[Adopted 12-8-1998 by Ord. No. 125[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Art. I, Holding Tanks, adopted 9-3-1974 by Ord. No. 17, as
amended.
This article shall be known as the "Holding
Tank Ordinance."
A.
The purpose of this article is to establish procedures
for the use and maintenance of new and existing holding tanks designed
to receive and retain sewage, whether from residential, industrial
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 this township.
B.
It is hereby further stated that the purpose of this
article is to limit the use and installation of holding tanks in Brecknock
Township to improved properties of any use on which there is a malfunctioning
sewage disposal system and it has been determined by the Township
Sewage Enforcement Officer that no other alternative exists to correct
the malfunction that would be in accordance with applicable PADEP
regulations. It is expressly the intent of this article that all reasonable
alternatives that conform to PADEP regulations be considered and eliminated
prior to the installation of a holding tank to abate a malfunction.
C.
It is also the purpose of this article that no holding
tank be installed or considered as the means of sewage disposal, regardless
of projected sewage output, for a proposed residential, commercial
or industrial use. However, in the event that the proposed use will
have definite access to municipal facilities in five or fewer years,
the property owner may install and maintain a holding tank in accordance
with this article and all other applicable regulations.
D.
It is hereby stated that nothing in this article shall
preclude the township or its appointed representatives, from ordering
the installation or use of a holding tank to protect the health, safety
and welfare of the inhabitants of the township.
Unless the context specifically and clearly
indicates otherwise, the meanings of terms used in this article shall
be as follows:
Any property within the township upon which there is erected
a structure intended for continuous or periodic habitation, occupancy
or use by human beings or animals, whether residential or commercial
and from which structure sewage or waste meeting the definition of
industrial waste shall or may be discharged.
Liquid, gaseous, radioactive, solid or other substance, which
is not sewage, resulting from manufacturing or industry or other plant
or works and mine drainage, silt, coal mine solids, rock debris, dirt
and clay from coal mines, coal collieries, breakers or other coal
processing operations. The term includes substances whether or not
generally characterized as waste.
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any property located in the township.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
or applicable governing body.
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation
or other group or entity.
A watertight receptacle which receives and retains sewage
and is designed and constructed to facilitate ultimate disposal of
the. sewage at another site. The term includes, but is not limited
to, the following.
CHEMICAL TOILET- A permanent or portable nonflushing toilet using chemical treatment in the retaining tank for odor control.
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.
HOLDING TANK-A watertight receptacle which receives and retains sewage conveyed by a water-carrying system and is designed and constructed to facilitate the ultimate disposal of the sewage at another site.
INCINERATING TOILET-A device capable of reducing waste materials to ashes.
PRIVY-A tank designed to receive sewage where water under pressure is not available.
RECYCLING TOILET- A device in which the flushing medium is restored to a condition suitable for reuse in flushing.
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, to animal or aquatic life or to the use of water
for domestic water supply or for recreation.
A person or agency appointed by the township to perform inspections
and issue permits for individual sewage systems and community sewerage
systems.
The Township of Brecknock, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
The township, through its Sewage Enforcement
Officer, is hereby authorized and empowered to undertake within the
township the control and methods of holding tank sewage disposal and
the collection and transportation thereof.
A.
The township is hereby authorized and empowered to
adopt such rules and regulations concerning sewage which it may deem
necessary from time to time to effect the purposes of this article.
B.
Conformity with applicable law. 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.
The township shall have the right and power
to fix, alter, charge and collect rates, assessments and other charges
within such municipality at reasonable and uniform rates as authorized
by applicable law. The property owner shall be responsible for payment
of a yearly inspection fee intended to reimburse the township for
the cost of the annual inspection.
A.
The collection and transportation of all sewage from
any improved property utilizing a holding tank shall be approved by,
done solely by or done under the direction and control of the township,
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.
B.
The township will receive, review and retain pumping
receipts from permitted holding tanks on a quarterly basis.
C.
The township will complete and retain annual inspection
reports for each permitted tank.
The owner of an improved property that utilizes
a holding tank shall:
A.
Maintain the holding tank in conformance with this
article or any 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.
B.
Permit only the township, anyone acting under the
direction of the township, or anyone approved by the township, to
collect, transport and dispose of the contents therein.
C.
Permit only the township or its agents to inspect
holding tanks on an annual basis.
D.
Provide the township, through it Sewage Enforcement
Officer, receipts of all pumpings on a quarterly basis.
E.
Enter into a holding tank maintenance agreement with
the township and deposit to the township the sum of $500 for every
2,000 gallons of holding tank capacity. This sum will be held by the
township in a separate account for the purposes of reimbursement to
the township of any costs incurred by it for the pumping and disposal
of the holding tank and its contents, the repair or correction of
a malfunction of the holding tank system, or the alleviation of any
health hazards caused by the utilization of the holding tank on the
property for which the funds have been escrowed. The township may
draw on these funds whenever deemed necessary in the aforementioned
situations without the owner's consent. It will be the immediate responsibility
of the owner to replenish the account after any draw down has occurred.
A.
Any lawfully issued permit for the use of a holding
tank on a property within Brecknock Township may be transferred to
a new property owner, provided that the new property owner enters
into the required maintenance agreement with the township and deposits
the required escrow sum with the township. Upon presentation of adequate
proof of transfer of ownership, and the deposit of escrow funds by
the purchaser, the unused portion of the sum escrowed by the former
owner shall be returned to him/her.
B.
Any transfer of permit must be completed in accordance
with current PADEP regulations or the regulations of the applicable
governing body.
C.
Any sales agreement for a property serviced by a holding
tank in Brecknock Township shall contain language advising the perspective
buyer that the means of sewage disposal for the property is a holding
tank, the average quarterly costs of maintaining the holding tank
as experienced by the seller, the requirement that the buyer enter
into a maintenance agreement with the township, and the requirement
that the buyer escrow funds with the township as well as the amount.
A copy of the sales agreement, bearing the signatures of the seller
and buyer, shall be furnished to the township upon signing by the
last party.
D.
Failure of the seller or buyer of a property to comply
with any of the requirements of this section shall be deemed a violation
of this article and shall be subject to any penalties stipulated herein.
Any person who violates any provisions of this
article shall, upon conviction thereof by summary proceedings, be
sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000,
plus costs of prosecution, and, in default of said fine and costs,
shall undergo imprisonment in the county prison for a period not in
excess of 30 days.
In addition to any other remedies provided in this article, any violations of § 86-8 above shall constitute a nuisance and may be abated by the municipality by either seeking appropriate equitable or legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.
All ordinances or resolutions or parts of ordinances
or resolutions which are inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.
Any person aggrieved by the action of the Township
Sewage Enforcement Officer in regards to the enforcement of this article
may file an appeal with the Township Board of Supervisors within 30
days of the date of the occurrence of said action. Any such appeal
shall be in writing and shall be accompanied by the applicable fee
as adopted by resolution of the Board of Supervisors for the current
year.
If any sentence, clause, section or part of
this article is for any reason found to be unconstitutional, illegal
or invalid, such unconstitutionality, illegality or invalidity shall
not effect or impair any of the remaining provisions, sentences, clauses,
sections or parts of this article. It is hereby declared to be the
intent of the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Brecknock that
this article would have been adopted had such unconstitutional, illegal
or invalid sentence, clause, section or part thereof not been included
therein.
This article shall become effective five days
after its adoption, as provided by law.
