[Adopted 11-21-2005 by Ord. No. 455]
A.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the
"Upper Providence Township On-Lot Sewage Disposal System Management
Ordinance."
B.
This article is adopted pursuant to the authority
set forth in the Second Class Township Code, the Pennsylvania Clean
Streams Law (35 P.S. §§ 699.1-699,1001), and the Pennsylvania
Sewage Facilities Act (Act of January 24, 1966), P.L. 1535, as amended,
35 P.S. §§ 750.1 et seq., also known as Act 537, This
article is also adopted pursuant to the official sewage facilities
plan adopted for Upper Providence Township pursuant to Act 537.
C.
This article is intended to prevent and abate water
pollution and the hazards to the public health caused by the improper
treatment and disposal of sanitary sewage. This article is further
intended to provide for the inventory and inspection of on-lot sanitary
sewage disposal systems within the Township, which said inventory
and inspections are designed to provide for the adequate maintenance,
management, rehabilitation, repair, replacement and construction of
on-lot sewage disposal systems; to permit the Township to intervene
in events which are public nuisances or hazards to the public health;
to license wastewater management persons that engage in the repair,
inspection, and/or installation of on-lot sanitary sewage disposal
systems, as well as the removal and disposal of septage; and to establish
penalties and appeal procedures necessary for the appropriate administration
of the Upper Providence Township On-Lot Sanitary Sewage Disposal System
Management Program.
A.
AUTHORIZED AGENT
BOARD
COMMUNITY SEWAGE SYSTEM
DEP
INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE SYSTEM
MALFUNCTION
OFFICIAL SEWAGE FACILITIES PLAN
ON-LOT SANITARY SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM
PERSON
REHABILITATION and REPAIR
SEPTAGE
SEWAGE
SEWAGE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
SEWAGE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
SEWAGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
SUBDIVISION
TOWNSHIP
WATERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
ZONING OFFICER
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the words and phrases used in this Article V shall have the following meanings. The singular number includes the plural, and the plural includes the singular.
A sewage enforcement officer, employee of the Township, licensed
civil engineer, plumbing inspector or any other qualified or licensed
person who is authorized to function within the specified limits as
an agent of the Township to administer or enforce the provisions of
this article.
The Board of Supervisors of Upper Providence Township.
Any system, whether publicly or privately owned, for the
collection of sanitary sewage from two or more lots or structures,
and the treatment and/or disposal of the sewage on one or more lots
or at any other site.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
A system of piping, tanks or other facilities serving a single
lot and collection and disposing in whole or in part into the soil
or any waters of the commonwealth.
The condition which occurs when an on-lot sanitary sewage
disposal system discharges untreated or inadequately treated sewage
onto the surface of the ground, into the groundwater, or into the
surface waters of the commonwealth. Malfunction also occurs when sanitary
sewage backs up into the building connected to the system, or otherwise
causes a nuisance or hazard to the public health or pollution of the
ground or surface water or contamination of any public and/or private
drinking water wells.
The plan adopted by the Township and approved by the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection in furtherance of the requirements
as set forth in the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act.
Any system for disposal of sanitary sewage involving pretreatment
and subsequent disposal of the clarified sewage into the soil for
final treatment and disposal; including both individual sanitary sewage
systems and community sanitary sewage systems.
Any individual, company, 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 having rights and duties. Whenever used
in any clause prescribing and imposing a penalty or imposing a fine,
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 or repair an existing on-lot sanitary
sewage disposal system or individual components thereof, including
the enlargement of the total absorption area, provided the flows from
the structure being served are unchanged or reduced.
The residual scum and sludge pumped from septic systems.
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 or which constitutes
pollution under the Act of June 22, 1937 (P.L. 1987, No. 394), known
as "The Clean Streams Law," as amended.
A person certified by DEP who issues and reviews permit applications
and/or conducts such investigations and inspection as are necessary
to implement the Sewage Facilities Act (Act 537) and the rules and
regulations promulgated thereunder and this or any other ordinance
adopted by the Township.
The entirety of Upper Providence Township, unless a particular
area or areas of the Township have been designated in the Official
Sewage Facilities Plan adopted by the Board as an area for which a
sewage management plan is implemented.
A comprehensive set of legal and administrative requirements
encompassing the requirements of this article and other administrative
requirements adopted by the Township to effectively enforce and administer
the article.
The definition of "subdivision" shall be the definition as
set forth in the Upper Providence Township Subdivision and Land Development
Ordinance.[1]
Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
All streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways,
wells, springs, reservoirs, aquifers, irrigation systems, drainage
systems and all 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 state or any portion thereof,
and as defined by the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Act.
An individual employed by the municipality to administer
and enforce the Township Zoning Ordinance.[2]
B.
All definitions included in Act 537 and the Clean
Streams Act, as amended, are hereby incorporated by reference into
this article.
From the effective date of this article, its
provisions shall apply in any portion of the Township identified in
the Official Sewage Facilities Plan as a sewage management district.
Within such 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.
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 or community sewage system is to be installed
without first obtaining a permit from the Sewage Enforcement Officer,
which permit shall indicate that the site and the plans and specifications
of such system are in compliance with the provisions of the Clean
Streams Law (35 P.S. §§ 691.1-691.1001) and the Pennsylvania
Sewage Facilities Act (35 P.S. 750.1 et seq.) and the regulations
promulgated pursuant to those Acts.
B.
No system or structure designed to provide individual
or community sewage disposal shall be covered from view until approval
to cover the same has been given by a sewage enforcement officer.
If 72 hours have elapsed, excepting Sundays and holidays, since the
Sewage Enforcement Officer issuing the permit received notification
of completion of construction, the applicant may cover said system
or structure unless permission has been specifically refused by the
Sewage Enforcement Officer.
C.
Applicants for sewage permits may be required to notify
the Sewage Enforcement Officer of the schedule for construction of
the permitted on-lot sanitary sewage disposal system so that inspection(s)
in addition to the final inspection required by the Sewage Facilities
Act may be scheduled and performed by the Sewage Enforcement Officer.
D.
No building or occupancy permit shall be issued for
a new building which will contain sewage-generating facilities until
a valid sewage permit has been obtained from the 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 either
the structure's owner receives a permit for alteration or replacement
of the existing sewage disposal system or until the structure's owner
and the appropriate officials of the Township receive written notification
from a sewage enforcement officer that such a permit will not be required.
The Sewage Enforcement Officer shall determine whether the proposed
alteration or conversion of the structure will result in increased
sewage flows.
F.
Sewage permits may only be issued by a sewage enforcement
officer employed by the Township. DEP shall be notified as to the
identity of each sewage enforcement officer employed by the Township.
A.
Any on-lot sewage disposal system may be inspected
by an authorized agent at any reasonable time as of the effective
date of this article.
B.
Such 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;
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.
An authorized agent shall have the right to enter
upon land for the purposes of inspections described in this section.
D.
An initial inspection shall be conducted by an authorized
agent within one year of the effective date of this article for the
purpose of determining the type and functional status of each sewage
disposal system in the sewage management district. A written report
shall be furnished to the owner of each property inspected, and a
copy of said report shall be maintained in the Township records.
E.
A schedule of routine inspections may be established
to assure the proper functioning of the sewage systems in the sewage
management district.
F.
An authorized agent shall inspect systems known to
be, or alleged to be, malfunctioning. Should said inspections reveal
that the system is indeed malfunctioning, the authorized agent shall
order action to be taken to correct the malfunction. If total correction
cannot be done in accordance with the regulations of DEP, including
without limitation those outlined in Chapter 73 of Title 25 of the
Pennsylvania Code, or is not technically or financially feasible in
the opinion of the authorized agent and a representative of DEP, then
action by the property owner to mitigate the malfunction shall be
required.
G.
If there arises a geographic area where numerous on-lot
sewage disposal systems are malfunctioning, a resolution of these
areawide problems may necessitate detailed planning and a revision
to the portion of the Sewage Facilities Plan pertaining to areas affected
by such malfunctions. If a DEP-authorized Official Sewage Facilities
Plan Revision has been undertaken, repair or replacement of individual
malfunctioning sewage disposal systems within the area affected by
the revision may be adopted, pending the outcome of the plan revision
process. However, immediate corrective action will be compelled whenever
a malfunction, as determined by Township officials and/or 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 collar drains, springs, basement sump pumps and French drains.
E.
Any nonbiodegradable materials.
F.
Radioactive waste materials.
A.
Each person owning a building served by an on-lot
sanitary sewage disposal system which contains a septic tank shall
have the septic tank pumped by a qualified pumper/hauler within six
months of the effective date of this article. Thereafter, that person
shall have the tank pumped at least once every three years or whenever
an inspection reveals that the septic tank is filled with solids or
with scum in excess of 1/3 of the liquid depth of the tank. Receipts
from the pumper/hauler shall be submitted to the Township within the
prescribed six-month and three-year pumping periods.
B.
The required pumping frequency may be increased at
the discretion of an authorized agent if the septic tank is undersized,
if solids buildup 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 such person's
septic tank had been pumped within three years of the six-month anniversary
of the effective date of this article, then that person's initial
required pumping may be delayed to conform to the general three-year
frequency requirement, except where an inspection reveals a need for
more frequent pumping frequencies.
C.
Any person owning a building served by a septic tank
shall submit, with each required pumping receipt, a written statement
from the pumper/hauler or from any other qualified individual acceptable
to the Township that the baffles in the septic tank have been inspected
and found to be in good working order. Any person whose septic tank
baffles are determined to require repair or replacement shall first
contact a sewage enforcement officer for approval of the necessary
repair.
D.
Any person owning a building served by an on-lot sewage
disposal system which contains an aerobic treatment tank shall follow
the operation and maintenance recommendations of the equipment manufacturer.
A copy of the manufacturer's recommendations and a copy of the service
agreement shall be submitted to the Township within six months of
the effective date of this article. Thereafter, service receipts shall
be submitted to the Township at the intervals specified by the manufacturer's
recommendations. In no case may the service or pumping intervals for
aerobic treatment tanks exceed those required for septic tanks.
E.
Additional maintenance activity may be required as
needed, including without limitation cleaning and unclogging of piping,
servicing and the repair of mechanical equipment, leveling of distribution
boxes, tanks and lines, removal of obstructing roots or trees, and
the diversion of surface water away from the disposal areas.
A.
No person shall operate or 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 for such discharge
has been obtained from DEP.
B.
A written notice of violation shall be issued to any
person who is the owner of any property which is found to be served
by a malfunctioning on-lot sewage disposal system or which is discharging
sewage without a permit.
C.
Within seven days of notification by the Township
that a malfunction has been identified, the property owner shall make
application to the Sewage Enforcement Officer for a permit to repair
or replace the malfunctioning system. Within 30 days of initial notification
by the Township, construction of the repair or replacement shall commence.
Within 60 days of the original notification by the Township, the construction
shall be completed, unless seasonal or unique conditions mandate a
longer period; in which case, the Township shall set an extended completion
date.
D.
A 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 areas, replacing the existing
disposal area, replacing a gravity distribution system with a pressurized
system, replacing the system with a holding tank, or any other alternative
appropriate for the specific site.
E.
In lieu of, or in combination with, the remedies described in Subsection D above, a 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.
F.
In the event that the rehabilitation measures in Subsections A through E are not feasible or effective, the owner may be required to apply for a permit to install an individual spray irrigation treatment system or to DEP for 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 in this section
be 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 Township may require whatever
action is necessary to lessen or mitigate the malfunction to the extent
necessary.
The Township, upon written notice from a sewage
enforcement officer that an imminent health hazard exists due to failure
of a property owner to maintain, repair or replace any 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 Sewage Enforcement Officer. The property owner shall
be charged for the work performed and, if necessary, a lien shall
be recorded therefor in accordance with law. The Township shall not,
however, be obligated to perform or contract to have performed any
work required to maintain, repair, rehabilitate or replace any on-lot
sanitary sewage system.
A.
All septage originating within the sewage management
district shall be disposed of in accordance with the requirements
of the Solid Waste Management Act (Act 97 of 1980, 35 P.S. §§ 6018.101
et seq.) and all other applicable laws and at sites or facilities
approved by DEP. Approved sites or facilities shall include the following:
septage treatment facilities, wastewater treatment plants, composting
sites and approved farmlands.
B.
Pumpers/haulers operating within the Township shall
operate in a manner consistent with the provisions of the Pennsylvania
Solid Waste Management Act (Act 97 of 1980, 35 P.S. §§ 6018.101-6018.1003)
and all other applicable laws.
A.
The Township may fully utilize those powers it possesses
through enabling statutes and ordinances to effect the purposes of
this article.
B.
All permits, records, reports, files and other written
materials relating to the installation, operation, maintenance and
malfunction of on-lot sewage disposal systems in the sewage management
district shall become the property of the Township.
C.
The Board of Supervisors of Upper Providence Township
may establish the procedures necessary to carry out the provisions
of this article.
D.
The Township may establish a fee schedule and authorize
the collection of fees to cover the cost to the Township in administering
this article.
A.
Appeals from the final decisions of the Township or
any of its authorized agents under this article shall be made to the
Upper Providence Township Board of Supervisors in writing within 30
days from the date of written notification of the decision in question.
B.
The applicant shall be entitled to a hearing before
the Upper Providence Township Board of Supervisors at its next regularly
scheduled meeting, if a written appeal is received at least 14 days
prior to that meeting. The Board of Supervisors may affirm, modify
or reverse the aforesaid decision. Additional evidence may be introduced
at the hearing, provided that it is submitted with the written notice
of appeal.
Any person who has violated or permitted the
violation of the provisions of this article shall be subject to a
fine of not less than $500 and costs, and not more than $5,000 and
costs, or in default thereof shall be confined in the County jail
for a period of not more than 90 days. Each day of noncompliance shall
constitute a separate offense.
