municipality's adopted Plan.
A comprehensive set of legal and administrative requirements encompassing
the requirements of this article and other administrative requirements adopted
by the municipality to effectively enforce and administer this article.
A plan for the provision of adequate sewage disposal systems, adopted
by the municipality and approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection, as described in, and required by, the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities
Act.[2]
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or other parcel of land
into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions of land, including
changes in existing lot lines. The enumerating of lots shall include as a
lot that portion of the original tract or tracts remaining after other lots
have been subdivided therefrom.
From the effective date of this article, its provisions shall apply
in any portion of the municipality identified in the municipality's Act 537
Official Sewage Facilities Plan as a sewage management district. Within such
an area or areas, the provisions of this article shall apply to all persons
owning any property serviced by an on-lot sewage disposal system and to all
persons installing or rehabilitating on-lot sewage disposal systems. If necessary,
the entire municipality may be identified as a sewage management district.
A.
No person shall install, construct or request bid proposals
for construction or alter an individual sewage system or community sewage
system or construct or request bid proposals for construction or install or
occupy any building or structure for which an individual sewage system or
community sewage system is to be installed without first obtaining a permit
indicating that the site and the plans and specifications of such system are
in compliance with the provisions of the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act[1] and the regulations adopted pursuant to that Act.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 750.1 et seq.
B.
No system or structure designated to provide individual
or community sewage disposal shall be covered from view until approval to
cover the same has been given by the municipal sewage enforcement officer.
C.
The municipality may require applicants for sewage permits
to notify the municipality's certified sewage enforcement officer of the schedule
for construction of the permitted on-lot sewage disposal system so that inspection(s)
in addition to the final inspection required by Act 537 may be scheduled and
performed by the municipality's certified sewage enforcement officer.
D.
No building or occupancy permit shall be issued by the
municipality or its codes enforcement officer for a new building which will
contain sewage-generating facilities until a valid sewage permit has been
obtained from the municipality's certified sewage enforcement officer.
E.
No building or occupancy permit shall be issued and no
work shall begin on any alteration or conversion of any existing structure,
if said alteration or conversion will result in the increase or potential
increase in sewage flows from the structure, until the municipality's codes
enforcement officer and the structure's owner receive from the municipality's
sewage enforcement officer either a permit for alteration or a replacement
of the existing sewage disposal system or written notification that such a
permit will not be required. The certified sewage enforcement officer shall
determine whether the proposed alteration or conversion of the structure will
result in increased sewage flows.
F.
Sewage permits may be issued only by a certified sewage
enforcement officer employed by the municipality for that express purpose.
The Department of Environmental Protection shall be notified by the municipality
as to the identity of its currently employed certified sewage enforcement
officer.
G.
No sewage permit may be issued unless proof is provided
that the owner of record has owned the lot since May 15, 1972, or that Act
537 planning for that lot has been provided by the municipality.
H.
No final Act 247 approval on a subdivision plan may begin
until Act 537 planning is approved by the municipality and DEP.
A.
Any revisions to the municipality's Official Sewage Facilities
Plan, or exceptions thereto, which are prepared pursuant to the applicable
regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for
subdivision or development of land within an identified sewage management
district shall provide for the testing, identification and reservation of
an area of each lot or developed property suitable for the installation of
a replacement on-lot sewage disposal system. This requirement is in addition
to the testing, identification and reservation of an area for the primary
sewage disposal system.
B.
No permit shall be issued for any proposed new on-lot
sewage disposal system on any newly created or subdivided property in any
sewage management district unless and until a replacement area is tested,
identified and reserved.
A.
Any on-lot sewage disposal system may be inspected by
the municipality's authorized agent at any reasonable time as of the effective
date of this article.
B.
The inspection may include a physical tour of the property,
the taking of samples from surface water, wells, other groundwater sources,
the sampling of the contents of the sewage disposal system itself and/or the
introduction of a traceable substance into the interior plumbing of the structure
served to ascertain the path and ultimate destination of wastewater generated
in the structure.
C.
The municipality's authorized agent shall have the right
to enter upon land for the purpose of inspections described above.
D.
The municipality and its authorized agent shall inspect
systems known to be, or alleged to be, malfunctioning. Should said inspections
reveal that the system is indeed malfunctioning, the municipality and its
authorized agent shall take action to require the correction of the malfunction.
If total correction is not technically or financially feasible in the opinion
of the authorized agent and a representative of the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection, then action by the property owner to mitigate
the malfunction shall be required.
E.
There may arise geographic areas within the municipality
where numerous on-lot sewage disposal systems are malfunctioning. A resolution
of these area-wide problems may necessitate detailed planning and a municipally
sponsored revision to that area's Act 537 Official Sewage Facilities Plan.
When a DEP authorized Official Sewage Facilities Plan revision has been undertaken
by the municipality, mandatory repair or replacement of individual malfunctioning
sewage disposal systems within the study area may be delayed, at the discretion
of the municipality, pending the outcome of the plan revision process. However,
the municipality may compel immediate corrective action whenever a malfunction,
as determined by municipal officials and the Pennsylvania DEP, represents
a serious public health or environmental threat.
Only normal domestic wastes shall be discharged into any on-lot sewage
disposal system. The following shall not be discharged into the system:
A.
Industrial waste.
B.
Automobile oil and other nondomestic oil.
C.
Toxic or hazardous substances or chemicals, including
but not limited to pesticides, disinfectants, acids, paints, paint thinners,
herbicides, gasoline and other solvents.
D.
Clean surface or ground water, including water from roof
or cellar drains, springs, basement sump pumps and French drains.
A.
Any person owning a building served by an on-lot sewage
disposal system which contains a septic tank shall have the septic tank pumped
by a qualified pumper/hauler within one year of the effective date of this
article. Receipts from the pumper/hauler shall be submitted to the municipality
within the prescribed one-year pumping period. The Antrim Township Municipal
Authority shall be considered a qualified pumper/hauler if it is providing
such services. All septic tank pumpers/haulers shall be licensed by the Township
and shall submit written reports to the Township on all pumping as to the
condition of the tank.
B.
After the initial one-year pumping period, all septic
tanks shall be subject to inspection every three years. At such time as the
solid buildup reaches 1/3 to 1/2 of the tank, all tanks shall be pumped. At
no time shall the depth of the scum be below the depth of the outlet baffle.
If this condition should occur, then the tank shall immediately be pumped.
C.
The required pumping frequency may be increased at the
discretion of the authorized agent if the septic tank is undersized, if solids
build up in the tank is above average, if the hydraulic load on the system
increases significantly above average, if a garbage grinder is used in the
building, if the system malfunctions or for other good cause shown. If any
person can prove that their system tank had been pumped within three years
of the one-year anniversary of the effective date of this article, that person
shall be exempt from the initial one-year pumping requirement.
A.
No person shall operate and maintain an on-lot sewage
disposal system in such a manner that it malfunctions. All liquid wastes,
including kitchen and laundry wastes and water softener backwash, shall be
discharged to a treatment tank. No sewage system shall discharge untreated
or partially treated sewage to the surface of the ground or into the waters
of the commonwealth unless a permit to discharge has been obtained from the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
B.
The municipality shall issue a written notice of violation
to any person who is the owner of a property in the municipality which is
found to be served by a malfunctioning on-lot sewage disposal system or which
is discharging raw or partially treated sewage without a permit.
C.
Within seven days of notification by the municipality
that a malfunction has been identified, the property owner shall make application
to the municipality's certified sewage enforcement officer for a permit to
repair or replace the malfunctioning system. Within 30 days of initial notification
by the municipality, construction of the permitted repair or replacement shall
commence. Within 60 days of the original notification by the municipality,
the construction shall be completed unless seasonal or unique conditions mandate
a longer period, in which case the municipality shall set an extended completion
date.
D.
The municipality's certified sewage enforcement officer
shall have the authority to require the repair of any malfunction by the following
methods: cleaning, repair or replacement of components of the existing system,
adding capacity or otherwise altering or replacing the system's treatment
tank, expanding the existing disposal area, replacing the existing disposal
area, replacing a gravity distribution system with a pressurized system, replacing
the system with a holding tank, other alternatives as appropriate for the
specific site.
E.
In lieu of, or in combination with the remedies described
in Subsection D above, the municipal sewage enforcement officer may require
the installation of water conservation equipment and the institution of water
conservation practices in structures served. Water-using devices and appliances
in the structure may be required to be retrofitted with water-saving appurtenances
or they may be required to be replaced by water-conserving devices and appliances.
Wastewater generation in the structure may also be reduced by requiring changes
in water usage patterns in the structure served. The use of laundry facilities
may be limited to one load per day or discontinued altogether, etc.
F.
In the event that the rehabilitation measures in Subsections
A through E are not feasible or do not prove effective, the municipality may
require the owner to apply to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection for a permit to install an individual spray irrigation treatment
system or a single residence treatment and discharge system. Upon receipt
of said permit, the owner shall complete construction of the system within
30 days.
G.
Should none of the remedies described above prove totally
effective in eliminating the malfunction of an existing on-lot sewage disposal
system, the property owner is not absolved of responsibility for that malfunction.
The municipality may require whatever action is necessary to lessen or mitigate
the malfunction to the extent that it feels necessary.
The municipality, upon written notice from the municipal sewage enforcement
officer that an imminent health hazard exists due to failure of a property
owner to maintain, repair or replace an on-lot sewage disposal system as provided
under the terms of this article, shall have the authority to perform, or contract
to have performed, the work required by the certified sewage enforcement officer.
The owner shall be charged for the work performed, and, if necessary, a lien
shall be entered therefor in accordance with law.
A.
All septage originating within the municipal sewage management
district shall be disposed of at sites or facilities approved by the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection. Approved sites or facilities shall
include the following: septage treatment facilities, wastewater treatment
plants, composting sites and approved farmlands.
B.
Septage of pumpers/haulers operating within the municipal
sewage management district shall operate in a manner consistent with the provisions
of the Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Act (Act 97 of 1980, 35 P.S. §§ 6018.101
through 6018.1003).
The municipality shall establish all administrative procedures necessary
to properly carry out the provisions of this article. The municipality may
establish a fee schedule, and subsequently collect fees, to cover the costs
to the municipality of administering this program.
A.
Appeals from decisions of the municipality or its authorized
agents under this article shall be made to the Board of Supervisors in writing
within 30 days from the date of the decision in question.
B.
The appellant shall be entitled to a hearing before the
Board of Supervisors at its next regularly scheduled meeting, if the appeal
is received at least 14 days prior to that meeting. If the appeal is received
within 14 days of the next regularly scheduled meeting, the appeal shall be
heard at the subsequent meeting. The municipality shall thereafter affirm,
modify or reverse the aforesaid decision. The hearing may be postponed for
a good cause shown by the appellant or the municipality. Additional evidence
may be introduced at the hearing, provided that it is submitted with the written
notice of appeal.
C.
A decision shall be rendered in writing 30 days of the
date of the hearing. If a decision is not rendered within 30 days, the release
sought by the appellant shall be deemed granted.
A.
This article shall be enforced by an action brought before
a District Justice in the same manner provided for the enforcement of summary
offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. The Municipal
Solicitor may assume charge of prosecution without the consent of the District
Attorney as required under Pa. R. Crim. P. No. 83(c) (Relating to Trial in
Summary Cases). Any person who violates or permits a violation of this article
shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding, be punishable by a fine of
up to $1,000 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed 90 days.
B.
This article also may be enforced by the Township of
Antrim through an action in equity brought in the Court of Common Pleas of
Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
C.
For the purpose of this article, each day of a continuing
violation shall be considered a new and additional violation of this article.
In addition, a violation of each section of this article shall constitute
a separate offense.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with the provisions
of this article are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
If any section or clause of this article shall be adjudged invalid,
such adjudication shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions,
which shall be deemed severable therefrom.
