[Adopted 3-1-2011 by Ord. No. 11-02]
A.Â
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "On-Lot Sewage
System Management Ordinance for Lower Frederick Township."
B.Â
In accordance with Municipal Codes, the Clean Streams Law (Act of
June 22, 1937, P.L. 1987, No. 394, as amended, 35 P.S. §§ 691.1
to 691.1001), and the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (the "Act"
or "PSFA")(Act of January 24, 1966, P.L. 1535, as amended, 35 P.S.
§ 750.1, et seq., known as Act 537), it is the power and
the duty of Lower Frederick Township to provide for adequate sewage
treatment facilities and for the protection of the public health by
preventing the discharge of untreated or inadequately treated sewage.
The Official Sewage Facilities Plan for Lower Frederick Township indicates
that it is necessary to formulate and implement a sewage management
program to effectively prevent and abate water pollution and hazards
to the public health caused by improper treatment and disposal of
sewage.
C.Â
The purpose of this article is to provide for the regulation, inspection,
maintenance and rehabilitation of on-lot sewage disposal systems;
to further permit intervention in situations which may constitute
a public nuisance or hazard to the public health; and to establish
penalties and appeal procedures necessary for the proper administration
of a sewage management program.
A.Â
AUTHORIZED AGENT
BOARD
COMMUNITY SEWAGE SYSTEM
DEPARTMENT
INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE SYSTEM
LOT
MALFUNCTION
MUNICIPALITY
OFFICIAL SEWAGE FACILITIES PLAN
ON-LOT SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM
OWNER
PERSON
REHABILITATION
SEPTAGE
SEWAGE
SEWAGE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER (SEO)
SEWAGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
SUBDIVISION
TOWNSHIP
TREATMENT TANK
Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise,
the meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
An employee of the Township, Professional Engineer, Plumbing
Inspector, Sewage Enforcement Officer or any other qualified or licensed
person who is authorized to function within specified limits as an
agent of Lower Frederick Township to administer or enforce the provisions
of this article.
The Board of Supervisors of Lower Frederick Township, Montgomery
County, Pennsylvania.
A sewage system, whether publicly or privately owned, for
the collection of sewage from two or more lots, or two or more equivalent
dwelling units, and the treatment of disposal, or both, of the sewage
on one or more of the lots or at another site.
The Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania (DEP).
A system of piping, tanks or other facilities serving a single
lot and collecting and disposing of sewage, in whole or in part, into
the soil or into waters of this commonwealth, or by means of conveyance
to another site for final disposal.
A designed parcel, tract, or area of land established by
a plat or otherwise permitted by law and to be used, developed or
built upon as a unit.
A condition which occurs when an on-lot sewage disposal system
discharges sewage onto the surface of the ground, into surface waters
of this commonwealth, backs up into a building connected to the system
or in any manner causes a nuisance or hazard to the public health
or pollution of groundwater or surface water or contamination of public
or private drinking-water wells. Systems shall be considered to be
malfunctioning if any condition noted above occurs for any length
of time during any period of the year.
Lower Frederick Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
A comprehensive plan for the provisions of adequate sewage
disposal systems, adopted by the Board and approved by the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection, pursuant to the Pennsylvania
Sewage Facilities Act.
Any sewage system which uses a system of piping, tanks or
other facilities for collecting, treating or disposing of sewage into
a soil absorption area or spray field, or by retention in a retaining
tank; this term includes both individual sewage systems and community
sewage systems.
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any property located in the Township.
Any individual, association, public or private corporation
for profit or not for profit, partnership, firm, trust, estate, department,
board, bureau or agency of the commonwealth, political subdivision,
municipality, district, authority or any other legal entity whatsoever
which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties. Whenever
used in any clause prescribing and imposing a penalty or imposing
a fine or imprisonment, the term "person" shall include the members
of an association, partnership or firm and the officers of any local
agency or municipal, public or private corporation for profit or not
for profit.
Work done to modify, alter, repair, enlarge or replace an
existing on-lot sewage disposal system.
The liquid and solid materials removed from a treatment tank
or tanks.
Any substance that contains of the waste products or excrement
or other discharge from the bodies of human beings or animals and
any noxious or deleterious substances being harmful or inimical to
the public health, or to animal or aquatic life or to the use of water
for domestic water supply or for recreation or which constitutes pollution
under the Clean Streams Law (Act of June 22, 1937, P.L. 1987, No.
394, as amended, 35 P.S. §§ 691.1 to 691.1001).
A person certified by DEP who is employed by the Township
or County Health Department. Such person is authorized to conduct
investigations and inspections, review permit applications and do
all other activities as may be provided for such person in the Sewage
Facilities Act, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder,
and this or any other ordinance adopted by the Township or County
Health Department. Only the Sewage Enforcement Officer employed by
the County Health Department is authorized to administrate the sewage
facilities permitting program under Chapter 72 of the regulations.
A comprehensive set of legal and administrative requirements
encompassing the requirements of this article, the Sewage Facilities
Act, the Clean Streams Law, the regulations promulgated thereunder,
and such other requirements adopted by the Board to effectively enforce
and administer this article.
The division or redivision of a lot, tract, or parcel of
land by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels, or other
divisions of land, including changes in existing lot lines, for the
purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, partition by the court
for distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership, or building
or lot development; provided, however, that the subdivision by lease
of land for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres,
not involving any new street or easement of access or any residential
dwelling, shall be exempted.
Lower Frederick Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
A tank that provides for aerobic or anaerobic (septic) decomposition
of sewage to take place prior to discharge to an absorption area.
This term shall also include cesspools.
B.Â
For the purposes of this article, any term which is not defined herein
shall have that meaning attributed to it under the Sewage Facilities
Act and the regulations promulgated thereto.
From the effective date of this article, its provisions shall
apply to all persons owning any property within Lower Frederick Township
serviced by an on-lot sewage disposal system and to all persons installing
or rehabilitating on-lot sewage disposal systems.
A.Â
Each person owning a building served by an on-lot sewage disposal
system which contains a treatment tank shall have the treatment tank
pumped within six months of the effective date of this article by
a sewage pumper/hauler licensed by DEP and authorized by the Board
or its agent. Thereafter, that person shall have the tank pumped at
least once every three years or whenever an inspection reveals that
the treatment tank is filled with solids or with scum in excess of
1/3 of the liquid depth of the tank. Receipts from the pumper/hauler
shall be submitted to the Township within the prescribed six months
and three-year pumping periods. Receipt shall include gallons pumped.
B.Â
The required pumping frequency may be increased at the discretion
of an authorized agent if the treatment tank is undersized, if solids
buildup in the tank is above average, if the hydraulic load on the
system increases significantly above average, if a garbage grinder
is used in the building, if the system malfunctions or for other good
cause shown. If any person can prove that such person's treatment
tank had been pumped within three years of the six-month anniversary
of the effective date of this article, then that person's initial
required pumping may be delayed to conform to the general three-year
frequency requirement, except where an inspection reveals a need for
more frequent pumping frequencies.
C.Â
Any person owning a property served by a treatment tank shall submit,
with each required pumping receipt, a written statement from the pumper/hauler
or from any other qualified individual acceptable to the Township,
that the baffles in the treatment tank have been inspected and found
to be in good working order, and the treatment tank lid is properly
placed so as not to accept surface water runoff. Any person whose
treatment tank baffles are determined to require repair or replacement
shall first contact the Montgomery County Health Department's
Sewage Enforcement Officer for approval of the necessary repair.
D.Â
Any person owning a building served by an individual residential
spray irrigation system (IRSIS), small flow treatment facility (SFTF),
holding tank, community sewage system or other alternative treatment
systems shall be required to maintain those systems in compliance
with the existing maintenance and operations agreement for the system.
E.Â
Additional maintenance activity may be required as needed, including,
but not necessarily limited to, cleaning and unclogging of piping,
servicing and the repair of mechanical equipment, leveling of distribution
boxes, tanks and lines, removal of obstructing roots or trees, the
diversion of surface water away from the disposal area, etc.
A.Â
No person shall operate or maintain an on-lot sewage disposal system
in such a manner that it malfunctions. All liquid wastes, including
kitchen and laundry wastes and water softener backwash, shall be discharged
to a treatment tank. No sewage system shall discharge untreated or
partially treated sewage to the surface of the ground or into the
waters of the commonwealth unless a permit for such discharge has
been obtained from DEP.
B.Â
A written notice of violation shall be issued to any person who is
the owner of any property which is found to be served by a malfunctioning
on-lot sewage disposal system or which is discharging sewage without
a permit.
C.Â
Within 14 days of notification by the Township that a malfunction
has been identified, the property owner shall make contact with the
Montgomery County Health Department's Sewage Enforcement Officer.
Within 30 days of initial notification by the Township, the property
owner shall submit a plan of action to the Township.
D.Â
The Montgomery County Health Department's Sewage Enforcement
Officer and the municipality's authorized agent shall both have
the authority to require the repair of any malfunction by the following
methods; cleaning, repair or replacement of components of the existing
system, adding capacity or otherwise altering or replacing the system's
treatment tank, replacing the existing disposal area, replacing a
gravity distribution system with a pressurized system, replacing the
system with a holding tank, or any other alternative appropriate for
the specific site.
E.Â
In lieu of, or in combination with, the remedies described in Subsection D above, the Montgomery County Health Department's Sewage Enforcement Officer and the municipality's authorized agent may require the installation of water conservation equipment and the institution of water conservation practices in structures served. Water using devices and appliances in the structure may be required to be retrofitted with water saving appurtenances, or they may be required to be replaced by water conserving devices.
F.Â
Should none of the remedies described in this section be totally
effective in eliminating the malfunction of an existing on-lot sewage
disposal system, the property owner is not absolved of responsibility
for that malfunction. The Township and the Montgomery County Health
Department may require whatever action is necessary to lessen or mitigate
the malfunction to the extent necessary.
Prior to the issuance of a use and occupancy permit involving
new construction, resale, or change of tenants in a dwelling using
an individual on-lot sewage system, the owner shall pay to the Township
a sewage management fee and, except for new construction, provide
the Township with a receipt documenting the date the treatment tank
was cleaned by a licensed sewage hauler. Sewage management fees shall
be established by the Board.
The Township, upon written notice from the authorized agent
or from the Montgomery County Health Department's Sewage Enforcement
Officer that an imminent health hazard exists due to failure of property
owner to maintain, repair or replace an on-lot sewage disposal system,
as provided under the terms of this article, shall have the authority
to perform, or contract to have performed, the work required by the
authorized agent or the Montgomery County Health Department's
Sewage Enforcement Officer. The owner shall be charged for the work
performed and the municipal claim may be pursued in assumpsit against
the person or as a lien against the property or both.
A.Â
All septage originating within the Township shall be disposed of
in accordance with the requirements of the Solid Waste Management
Act (Act 97 of 1980, 35 P.S. §§ 6018.101 et seq.) and
all other applicable laws and at sites or facilities approved by DEP.
Approved sites or facilities shall include the following: septage
treatment facilities, wastewater treatment plants, composting sites
and approved farm lands.
B.Â
Pumper/haulers of septage operating within the Township shall operate
in a manner consistent with the provisions of the Pennsylvania Solid
Waste Management Act (Act 97 of 1980, 35 P.S. §§ 6018.101-6018.1003)
and all other applicable laws.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter
shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a District
Justice under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty
of a summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not more
than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default of payment thereof,
the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
30 days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation continues
or is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense, and
each section of this chapter that is violated shall constitute a separate
offense.
