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 municipality.
Unless the context specifically and clearly
indicates otherwise, the meanings of terms used in this article shall
be as follows:
COUNCIL
The Councilmen of Harveys Lake Borough, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
HOLDING TANK
A watertight receptacle which receives and retains sewage
and is designed and constructed to facilitate the ultimate disposal
of the sewage at another site. Holding tanks include but are not limited
to the following:
B.
RETENTION TANKA holding tank where sewage is conveyed to it by a water-carrying system.
C.
VAULT PIT PRIVYA holding tank designed to receive sewage where water under pressure is not available.
IMPROVED PROPERTY
Any property within the Borough 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.
MUNICIPALITY
The Borough of Harveys Lake, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
OWNER
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any property located in the Borough.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation
or other group or entity.
SEWAGE
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 Council is hereby authorized and empowered
to undertake within the Borough the control and methods of holding
tank sewage disposal and the collection and transportation thereof.
The Council is hereby authorized and empowered
to adopt such rules and regulations concerning sewage which it may
deem necessary from time to time to effect the purposes herein.
All such rules and regulations adopted by the
Council shall be in conformity with the provisions herein, all other
ordinances of the Borough and all applicable laws and applicable rules
and regulations of administrative agencies of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.
The Council shall have the right and power to
fix, alter, charge and collect rates, assessments and other charges
in the area served by its facilities at reasonable and uniform rates
as authorized by applicable law.
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 Council, and the
disposal thereof shall be made only at such site or sites as may be
approved by the Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
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 Borough, the provisions of any applicable
law and the rules and regulations of the Council and any administrative
agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B. Permit only the Council or an authorized contractor
to collect, transport and dispose of the contents therein.
Any person who violates any provisions of §
37-20 shall, upon conviction thereof by summary proceedings, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $300, and costs, and in default of said fine and costs to undergo imprisonment in the county prison for a period not in excess of 30 days.
In addition to any other remedies provided in this article, any violation of §
37-20 above shall constitute a nuisance and shall be abated by the municipality or the Council by either seeking appropriate equitable or legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.