[Adopted 9-10-1996 by Ord. No. 241]
The Board of Supervisors find that excessive
storm and/or surface waters are illegally routed into the sanitary
sewer systems within the Township of Chartiers, thus requiring increased
and unnecessary treatment capacity and activity and thus curtailing
the availability of tap-ins and treatment of other users who need
sanitary sewage treatment. The Board of Supervisors find that the
procedures, fees and penalties provided for herein are necessary to
achieve the purposes of this article.
This article may be known and cited as the "Dye
Test Ordinance."
Unless the context specifically and clearly
indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this article shall
be as follows:
An official statement from the Township of Chartiers stating
that there are no illegal stormwater or surface water connections
into the sanitary sewer connections on the property to be sold which
violate any section of this article.
The discharge of basement seepage or groundwater or the connection
of downspouts, roof drainage or surface or areaway drainage into the
sanitary sewer system.
A written letter from the designated Township official concerning
municipal liens and property taxes.
Any person, syndicate, association, partnership, firm, corporation,
institution, agency, authority or other entity recognized by law as
the subject of rights and duties.
A temporary statement of certification from the Township of Chartiers issued pursuant to the terms of § 272-230 of this article.
The Township of Chartiers, Washington County, Houston, Pennsylvania.
After the effective date of this article, it
shall be unlawful for any person to sell or purchase real estate,
which connects sanitary sewage to and is serviced by the Washington/East
Washington Joint Authority within the Township of Chartiers on which
a building or improvement exists without first delivering to the purchaser
a document of certification or a temporary document of certification
from the Township.
A.
Any person selling real estate located as defined in § 272-226 of this article that is located within the Township (hereinafter referred to as "applicant") shall make application on a form furnished by the Township at least 21 days before the date of the closing the sale. The Applicant shall then cause to have performed a dye test on the property to be sold. All dye tests shall be performed by an Inspector appointed by the Township or the Washington/East Washington Joint Authority (hereinafter referred to as "Inspector").
B.
The inspection fee shall be in an amount set by resolution
of the Chartiers Township Board of Supervisors. The inspection fee
shall be paid to the Township at the time of making the application
referred to in this section.
C.
Such Inspector shall complete the appropriate portions on the form and certify that the property has been dye tested and certify the results of such test. In the event there is no illegal stormwater or surface water connections, the Township Manager or his/her designate shall issue a document of certification upon payment of such fee as set by resolution of the Township. When an illegal stormwater or surface water connection is discovered by means of the above-mentioned dye test, no document of certification will be issued until the illegal connections are removed and certification of such removal by an Inspector is received. An additional inspection fee shall be paid by the applicant for each inspection subsequent to the first inspection referred to in § 272-227A.
A document of certification shall be valid for
a period of one year from the date of issuance. Real estate may be
sold during the one-year effective life of such document without further
dye testing or certification.
A document of certification shall not be required
in the following instances:
A.
When property is refinanced but no conveyance takes
place.
B.
When an improvement to real estate has been recently
constructed in accordance with a valid building permit and has been
inspected by the Building Inspector and has not been formerly occupied.
If such property is sold after one year of the date of the certificate
of occupancy, or the inspections referred to in this subsection, compliance
with this article is mandatory.
C.
Individual apartment-type units within a single condominium
building may be sold without individual certification, provided that
the building in which the units are located has been certified no
longer than one year previous to the date of the sale of the individual
condominium unit.
D.
When the real estate is such that tap-in to the sanitary
sewer system is not required by law or ordinance.
A temporary document of certification may be
issued at the Township's sole discretion when either:
A.
The applicant proves that dye testing cannot be performed
because of weather conditions. When such is the case, the applicant
shall provide the Township with security in such amount as the Board
of Supervisors by resolution shall establish to guarantee that the
dye test will be performed. The applicant will cause to have the dye
test performed within 14 days of written notification from the Township
or the Washington/East Washington Joint Authority, which will be given
at such time as weather conditions make the dye test possible. In
addition, the applicant shall provide a signed, written acknowledgment
from the purchaser agreeing to correct, at purchaser's sole cost and
expense, any violations that may be discovered as a result of subsequent
dye tests. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit any purchaser
from requiring the applicant to reimburse purchaser for any costs
incurred; provided, however, that primary liability shall run with
the land, and no such agreement shall affect Township's enforcement
powers or excuse the current owner from compliance with this article;
or
B.
When an illegal stormwater or surface water connection
is discovered and the necessary remedial activities to correct such
connection would require a length of time such as to create a practical
hardship for the applicant, the applicant may apply to the Township
for a temporary document of certification which may only be issued
when the applicant provides the Township with all of the following:
i) A bona fide executed contract between the applicant and an Inspector
to complete the necessary remedial work with the Township listed therein
as a third-party beneficiary, and ii) cash security in the amount
of said contract is posted with the Township, and iii) a written agreement
by the purchaser to be responsible for all cost overruns and extras
related to the remedial work, together with a written license to enter
upon the property to complete work in case of default of the contractor
referred to above. The Township Manager shall determine when such
temporary document certification shall expire. Upon expiration, the
security shall be forfeited and the Township may use the security
to have the necessary remedial work completed.
A.
A request for a municipal lien or tax certification
letter must be accompanied by a valid document of certification and
payment of the required fees which shall be delivered to the Township
Manager at least seven days before such letters are to be provided.
The amount of the fees for each item shall be established by resolution
of the Board of Supervisors.
B.
Where requested by a property owner or his agent and
subject to time availability as determined solely by the Township,
the Township may issue municipal lien and tax certification letters
on two days' notice upon the payment of an expedition fee in addition
to the fees set forth above. The amount of the expedition fee shall
be established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
The Township Manager is hereby empowered to
undertake the duties imposed by this article, including, but not limited
to:
The Board of Supervisors may, by resolution,
change from time to time the fees authorized in this article.
Nothing in this article shall limit in any fashion
whatsoever the Township's right to enforce its ordinances or the laws
of the commonwealth. Nothing in this article shall be a defense to
any citation issued by any municipal corporation or the commonwealth
pursuant to any other law or ordinance.
A.
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this
article may be charged with such violation and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $500 for each violation
or, alternatively, sentenced to pay a fine of not more than the maximum
permitted under Pennsylvania law as the same may be from time to time
amended and in effect as of the date of conviction. In default of
payment of imposed fines, the offender may be imprisoned for a term
not to exceed 30 days.
B.
Whenever any person violating any of the provisions
of this article is notified of such violation in writing by the Township
Manager, each day or portion thereof a violation occurs or continues
to occur shall constitute a separate violation.
C.
In addition to and not in lieu of the foregoing, the
Township may seek equitable and legal relief to compel compliance
with this article.
