[Adopted 5-17-1994 by Ord. No. O-4-94]
No manhole forming part of a public sanitary line within the
Township of Unity shall be elevated except as hereinafter provided.
A.
In the event that a person, individual, corporation, partnership
or other entity desires a manhole owned or maintained by the Unity
Township Municipal Authority (UTMA) to be elevated, raised or altered
in any way, said person, individual, corporation, partnership or other
entity shall make a written request to UTMA.
B.
The UTMA shall, within 10 business days of receipt of said request, either grant or deny permission for the elevation or alteration of said manhole or manholes. Subject to the exceptions set forth hereafter in Subsection D:
(1)
The cost of elevating said manhole shall be borne by the person,
individual, corporation, partnership or other entity for whom or for
which the request has been made.
(2)
The elevation of said manhole shall be accomplished by employees,
agents, servants or workman of UTMA or independent contractors for
whom prior written approval has been given by UTMA.
C.
In order to assure the payment for the cost of elevating the manhole(s),
the person, individual, corporation, partnership or other entity requesting
the elevation shall accomplish the following:
(1)
The sum of $500 or such greater amount as is estimated by the
UTMA engineer as the expected cost of elevation of such manhole shall
be deposited with UTMA before any work is accomplished.
(2)
All work performed by UTMA in elevation of said manhole(s) shall
be charged against the amount of the deposit, which charge shall include
the cost of materials together with labor charges in accordance with
the fee schedule published from time to time by UTMA.
(3)
Upon completion of the work the balance of the deposit over
and above the cost of completion of the work shall be reimbursed unto
the applicant by UTMA along with an itemized breakdown for the work,
with such reimbursement to be made within 30 days of completion.
D.
Any manholes which are required to be elevated in any public road,
public right-of-way or property owned by the Township of Unity as
part of the maintenance or improvement of such road or right of the
Supervisors by UTMA force work, with all deposits and costs for such
work to be waived.
No manhole located within the Township limits of the Township
of Unity may be covered by any substance, including dirt, concrete,
asbestos or any other material or substance, by any person, individual,
corporation, partnership or other entity, provided that:
A.
The prohibition contained hereunder shall extend to the property
owners and any agent, employee or independent contractor acting for
or on behalf of such property owner.
B.
The prohibition contained herein shall extend to all manholes, whether
located on private property or within private or public rights-of-way,
whether contained wholly or partially within the cartway of such rights-of-way.
C.
UTMA is specifically empowered to grant exemptions to such prohibition,
and in the event that such exemption is granted, then UTMA shall cause
to be issued a certificate of exemption which will be the sole and
conclusive evidence of the grant of such exemption.
No sanitary sewer right-of-way currently or hereinafter located
in the Township of Unity and owned by either the Township of Unity
or the UTMA or which is otherwise located in a private or public roadway
or a street or an unopened street or right-of-way of record shall
be encumbered in any manner as set forth hereinafter:
A.
No structure(s) shall be constructed or installed within the limits
of the permanent easement of such right-of-way and which prohibited
structure(s) shall include but not be limited to garages, swimming
pools, utility sheds, dog houses or other structures of either a temporary
or permanent basis.
B.
Fences may be installed; however, subject to the rights of either
the Township of Unity or the UTMA at any time to remove such fence
to perform maintenance, repair or replacement of a public sewer line.
In this regard, any damage caused to such fence by reason of such
removal shall be borne by the owner of such fence, and neither the
Township of Unity nor UTMA shall have any obligation with respect
to the repair, replacement or maintenance of any fence so removed.
C.
Any plants or shrubbery located within the limitations of such right-of-way
shall be at the risk of the underlying owner of the property and may
be removed by either the Township of Unity or the UTMA as may be required
for performance of any maintenance, repair or replacement of any public
sewer lines, and neither the Township of Unity nor the UTMA shall
have any obligation to the underlying property owner for any loss,
repair or replacement of any flowers or shrubbery which may be disrupted
by such event.
D.
In the event that there are any trees, shrubs or any structures located
within sewer line rights-of-way which in the opinion of the consulting
engineer of UTMA are causing or may cause or contribute to the blockage
of any public sewer line or may cause any portion of such public sewer
line to be disrupted or otherwise cause injury to the public sewer
line, then UTMA may forward written notice of the same to the property
owner, who shall cause the offending trees or shrubs to be removed
at his own cost and expense within 30 days from the date of said notice;
and in the event of nonremoval, then UTMA shall have the right to
enter upon the right-of-way for the purposes of removing such trees,
shrubs or structures, with all costs to be taxed against the property
owner; and in the event of nonpayment, the same shall be filed as
a municipal lien in accordance with appropriate statutory law. In
the event that UTMA causes the removal of the same, then it may do
so without being responsible to the property owner for the cost of
replacement of such trees, shrubs or structures, and no resulting
damage shall inure to the benefit of the property owner by reason
of the action taken by UTMA under the authority hereunder.
The UTMA through its authorized representatives shall have the right to enter upon any property serviced by a public sewer line (whether or not the public sewer line is located on the property) for the purpose of inspecting any lateral sewer line connections within the Township of Unity. Any rights of entry hereunder shall be purposed to determine whether or not the lateral sewer lines or any source of effluent into such sewer line is otherwise in accordance with Chapter 96 of the Code of Ordinances of Unity Township and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the UTMA and also whether or not such lateral sewer lines are the source or cause of any infiltration of inflow into any public sewer lines located within the Township. The right of entry authorized hereunder shall also include the right to inspect any and all such lateral sewer lines (and any connection thereto) through dye testing, air testing, smoke testing or utilization of one or more portable television cameras or such similar testing as may be used from time to time by UTMA and also to inspect surface drains and lines to determine whether or not the same are connected into or intersect with any sanitary sewer lines, the effluent from which enters any public sewer line. In the event that as a result of such inspection it is determined that any malfunction or defects are present and either infiltration or inflow is discovered or it is determined that nonpermissible materials are entering any public sewer lines, then the property owner and occupant of the property upon which the source of such inflow or infiltration is located shall be given notice thereof, and said property owner shall be given a period not to exceed 30 days from receipt of written notice to cause the defective condition to be repaired or restored. In the event that any property owner fails or refuses to perform the necessary corrective action within the time permitted, the UTMA, through its authorized representatives, shall have the right to enter upon said property for the purpose of causing such necessary corrective action; and in which event, any costs incurred by UTMA shall be reimbursed by the property owner and, in lieu thereof, shall be entered as a municipal lien under the applicable laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
In the event that any existing on-site sewage disposal system
is abandoned and the use thereof discontinued for any reason, the
existing on-site septic tank shall be pumped by a certified sewage
disposal hauler and the contents thereof shall be removed. Further,
the lid or top to the septic tank shall be removed and the entire
septic tank filled with either sand, gravel or other appropriate granular
material as may be approved and deemed appropriate by the Township
of Unity. The removal of the existing sewage waste from the then-existing
on-site sewage disposal system and the removal of the lid or top to
said septic tank and the filling of said septic tank shall occur within
30 days from the discontinuance of the use of said septic tank.
[Amended 11-28-2000 by Ord. No. O-10-00]
Any person violating any provision of this article shall, upon
conviction thereof by the District Justice in a summary criminal proceeding,
be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, together with costs
of prosecution and reasonable attorneys' fees or, in default thereof,
by imprisonment for not more than 30 days. Following written notice
by the Unity Township Supervisors or their duly appointed agent that
a violation exists, each full week that a person shall continue such
violation shall constitute a separate enforceable offense.
Any person violating any provisions of this article, as a result
of which violation the Township of Unity or UTMA incurs costs and
expenses resulting from said violation and any resulting repair or
cleanup work resulting therefrom, shall be liable for and responsible
for said costs as set forth hereafter.
The method of enforcement and collection of the costs incurred
and permitted under this article shall be by either filing a municipal
lien against the property owner of such property under the applicable
laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or by such other enforcement
mechanism as may be determined by either the Township of Unity or
the UTMA, in its discretion.
