[Adopted 10-15-2020 by Ord. No. 480]
No person shall construct or maintain a holding tank on any
lot in Rochester Township without first securing a permit issued under
this article and the regulations of the Department of Environmental
Protection for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ("DEP"). No permit
for a holding tank shall be issued except in accordance with the terms
and conditions of this article and the applicable regulations of DEP.
Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise,
the meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
A receptacle intended to be watertight, whether permanent
or temporary, which receives and retains sewage conveyed by a water
conveying system and is designed and constructed to facilitate the
ultimate disposal of the sewage at another site.
Rochester Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania.
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, or possession of any real property located in the municipality.
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation
or other group or entity.
Any substance that contains any of the waste products, 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, to animal or aquatic life, or to the use of water
for domestic water supply or recreation. Piped discharges form sinks,
showers, toilets, washing machines, water softeners and other related
fixtures constitute sewage.
The failure of a holding tank to be fully compliant with
the municipality's holding tank ordinance. A holding tank without
the required permit is presumed to be in violation until such time
as that documentation is acquired or presented.
A.
Upon and
after the enactment of this article, no holding tank shall be installed,
nor shall any existing holding tank which has not been permitted be
utilized or otherwise placed in service by any owner of the premises
upon which said holding tank is or is to be located, until said owner
has obtained a permit from the municipality. Application for the permit
shall be made upon a form obtained from the municipality or provided
by the Sewage Enforcement Officer.
B.
Application
for a permit for a new holding tank shall be made, in writing, on
forms supplied by the municipality or the Sewage Enforcement Officer.
Such application shall contain the following:
Holding tanks may be used only under the following specific
conditions:
A.
The lot
upon which the holding tank is installed must be in an area approved
for use by the Township's Sewage Enforcement Officer and/or DEP.
B.
The collection
and transportation of all sewage utilizing the holding tank can only
be made at such disposal site that is approved by the Township's Sewage
Enforcement Officer and/or DEP.
C.
The site
has been investigated and/or tested by the Township's Sewage Enforcement
Officer or DEP representative and determined not to meet DEP regulations
for an on-lot conventional or alternate type of system.
D.
The holding
tank meets the following design standards:
(1)
Capacity.
A holding tank shall be large enough to hold a minimum of three days'
sewage waste as determined by DEP regulations or 1,000 gallons, whichever
is larger.
(2)
Construction.
A holding tank shall be constructed of durable material and shall
be watertight.
(3)
Warning
device. A holding tank shall be equipped with a warning device to
indicate when the unit is within 75% capacity. Such warning device
shall create an audible or visible signal at a location frequented
by the property owner or responsible individual.
(4)
Maintenance.
Disposal of waste from the holding tank must be to a site approved
by the DEP.
A.
The holding
tank permit will be granted, and use of said holding tank allowed
only when one of the following two conditions prevail:
(1)
When
the use of the holding tank is necessary to abate a nuisance or public
health hazard; or
(2)
Where
there exists an Official Sewage Facilities Plan which provides for
municipal sewage collection or an approved on-lot sewage disposal
system for the premises and where the holding tank is intended to
serve as an interim solution until the premises become served by the
municipal sewage collection system or approved on-lot system.
B.
However,
in all events when the premises served by a holding tank shall become
served by a municipal sewage system either on the property or directly
adjacent to it, or an on-lot system, or when the owner is otherwise
required to discontinue use or does discontinue use of said holding
tank, the owner of said premises shall:
(1)
Within
60 days of said event, remove all contents from the holding tank vault
and discontinue use of the same; and
(2)
Within
180 days, unearth, disconnect and remove all plumbing and piping attached
to said holding tank and remove, fill or otherwise render said holding
tank unusable for the purpose of the storage of sewage.
The Board of Commissioners is authorized to adopt such rules
and regulations concerning holding tanks which it may deem necessary
from time to time to effect the purpose herein.
Any person in violation of any provision of this article or
a condition attached to a permit granted hereunder shall be guilty
of a summary offense. Upon conviction thereof in any summary proceeding
before any District Magistrate, such person shall be a sentenced to
pay a fine of not less than $100 and costs and not more than $300.
Each day the violation occurs constitutes a separate offense.
Any owner of premises upon which there is installed a holding
tank who intends to grant, sell, convey, lease, sublease, or otherwise
assign or transfer an interest in the premises or another party shall
be required to provide the other party 30 days' advance notice, in
writing, of the fact that the premises is served by a holding tank,
the condition of said holding tank, and whether said holding tank
complies with the provisions of this article.
