Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning
of the terms used in this article shall be as follows:
The Borough of Palmyra, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, or
the duly constituted and elected municipal authorities thereof.
The governing body of the Borough.
The owner of an improved property connected to or able to
be connect to the sewer system. No person other than the owner of
an improved property may be a customer of the sewer system.
That part of the sewer line from the service lateral to the
outer wall of the building to be served.
Any property upon which there is erected a structure intended
for continuous or periodic habitation, occupancy or use by human beings
or animals and from which structure wastewater shall be or may be
discharged.
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of an improved property.
Any individual, partnership, company, association, society,
trust, corporation, municipality, municipality authority or other
group or entity, and the members of such partnership or association
and the officers of such corporation.
That part of the sewer line from the main sewer to the curbline
or to the property line if there is no curb.
The Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, as adopted by
the Borough.[1]
A.
No person shall connect any improved property with any part of the
sewer system without first making application for and securing a permit,
in writing, from the Borough. Such application shall be made on a
form to be provided by the Borough, and no application shall be considered
complete until all fees imposed in this chapter have been paid in
full. A permit shall be valid for a period of 30 days from the date
of issuance, and such permit shall expire if the construction is not
commenced or the connection is not made within the thirty-day period.
B.
Only the owner of an improved property may be a customer. No tenant
or occupant of an improved property may be a customer of the sewer
system. The owner of the improved property shall be responsible for
all rates and charges imposed after connection of the improved property
to the sewer system and shall be responsible to comply with and to
insure any occupant of the improved property complies with all ordinances,
rules and regulations relating to the sewer system.
C.
The customer desiring to use the sewer system shall be responsible
for the proper observance of this chapter and all rules and regulations
concerning the use of the sewer system.
D.
No owner or tenant of any improved property connected with the sewer
system shall permit another person or improved property to use or
connect with his service line.
E.
Unless written permission is obtained from the Borough, a separate
house connection will be required for each individual improved property,
whether constructed as a detached unit or as one of a pair or row,
but a single house connection will be permitted to serve a school,
factory, an apartment house or other permanent multiple-unit structure
whose individual apartments or units may not be subject to separate
ownership.
F.
All costs and expenses of construction, testing and inspection of
a house connection and all costs and expenses of connection of a house
connection to the sewer system shall be borne by the owner of the
improved property to be connected and such owner shall indemnify and
save harmless the Borough from all loss or damage that may be occasioned,
directly, or indirectly, as a result of construction of a house connection
to the sewer system.
G.
The holder of a permit to connect an improved property to the sewer
system shall provide at least 24 hours' notice of the time when such
connection will be made so that the Borough may inspect the work and
perform and/or observe the necessary testing. All connections to the
sewer system shall be inspected by a Borough representative prior
to backfilling or covering the work. All work must be installed in
accordance with all Borough ordinances, rules and regulations. Work
failing to meet these standards shall be replaced before connection
to the sewer system is allowed.
H.
No person may perform plumbing work on any facilities which are to
be connected directly or indirectly into the sanitary sewerage system
without first obtaining the required permit from the Borough. Such
permit will be issued only to persons who have demonstrated by past
performance to the satisfaction of the Borough that they are qualified
and capable of performing plumbing work in accordance with good plumbing
practice. All connections made to the system must be inspected by
the Borough or its duly authorized representative prior to backfilling
or covering the work. Work must be installed in accordance with the
UCC. Work failing to meet these standards must be replaced before
connections to the sewer system will be allowed.
A.
No sewer connection or disconnection shall be made except under the
supervision, control and approval of the authorized representative
of the Borough.
B.
The service lateral shall be constructed from the collecting sewer
to the property line by and at the expense of the property owner,
who has obtained a permit, and, upon installation, shall become the
property of the Borough. The house connection from the property line
to the building shall be installed by the property owner at his own
expense.
C.
All service laterals and all house connections from buildings to
the service laterals hereafter installed shall be constructed of an
approved type of pipe, shall have permanently tight joints, a minimum
grade of 1.00%, the best possible alignment and adequate cover to
protect the pipe from crushing or frost action. All new laterals and
building sewers shall be constructed of one of the following types
of pipe; and in no case less than four inches in diameter.
(1)
Polyvinyl chloride gravity sewer pipe. PVC gravity sewer pipe and
fittings shall be constructed using pipe and fittings conforming to
current ASTM D-3034-SDR-35 Type PSM polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe
shall conform to Plastic Pipe Institute Specifications. PVC gravity
sewer pipe joints shall be the push-on type and shall be assembled
in accordance with the manufacturer's recommended procedure. The pipe
and fittings shall be jointed by an elastomeric rubber gasket, which
is the only element depended upon to make the joint flexible and watertight.
The gasket shall comply with the physical requirements specified in
current ASTM D-3212, and the laboratory performance requirements specified
in current ASTM D-3139.
(2)
Ductile iron pipe (gravity sewer pipe). Ductile iron pipe shall be
centrifugally cast, annealed and manufactured in accordance with the
latest revision of ANSI A21.51. The pipe shall be cement-mortar lined
inside and bituminous-coated outside. The bituminous-coating shall
be in accordance with the requirements of the latest revision of ANSI
A21.51. The cement-mortar lining shall be in accordance with the latest
revisions of ANSI A21.4 (AWWA C104). The minimum wall thickness shall
be in accordance with the latest revisions of ANSI A21.50 (AWWA C150)
Class 50, with the exception of the four-inch size, which shall be
Class 51. Ductile iron pipe joints: All pipe underground shall have
mechanical joints or push-on type conforming to the latest revision
of ANSI A21.11 (AWWA C111). Where concrete reaction backings cannot
be installed due to other pipe in the area, restrained joints shall
be used.
D.
All pipe and installation methods shall conform to the regulations
of the Borough and shall be guarded with barricades to protect the
public from hazards, with satisfactory restoration of public property.
E.
The size of all other house connections will be as approved by the
Engineer. Each house connection over 25 feet in length from the property
line to the building shall be provided with a four-inch cleanout ferrule.
Materials and method of installation shall be examined by the Engineer
before the start of work, and the entire installation will be inspected
before the line is covered and connection made. After the work has
been inspected and approved by the authorized inspector, the owner
will exhibit his connection permit to the inspector with the original
and duplicate copy signed by the plumber. The inspector will sign
the original and duplicate copies, inserting the date of inspection,
and return the original copy to the Borough's designated representative,
who in turn will enter the approval on the official records.
F.
Where ground has been filled in or in wet places, extra-heavy cast-iron
soil pipe, not less than four inches in internal diameter, with lead
joints properly caulked, shall be used.
G.
No repairs, alterations or additions to any sewer lateral or sewer
connection with the sewer system shall be made, unless the person
desiring to make the same shall first make application to and receive
permission from the Borough for doing so. No plumber shall do any
work on such laterals or connections until the property owner has
exhibited to the plumber the permit for such work, which permit must
then be signed and dated by the plumber to indicate his having seen
it. Any permit so issued will be valid for a period not to exceed
90 days.
H.
The construction of service laterals and house connections shall,
at all times, be subject to supervision and inspection by the Borough
or its duly authorized representative and shall conform to the UCC.
The service laterals and house connections shall not be covered until
permitted by the Borough or its duly authorized representative, and
all backfilling of trenches shall be under Borough supervision and
shall be thoroughly compacted by tamping in six-inch layers to a minimum
height of 12 inches above the pipe. Where lines are laid in public
thoroughfares, installation must conform to the original specifications
of the Borough. Connections with sewers where the same are run through
private property shall in all respects be governed by this chapter.
[Amended 4-12-2022 by Ord. No. 816]
A.
No stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface
drainage, swimming pool drainage, cooling water, unpolluted industrial
or nonresidential process water shall be admitted or permitted to
drain into the sewer system. The discharge of cooling water from air-conditioning
units with cooling towers or recirculating systems or those units
using flow-through or unrecirculating systems is prohibited. The sewer
system is intended to convey sanitary sewage and liquid wastes only.
B.
No person shall contribute or cause to be contributed, directly or
indirectly, any pollutants that will pass through the sewer system
or interfere with the operation or performance of the sewer system.
These general prohibitions apply to all improved properties connected
to the Sewer System whether or not the user is subject to federal
categorical pretreatment standards of any other federal, state, or
local pretreatment standards or requirements.
C.
After
reasonable notice, the Borough has the right to enter upon all improved
properties receiving sewer service for the purpose of inspecting,
observing, measuring, sampling, and testing to ascertain whether or
not stormwater runoff or other illegal substances are being discharged
to the sewer system or whether other illegal connections exist. If
the owner does not allow the Borough's representative to enter the
property to perform the inspection, the Borough will assume that the
violation is occurring and will surcharge the owner accordingly. The
Borough's representative shall at all times have the right to disconnect
from the sewer system any conduit or conveyor which is used solely
for the purpose of carrying rain or surface water into the sewer system,
upon failure of the owner to make such disconnection after written
notice to do so.
A.
No customer shall discharge into the sewer system any exhaust steam
or any oils, tar, grease, gas, benzine or other combustible gases
or liquids or any garbage (unless treated in a manner approved by
the Borough), offal, insoluble solids or industrial waste or other
dangerous or harmful substances which would adversely affect the functioning
of the sewer system or the processes of sewage treatment.
B.
The Borough reserves the right to refuse connection to the sewer
system or to compel discontinuance of use of a sewer or to compel
pretreatment of industrial wastes by an industry in order to prevent
discharge to the sewer deemed to be harmful to the sewerage system
or sewage treatment plant or to have a deleterious effect on the sewage
treatment or sludge-handling processes.
The Borough shall not be liable for any damage or expense resulting
from leaks, stoppages or defective plumbing or from any other cause
occurring to any premises or within any house or building, and it
is expressly stipulated by and between the Borough and the customer
that no claims shall be made against the Borough on account of the
breaking or stoppage of or any damage or expense to any lateral or
house connection when the cause thereof is found to be in the lateral
or house connection.
The Borough shall not be liable for a deficiency or failure
of service when occasioned by an emergency, required repairs or failure
from any cause beyond its control. The Borough reserves the right
to restrict the use of sewer service whenever the public welfare may
require it.
When an improved property is unoccupied as a result of the inability
to occupy the improved property by reason of fire, flood, or similar
loss or natural disaster, the customer shall notify the Borough in
writing. Sewer rates will cease from the date that the customer informs
the Borough that the improved property is damaged and unable to be
occupied. When the improved property is again able to be occupied,
the customer shall again notify the Borough, in writing. No discontinuance
of sewer rates will be made for any time an improved property is unoccupied
unless written notice has been provided above, and no discontinuance
shall be for any period less than 1/2 a calendar quarter. In no case
will any refunds of sewer rates be made. If the owner of an improved
property fails to notify the Borough when the improved property is
able to be occupied, the Borough shall impose sewer rates for the
entire time that the sewer rates were discontinued.
The Borough, by its duly authorized agents, shall have the right
of access at all reasonable times to all parts of any improved property
connected with the sewer system for the purpose of examining and inspecting
the connections and fixtures, or for disconnecting service for any
proper cause.
The Borough reserves the right to change or amend from time
to time this chapter and any rules and regulations in accordance with
law.
No officer or employee of the Borough can vary the provisions
of this chapter without action of Council, and no agent or employee
of the Borough can bind it by any agreements or representations except
when authorized in writing to do so by Council.
A.
Any person or persons who desire to take exception to any provisions
of this article or duly adopted rules and regulations shall present
their exceptions in writing to the Borough Manager. The Borough Manager
will study the petition for exceptions and present it with his recommendations
to Council for its decision.
B.
Any person or persons who desire interpretation of any provision
of this article or duly adopted rules and regulations may request
such interpretations from the Borough Manager. If the interpretation
does not satisfy the person raising the question, that person will
present his request for interpretation in writing to Council for its
decision.
[Added 4-12-2022 by Ord. No. 816]
A.
Written notice. Any person who shall violate any provision of this
article may be served with a written notice stating the nature of
the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory
correction thereof. The offender, within the period of time stated
in such notice, shall permanently cease all violations. No notice
shall be required for any violation where any representatives of the
Borough reasonably believe that the issuance of such notice would
be repetitive of prior notices or would serve no effective purpose.
B.
Any person who shall violate any provision of this article or, having
been served with a written notice, continues such violation after
the time period for satisfactory correction set forth in such notice,
shall be liable, upon conviction, of a fine of not less than $100
nor more than $1,000 plus costs, including the Borough's reasonable
attorneys' fees incurred in the enforcement proceedings. Each day
that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.
Each section of this article violated shall constitute a separate
violation.
C.
The provisions of this article may be enforced through an action in equity in the Lebanon County Court of Common Pleas. The defendant may be assessed court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in such proceedings in addition to equitable relief and monetary penalties as set forth in § 288-47B.
D.
Liability. Any person violating any of the provisions of this article,
in addition to becoming liable for fines and costs of prosecution,
including the Borough's reasonable attorneys' fees, shall be liable
to the Borough for any expense, loss or damage occasioned the Borough
by reason of such violation.
