[Adopted 7-20-1998 by Ord. No. 705]
Every owner of property in the Township of Penn whose property abuts upon a public sanitary sewer or is serviced or accommodated by said public sanitary sewer, either presently in existence within the corporate limits of the Township of Penn or to be constructed in the future by either the Penn Township Sewage Authority or a private developer, which line shall be dedicated to the Authority for acceptance by the Authority, shall connect, at its own cost and expense, the house, building or other structure or structures located on said property to the aforesaid public sanitary sewers for the purpose of disposing of all acceptable sanitary sewage emanating from said property.
It shall be unlawful for any owner, lessee or occupier of any property in the Township of Penn abutting upon or serviced or accommodated by any of the aforementioned public sanitary sewers to employ any means, either by septic tank, cesspool, privy vault, mine hole or otherwise, for the disposal of acceptable sanitary sewage other than into and through said public sanitary sewers.
Where any house, building or structure in the township abutting upon any aforementioned public sanitary sewer is now or hereafter may be using any method for the disposal of acceptable sanitary sewer other than through said public sanitary sewers, it shall be the duty of the Authority, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, to notify the owner, lessee or occupier of such structure, in writing, either by personal service, certified mail or registered mail, to disconnect the same and make proper connection for the discharge and disposal of all acceptable sanitary sewage through said pubic sanitary sewers, as herein provided, within 60 days after receipt of such notice. Any owner or lessee or occupier of a structure who cannot comply with the provisions of this section as to connection within the sixty-day period stipulated above due to causes beyond his control shall apply to the Authority within six months in duration. Said application shall be made on a form to be furnished by the Authority and shall contain a voluntary agreement on the part of the applicant under which the applicant agrees to pay regular monthly sewer rates immediately even though actual connection to the public sanitary sewers will not be accomplished until some stated later date within the six-month extension period.
No owner, tenant, user, contractor or any person, corporation or entity shall discharge or permit the discharge of any of the following into any portion or portions of the public sanitary sewer system within the Township of Penn:
A. 
Stormwater, surface water, roof runoff, subsurface, drainage, cooling water or unpolluted industrial process waters or waste from any source, including but not limited to infiltration in excess of 200 gallons per inch diameter of sanitary sewer collection pipe, per mile, per day; or inflow from any source.
B. 
Garbage, unless the garbage is first properly shredded and will be carried freely under flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers with no particle greater than 1/2 inch in any dimension.
C. 
Wastes containing any gasoline, naphtha, fuel oil or other liquids, solids or gases which by reason of their nature or quality may cause fire or explosion or be in any other way injurious to persons or to the structures of the sewer system or to its operation.
D. 
Wastes having a temperature in excess of 150º F. or less than 32º F.
E. 
Wastes having a pH lower than 6.5 or higher than 9.0 or having any corrosive property capable of causing damage to hazards to structures, equipment or personnel of the sewer system.
F. 
Wastes containing any noxious or malodorous gas or substance which either singly or by interaction with sewage or other wastes is likely, under the rules and regulations of the Authority, to create a public nuisance or hazard to life, or prevent entry to sewers for their maintenance and repair.
G. 
Wastes containing ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, hair, chemical or paint residues, greases, paunch manure, cotton, wool, plastic or other fibers, lime slurry or any other solid or viscous material of such character or in such quantity as may cause an obstruction to the flow in sewers or otherwise interfere with the proper operation of the sewer system.
H. 
Wastes containing insoluble, nonflocculent substances having a specific gravity in excess of 2.65.
I. 
Wastes containing soluble substances in such concentration as to cause the specific gravity of the waste to be greater than 1.1.
J. 
Wastes containing chemical substances.
(1) 
Wastes containing any of the following substances in concentration exceeding those shown in the following table as measured by an acceptable method:
Substances
Concentration
(mg/1)
Phenolic compounds as C
1
Cyanides as CN
0
Cyanates as CNO
0
Iron as Fe
7
Trivalent Chromium as Cr+3
1
Hexavalent Chromium as Cr+6
0.05
Nickel as Ni
1
Copper as Cu
0.5
Lead as Pb
0.5
Zinc as Zn
0.5
(2) 
Wastes containing other chemicals or other matter detrimental to the operation of a sewage treatment plant or sanitary sewers causing erosion, corrosion or deterioration in sewers, equipment and structures of a sewage treatment plant.
K. 
Wastes containing more than 100 milligrams per liter by weight of tar, fat, oil or grease.
L. 
Wastes containing more than 10 milligrams per liter of any of the following gases: hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide or any of the halogens.
M. 
Wastes containing a toxic or poisonous substance, in a sufficient quantity to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals or create any hazard in the sewer not limited to wastes containing cyanide, chromium and/or copper ions.
N. 
Wastes containing a toxic substance in quantities sufficient to interfere with the biochemicals processes of the sewage treatment works or that will pass through the sewage treatment works and exceed the state and/or federal requirements in respect thereto.
O. 
Any waste containing toxic radioactive isotopes.
P. 
Any waste containing the effluent from a privy, septic tank, sinkhole or cesspool, or other receptacle for receiving and holding sanitary sewage for an extended period of time, before discharge to the sewer system.
Q. 
Any waste which hereafter is designated as unacceptable by reason of rules and regulations imposed upon the Authority by any state or federal agency, or which the engineer of the Authority recommends as unacceptable.
The following are special regulations for properties connected to the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (hereinafter called "ALCOSAN"):
A. 
Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the meanings hereafter designated:
ALCOSAN
The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, including its treatment facility and any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature.
CORROSIVE WASTE
A waste or substance which has any of the following properties:
(1) 
It is aqueous and has a pH of less than or equal to 5 or greater than or equal to 10, as determined by pH meter.
(2) 
It is a liquid and corrodes steel (SAE1020) at a rate greater than 6.35 millimeters (mm) (0.250 inches) per year at a test temperature of 55º C. (130º F.).
HAZARDOUS WASTE
All wastes that are defined as hazardous under the regulations enacted pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) as specified in 40 CFR 261 pr under the regulations promulgated pursuant to the Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Act as specified in 25 PA Code 261.
IGNITABLE WASTE
A waste or substance which can create a fire hazard in the sewage collection system or the ALCOSAN Treatment Facility which has any of but is not limited to the following properties:
(1) 
It is liquid with a flash point less than 60º C. (140º F.) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21.
(2) 
It is an oxidizer as defined in 40 CFR 173.151.
INTERFERENCE
A discharge originating in the township which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, both:
(1) 
Inhibits or disrupts the ALCOSAN facilities, its treatment processes or operations or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and
(2) 
Therefore is a cause of a violation of any requirement of ALCOSAN's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (hereinafter referred to as "NPDES") permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation) or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by ALCOSAN in compliance with the following statutory provisions and regulations or permits issued thereunder (or more stringent state or local regulations): Section 405 of the Clean Water Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act (including Title 2, or more commonly referred to as the "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act," and including state regulations contained in and State Sludge Management Plan prepared pursuant to subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act), the Clean Air Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act.
PASS-THROUGH
Any discharge of a pollutant through ALCOSAN into the waters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with other discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the ALCOSAN's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, copartnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity or any other legal entity or its legal representatives, agents or assigns.
pH
The logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions expressed in grams per liter of solution.
POLLUTANT
Any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, emissions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt or other industrial, municipal or agricultural waste discharged into water.
POLLUTION
The man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological and/or radiological integrity of water.
REACTIVE/EXPLOSIVE WASTE
A waste or substance which can create an explosion hazard in the sewage collection system or the ALCOSAN treatment facility; which has any of but is not limited to the following properties:
(1) 
It is normally unstable and readily undergoes violent change without detonating.
(2) 
It reacts violently with water.
(3) 
It forms potentially explosive mixtures with water.
(4) 
When mixed with water, it generates toxic gasses, vapors or fumes in a quantity sufficient to present a danger to human health or the environment.
(5) 
It is a cyanide- or sulfide-bearing waste which can generate toxic gasses, vapors or fumes in a quantity sufficient to present a danger to human health or environment.
(6) 
It is capable of detonation or explosive reaction if it is subjected to a strong initiating source or if heated under confinement.
(7) 
It is readily capable of detonation, explosive decomposition or reaction at standard temperature and pressure.
(8) 
It is a forbidden explosive as defined in 40 CFR 173.51 or a Class A explosive as defined in 49 CFR 173.53 or a Class B explosive as defined in 49 CFR 173.88.
THE ACT
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act also known as the "Clean Water Act," as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.
TOXIC POLLUTANT
Any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the EPA pursuant to Section 307(A) of the Act.
WASTEWATER
The liquid- and water-carried industrial or domestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water and stormwater that may be present, whether treated or untreated, which is contributed directly or indirectly into the facilities of ALCOSAN.
WATERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
All streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, water ways, wells, springs, reservoirs, aquifers, irrigation systems, drainage systems and other bodies or accumulations of water, surface or underground, natural or artificial, public or private, which are contained within, flow through or border upon the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any portion thereof.
B. 
Prohibitions, general. No person shall introduce or cause to be introduced directly or indirectly into the facilities of ALCOSAN or into any sewer, pipe or other conveyance located in the township and transmitting substances into the facilities of ALCOSAN any toxic pollutant or other wastewater which will:
(1) 
Cause interference with the operation or performance of ALCOSAN's treatment plant or other facilities; or
(2) 
Pass through ALCOSAN's treatment plant or other facilities.
C. 
Prohibitions, specific. No person shall introduce, permit or cause to be introduced, directly or indirectly, into the facilities of ALCOSAN or into any piped sewer, pipe or other conveyance located in the township and the transmitting substances into the facilities of ALCOSAN any of following:
(1) 
Any substance which will endanger the life, health or safety of the treatment plant sewer maintenance and plant operations personnel or which would preclude safe entry into the sewer system or any portion of the treatment plant.
(2) 
Any ignitable, reactive, explosive, corrosive or hazardous waste, except as provided for by ALCOSAN's Rules and Regulations.
(3) 
Any wastewater with a temperature greater than 140º F. (60º C.).
(4) 
Any waste which exceeds the naturally occurring background levels for either alpha, beta or gamma radiation and/or any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration not in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.
(5) 
Any solids or viscous substance capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers or other interference with the proper operations of ALCOSAN's facility or facilities discharging into the ALCOSAN system.
(6) 
Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gasses or solids which either singly or by interaction with other wastes may create a public nuisance or adversely affect public health or safety.
(7) 
Pathological wastes from a hospital or other medical establishment.
(8) 
Garbage, whether ground or not, except properly shredded food waste garbage resulting from the proper use of a garbage grinder or disposer type approved by ALCOSAN and maintained in good operating condition.
(9) 
Sludges or other materials from septic tanks or similar facilities or from sewage or industrial waste treatment plants or from water treatment plants, unless the discharge of such sludges and other materials is specifically approved by ALCOSAN.
(10) 
Any pollutant, including oxygen-demanding pollutants released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which will cause interference with the ALCOSAN facilities.
(11) 
Any substance which will cause ALCOSAN's effluent or any other product of the ALCOSAN facilities such as residues, sludges or scums to be unsuitable for reclamation processes, including any substance which will cause the ALCOSAN facility to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposable criteria, guidelines or regulations developed under Section 405 of the Act, any criteria, guidelines or regulations promulgated pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act or state laws or regulations applicable to the treatment or disposal of such effluent or such product.
D. 
Regulations. No person shall take any action or do or cause to be done anything in violation of any rule or regulation of ALCOSAN. The pretreatment regulations of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority are incorporated into this article by reference as though fully set forth herein.
No person, firm or corporation shall make or cause to be made any connection with any of the aforementioned public sanitary sewers until he has fulfilled all of the following conditions:
A. 
He shall make application to the Authority upon a permit form to be formulated and supplied by the Authority for permission to connect to the aforementioned public sanitary sewers. Among other things, the applicant must state the character and use of each structure located upon his property.
B. 
He shall pay to the Authority the required tap connection fee for each equivalent dwelling unit (EDU) on said property connected to the aforementioned public sanitary sewers at the time of making application for permission to make such connection or connections. That connection fee shall be the prevailing fee in existence at the time that the application for connection is made.
C. 
No work shall commence before the payment of the aforesaid tap connection fee and issuance of the aforementioned connection permit.
D. 
He shall give the designated Inspector of the Authority at least twenty-four-hours' notice of the time when such connection shall be made in order that said Inspector can be present to inspect and approve the work of connection. The Inspector shall signify his approval of the connection by endorsing his name and the date of approval on the aforementioned connection permit in the possession of the permittees.
E. 
At the time of inspection of the connection, the owner or owners of properties shall permit the Inspector full and complete access to all sanitary sand drainage arrangements and facilities in each building and in and about all parts of the property. No building sewer line shall be covered over, or in any manner concealed, until after it is inspected and approved by said Inspector.
F. 
Prior to occupancy of the structure the owner shall give the Authority at least twenty-four-hours' notice of the intent to occupy. The Authority shall then perform a final inspection of the sanitary sewer system to determine that no improper connections have been made to the system.
The construction and number and size of all building sewer lines or house service sewers shall be done in accordance with the specifications, plans and procedures established by the Authority in the Sewer System Rules and Regulations, as the same may be from time to time published and amended, copies of which, upon adoption, shall be maintained on file with the Authority.
If the owner or owners of any occupied houses, buildings or structures in the township shall neglect or refuse to comply with the provisions of this article or the written notice as prescribed in § 133-33 hereof, the Authority may perform or cause to be performed such work and labor and furnish or cause to be furnished such material as may be necessary to comply with the provisions of this article at the cost and expense of such owner or owners, together with 10% additional thereof and all charges and expenses incidental thereto, which sum shall be collected from said owner or owners for the use of the Authority, as debts are by law collectible, and may file a municipal claim or lien therefor against said premises as provided by law.
Unacceptable sanitary sewage and other terms used herein for purposes of this article shall have the same definitions as those which are set forth in the Sewer System Rules and Regulations, said rules and regulations to be applicable to all users of the aforementioned public sanitary sewers.
In addition to any penalty hereinabove prescribed, any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this article, upon conviction thereof before a District Magistrate, shall pay a fine or penalty of $1,000 for each day in violation hereof.
For the purpose of this article, the township hereby delegates and authorizes the Penn Township Sewage Authority to act as its designated agent for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this article.