As used herein, the following terms shall have the meanings stated:
AUTHORIZED AGENT
Code Enforcement Officer, Township Manager, Township Engineer determined by the Board to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
BOARD
The Township of Skippack Board of Supervisors.
BUILDING WASTEWATER SYSTEM
The wastewater extension from the wastewater drainage system or any pressure line associated with a user installed and owned grinder pump system of any improved property to the point of connection with the street lateral or wastewater system serving such improved property.
CHEMICAL TOILET
A permanent or portable nonflushing toilet using chemical treatment in the retaining tank for odor control.
COLLECTION SYSTEM
The system of public sewers, including laterals from street mains to curb or property lines, to be located within Skippack Township, designed for the collection of sanitary sewage and operated by the Board.
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and its various departments and bureaus.
COMPOSTING TOILET
A device for holding and processing human and organic kitchen waste, employing the process of biological degradation through the action of microorganisms to produce a stable, humus-like material.
DISSOLVED SOLIDS
Solids that are dissolved in wastewater and cannot be settled, but can be determined by evaporation pursuant to the procedures set forth in the latest edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater," published by the American Public Health Association, Inc.
DOMESTIC WASTE
Normal water-carried household and toilet wastes discharged from any property.
DWELLING UNIT
Any room, apartment, condominium, cooperative, room, group of rooms, house trailer or other enclosure occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters by a family or other group of persons living together or by Persons living alone.
EDU OR EQUIVALENT DWELLING UNIT
A unit of measure pursuant to the definition of the Lower Perkiomen Valley Sewer Regional Authority in the Treatment Agreement.
HOLDING TANK
A tank, whether permanent or temporary, to which sewage is conveyed by a water-carrying system.
IMPROVED PROPERTY
Any property within the Township upon which there is erected a residential structure intended for continuous or periodic occupancy or use by human beings or animals and from which structure sewage shall or may be discharged and which would ordinarily be served by public sanitary sewers, but for a sewer connection ban.
INCINERATING TOILET
A device capable of reducing waste materials to ashes.
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
Any solid, liquid or gaseous substance or form of energy rejected or escaping in the course of any industrial, manufacturing, trade or business process or in the course of the development, recovery or processing of natural resources, as distinct from domestic waste and shall also have the meaning ascribed to it in the Act of June 22, 1987 (PL. 1987, No. 39-4), known as the "Clean Stream Law" and the regulations adopted thereunder.
LPVRSA OR REGIONAL AUTHORITY
The Lower Perkiomen Valley Regional Sewer Authority.
OCCUPIED BUILDING
Each structure for continuous or periodical human occupancy from which sanitary sewage is or may be discharged and includes, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, dwellings, flats, apartments, stores, shops, offices and business or industrial establishments.
OWNER
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole or partial, of any property located in the Township.
PERSON OR PERSONS
Any person or persons, male or female, corporation, partnership, association, company, individual, owner, occupant, lessee, tenant or any organization.
pH
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions, expressed in grams per liter of solution, indicating the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a substance.
PRIVY
A tank designed to receive sewage where water under pressure is not available.
PROPERTY ACCESSIBLE TO A PUBLIC SEWER
Property which adjoins, abuts on or is adjacent to a public sewer or a street or highway in which a public sewer is located, but shall not include any property on which the principal occupied building is located more than 150 feet from a public sewer.
PUBLIC SEWER
Facilities (including any part of but not necessarily the entirety of a system of such facilities) operated by the Board for the collection of sanitary sewage within this Township. Such term includes lateral lines from a main street sewer to the curb or right-of-way line where such lateral lines are constructed by a sewer authority or the Board.
RECYCLING TOILET
A device in which the flushing medium is restored to a condition suitable for reuse in flushing.
RETAINING TANK/HOLDING TANK
A watertight receptacle, which receives and retains sewage and is designed and constructed to facilitate the ultimate disposal of the sewage at a location permitted to treat and dispose of sewage.
SANITARY SEWAGE
The normal, water-carried household and toilet wastes resulting from human occupancy of residences and other establishments.
SETTABLE SOLIDS
Solids that settle in an Inhoff Cone from a standard sample of wastewater pursuant to the procedures set forth in the latest edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater," published by the American Public Health Association, Inc.
SEWAGE
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 the domestic water supply or for recreation.
SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM
All facilities, as of any particular time, for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of domestic waste and/or industrial wastes, acquired, constructed, owned and operated by Skippack Township.
SKIPPACK TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
The Township of Skippack or any sewer committee or department of the Township or of the Board or any other agency operating public sewers for or at the request of the Board.
STREET LATERAL
That part of the wastewater system extending from a wastewater main, normally located in the street right-of-way, to the building wastewater system, including pressure line associated with a user installed and owned grinder pump system, serving an improved property. If there shall be no improvement on the property, the "lateral" shall mean that part of the wastewater system extending from said wastewater main to a point of future connection to the building wastewater system, if and when said property is improved.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
The total suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater or other liquids and which is removable by laboratory filtering pursuant to the procedures set forth in the latest edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater," published by the American Public Health Association, Inc.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of Skippack, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, acting by and through its Board or, in appropriate cases, acting by and through its authorized representatives.
WASTEWATER
The liquid- and water-carried industrial, nondomestic and domestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities and institutions, whether treated or untreated, which discharge directly or indirectly into the wastewater system.
WASTEWATER MAIN
Any pipe or conduit constituting part of the wastewater system used or usable for wastewater collection purposes.
WASTEWATER SYSTEM
All street laterals, wastewater mains and transmission facilities, including pumping facilities at any particular time, acquired, constructed, operated and/or owned by Skippack Township.
Upon the completion of any public sewer, the Board charged with the operation thereof shall cause notice of that fact to be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township, such notice to state that the owners of property accessible to such sewer and upon which there is an occupied building are compelled to make connection therewith, pursuant to this article. The notice shall specify that such connection shall be made within 60 days from the date such notice is given. A copy of such notice, together with a copy of this article and any ordinance then in effect imposing sewer connection fees and sewer rents, shall be mailed to each person, or be delivered by such other method as at that time may be provided by law, known to the Board to own property accessible to such sewer, but failure to mail such copies or a defect in the mailed copies or defect in the mailing thereof shall not affect the validity of the notice.
A. 
Any person owning property accessible to a public sewer on which there is an occupied building shall, at his/her own expense, install sanitary facilities in such building and connect the same to the public sewer within 60 days after publication of the notice of completion of the sewer specified in § 152-2.
B. 
Any person owning property accessible to a public sewer on which an occupied building is hereafter erected shall, at the time of erection and at his/her expense, install sanitary facilities in such building and connect the same to the public sewer.
C. 
Persons owning properties accessible to a public sewer on which there are occupied buildings more than 150 feet from such sewer and persons owning properties not accessible to a public sewer who are nevertheless able to arrange for connections thereto through intermediate properties shall be permitted to make such connections.
D. 
All industrial property and all commercial property connecting after the effective date of this section may be required to install a meter to measure water usage and shall be subject to the rates computed on the basis of water usage as set forth in Article III, as amended.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, each improved property shall be connected separately and independently with a sewer through a building sewer. Grouping of more than one improved property on one building sewer shall not be permitted, except under special circumstances and for good sanitary reasons or other good cause shown, and then only after special permission of this Township, in writing, shall have been secured and subject to such rules, regulations and conditions as may be prescribed by this Township.
All sanitary sewage and industrial wastes from any improved property, after connection of such improved property with a sewer as required under § 152-2, shall be conducted into the sewer, subject to such limitations and restrictions as shall be established herein or as otherwise shall be established by this Township, from time to time.
A. 
No person shall place or deposit or permit to be placed or deposited upon public or private property within this Township any sanitary sewage or industrial wastes in violation of § 152-34.
B. 
No person shall discharge or permit to be discharged to any natural outlet within this Township any sanitary sewage or industrial wastes in violation of § 152-33, except where suitable treatment has been provided which is satisfactory to this Township.
No privy vault, cesspool, sinkhole, septic tank or similar receptacle at any time shall be connected with a sewer.
It shall be unlawful for any person owning or occupying a property on which there is a building required to be connected to a public sewer under the provisions of § 152-3 hereof to construct or use on such property any privy, privy vault, cesspool, septic tank or other device for the disposal of sanitary sewage, and any such prohibited devices shall be cleaned and filled in with clean bank-run gravel or dirt within 30 days following the date on which the aforesaid connection is required to be made. Any such privy, privy vault, cesspool, septic tank or other device constructed or used in violation hereof is hereby declared to be a nuisance which shall be abated as provided by law, at the expense of the owner of such improved property.
No person shall uncover, connect with, make any opening into or use, alter or disturb, in any manner, any sewer or the sewer system without first making application for and securing a permit, in writing, from this Township.
Application for a permit required under § 152-11 shall be made by the owner of the improved property to be served or his duly authorized agent.
A. 
No person shall make or cause to be made a connection of any improved property with any public sewer, make any connections with or openings into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof, until such person shall have fulfilled each of the following conditions:
(1) 
Such person shall have notified the Secretary of this Township of the desire and intention to connect such improved property to a sewer.
(2) 
Such person shall have applied for and obtained a permit issued by the Board pursuant to § 152-9.
(3) 
Such person shall have given the Township Secretary at least 48 hours' notice of the time when such connection will be made so that this Township may supervise and inspect the work of connection and necessary testing.
(4) 
Such person shall have furnished satisfactory evidence to the Township Secretary that any tapping fee charged and imposed by the Board against the owner of each improved property who connects such improved property to a sewer has been paid.
B. 
No such sewer connection permit shall be valid after the expiration of one year from the time of its issuance. As to permits outstanding on the effective date of this subsection, such one-year period shall commence to run upon said effective date. After the expiration of the permit by virtue of the operation of this subsection, the property with respect to which it was issued shall be in a status as if it had never been applied for, and such expired permit shall have no validity whatsoever.
All costs and expenses of construction of a building sewer and all costs and expenses of connection of a building sewer to a sewer shall be borne by the owner of the improved property to be connected; and such owner shall indemnify and save harmless this Township and the Board from all loss or damage that may be occasioned, directly or indirectly, as a result of construction of a building sewer or of connection of a building sewer to a sewer.
A. 
A building sewer shall be connected to a sewer at the place designated by this Township or the Board and where the lateral is provided.
B. 
The invert of a building sewer at the point of connection shall be the same or a higher elevation than the invert of the sewer. A smooth, neat joint shall be made and the connection of a building sewer to the lateral shall be made secure and watertight.
If any person required to make a connection to a public sewer by § 152-3 hereof fails to do so after reasonable notice and opportunity, the Board may proceed as permitted by law and as required by § 152-24 to enter upon the property and make such connection. In such case, this Township shall forthwith, upon completion of the work, send an itemized bill of the cost of the construction of such connection to the owner of the improved property to which connection has been so made, which bill shall be payable forthwith. In case of neglect or refusal by the owner of such improved property to pay said bill, this Township shall file a municipal lien for said construction within six months of the date of the completion of the construction of said connection, the same to be subject in all respects to the general law provided for the filing and recovery of municipal liens.
No unauthorized person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is a part of the sewage works. Any person violating this provision shall be subject to immediate arrest under any and all criminal charges applicable under Title 18.
Only employees of Skippack Township or the Board, sewer contractors authorized by the Board or plumbing contractors licensed by Skippack Township are permitted to do work on or near any sewer pipes, interceptors or sewer mains situate within Skippack Township, including but not limited to the making of sewer connections and/or repairs. All work related to sewer connections and/or repairs shall be done in the presence of the Township authorized agent. No sewer connections and/or repairs shall be done unless the Township authorized agent has been given reasonable notice thereof and is present at the time of the connection and/or repair.
Each property owner shall be responsible for maintenance and repair of any and all laterals partially or fully located on the property of the owner from the building to the curbline or edge of paved roadway of the property.