[Adopted 1-13-1976 by Ord. No. 1976-1]
The purpose of this article is to establish procedures for the
use and maintenance of holding tanks designed to receive and retain
sewage whether from residential or commercial uses, and it is hereby
declared that the enactment of this article is necessary for the protection,
benefit and preservation of the health, safety and welfare of the
inhabitants of West Bradford Township.
Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise,
the meanings of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
A watertight receptacle or a series thereof which receives
and retains sewage and is designed and constructed to facilitate ultimate
disposal of the sewage at another site. Holding tanks include, but
are not limited to, the following:
CHEMICAL TOILETA toilet using chemicals that discharges to a holding tank.
RETENTION TANKA holding tank where sewage is conveyed to it by a water-carrying system.
VAULT PIT PRIVYA holding tank designed to receive sewage where water under pressure is not available.
Any property within the Township upon which there is erected
a structure intended for continuous or periodic habitation, occupancy
or use by human beings, and from which structure sewage shall or may
be discharged.
The issuing authority shall be deemed to mean and include
the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and, to the extent
of the DEP'S delegation of its authority, the Chester County
Department of Health.
West Bradford Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, as well as any person in total or partial control or possession
of any property located in the Township.
Any individual, partnership, trust, company, association, corporation or other group or entity, but shall not include West Bradford Township and, with respect to penalties for violations imposed under § 341-10, shall include each and all partners, officers and directors of any such person.
Any substance that contains any of the waste products or
excrement or other discharge from the bodies of human beings or animals
and any noxious or deleterious substance 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. It is contemplated
that the term "sewage" shall be broadly construed and shall be coextensive
within the meaning ascribed thereto under the regulations of the Department
of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Board of Supervisors of West Bradford Township, Chester
County, Pennsylvania.
A.
The issuing authority is hereby authorized and empowered to undertake
within the Township the issuance of permits and the regulation of
operation of holding tanks for the collection, transportation and
disposal of sewage, which said power shall include, but shall not
be limited to, the establishment in conjunction with the Township
of requirements for reasonable security to ensure the proper maintenance,
operation, pumping, cleaning and removal by the owner and/or operator
thereof.
B.
The authority hereby granted shall be deemed a limited authority
for the authorization of holding tanks served by public utilities
where permanent sewage and off-site sewage treatment facilities are
to be in operation by that same public utility within 18 months of
the date of the issuance of the holding tank permit and appropriate
surety has been posted with West Bradford Township by the public utility
to secure:
A.
To the extent that the same are not in conflict with the rules and
regulations of the issuing authority, the Township is hereby authorized
and empowered to adopt such rules and regulations concerning holding
tanks and the operation, maintenance, pumping, cleaning and removal
of holding tanks and for the general administration of the article
which it may deem necessary from time to time to effect the purposes
herein.
B.
Size. The holding tank shall be a minimum of 1,000 gallons' per-dwelling-unit
capacity and, in addition, shall be large enough to hold at least
three days' sewage from all dwelling units served thereby. The
tank shall be watertight.
C.
Isolation distances. The following figures shall be minimum isolation
distances for holding tanks:
D.
Warning device. A warning device shall be provided that will give
visual and audible warning (i.e., red indicator) when tank is 75%
full.
All such rules and regulations adopted by the Township shall
be in conformity with the provisions herein, all other ordinances
of the Township and all applicable laws and applicable rules and regulations
of administrative agencies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Any rates or charges established, fixed, altered, changed, charged
or collected shall be subject to the approval of applicable regulatory
bodies.
A.
No holding tank shall be installed to serve more than a single dwelling
unit or a single commercial enterprise except by an authorized public
utility duly approved, franchised and regulated by the Public Utility
Commission of Pennsylvania.
B.
No holding tank shall be installed nor permit issued for a single
dwelling unit or a single commercial enterprise except when directed
by the issuing authority to abate an existing health hazard.
The collection and transportation of all sewage from any improved
property utilizing a holding tank shall be done solely by or under
the direction and control of the Township and the issuing authority,
and the disposal thereof shall be made only at such site or sites
as may be approved by the Department of Environmental Protection of
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The public utility serving the improved properties that utilize
a holding tank shall:
A.
Maintain the holding tank in conformance with this or any other ordinance
of this Township, the provisions of any applicable law, and the rules
and regulations of the Township and any administrative agency of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the County of Chester.
B.
Permit only a duly authorized public utility or its agent to collect,
transport and dispose of the contents therein.
[Amended 1-28-1997 by Ord. No. 1997-02[1]]
Any person who violates the provisions of § 341-9 or who fails to obtain a permit prior to installation of any holding tank or who violates any term or condition of this article or any regulations promulgated thereunder or who violates any valid order promulgated pursuant to this article or who violates the terms of any permit or any condition pursuant to which the permit is issued shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township before a Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine of not more than $600, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, incurred by the Township in the enforcement of this article. No judgment shall be imposed until the date of the determination of the violation by the Magisterial District Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense. Each separate dwelling unit or commercial or industrial enterprise served by or connected to a holding tank constructed or operated without a valid permit shall, in like manner, be deemed a separate offense punishable by a like fine. Further, the appropriate officers or agents of the Township are hereby authorized to seek equitable relief, including injunction, to enforce compliance herewith.
In addition to any other remedies provided in this article,
any violation of this article shall constitute a nuisance and shall
be abatable by the Township or the issuing authority by appropriate
equitable or legal relief by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Prior to installation of any holding tank, the installer shall
furnish to the Township a bond with one or more sureties, sufficient
to the Township in such amount as the Township shall deem proper,
to secure the proper installation, operation, maintenance, pumping
and cleaning of such holding tank and/or sewage lines leading directly
or indirectly thereto and further securing the cost of removal at
such time as an acceptable alternate permanent system is available,
which said bond shall be in such amount as the Township shall determine
and shall be renewed annually not less than two months prior to the
anniversary date of the issuance of said bond. The bond shall be in
form and substance satisfactory to the Township and shall be guaranteed
by one or more sureties authorized to write surety bonds in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
Holding tanks are declared to be temporary facilities. No holding
tank shall be installed unless public sewers shall be available to
serve the premises within 18 months after the date of its installation
and the public utility installing the said public sewer system shall
have filed with the Township a completion bond in an amount satisfactory
to the Township, securing the completion thereof within 18 months
after the date of issuance of the permit for installation of the holding
tank. Further, the authority to continue to operate and maintain the
said holding tank shall be deemed to expire 18 months after the issuance
of the said permit or at such time as other appropriate means of collection,
treatment and/or disposal are available to the occupied lands served
thereby, whichever be the earlier date.
This article shall take effect five days after enactment or
five days after the date that the Township shall adopt rules and regulations
governing the specifications for construction, installation, maintenance
and removal of holding tanks, whichever be the later date.
