[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Altoona 4-11-2012 by Ord. No.
5626; amended in its entirety 10-14-2020 by Ord. No. 5772. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
In the City of Altoona there shall be an Electrical and Plumbing Board, which shall consist of three licensed Electricians, three licensed Plumbers, one General Contractor, and one layperson from the general public. The Board members shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of Altoona City Council per Section 4.3A and B of the City of Altoona Charter.
A.
The Board shall meet at such interval of not less than twice a year.
B.
For the three licensed plumber members, the initial terms shall be
staggered, and thereafter said terms shall be for a period of five
years.
C.
In case of any dispute or difference of opinion existing between
the City of Altoona and any person, firm, or corporation, as aforesaid,
regarding testing for plumbing certificates, journeyman or master,
the same shall be submitted by either party to the City of Altoona
Electrical and Plumbing Examiners Board.
D.
The Board shall establish standards and procedures for the qualifications,
examinations, and licensing of master plumbers and journeyman plumbers
to provide for appropriate licenses to each person who meets the qualifications
thereof and successfully passes the examination established by the
Board. The Electrical and Plumbing Examiners Board shall keep an official
record of all its transactions.
A.
The City of Altoona Electrical and Plumbing Examiners Board shall
have the sole power to grant licenses to a person desiring to engage
in work at the plumbing trade in the City of Altoona. This Board shall
have sole power to revoke a license from any person, firm, or corporation
who misuses a license.
B.
Said Electrical and Plumbing Examiners Board shall have the power
to grant one out-of-city or out-of-state permit for one job not exceeding
365 calendar days or one project. Any master plumber who is granted
a temporary license under this provision shall pay all required license
fees to the City of Altoona. Master plumbers from any other municipality
who desire to conduct business regularly in the City of Altoona shall
have successfully completed the test required pursuant to this chapter.
C.
In reviewing applicable work experience, the Board shall give credit
for direct experience in installing, erecting, altering, extending,
maintaining, or repairing plumbing, whether such experience is as
an employee, independent contractor, sole proprietor, or partner in
a corporation.
D.
The Board reserves the right to evaluate and approve each test candidate
individually with reference to qualifications.
The City of Altoona Electrical and Plumbing Examiners Board,
through the Department of Codes and Inspections, is hereby authorized
to issue licenses under three classifications. These three classifications
consist of master plumber, journeyman plumber and apprentice plumber.
In order to qualify for a master plumber's license or a
journeyman license, the applicant shall, in addition to successfully
completing the specific test for the type of plumber license required,
present documented evidence to the City of Altoona Electrical and
Plumbing Examiners Board of the following:
A.
Master plumber. A master plumber is:
(1)
A person who has passed the master plumber examination and has completed
the requirements for journeyman plumber of at least 8,000 hours (four
years) of practical experience at the journeyman plumber or similar
level which may be comprised of working experience, education, training,
or directly applicable military service.
(2)
A person who is certified as a master plumber in any jurisdiction
where the requirements for training and experience are comparable
to the City of Altoona.
B.
Journeyman plumber. A journeyman plumber is:
(1)
A person who has passed a journeyman examination as required by the
City of Altoona after completing the following:
(a)
Completed a training program as an apprentice plumber, consisting
of the successful completion of a Pennsylvania Bureau of Apprenticeship
Training approved course for plumbers, an on-the-job training program
of 4,000 hours (two years) duration under the direct supervision of
a master plumber and 4,000 hours (two years) under the direction and
control of a master plumber 8,000 hours total; or
(b)
Attended and passed a three-year plumbing course with an accredited
vocational technical school, two years' postsecondary plumbing
training or has a military plumbing training certificate and completed
an on-the-job training program of 2,000 hours (one year) duration
under the direct supervision of a master plumber and 4,000 hours under
the direction and control of a master plumber 6,000 hours total. Proof
of trade experience while serving in the military and proof of employment
and licensing in a trade union will also be accepted as documentation
in lieu of schooling.
(2)
A person who is certified as a journeyman plumber in any jurisdiction
where the requirements for training and experience are comparable
to the City of Altoona.
No person shall be issued a master plumber certificate or journeyman
plumber certificate until said person shall have applied for the same,
as follows:
A.
Application for these certificates shall be made on a form supplied
by the Code Official. Any person who has met the qualifications and
has been issued a certificate for journeyman plumber shall have the
option to take the ICC National Standard Master Plumber examination.
A.
Every applicant for a master plumber or a journeyman plumber certificate
shall submit to an examination as to said applicant's qualifications.
B.
The examination shall be the International Code Council national
standardized examinations test, as amended from time to time, relating
to plumber examinations.
C.
The applicant is required to demonstrate the applicant's ability
to comprehend and interpret plans and drawings relative to plumbing
work. This may be conducted through the assessment of a practical
examination administered by the Electrical and Plumbing Examiner's
Board.
D.
The applicant shall be expected to be familiar with the provisions
of the International Plumbing Code, the rules and regulations of the
Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, City of Altoona and the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania applicable to plumbing. Upon successful passing of
the examination, the applicant will submit a copy of the test results
to the City of Altoona, and the appropriate license card will be issued.
Any candidate whose application for a license has been refused
shall not make a new application until after the expiration of six
months from the date of such refusal.
A.
The Board may suspend or revoke the license of any person who shall
make any false or misleading statement in his or her application or
who shall sell, lend, or otherwise permit any improper use of his
or her license, or who shall obtain permits for others to do plumbing
work.
B.
No license shall be suspended or revoked except after public hearing
before the Plumbing Board, which hearing shall be in compliance with
Local Agency Law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Act of 1978,
April 28, P.L. 202, No. 53, 2 Pa.C.S.A. § 105).
C.
The Board may reinstate a suspended or revoked license upon application.
A.
No person shall engage in the plumbing business in the City of Altoona or install within the property and/or curbline any pipes, fixtures, or their apparatus for supplying water or removing liquid and waterborne wastes, nor install any plumbing fixtures, drainage, vents and water distributing systems, unless he or she shall have been duly authorized to do so by the issuance to a person of one of the aforementioned licenses, and no person shall do or perform any plumbing work not authorized under the license issued to him/her, except as set forth in § 542-16. Plumbing permits must be posted in or on the property in a conspicuous place and be visible from the street.
B.
Requirements for issuance of permits. No licensed master plumber
will be issued a permit to conduct any plumbing within the City of
Altoona prior to demonstrating that the following conditions have
been met:
(1)
City of Altoona business license.
(2)
Master plumber's license.
(3)
Liability and property damage insurance. The limits of said insurance
policy will be $500,000 for property damage and $500,000 for personal
liability and shall list the City of Altoona as a certificate holder.
(4)
Proof of workers' compensation insurance listing the City of
Altoona as a certificate holder or an affidavit certifying that workers'
compensation insurance is not required or is not necessary.
Every master plumber, journeyman plumber, or apprentice plumber
shall have in his or her possession, at all times when engaged in
plumbing work, a card to be furnished by the City of Altoona showing
that he or she is the holder of a license issued pursuant to these
regulations, and he or she shall exhibit same upon request.
Fees shall be in accordance with a fee schedule adopted pursuant
to a resolution of the City Council upon the enactment of this chapter
or as such schedule may be amended from time to time.
All licenses shall be renewed each year prior to the first day
of January. Such licenses shall be issued for one year beginning January
1 and expiring on December 31 in the same year.
Upon failure of any person to renew his or her license prior
to the expiration date, a sum of twice the annual license fee shall
be paid to the City of Altoona for renewal. If the license is not
renewed within 90 calendar days, a reexamination shall be required.
Each place of business engaged in the work of plumbing with
the City of Altoona shall have no more than one apprentice plumber
to one journeyman plumber or one master plumber.
No individual, firm, partnership, or corporation shall engage
in the business of installing, repairing, or altering plumbing work
which requires a permit unless the plumbing work performed in the
course of such business is under the direction and control of a licensed
master plumber or as excepted below.
A.
Exceptions:
(1)
Installation of sewers in and for the municipal sewerage system by
the City acting through the Altoona Water Authority.
(2)
A bona fide owner of a single- and/or duplex-family dwelling which
is occupied for his/her own living purposes may do any water pipe
work on the condition that the said owner personally performs all
labor in connection therewith, and that the piping installed shall
be the correct size and materials as set forth in the existing code.
A permit must be lifted and work must be inspected.
(3)
Installation, alteration, repair or maintenance of automatic sprinklers
and their related appurtenances.
(4)
Installation, alteration, repair or maintenance of heating or refrigeration
systems as in package chillers, cooling towers, and other like apparatus
(provided the drains are installed by a master plumber).
(5)
Installation, alteration, repair or maintenance of water softening
or conditioning equipment (provided that the drains are installed
by a master plumber).
(6)
Installation, alteration, repair, or maintenance of hot water tanks.
A.
Where two or more buildings are connected to a common sewer, which
common sewer then enters the public sewer in the street or alley adjoining
such building, and such private sewer system is blocked, it shall
be the duty of the owners of all buildings connected to such common
sewer to cause the blockage to be removed immediately, and the cost
thereof shall be borne equally by the parties.
B.
If the owners of the buildings connected to such blocked sewer fail
to correct the same promptly, and as a result the situation becomes
hazardous to public health, the Code Official shall cause the same
to be corrected and collect the costs thereof equally from the owners.
If the owner or owners refuse to pay his/her or their share of such
costs, then the same shall be entered as a lien against the property
of such owner or owners in the manner provided by law.
C.
In addition to the foregoing remedies, if the situation warrants,
the use of the common sewer shall be eliminated and the owner of each
building required to connect such building separately to the public
sewer.
D.
Every building or side-by-side dwelling unit with installed plumbing
fixtures and intended for human habitation, occupancy, or use, and
located within 300 feet of a street, alley, or easement, or adjacent
or abutting property in which there is a public water supply and sewer
service, shall have an individual waterline to curb and sewer lateral
to property line.
A.
A duly certified master plumber shall be permitted to carry out all
duties associated with the plumbing trade, including permit acquisition
and direction and control of journeyman and apprentice plumbers.
B.
A duly certified journeyman plumber shall be permitted to carry out
all duties associated with the plumbing trade, including direction
and control of apprentice plumbers and working independently. Journeyman
shall not acquire permits.
C.
A properly registered apprentice plumber shall be required to work
under the direct supervision of a master or journeyman plumber for
the first two years of his/her required apprenticeship. Thereafter,
upon completion of 4,000 hours of on-the-job training and found to
be competent, the apprentice plumber may work under the direction
and control of a master or journeyman plumber.
In case the master plumber who signs an application for a permit
does not desire to do the work covered by it, either in part or in
its entirety, he or she shall notify the Code Official, in writing,
requesting that he or she be released from responsibility for the
part of the work which he or she does not desire to do. He or she
will, however, be held responsible for the work which he or she has
completed. The Code Official's record will indicate the extent
of such completed work and such responsibility, and the permit will
be revised accordingly and held in abeyance.
