[Adopted 5-3-1976 by Ord. No. 305]
The purpose of this article is to establish
procedures for the use and maintenance of 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 Township.
Unless the context specifically and clearly
indicates otherwise, the meanings and terms used in this article shall
be as follows:
A watertight receptacle which receives and retains sewage
and is designed and constructed to facilitate ultimate disposal of
the sewage at another site. Holding tanks include but are not limited
to the following:
CHEMICAL TOILET- A toilet using chemicals that discharge to a holding tank.
RETENTION TANK- A holding tank where sewage is conveyed to it by a water-carrying system.
VAULT PIT PRIVY- A holding tank designed to receive sewage where water under pressure is not available.
Any property within the Township 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.
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any property located in the Township.
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation
or other group or entity.
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 Supervisors of Tobyhanna Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania.
Tobyhanna Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania.
The Supervisors are hereby authorized and empowered
to undertake within the Township the control and methods of holding
tank sewage disposal and the collection and transportation thereof.
The Supervisors are hereby authorized and empowered
to adopt such rules and regulations concerning sewage which they may
deem necessary from time to time to effect the purposes herein.
The Supervisors shall have the right and power
to fix the amount and terms of a bond or other security to ensure
compliance with the provisions of this article, the rules and regulations
and the rates, assessments and other charges adopted pursuant to this
article. Said bond or other security shall be furnished by the owner
or owners of the property or properties using the holding tank and
shall cover the period of time the holding tank is intended to be
used and for such period of time thereafter as the Supervisors shall
deem necessary.
The Supervisors shall have the right and power
to fix, alter, charge and collect rates, assessments and other charges
in the area served by holding tanks at reasonable and uniform rates
as authorized by applicable law.
All such rules and regulations adopted by the
Supervisors shall be in conformity with the provisions herein, all
other ordinances of the Township and all applicable laws and applicable
rules and regulations of the administrative agencies of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
No person shall install or utilize or cause
to be installed or utilized any holding tank within the Township until
and unless such person has obtained from the Supervisors or their
duly appointed representative a permit evidencing the posting of bond
or other security as required herein and the compliance with all other
conditions precedent to the installation and utilization of a holding
tank as set forth herein.
[Amended 6-6-1988 by Ord. No. 346]
A.
Holding tanks shall not be permitted or allowed as
a means of effluent disposal for any new construction, except where
the Township's official plan or revision provides for replacement
by adequate sewerage services in accordance with a schedule approved
by the Department of Environmental Protection.
[Amended 6-15-1998 by Ord. No. 398]
B.
Holding tanks will be allowed for temporary use only,
and said temporary use of a holding tank shall not exceed a maximum
use of one year. The use of said holding tanks shall only be permitted
where existing on-lot disposal systems are being repaired or replaced.
C.
No holding tanks shall be placed into operation or
utilized prior to the issuance of a holding tank permit by the Township
Sewage Enforcement Officer. Such holding tank permits shall expire
one year from the date of issuance and shall not thereafter be renewed.
D.
All applications for a holding tank permit shall be
in accordance with the applicable Township ordinances, rules and regulations
existing as of the date of this section and the ordinances, rules
and regulations as hereinafter amended from time to time by the Township
Supervisors. All applications for a holding tank permit shall contain
or have attached thereto a fully executed, signed and notarized maintenance
contract relating to the periodic pumping of said holding tank. The
holding tank cleaner and his proposed disposal site operator shall
have had prior approval by the Department of Environmental Protection.
The application shall also provide the precise date when the holding
tank authorized by the permit issued by the Township will be abandoned.
E.
The applicable ordinances, rules and regulations and
the applicable statute of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, together
with the applicable rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection as existing at the time of the issuance
of the permit and such other revisions to the applicable statutes,
ordinances, rules and regulations as enacted or promulgated from and
after the date of the issuance of the permit, must be strictly adhered
to and in conformity with said statutes, ordinances, rules and regulations
as heretofore set forth.
F.
Prior to the issuance of a holding tank permit by
the Sewage Enforcement Officer of the Township of Tobyhanna, all application
fees and escrow fees as hereinafter provided shall be paid by the
applicant to the Township of Tobyhanna.
G.
All owners of holding tank permits shall install,
at the time that said holding tank permit is issued, a potable water
meter connected to the water supply source servicing the property
or premises for which the holding tank permit was issued.
H.
All holding tank permittees shall be required to maintain
a daily log setting forth the recorded information taken from the
source of the water supply, which data or information shall reflect
the pumping intervals, the gallons of water pumped and the gallons
of water used. In addition, the application for a holding tank permit
shall likewise provide for and have affixed thereto the signature
of the effluent hauler, together with the name, address and telephone
number of said effluent hauler.
I.
The Sewage Enforcement Officer of the Township shall
inspect said permitted holding tanks every six months from the date
of issue, and as a condition of the continued use of the holding tank,
the permittee must produce for inspection the daily log, which log
must, at the time of inspection, contain all current data as set forth
hereinabove.
J.
Failure on the part of any holding tank permittee
to comply with the provisions of this article, the rules and regulations
as may hereinafter be promulgated or currently in existence or failure
to comply with the applicable statutes of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
and the rules and regulations of the Department of Environmental Protection
relating to the use and maintenance of holding tanks shall result
in the immediate revocation of the holding tank permit and, upon written
notice of the revocation of said holding tank permit, it shall thereafter
be unlawful for the owner of said premises or property to thereafter
utilize the same for any use whatsoever.
[Added 6-6-1988 by Ord. No. 346]
All applications for a holding tank permit shall
be made in accordance with the application form provided by the Township,
which application must be signed by the applicant permittee. The holding
tank cleaner and his proposed disposal site operator shall have had
prior approval by the Department of Environmental Protection. The
application shall have attached thereto a signed and notarized maintenance
contract, which maintenance contract sets forth the schedule of pumping
dates. The application shall also contain a precise date as to when
the holding tank will be abandoned, but in no event shall the abandonment
of said holding tank take place later than one year from the date
of the issuance of the holding tank permit.
[Added 6-6-1998 by Ord. No. 346; amended 6-21-1999 by Ord. No. 411]
At the time an application is made for a holding
tank permit, the applicant shall pay to the Township of Tobyhanna
an application fee, as set from time to time by resolution of the
Board of Supervisors, and shall also deposit a sum, as set from time
to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, with the Township
of Tobyhanna as and for an escrow fund to be utilized for the purpose
of assuring compliance with the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act,[1] the rules and regulations promulgated by the Department
of Environmental Protection and in compliance with the ordinance,
rules and regulations as promulgated by the Township of Tobyhanna.
Said escrow fund shall be used by the Township of Tobyhanna to defray
any expenses that it may incur as a result of any violations, terms
and conditions relating to the issuance of the holding tank permit.
Said escrow fund shall be held in an interest-bearing account, and
all accrued interest shall be paid to the individual depositing the
escrow fund. At the termination of the period for which the permit
was issued, the fund, or any remaining balance not used for the purpose
as herein set forth, shall be returned to the individual depositing
the fund at the time the application is filed.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 750.1
et seq.
The collection and transportation of all sewage
from any improved property utilizing a holding tank shall be done
solely by or under the direction and control of the Supervisors, provided
that:
A.
The Supervisors may delegate or contract for the collection
and disposal of the holding tank's contents, except that the ultimate
responsibility for the proper collection and disposal of such contents
shall remain with the Supervisors.
B.
In the event of contract disposal, both the holding
tank cleaner and his proposed disposal site shall obtain DEP approval
prior to the Supervisors allowing the holding tank cleaner to conduct
operations within the Township.
C.
Treatment tank cleaners (septic, aerobic, etc.) shall
discharge within the Township only at facilities approved by the Supervisors.
The owner of an improved property that utilizes
a holding tank shall:
A.
Maintain the holding tank in conformance with this
article or any ordinance of this Township, the provisions of any applicable
law and the rules and regulations of any administrative agency of
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B.
Permit only the Township or anyone acting under the
direction of the Township to collect, transport and dispose of the
contents therein.
A.
In the event that an owner shall fail to perform any
of his duties or responsibilities hereunder, the Supervisors or their
duly appointed representatives shall cause to be served through the
Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department notice upon the owner or
such other person responsible under the law for the maintenance of
the offending property to correct the offending condition. In the
event that the owner or such other person is not a resident within
the Township, the notice shall be given by registered mail to their
last known address, or in the event that the owner or such other person
is unknown or cannot be located, then notice shall be given by posting
the offending property.
B.
In the event that the violation is not corrected within
10 days after serving, mailing or posting notice, or such longer period
as the Supervisors shall grant, depending upon the reasonable necessities
of the case, then the Supervisors may, through employees of the Township
or by private contract, enter upon the offending property and correct
the violation complained of. In the event of the correction by the
Township, the actual cost of such action, together with a penalty
of 20% of such cost, shall be assessed and collected in the manner
provided by law for the collection of municipal claims or by action
of assumpsit, whichever method the Supervisors may deem expedient.
C.
This remedy shall be in addition to and not instead
of any other remedy, penalty or fine provided by this article or otherwise
available by law or equity.
[Amended 6-21-1999 by Ord. No. 411]
Any person who violates any provisions of this
article shall, upon conviction thereof by summary proceedings, be
sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000,
plus costs, or to imprisonment not to exceed 90 days, or both.
In addition to any other remedies provided in
this article, any violation shall constitute a nuisance and shall
be abated by the Township or Supervisors by seeking appropriate equitable
or legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction, and the Supervisors
are specifically authorized as a part of said equitable or legal relief
to seek injunctions against the use of the holding tank and the property
and buildings serviced thereby until the nuisance shall be abated
and compliance had with the provisions of this article.
