[Adopted 5-21-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-04]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Part 2, Sewage and Wastewater,
adopted 6-23-1958 by Ord. No. 58-3, was repealed 6-15-1987 by Ord.
No. 87-6.
A.
Definitions.
(1)
AUTHORIZED AGENT
BOARD
COMMUNITY SEWAGE SYSTEM
COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
DEPARTMENT or DEP
INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE SYSTEM
LOT
MALFUNCTION
OFFICIAL SEWAGE FACILITIES PLAN
ON-LOT SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM
PERSON
REHABILITATION
SEWAGE
SEWAGE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER (SEO)
SEWAGE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
SEWAGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
SUBDIVISION
TOWNSHIP
As used in this Part 2, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
An employee of the Township, professional engineer, plumbing
inspector, sewage enforcement officer, or any other qualified or licensed
person who is authorized to function within specified limits as an
agent of the Township to administer or enforce the provisions of this
Part 2.
The Board of Commissioners of Upper Gwynedd Township.
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 Montgomery County Health Department.
The Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
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 part of a subdivision or a parcel of land used as a building
site or intended to be used for building purposes, whether immediate
or future, which would not be further subdivided. Whenever a lot is
used for a multiple-family dwelling or for commercial or industrial
purposes, the lot shall be deemed to have been subdivided into an
equivalent number of single-family residential lots as determined
by estimated sewage flows.
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 a building connected to the system or in any manner causes
a nuisance or hazard to the public health or pollution of groundwater
or surface water or contamination of public or private drinking water
wells. Systems shall be considered to be malfunctioning if any condition
noted above occurs for any length of time during any period of the
year.
A comprehensive plan for the provisions of adequate sewage
disposal systems, adopted by the Board and approved by DEP pursuant
to the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act.[1]
Any system for disposal of domestic sewage involving pretreatment
and subsequent disposal of the clarified sewage into a subsurface
soil absorption area or retaining tank; this term includes 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.
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,"[2] as amended.
A person certified by DEP who is employed by the Township
or County Health Department. Such person is authorized to conduct
investigations and inspections, review permit applications, and do
all other activities as may be provided for such person in the Sewage
Facilities Act, the rules and regulations promulgated hereunder and
this or any other ordinance adopted by the Township or County Health
Department. Only the SEO employed by the County Health Department
is authorized to administrate the sewage facilities permitting program
under regulations of DEP Chapter 72 of Title 25 of the Pennsylvania
Code.
Any area or areas of the Township designated in the Official
Sewage Facilities Plan adopted by the Board as an area for which a
sewage management program is to be implemented.
A comprehensive set of legal and administrative requirements
encompassing the requirements of this Part 2, the Sewage Facilities
Act, the Clean Streams Law, the regulations promulgated thereunder,
and such other requirements adopted by the Board to effectively enforce
and administer this Part 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.
The Township of Upper Gwynedd.
(2)
For the purposes of this Part 2, any term which
is not defined herein shall have that meaning attributed to it under
the Sewage Facilities Act and regulations promulgated thereto.
B.
Permit requirements.
(1)
No building permit shall be issued for a new
or expanded building which will contain sewage-generating facilities
until Act 537 planning approval has been issued by the Department
and an appropriate on-lot disposal system permit has been issued by
the County Health Department's SEO.
(2)
No occupancy permit shall be issued for a new
building which will contain sewage-generating facilities until the
sewage disposal system has been installed and the installation is
approved by the County Health Department's SEO.
(3)
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 from the County Health Department's
SEO 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 the County Health
Department's SEO that such a permit will not be required. The County
Health Department's SEO shall determine whether the proposed alteration
or conversion of the structure will result in increased sewage flows.
(4)
Sewage permits may be issued only by the County
Health Department's SEO.
C.
Inspections.
(1)
Any on-lot sewage disposal system may be inspected
by the Township's authorized agent at any reasonable time as of the
effective date of this Part 2.
(2)
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 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.
(3)
An authorized agent shall have the right to
enter upon land for the purposes of inspections described in this
section.
(4)
An initial inspection shall be conducted by
an authorized agent within one year of the effective date of this
Part 2 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. The report may contain recommendations for improved operation
and maintenance of the system.
(5)
A schedule of routine inspections may be established
to assure the proper functioning of the on-lot sewage disposal systems
in the sewage management district.
(6)
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
notify the County Health Department's SEO and shall order action to
be taken to correct the malfunction. If total correction cannot be
done in accordance with the regulations of DEP, including, but not
limited to, those outlined in Chapters 71 and 73 of Title 25 of the
Pennsylvania Code or is not technically or financially feasible in
the opinion of the authorized agent and the County Health Department's
SEO, then action by the property owner to mitigate the malfunction
shall be required.
(7)
There may arise geographic areas where numerous
on-lot sewage disposal systems are malfunctioning. A resolution of
these area-wide problems may necessitate detailed planning and a revision
to the portion of the sewage facilities plan pertaining to areas affected
by such malfunctions. When a DEP-authorized official sewage facilities
plan revision has been undertaken, mandatory repair or replacement
of individual malfunctioning sewage disposal systems within the area
affected by the revision may be delayed, pending the outcome of the
plan revision process. However, immediate corrective action may be
compelled whenever a malfunction, as determined by Township officials,
the County Health Department, and/or the Department, represents a
serious public health or environmental threat.
D.
Operation. Only normal domestic wastes shall be discharged
into any on-lot sewage disposal system. The following shall not be
discharged into the system:
(1)
Industrial waste;
(2)
Automobile oil and other nondomestic oil;
(3)
Toxic or hazardous substances or chemicals,
including, but not limited to, pesticides, disinfectants (excluding
household cleaners), acids, paints, paint thinners, herbicides, gasoline
and other solvents;
(4)
Clean surface water or groundwater, including
water from roof or cellar drains, springs, basement sump pumps and
french drains; and
(5)
Wastewater resulting from hair treatment at
multichaired beauty shops.
E.
Maintenance.
(1)
Each person owning a building served by an on-lot
sewage disposal system which contains a septic tank shall have the
septic tank pumped within six months of the effective date of this
Part 2 by a sewage pumper/hauler licensed by DEP and authorized by
the Board or its agent. 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.
(2)
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 Part 2, 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.
(3)
Any person owning a property 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 the County Health Department's SEO for approval of the necessary
repair.
(4)
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 Part 2. 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.
(5)
Additional maintenance activity may be required
as needed, including, but not necessarily limited to, 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, the diversion of surface water away from the disposal
area, etc.
F.
System rehabilitation.
(1)
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 the DEP.
(2)
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.
(3)
Within seven days of notification by the Township
and/or County Health Department's SEO that a malfunction has been
identified, the property owner shall make application to the County
Health Department's SEO for a permit to repair or replace the malfunctioning
system. Within 30 days of initial notification by the Township and/or
County Health Department's SEO, construction of the permitted repair
or replacement shall commence. Within 60 days of the original notification
by the Township and/or County Health Department's SEO, 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.
(4)
The County Health Department's SEO and the Township's
authorized agent shall both 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.
(5)
In lieu of or in combination with the remedies described in Subsection F(4) above, the County Health Department's SEO and the Township's authorized agent 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.
(6)
In the event that the rehabilitation measures in Subsection F(1) through (5) are not feasible or effective, the owner may be required to apply for a permit 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.
(7)
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 and
the County Health Department may require whatever action is necessary
to lessen or mitigate the malfunction to the extent necessary.
G.
Liens. The Township, upon written notice from the
authorized agent or from the County Health Department's SEO that an
imminent health hazard exists due to the failure of the property owner
to maintain, repair or replace an on-lot sewage disposal system as
provided under the terms of this Part 2, shall have the authority
to perform, or contract to have performed, the work required by the
authorized agent or the County Health Department's SEO. The owner
shall be charged for the work performed and, if necessary, a lien
shall be entered therefor in accordance with law.
H.
Disposal of septage.
(1)
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 the DEP. Approved sites or facilities shall include the
following: septage treatment facilities, wastewater treatment plants,
composting sites, and approved farmlands.
(2)
Pumper/haulers of septage operating within the
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),
all other applicable laws, and County Health Department regulations.
I.
Administration.
(1)
The Township shall fully utilize those powers
it possesses through enabling statutes and ordinances to effect the
purposes of this Part 2.
(2)
The Township shall employ qualified individuals
to carry out the provisions of this Part 2. Those employees shall
include an authorized agent and may include an administrator and such
other persons as may be necessary. The Township may also contract
with private qualified persons or firms as necessary to carry out
the provisions of this Part 2.
(3)
All records, reports, files and other written
materials relating to the operation and maintenance and malfunction
of on-lot sewage disposal systems in the sewage management district
shall become the property of and be maintained by the Township. Existing
and future records shall be available for public inspection during
regular business hours at the official office of the Township. All
records pertaining to sewage permits, building permits, occupancy
permits and all other aspects of the sewage management program shall
be made available, upon request, for inspection by representatives
of DEP.
(4)
The Board shall establish all administrative
procedures necessary to properly carry out the provisions of this
Part 2.
(5)
The Board may establish a fee schedule and authorize
the collection of fees to cover the cost to the Township of administering
this program, consistent with the local municipal code.
J.
Appeals.
(1)
Appeals from final decisions of the Township
or any of its authorized agents under this Part 2 shall be made to
the Board in writing within 30 days from the date of written notification
of the decision in question.
(2)
The appellant shall be entitled to a hearing
before the Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting, if a written
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 next regularly scheduled
meeting. The Township shall thereafter affirm, modify or reverse the
aforesaid decision. The hearing may be postponed for a good cause
shown by the appellant or the Township. Additional evidence may be
introduced at the hearing, provided that it is submitted with the
written notice of appeal.
(3)
A decision shall be rendered in writing within
30 days of the date of the hearing.
K.
Penalties.
(1)
Any person or persons, firm or corporation who
shall violate any of the provisions of this Part 2, upon conviction
thereof, shall be liable to pay a fine or penalty not to exceed $1,000
plus costs of prosecution for each and every offense. All fines and
penalties imposed by this Part 2 are recoverable by summary proceedings
before the Magisterial District Judge, and all suits or actions at
law instituted for the recovery thereof are to be in the name and
for the use of Upper Gwynedd Township, against which the offenses
are committed. In default of payment of any fine or penalty imposed
by any Magisterial District Judge under the provisions of this Part
2, the person or persons so offending may be committed to the Montgomery
County Prison for a period not exceed 30 days.[4]
(2)
Each day a violation is committed shall constitute
a separate offense and shall be punishable as such hereunder.
(3)
This section shall not preclude the Township
from any other remedy it may have at law or equity.
