[Adopted 8-18-2010 by Ord. No. 804-10]
The Municipality of Murrysville (hereinafter "Municipality") hereby designates the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority (hereinafter FTMSA), its employees, agents and/or designees as the authority to identify, report and require disconnection of any illegal stormwater or surface water connection made or discovered at any time prior to or following the effective date of this ordinance to the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, or other public sewer system, and for such purpose and in conjunction with the regulatory power of the Council of the Municipality of Murrysville, such employees, agents and/or designees are authorized to enforce, consistent with the ordinances in effect within the Municipality and the regulations adopted from time to time by Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, the provisions of this ordinance with respect to illegal stormwater and surface water connections to the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
AUTHORITY
Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority and its successor agency.
CERTIFICATION OF SEWER LATERAL
An official statement from the proper official of Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority stating that there are no known illegal storm or surface water connections into the sanitary sewer connections of any individual property.
ILLEGAL STORM OR SURFACE WATER CONNECTIONS
The discharge of ground or surface water of the connection of downspouts, roof drainage, surface areaway drainage, or foundation drainage into the sanitary sewage system.
MUNICIPAL LIEN LETTER
A written letter from the proper official of the Municipality of Murrysville concerning municipal liens.
PERSON
Any person, syndicate, associate, partnership, firm, corporation, institution, agency, authority, or other entity recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.
When, during the course of operations within the Municipality and regular monitoring and maintenance of public sewer lines and facilities, the employees, agents and/or designees of Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority identify deteriorating or poorly constructed laterals and sewer service connections, causing infiltration and inflow of extraneous waters into the public sanitary sewer system of Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, then written notice shall be provided to the property owner or owners as to the condition of such laterals and sewer service connections, together with a statement that such deteriorating or poorly constructed laterals and sewer service connections must, at the property owner's expense, be promptly repaired, replaced or rehabilitated within 60 days of receipt of said notice. A copy of all written reports issued in connection with these examinations of deteriorating or poorly constructed laterals and sewer service connections shall be maintained as part of the official records of the Authority.
Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, its employees, agents and/or designees, in performing the duties and undertaking the programs identified in this ordinance, shall be empowered to enter upon any private property at all reasonable times, with proper notice to the owner, and in accordance with prevailing law, for the purpose of obtaining information, conducting inspections and/or enforcing this ordinance and shall have only those powers expressly set forth in this ordinance and in other ordinances of the Municipality or provided by law to perform its functions consistent with such ordinances.
The powers conferred by the within article to the Municipality shall be in addition to and not in substitution for any other powers conferred upon these entities to enforce and require the elimination of illegal stormwater and surface water connections to the public sewer systems maintained within the borders of the Municipality of Murrysville.
A. 
No property owner or property user of the public sanitary sewer system of Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority shall discharge or permit the discharge of any stormwater, surface water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, foundation drains, driveway drainage, cooling water or unpolluted industrial process water into said sanitary sewer system.
B. 
Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority is hereby authorized to conduct random periodic smoke and/or dye tests and any other appropriate test or inspection of all existing sewer systems and structures in the Municipality to determine compliance with this ordinance and other laws pertaining to sewer systems and structures; provided, however, that no inspection fee shall be charged for such inspection tests under § 193-22.6D.
C. 
Upon satisfactory completion of testing of any property by the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority or upon the completion of required remedial action to maintain any property in compliance with the terms hereof, the property owner shall be issued a certification of sewer lateral setting forth the identification of the property owner, identification of the property by street address and tax map number, the date, nature and results of testing, and the completion of any required remedial action.
D. 
Every owner, lessee or occupier of land within the territory serviced by Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority shall submit to smoke and/or dye testing or other appropriate test or inspection by Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, its employees, agents and/or designees. The owner, lessee or occupier of the land shall permit said testing upon request. Testing will not be required when the owner, lessee or occupier of the land produces a valid certification of sewer lateral issued by the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, its agent or designee, which certification of sewer lateral shall be sufficient proof of compliance for purposes of this Ordinance three years from the date of issuance.
E. 
When illegal stormwater or surface water connections have been discovered, all necessary remedial work to correct such connection shall be completed by the owner, lessee or occupier of the premises, weather permitting, within 45 days of the date such party receives notification of the illegal connection.
Nothing in this ordinance shall limit, in any fashion whatsoever, the right of the Municipality to enforce ordinances or the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Nothing in the ordinance shall be a defense to any citation issued by any Municipal Corporation of the Commonwealth pursuant to any other law or ordinance.
A. 
Any person selling or refinancing real estate located within the Municipality of Murrysville and connected to the public sanitary sewer system of Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority must subject such person's real property to prior inspection, including inspection of interior[1] premises of any building or residence, by authorized representatives of Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, at reasonable hours and upon prior written notice, to determine compliance with the Rules and Regulations of Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority. Such person shall not be issued a certification of sewer lateral until such inspection has been performed and has revealed no illegal connections or devices discharging extraneous waters into the sewer system or other violation of the rules and regulations of Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, or a follow-up inspection verifies that any violations identified in the initial inspection have been disconnected and removed.
(1) 
An inspection certificate shall not be required on the sale of a new structure to its initial occupant; provided, however, that it was inspected by the Authority in the due course of construction within 24 months prior to proposed sale.
(2) 
An inspection certificate shall not be required on a sale of a structure for which a certificate was previously issued within the preceding 60 months, conditioned, however, upon submission of a written representation of the property owner, under oath, that there has been no alteration(s) giving rise to an unlawful discharge into the public sanitary sewer system.
(3) 
An inspection certificate shall not be required on a refinancing of a structure for which a certificate was previously issued within the preceding 60 months, conditioned, however, upon a submission of a written representation of the property owner, under oath, that there has been no alteration(s) giving rise to an unlawful discharge into the public sanitary sewer system.
[1]
*[NOTE: Authority’s personnel entry for an interior inspection of the premises to require owner’s consent or demonstration of probable cause. Such limitation shall not apply to devices used by the Authority to inspect the interior of an owner’s pipeline(s) connecting to the public sanitary sewer system.]
B. 
Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority shall, from time to time by resolution, adopt such standard forms or applications as may be necessary and appropriate for the facilitation of the inspections and certifications required herein.
C. 
Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority shall, from time to time by resolution, adopt a standard charge or fee for the inspection of property prior to sale or refinance and the same shall be due and payable as part of a lien certification covering sewage charges. A copy of the proposed fee schedule for issuance of a certificate is attached hereto;[2] provided, however, the Authority is free to adopt revisions thereto, from time to time, without necessity of prior approval of the Municipality of Murrysville.
[2]
Editor's Note: Said fee schedule is on file in the Municipality offices.
D. 
A certificate requested by the owner, lender or other authorized party at any time shall be subject to the inspection/certificate fee provided for under § 193-22.8C.
A. 
Any person, firm, or corporation who is found to have violated any order of Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, or who willfully violated or failed to comply with any provision of this ordinance and the orders, rules, regulations and permits issued hereunder shall pay a fine or penalty of up to $1,000 following conviction thereof by a Magisterial District Judge in a private criminal complaint. In addition, the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority may recover damages, costs, reasonable attorney fees, court costs, and such other fees and expenses of litigation incurred by Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority in the prosecution of this claim.
B. 
Upon final adjudication that a violation of this ordinance exists and refusal or failure to act by the property owner to undertake the repair, replacement of rehabilitation identified by written notice as herein provided, Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority shall have the right to enter onto the subject property to conduct the necessary work to bring the property into compliance with this ordinance at the sole expense of the property owner, and further, upon the failure of the property owner to pay said expense, Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority shall have the right to file a lien against the subject property for the amount of said expenses, together with costs of filing and perfecting such lien.
C. 
Proceedings before the Magisterial District Judge and/or the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas on a violation or enforcement action, as aforesaid, shall be initiated by the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, without necessity for the joinder of the Municipality of Murrysville for such purposes.
The provisions of this ordinance are severable, and if any section, sentence, clause or phrase shall be held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be illegal, invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining portions of this ordinance shall not be affected or impaired thereby.
The provisions of this Ordinance shall be codified as part of the Code of the Municipality of Murrysville.
Any ordinance or part of ordinance conflicting with the provisions of this ordinance be and the same are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.