This chapter shall be known as the "Warwick Township Plumbing Code"
and will be referred to as "Code" herein.
This Code is an ordinance providing minimum requirements and standards
for the protection of the public health, safety and welfare.
The provisions of this Code shall apply to the installation, alteration,
addition, repair, relocation, replacement, maintenance or use of any building
sewer, building main, sewer, main or lateral except as otherwise provided
for herein.
Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise, the
meaning of terms and phrases used in this chapter shall be as follows:
The person or entity appointed by the Board of Supervisors to administer
this Plumbing Code.
Warwick Township Municipal Authority, a Pennsylvania municipality
authority.
The governing body of the Township.
The extension from the water system of any structure to the lateral
of a main.
The extension from the sewage drainage system of any structure to
the lateral of a sewer including jointing materials, vents, traps, cleanouts
and other appurtenances and accessories thereto required by this Code.
Any property located within this Township upon which there is erected
a structure intended for continuous or periodic habitation, occupancy or use
by human being or animals and from which structure sanitary sewage and/or
industrial wastes shall be or may be discharged.
That part of the sewer or water system extending from a sewer or
a water main to the curbline or, if there shall be no curbline, to the property
line, or if no lateral shall be provided, then "lateral" shall mean that portion
of, or place in, a main which is provided for connection of any building main.
Any pipe or conduit constituting a part of the water system, used
or usable for water distribution purposes.
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole or partial,
of any improved property.
Any individual, partnership, company, association, society, corporation
or other legally recognized group or entity, and the members of such partnership
and the officer of such corporation.
Normal water-carried household and toilet wastes from any improved
property excluding, however, the effluent from septic tanks or cesspools,
rain, storm and ground water, as well as roof or surface water, drainage or
percolating or seeping waters or accumulation thereof, whether underground
or in cellars or basements.
Any pipe or conduit constituting a part of the sewer system, used
or usable for sewage collection purposes.
All facilities, as of any particular time, for collecting, pumping
transporting, treating and/or disposing of sanitary sewage and/or industrial
wastes, situate in or adjacent to this Township and owned, maintained and
operated by the Authority.
The Township of Warwick, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a political
subdivision, acting by and through its Board of Supervisors or, in appropriate
cases, by and through its authorized representatives.
All facilities, as of any particular time, for production, transmission,
storage or distribution of water in, to and for this Township and owned by
the Authority.
A.
Any portion of a building sewer found by the Administrator
to be unsanitary is hereby declared to be a nuisance.
B.
Whenever any construction or work regulated by this Code
is dangerous, unsafe, unsanitary, a nuisance or a menace to life, health or
property or otherwise in violation of this Code, the Administrator, upon determining
reasonable cause exists, shall order any person using or maintaining any such
condition or responsible for the use or maintenance thereof to discontinue
the use or maintenance thereof or to repair, alter, change, remove or demolish
the same as it may consider necessary for the proper protection of life, health
or property. Every such order shall be in writing, addressed to the owner,
agent or person responsible for the improved property on which said condition
exists and shall specify the date or time for compliance with such order.
C.
Refusal, failure or neglect to comply with any such notice
or order shall be considered a violation of this Code.
D.
When any building sewer or building main is maintained
in violation of this Code and in violation of any notice issued pursuant to
the provisions of this section, the Township or the Township Solicitor shall
institute any appropriate action or proceeding in any court of competent jurisdiction
to prevent, restrain, correct or abate the violation or nuisance.
A.
The Warwick Township Municipal Authority shall be the
Administrator duly appointed to administer this Code.
B.
The Administrator shall maintain public office hours
to efficiently administer the provisions of this Code and amendments thereto
and shall perform the following duties:
(1)
Require submission of, examine and check plans and specifications,
drawings, descriptions and/or diagrams when necessary to show clearly the
character, kind and extent of work covered by applications for permits and,
upon approval thereof, shall issue permits.
(2)
Keep a permanent and accurate account of the fees, if
any, for permits issued and other monies collected and received as provided
by this Code, including the names of the persons upon whose account the same
were paid, the date and amounts thereof, together with the location or premises
to which they relate.
(3)
Administer and enforce the provisions of this Code in
a manner consistent with the intent thereof and inspect water and/or sewer
building mains authorized by any permit to assure compliance with provisions
of this Code or amendments thereto, approving or disproving said work in whole
or in part as conditions require.
(4)
Issue, upon request, a certificate of approval for any
work approved.
(5)
Disapprove and reject all work done or being done or
materials used or being used which do not in all respects comply with the
provisions of this Code.
(6)
Order changes in workmanship and/or materials essential
to obtain compliance with all provisions of this Code.
(7)
Investigate any construction or work regulated by this Code and issue such notices and orders as provided in § 227-5.
(8)
Keep a complete record of all the essential transactions
of its office.
(9)
Transfer all fees collected to the proper authority provided
by law to receive such funds.
A.
The Administrator may appoint such assistants, deputies,
inspectors or other employees as are authorized to carry out the functions
of the Administrator and this Code.
B.
Whenever necessary to make an inspection to enforce any of the provisions of this Code, or whenever the Administrator or its authorized representatives has reasonable cause (as that term has been applied by the courts to governmental inspections) to believe that there exists in any building or upon any premises any condition as set forth in § 227-5B of this Code, the Administrator or its authorized representative may enter such building or premises at all reasonable times to inspect the same or to perform any duty imposed upon the administrative authority by this Code; provided, that if such building or premises be occupied, the Administrator or its authorized representative shall first present proper credentials and request entry. If such building or premises be unoccupied, it shall first make a reasonable effort to locate the owner or other persons having charge or control of the building or premises and request entry. If such entry of either an occupied or unoccupied building is refused, the Administrator or its authorized representative shall have recourse to every remedy provided by law to secure entry, including obtaining a search warrant. "Authorized representative" shall include the persons named in Subsection A of this section.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to install, remove,
alter, repair or replace or cause to be installed, removed, altered, repaired
or replaced any building main and/or building sewer without first obtaining
a permit to do such work from the Administrator.
B.
A separate permit shall be obtained for each building
or structure.
C.
The issuance or granting of a permit or approval of plans
and specifications shall not be deemed or construed to be a permit for, or
an approval of, any violation of any of the provisions of this Code. No permit
presuming to give authority to violate or cancel the provisions of this Code
shall be valid, except insofar as the work or use which it authorized is lawful.
D.
The issuance or granting of a permit or approval of plans
shall not prevent the Administrator from thereafter requiring the correction
of errors in said plans and specifications or from preventing construction
operations being carried on thereunder when in violation of this Code or of
any other ordinance or from revoking any certificate of approval when issued
in error.
E.
Before a permit is granted for work involving excavation and work in the streets or alleys in the Township, compliance with any state or Township road occupancy requirements shall be required including compliance with Chapter 277, Article IV, Street Openings, of this Code of Ordinances, and any amendments thereto.
No permit shall be required in the case of any repair work as follows:
the stopping of leaks in drains, soil, waste or vent pipe; provided, however,
that should any trap, drainpipe, soil, waste or vent pipe be or become defective
and it become necessary to remove and replace the same with new material in
any part or parts, the same shall be considered as new work and a permit shall
be procured and inspection made as hereinbefore provided; and no permit shall
be required for cleaning or stoppages or the repairing of leaks in pipes,
valves or fixtures when such repairs do not involve or require the replacement
or rearrangement of valves, pipes or fixtures.
A.
Any person legally entitled to apply for and receive
a permit shall make such application on forms provided for that purpose. He/she
shall give a description of the character of the work proposed to be done,
and the location, ownership, occupancy and use of the premises in connection
therewith. The Administrator may require plans, specifications or drawings
and such other information as it may deem necessary. If the Administrator
determines that the plans, specifications, drawings, descriptions or information
furnished by the applicant are in compliance with this Code, it shall issue
the permit for which application has been made.
B.
Every permit issued by the Administrator under the provisions
of this Code shall expire by limitation and become null and void if the work
authorized by such permit is not commenced within 120 days from date of issuance
of such permit, or if the work authorized by such permit is suspended or abandoned
at any time after the work is commenced for a period of 120 days. Before such
work can be resumed, a new permit shall be first obtained.
A.
The fee for the initial permit issued under this Code shall be in an amount as established from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors. Provided, however, that if a permit is allowed to expire as provided in § 227-10B, a fee, in an amount as established from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, will be charged for each renewal permit; and, provided further, that if more than one inspection of a building sewer or building main is required under this Code because of defective workmanship and/or materials, an inspection fee, in an amount to be established form time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, will be charged for each additional inspection.
B.
Any person who shall commence any work for which a permit
is required by this Code without first having obtained a permit therefor shall,
if subsequently issued a permit, pay a fee, in an amount to be established
from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors for such permit;
provided, however, that this provision shall not apply to emergency work when
it shall be proven to the satisfaction of the administrative authority that
such work was urgently necessary and that it was not practical to obtain a
permit therefor before the commencement of the work. In all emergency cases,
a permit must be obtained as soon as it is practical to do so, and if there
be an unreasonable delay in obtaining such permit, a fee in an amount to be
established from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors shall
be charged. The payment of such fee shall not preclude the Township from exercising
any other remedies which may be available to it at law, in equity or otherwise
as a result of violation of this Code.
All water and/or sewer building work requiring a permit hereunder shall
be inspected by the Administrator to insure compliance with all the requirements
of this Code.
It shall be the duty of the person completing the work authorized by
the permit to notify the Administrator that said work is ready for inspection.
Such notification shall be given not less than 24 hours before the work is
to be inspected.
Whenever any work is being completed contrary to the provisions of this
Code or a permit issued hereunder, the Administrator or its authorized representative
may order the work stopped by notice in writing served personally or by certified
mail on any persons engaged in doing or causing such work to be done, and
any such persons shall forthwith stop such work until authorized by the Administrator
to proceed with such work.
The Administrator may, in writing, suspend or revoke a permit issued
under provisions of this Code, whenever the permit is issued in error on the
basis of incorrect information supplied, or in violation of any local, state
or federal law or regulation.
Appeals to the Board of Supervisors may be made by any person or by
any Township official or agency aggrieved or affected by a decision of the
Administrator. Such appeals shall be taken within 30 days of such determination
by the Administrator by filing a notice of appeal with the Board of Supervisors
specifying the grounds therefor together with the fee imposed by resolution
of the Board of Supervisors for such appeals. Hearing on such appeals shall
be had and decision rendered thereon by the Board within 60 days from date
of filing of the appeal. Any further appeals shall be governed by the applicable
laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Township reserves the right at any time, with or without cause,
by resolution of the Board of Supervisors to remove the Warwick Township Municipal
Authority as the Administrator under this Code and to appoint a successor,
including the Township itself, to administer and enforce this Code.
