[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Aldan 7-12-1978 by Ord. No. 362. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Animals — See Ch. 76.
Nuisances — See Ch. 167.
Plumbing and sanitation — See Ch. 177.
Sewers — See Ch. 197.
Solid waste — See Ch. 206.
Swimming pools — See Ch. 224.
Water — See Ch. 250.
A Board of Health shall be maintained in the Borough of Aldan in conformity with the Act of Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, approved the 12th day of June 1913.
A. 
The Borough Council shall maintain a full Board of Health by appointing, from time to time, new members to fill vacancies caused by the expiration of terms, death, removal, resignation or other cause.
B. 
Upon receiving from the Board of Health at the beginning of any fiscal year an estimate of the necessary expenses of the Board of Health for the ensuing year, it shall be the duty of the Borough Council thereupon to make an appropriation for the work of the Board of Health which shall be sufficient to provide for the proper performance of its duties. If by reason of epidemic or other unforeseen causes, it shall be the duty of the Borough Council to make further additional appropriations for the expenses of the Board of Health as may be necessary for the proper performance of its duties.
C. 
All additional rules and regulations which from time to time may be adopted by the Board of Health shall, upon its request, be carefully considered and enacted as ordinances of the borough unless good and sufficient reasons, which shall be entered on the records of the borough, shall warrant their disapproval.
D. 
The Borough Council shall promptly act upon any proposed change in the salary of the Secretary or Health Officer of the Board of Health, but any salary once submitted and approved for such officers shall remain in force and continue to be the salary of such officers until the Board of Health shall suggest either an increase or decrease of the same.
A. 
It shall be the duty of each member of the Board of Health, immediately after his appointment, to take and subscribe to the oath provided for borough officers in the Borough Code.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 45101 et seq.
B. 
The Board of Health meeting held in January of each and every year shall be considered the annual organization meeting. Meetings thereafter shall be held at such times and at such places as the Board of Health shall from time to time fix.
C. 
The Board of Health may from time to time adopt such rules and regulations, not in any way abridging the laws of the commonwealth or the rules and regulations of the State Department of Health, which may be needful for the protection of the health of the people of the borough, which rules and regulations, with penalties for violations thereof, shall be presented to the Borough Council, with the request that they be enacted into ordinances.
D. 
The Board of Health shall have general supervision of sanitary conditions in the borough, and it shall be its duty to enforce the provisions of the laws of the commonwealth relating to the protection of the public health and the quarantining of contagious diseases.
E. 
It shall be the duty of the Board of Health to provide the necessary minute books of records for the proper performance of the duties of the Secretary of the Board, and also to provide placards, notices, circulars of instructions, utensils and ingredients for disinfection for the use of the Health Officer in the performance of his duties and also to furnish practicing physicians, midwives and nurses with cards for the reporting of reportable diseases and report of the recovery or death and request for disinfection.
It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Board of Health to keep careful and accurate minutes of all proceedings of the Board; to keep accurate accounts of the expenditures of the Board; to draw and certify under the seal of the Board of Health all orders upon the Treasurer of the borough for the payment of moneys on account of the Board of Health, and to present the same to the President of the Board for his approval; to render statements of expenditures to the Board at each stated meeting or as frequently as they may require; to prepare under the direction of the Board the annual report to the Borough Council, together with the estimate of appropriations needed for the ensuring year; and to perform such other and further duties as the Board may require.
A. 
It shall be the duty of the Health Officer to act as the executive officer of the Board of Health. The Health Officer shall attend all stated and special meetings of the Board and shall at all times be ready and available for the prompt performance of the official duties.
B. 
It shall be the duty of the Health Officer to notify the principals, superintendents, teachers or other persons in charge of public, private, parochial, Sunday or other schools of all cases of communicable disease occurring within the borough for which exclusion from school is required by law.
C. 
The Health Officer shall make inspections of streets, alleys and premises in the borough when directed so to do by the Board of Health; he or she shall serve all notices of abatement issued by the Board, shall act as prosecutor in all cases of violation of health laws or chapters and shall perform such other duties as the Board may direct.
A. 
It shall be the duty of the Borough Treasurer to pay all orders of the Board of Health, properly signed by the President of the Board and attested by the Secretary, so long as such orders do not exceed the appropriations made by the Council for expenses of the Board of Health, except that orders for the salaries of the Secretary and Health Officer shall only be honored when such salaries have been approved by the Council.
B. 
The Borough Treasurer shall notify the Council and the Board of Health when the appropriation to the Board of Health is exhausted.
A. 
Every physician, practicing within the limits of this borough, who shall treat or examine any person suffering from or afflicted with any reportable disease which, under the provisions of Section 1 of the Act of May 28, 1972, the rules and regulations of the State Department of Health or the rules and regulations of the Board of Health of this borough, is required to be reported to the health authorities shall forthwith report each and every case to the Board of Health of the borough on report cards furnished to them for such purposes and for any failure to so report shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable to the penalty provided by Section 26 of the Act of 1972.
B. 
Every physician practicing within this borough who shall have in his charge any case of communicable disease for which disinfection is required shall notify the Board of Health, in writing, of the recovery or death of the person afflicted and request that disinfection be performed, provided that such disinfection and request shall conform to the time specified by this chapter and by the laws of the commonwealth and the rules and regulations of the State Department of Health and of the local Board of Health for the duration of the quarantine period of such disease.
C. 
No physician practicing within the limits of this borough shall conceal or in any way aid, abet or encourage the concealment of any case of quarantinable disease or in any way hinder or interfere with the Health Officer or health authorities in the proper performance of their duties.
It shall be the duty of all undertakers who shall receive and prepare for burial the bodies of any persons who have died within the limits of this borough of any disease set forth in Section 19 of the Act of May 28, 1972, strictly to observe the provisions set forth in Sections 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 of said Act, as well as any further rules and regulations of the State Department of Health or the local Board of Health. The undertaker or any person acting in such capacity shall be responsible for any violation of such provisions and shall be subject to the penalties provided in Section 26 of said Act.
A. 
It shall be the duty of the principal, superintendent, teachers or other persons in charge of the public, private, parochial, Sunday or other schools in this borough to refuse admission to the schools of any pupil or other person who by reason of the provisions of Sections 5, 6, 7 or 8 of the Act of May 28, 1972, are excluded from the attendance at said schools and to readmit such pupil or other person only upon presentation of a certificate such as is provided for in Section 10 of said Act signed by the Health Officer of the borough or a person duly authorized by the local Board of Health to sign such certificates.
B. 
It shall be the duty of every principal, superintendent, teacher or other person having charge of any public, private, parochial, Sunday or other school who may have reason to suspect that any pupil or other person in attendance at such school may be suffering from a communicable disease for which exclusion from school is required forthwith to report each and every such case to the Board of Health of the borough and to exclude such pupil or other person from the school, pending an examination and report from the health authorities (see Section 9, Act of May 28, 1972).
A. 
No person, firm or corporation shall sell milk and dairy products in this borough, either wholesale or retail, either by vending or from a fixed place of business without a license from the Board of Health first having been obtained, the number of which shall be conspicuously displayed on his wagon and at his place of business as required by law.
B. 
All licenses shall be valid for the term of one year, subject, however, to revocation by the Board of Health for any violation of the laws of the commonwealth or the chapters of the borough or the regulations of the health authorities regulating the sale of milk and dairy products.
C. 
All licenses for the sale of milk and dairy products shall be granted without fee or charge, but no applicant shall be entitled to receive such license until he shall have conformed to the requirements of the Board of Health and shall have furnished full information concerning the source of his milk and diary products supply and the method by which it will be handled.
A. 
No person, firm or corporation shall conduct any store, shop, stand or delivery wagon within the limits of this borough for the sale of meat, fish, butter, eggs, fruit, vegetables, bread or any other article of food without a license from the Board of Health first having been obtained, the number of which shall be conspicuously displayed on his wagon or place of business. The annual fee shall be $25.
B. 
All licenses shall be valid for the term of one year, subject, however, to revocation by the Board of Health for any violation of the laws of the commonwealth or the chapters of this borough and most particularly Subsections C, D and E of this section of this chapter.
C. 
No person, firm or corporation shall conduct any store, shop, stand or delivery wagon within limits of this borough for the sale of meat, fish, butter, eggs, fruit, vegetables, bread or any other article of food which is decayed, decomposed or spoiled so as to render it unwholesome, offensive or otherwise unfit for human consumption.
D. 
All stores, shops, stands and wagons from which articles of food are vended or sold must at all times be kept clean and in a sanitary condition, free from offensive odors or any accumulation of decomposed animal or vegetable matter, and shall at all times be open to the borough or any authorized agent of the Board of Health.
E. 
No person, firm or corporation selling meat, fish, or vegetables shall expose them on sidewalks or on outside counters at stores or shops or on stands or in wagons unless they shall be at least two feet from the ground, pavement or floor and shall be thoroughly screened and protected from flies. (See regulation of Advisory Board of the Department of Health adopted January 14, 1915).
The carcass of any animal which shall have died within the limits of the borough shall be removed within 24 hours and properly disposed of by the owner of the animal, if the owner is known, or by the owner of the property on which the dead animal is found or, in case the ownership is unknown and the carcass is found on a street, alley or other public place, it shall be removed by the Board of Health at the expense of the borough. The disposal of all dead animals shall be under the direction of the Board of Health and in accordance with the laws of the commonwealth.
Garbage, as herein used, is intended to include all kinds of organic kitchen refuse. All garbage must be kept in tightly covered containers, not too large for convenient handling, which containers must be emptied and their contents removed and properly disposed of at least twice a week.
A. 
No head of a household or other person shall refuse to admit the Health Officer or a physician deputized by the Board of Health to their premises at any time or shall in any way interfere with or hinder any representative of the Board of Health in the performance of his duties in making investigation of a suspected case of contagious disease or of a nuisance or any other matter which might be a menace to the public health.
B. 
No person shall maintain on any property owned or occupied by him or her within this borough any condition productive of a nuisance detrimental to the public health or which may be so declared by the Board of Health, and upon receipt of a notice from the Board of Health that such a condition exists on the property owned or occupied by him or her, it shall be his or her duty to abate the nuisance created thereby to the satisfaction of the Board of Health within the limit specified in said notice.
C. 
No person shall place upon any public street or alley of this borough any tin cans, broken glass or other objectionable refuse or organic matter subject to decomposition, either vegetable or animal, or allow kitchen waste from any property owned or occupied by him or her to run into any alley or street or any open gutter along any street or alley or to accumulate upon the surface of the ground at any place in such manner as to be offensive or to constitute a menace to health.
D. 
No person shall spit on any sidewalk, in any street car or public conveyance or on the floor or steps of any public hall or building. (See Act of May 11, 1909, P. L. 516).
E. 
It shall be the duty of any person who has knowledge that a dog or other animal has bitten or injured any person in the Borough of Aldan to immediately report the facts and the whereabouts of such dog or other animal, if known, to the Board of Health or to the Police Department, and it shall be the duty of the owner of every such dog or other animal to immediately confine it in such manner as will prevent it from running at large. Upon receipt of such report, the Board of Health or the Police Department shall advise the owner as to the procedure to be followed with respect to the further confinement and examination of the dog or other animal.
F. 
It shall be the duty of the owner of any dog or other animal which has bitten or injured any person in the Borough of Aldan to follow the procedure set forth below:
(1) 
The dog or other animal shall be confined by the owner for a observation period of 14 days from the date the bite occurred at the home of the owner or at some other location selected by him, under the supervision of a duly licensed veterinarian in such manner as will prevent it from escaping or running at large.
(2) 
Immediately upon being placed in confinement, the dog or other animal shall be examined by a duly licensed veterinarian employed by the owner. A written report of the results of such examination shall be submitted by the owner or the veterinarian within 24 hours to the Board of Health.
(3) 
If at any time during the fourteen-day observation period the dog or other animal develops symptoms indicative of rabies, such fact shall be communicated at once to the Board of Health and the dog or other animal shall immediately be removed to a veterinary hospital acceptable to the Board of Health.
(4) 
At the end of the fourteen-day observation period the dog or other animal shall again be examined by a duly licensed veterinarian employed by the owner, and a written report of the results of such examination shall be submitted by the owner or the veterinarian within 24 hours to the Board of Health. If the second report reveals no symptoms indicative of rabies, the owner may obtain from the Police Department the hospital receipt for the dog or other animal and it may then be released from confinement.
(5) 
If at any time after the dog or other animal is placed in the hospital it develops rabies, it shall be disposed of in such manner as the Board of Health shall direct.
G. 
It shall be the duty of any person who has knowledge that a dog or other animal in the Borough of Aldan has been bitten or otherwise injured by or been exposed to or been in contact with a dog or other animal infected with or suspected of being infected with rabies to immediately report the facts and the whereabouts of such dog or other animal, if known, to the Board of Health or to the Police Department.
H. 
All expenses connected with the confinement and examination of any dog or other animal pursuant to the rules and regulations herein contained shall be paid by the owner of such dog or other animal.
Every owner, proprietor or manager of any hotel, restaurant or public eating place in this borough who does not, at least every six months, deliver to the Board of Health a medical certificate signed by a physician for each person in their employ as cook, waiter, chambermaid, kitchen help or other house servant, stating that such person is free from diseases mentioned in Section 1 of the Act of May 28, 1972, and for themselves, if they are acting in such capacity, shall be, along with their paid employees, subject to medical inspection by a physician appointed by the Board of Health at any time that the Board of Health may consider it necessary to make such examinations, and any employee refusing to submit to such examination shall be promptly excluded from employment in such hotel, restaurant or public eating place.
A. 
Any President of Council who shall refuse or neglect to comply with the provisions of § 185-2 of this chapter shall, by proper legal action instituted by the commonwealth, be subject to dismissal from office.
B. 
Any member of the Board of Health who shall, without sufficient cause, fail to attend the stated meetings of the Board of Health or shall otherwise neglect his duties as a member of the Board for a continuous period of six months shall be considered no longer a member of the Board, and said Board and the President of the Council shall proceed to fill the vacancies thus created in accordance with § 185-2 of this chapter.
C. 
Any person, firm or corporation who or which shall violate any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution, and in default of payment of such fine and costs shall be imprisoned for a term not to exceed 30 days. Every day that a violation of this chapter continues shall constitute a separate offense.
D. 
In case any violation of this chapter also constitutes a violation of any Act of Assembly of Pennsylvania for which a penalty is provided by law, with which penalty the penalty provided by this chapter may be inconsistent, in such case the penalty provided by the Act of Assembly shall take precedence and shall be the penalty imposed for such violation.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).