[Adopted 3-12-2002 by Ord. No. 1-2002]
This article is adopted in accordance with the powers granted
to and inherent in the municipality by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
This article shall be known as the "Mandatory Tap-In Ordinance,
Upper Burrell."
The Municipality hereby approves, by reference, the rules and
regulations and the schedule of rates and charges of the Municipal
Authority of Allegheny Township ("Authority"), as all or any of same
may be amended, revised and/or rescinded, from time to time, in the
sole discretion and by the exercise of the exclusive power and control
of the Authority and agrees that said rules and regulations and schedule
of rates and charges shall be applicable to and controlling as to
each property included in the project.
The Authority, with the full consent, approval and pledged cooperation
of the municipality, has undertaken a sewer line expansion project
known and designated as the Allegheny Township sewer line expansion
(Markle, Watson Road, and Community Park Sewer Project). This project
shall include installation of manholes and sewer pipes by the Authority,
as part of said project, this
within certain parts of those streets and roads, both public and private,
and rights-of-way and easements, and which may provide sewage service
to each property which abuts any such streets, roads, rights-of-way
or easements.
The project hereby described and defined as being all parts
of those certain streets and roads, both public and private and all
parts of those named or unnamed rights-of-way or easements which are
set forth in the drawings/plans prepared by KLH Engineers, Inc., the
Authority's engineer, as well as all such parts of any streets,
roads, rights-of-way or easements which may be included by later agreement
at any future date between the Authority and the municipality.
A.Â
A tap shall be deemed to be available to serve a structure located
on a property within the project if such structure is either reasonably
suitable for human occupancy, commercial or industrial use or is actually
so occupied and/or used. The structure must be erected on a property
which abuts, or is contiguous to, a street, road, right-of-way or
easement in which a sewer line is installed, and the structure is,
by the closest lineal measurement, within 150 feet of the sewer tap.
B.Â
At any time that a sewer line has been constructed in such location
as to be contiguous to or abutting a property within the project,
as set forth in the Authority's plans/drawings, the owner of
each such property ("owner") shall, upon notice from the Authority,
be required to pay a tap-in fee to the Authority, which tap-in fee
is established by the Authority in its schedule of rates and charges.
The tap-in fee shall be subject to revision by the Authority, from
time to time and in its sole discretion; provided that any such revision
shall be applicable uniformly to all within the Authority's project
area.[1]
C.Â
If any owner of a property, as same may be established, shall fail
or refuse to timely pay any tap-in fee assessed by the Authority or
timely pay any rates established by the Authority, the Authority shall
have the absolute right, acting either for itself or as an agent for
the municipality and without any further grant of authority by the
municipality, to file a claim or lien against the property in order
to secure payment by the owner of any such claim. This claim shall
be entered in the Office of the Prothonotary of Westmoreland County
at the same time and in the same form and be collected in the same
manner as municipal claims are filed and collected. The municipality
hereby confirms that the Authority also has and retains the exclusive
right to proceed, in any other way that it shall see fit, to compel
and secure payment of all tap-in fees and rates which are established
by the Authority.
The municipality hereby irrevocably designates and appoints
the Municipal Authority of Allegheny Township, on its behalf and to
the fullest extent necessary and possible, to carry out all the intents,
purposes and requirements of both this article and sewer line expansion
of said Authority, all as same are applicable to the municipality,
and to act, in all ways and in all manner, either in its own name,
as the Municipal Authority of Allegheny Township, or on behalf of
and in the name of the municipality, the Township of Upper Burrell,
in the administration and enforcement of all terms and conditions
of this article, the rules and regulations of the Authority and the
schedule of rates and charges of the Authority, subject to amendment
from time to time.
This article shall be in effect from its effective date, and
neither it nor any of its terms and provisions shall be subject to
termination, modification or amendment by the municipality, except
with the express agreement of the Authority.
Any person, firm, corporation or other entity which fails to
timely pay any tap-in fee established by the Authority within 60 days
following receipt, by personal service or by certified mail, of notice
to make any such payment or which fails to pay any rate, as defined
and made part of a rate schedule of the Authority shall, upon being
found legally responsible for any such failure by a Magisterial District
Judge, in addition to being required to pay such tap-in fee or rate,
shall be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable by a
fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution, all for the
use of the Municipal Authority of Allegheny Township. In default of
payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment for
a term not exceeding 90 days. It being further provided that each
day's failure to so pay any tap-in fee, commencing with the first
day following the initial sixty-day period or pay any rate, commencing
with the 31st day following the billing date, shall constitute a separate
offense and impose liability therefore as such.
