[Adopted 2-15-1973 by Ord. No. 21573]
All sewers and branches thereof for the disposal of sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes within the Township at any time heretofore and hereafter constructed or otherwise acquired by the Township and/or any municipal authority the Township may cause to be created for such purposes are hereby declared to be, for the purposes of this article and the subject matter hereof, a common system of sanitary sewers for the Township and are hereinafter called the "sewer system."
The owner or owners of each property accessible to and whose principal building heretofore and/or hereafter constructed is within 150 feet of the sewer system shall connect therewith at any time within 60 days after notice to make such connection is served on such owner or owners by the Township Supervisors either by personal service or by registered mail. The terms "to connect," the "connection" and the "sewer connection," as used herein, shall mean the extension of the sanitary sewerage and/or industrial wastes drainage system of the building or premises to the Y's or T's or extensions thereof forming a part of the sewer system.
In case any property owner or owners of such building or premises shall neglect or refuse to connect with the sewer system within the sixty-day period immediately following service of the notice to connect with the sewer system, the Township Supervisors or their agents may enter upon such property and construct such sewer connection. Upon construction of such sewer connection by the Township Supervisors or their agents, the Township Supervisors shall send an itemized bill of costs of the construction of such sewer connection to the owner or owners of such property, which bill shall be payable forthwith. In case the owner or owners neglect or refuse to pay such bill of costs, the Township Supervisors may file a municipal lien for the costs of said construction within six months after the completion of the construction of such sewer connection, as provided by law, or the Township Supervisors may pursue any other legal or equitable remedy available to them to collect such bill of costs.
No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter or disturb the sewer system without first obtaining a written sewer connection permit. Owners of premises desiring or required to connect with the sewer system shall first make application therefor in writing to the Township or its duly appointed agent for such purposes, who upon approval of the application shall refer it to the Township Secretary.
If the owner of the premises will have to connect with the sewer system by means other than through an existing Y or T on the sewer system and extension thereof to the curbline or cartway line of the road or street, the Township Secretary, upon receipt of the approved application, shall prepare and deliver to the applicant a form of bond, payable to the Township in the amount the Township shall determine from time to time but not less than $1,000, with sufficient corporate sureties, to indemnify the Township against all damages for injury to the sewer system; to replace in good condition any curbing, pavement or earth disturbed; to indemnify and save harmless the Township for five years from the completion of the work, from such repairs, costs and expenses, all damages, injuries and such actions and suits as are caused or occasioned by defective materials and workmanship, and from all damages from any accident and from all costs and attorney's fees incurred by reason of any matter or thing done, committed or omitted by such owner, his agents or employees under such permit; and to comply in all respects with the ordinances, rules and regulations of the Township now in force or hereafter to be passed. Upon receipt by the Township Secretary of the bond duly executed, he/she shall submit the bond to the Township or its duly appointed agent for such purpose for approval.
Upon the return to the Township Secretary of the bond approved by the Township or its duly appointed agent for such purpose, in all cases where a bond is required as above provided, and upon payment of the sewer connection charge hereinafter provided, the Township Secretary shall issue a sewer connection permit authorizing the applicant to connect the premises with the sewer system.
[Amended 3-13-1975 by Ord. No. 31375; 10-13-1977 by Ord. No. 101377; 4-12-1979 by Ord. No. 41279; 1-14-1982 by Ord. No. 11482; 9-23-1985 by Ord. No. 92385[1]]
A. 
There is hereby imposed upon the owners of all properties connecting to the sanitary sewer system a service connection fee as follows:
(1) 
Residential property.
(a) 
Single-family dwellings: the sum of $650 per dwelling unit.
(b) 
Multifamily dwellings: the sum of $650 per dwelling unit contained within that building.
(c) 
Mobile homes and house trailers: the sum of $650 for each.
(d) 
Each separate building shall be considered an independent entity for application of the connection fee outlined hereunder.
(e) 
Miscellaneous residential uses. The connection charge for miscellaneous uses other than those listed above, such as hotels, motels and rooming houses, shall be based on flow estimates prepared by the Engineer of the Unity Township Municipal Authority and shall be based on the standards set forth in 25 Pa. Code § 73.17(a) or any successor section and calculated as follows: The total flow estimate as determined by the Engineer shall be divided by 350 gallons per day to equal the number of equivalent dwelling units (EDUs) (to the nearest 1/2 multiple). The connection fee shall be $650 times the number of projected EDUs.
[Amended 4-25-1988 by Ord. No. O-3-88]
(2) 
Nonresidential uses. The connection charge shall be based on flow estimates prepared by the Engineer of the Unity Township Municipal Authority and shall be based on the standards set forth in 25 Pa. Code § 73.17(b) or any successor section and calculated as follows: The total flow estimate as determined by the Engineer shall be divided by 350 gallons per day to equal the number of EDUs (to the nearest 1/2 multiple). The connection fee shall be $650 times the number of projected EDUs.
[Amended 4-25-1988 by Ord. No. O-3-88]
(3) 
Mixed residential and nonresidential uses. The connection fee shall be $650 per dwelling unit for the residential uses plus $650 times the number of projected EDUs as calculated for the nonresidential uses under the formula set forth above for nonresidential uses.
B. 
Customers served by other municipalities or sewer authorities. In the event of connection by a customer to any portion of the sanitary sewer system that is subject to a service agreement between the Unity Township Municipal Authority and any other municipality or sewer authority and in which service agreement there is a provision for the payment by the Unity Township Municipal Authority to the municipality or sewer authority of a connection charge resulting from the customer's connection, then the connection fee for the customer shall be the connection fee otherwise due and payable under Subsection A(1), (2) or (3) listed above and an additional sum equal to the amount of the connection charge payable by the Unity Township Municipal Authority to the municipality or sewer authority.
C. 
In the event that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources adopts successor standards to those set forth in 25 Pa. Code § 73.17, said successor standards shall be due and binding hereunder.
D. 
In the event that the proposed use is different from those uses set forth in 25 Pa. Code § 73.17 or different from any other standards set by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources, then the flow estimates for the proposed use shall be determined by the Engineer of the Unity Township Municipal Authority based on known engineering data.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided that the fee schedule should take effect immediately upon passage of the ordinance, provided that any permits issued prior to the date of the ordinance should be valid and binding, provided that actual connection was made to the sanitary sewer system for which the permit was issued on or before one year from the date of the ordinance.
[Added 1-14-1982 by Ord. No. 11482; amended 9-23-1985 by Ord. No. 92385]
Of the amount due and payable under § 96-10 above, 46% of that amount shall be considered as payment on account of administration expense incurred by the Authority, and the balance shall be considered moneys due and payable on account of the connection fee contemplated under that certain trust indenture between the Unity Township Municipal Authority and Mellon Bank, N.A., as trustee, dated May 1, 1978.
All costs and expenses incident to the installation of the sewer connection and connection of the premises with the sewer system shall be borne by the owner or owners of the premises. The owner or owners shall indemnify and save harmless the Township from any loss or damage directly or indirectly caused by or arising out of such installation and connection.
A separate sewer connection shall be provided for every principal building, except that when a building stands at the rear of another and no separate connection to the sewer system can be made through an adjoining alley, court, yard or driveway, the sewer connection from the front building may be extended to the rear building upon written approval of the Township or its duly appointed agent for such purpose.
All sewer connections, materials therefor, jointing materials and methods used shall at all times be subject to the direction, supervision and approval of the Township or its duly appointed agent for such purpose.
The size and slope of the sewer connection shall be subject to the approval of the Township or its duly appointed agent for such purposes, but in no event shall the diameter be less than four inches nor shall the slope of such four-inch pipe be less than 1/8 of an inch per foot. The invert of the sewer connection at the point of connection with the building or premises shall be at the same elevation as or at a higher elevation than the invert at the point of connection with the sewer system.
No person or person shall connect with the sewer system other than through, by or into Y's or T's in the sewer system without a special sewer connection permit and the designation of the location of the Y's and T's by the Township or its duly appointed agent for such purpose. No person shall drill into or tap any of the sewer system without written permission from the Township or its duly appointed agent for such purpose.
The owner or owners holding sewer connection permits shall notify the Township Secretary when the sewer connection is ready for inspection and connection with the sewer system. In no case shall backfill be placed until such inspection has been made.
All excavations for sewer connections shall be adequately guarded with barricades and lights to protect the public from hazards. All streets, sidewalks and public property disturbed in the course of making a sewer connection shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the Township or its duly appointed agent for such purpose.
[Amended 4-25-1988 by Ord. No. O-3-88]
After 60 days have elapsed since the owner or owners received notice to connect with the sewer system as above provided, the owner or owners shall forthwith abandon all privies, cesspools, sinkholes, septic tanks and other receptacles on the premises for receiving sewage and/or industrial wastes, and at no time thereafter shall erect, construct, use or maintain any pipe, conduit, drain or other facility for the discharge of sewage and/or industrial wastes except into the sewer system, and all privy vaults or cesspools or similar receptacles for human excrement shall be cleansed and filled under the direction of the Township or its duly appointed agent for such purpose and no connection shall be permitted from any privy vault or cesspool to the sewer system.
[Amended 4-21-1989 by Ord. No. O-2-89]
No owner, tenant, user, contractor or any person, corporation or entity shall discharge or permit the discharge of any of the following into any portion or portions of the public sanitary sewerage system (hereinafter "sewer system") within the Township:
A. 
Stormwater, surface water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, including, but not limited to, private lateral line infiltration and inflow, cooling water or unpolluted industrial process waters or waste from any source, including, but not limited to, infiltration in excess of 200 gallons per inch diameter of sanitary sewer collection pipe, per mile, per day; or inflow from any source.
[Amended 8-11-2016 by Ord. No. O-2-2016]
(1) 
Sanitary sewer lateral line testing/inspection.
(a) 
Designation of authority. The Unity Township Municipal Authority, its agents, workmen, designees and assigns (hereafter the "Authority") are hereby granted all rights, duties, powers necessary to administer and enforce the terms of this section on behalf of the Township of Unity, including, but not limited to, the promulgation of reasonable rules and regulations for same. Any rules and regulations promulgated by the Authority for the administration and/or enforcement of this section, including any amendments thereto, shall be and are incorporated herein by reference thereto as if they were specifically set forth herein.
(b) 
Request for certification. At least 20 days prior to the date of sale, transfer, assignment, mortgage and/or hypothecation of any property referenced in Subsection A(1)(a) above, a formal request must be made to the Authority to seek and determine compliance with this article and the Authority resolutions, rules and regulations.
(c) 
Inspection/test administration (pass/fail). Authority personnel, or a contracted agent(s) of the Authority, will perform all inspections and tests necessary to carry out the purpose of this section.
(d) 
Time of repair/replacement. The identified source of possible infiltration and inflow must be repaired or replaced as directed by the Authority within 60 days of property owner/representative receiving written notice.
(e) 
Inspection procedures. Inspection procedures will be in accordance with the requirements set forth in the Authority's resolutions, rules and regulations.
(f) 
Fees/costs. Fees and costs for the above inspection and testing services are established by the Authority through resolution which may be amended from time to time.
(g) 
Remedy and enforcement. Failure of any property owner, assignee, transferee or purchaser to comply with this article and/or the Authority resolutions, rules and regulations shall be a violation of this article and any such Authority rules and regulations. The Authority, its employees and agents, are hereby authorized and empowered to act on behalf of the Township of Unity to initiate and pursue any legal or equitable remedies available under the Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Act, including, but not limited to, 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 5607(d)(17), as well as any remedy available to the Township under the Second Class Township Code or otherwise, to enforce the terms of this section and/or the Authority resolutions, rules and regulations relating to same. The Authority may, by resolution, impose fines and/or penalties for any violation of this section.
(h) 
Appeals. The Authority may from time to time implement an appeal process regarding enforcement under this section.
(i) 
Occupancy permits. No property subject to testing under this section shall be eligible to request or receive an occupancy permit from the Township unless the owner of same produces a certificate issued by the Authority that the property has been tested and is in compliance with those rules and regulations of the Authority associated with same.
B. 
Garbage, unless the garbage is first properly shredded and will be carried freely under flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers with no particle greater than 1/2 inch in any dimension.
C. 
Wastes containing any gasoline, naphtha, fuel oil or other liquids, solids or gases which by reason of their nature or quality may cause fire or explosion or be in any other way injurious to persons or to the structures of the sewer system or to its operation.
D. 
Wastes having a temperature in excess of 150° F. or less than 32° F.
E. 
Wastes having a pH lower than 6.5 or higher than 9.0 or having any corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazards to structures, equipment or personnel of the sewer system.
F. 
Wastes containing any noxious or malodorous gas or substance which either singly or by interaction with sewage or other wastes is likely, under the rules and regulations of the Unity Township Municipal Authority, to create a public nuisance or hazard to life, or prevent entry to sewers for their maintenance and repair.
G. 
Wastes, containing ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, hair, chemical or paint residues, greases, paunch manure, cotton, wool, plastic or other fibers, lime slurry or any other solid or viscous material of such character or in such quantity as may cause an obstruction to the flow in sewers or otherwise interfere with the proper operation of the sewer system.
H. 
Wastes containing insoluble, nonflocculent substances having a specific gravity in excess of 2.65.
I. 
Wastes containing soluble substances in such concentration as to cause the specific gravity of the waste to be greater than 1.1.
J. 
Wastes containing chemical substances.
(1) 
Wastes containing any of the following substances in concentration exceeding those shown in the following table as measured by an acceptable method:
Substances
Concentration
(mg/l)
Phenolic compounds as C
1
Cyanides as CN
0
Cyanates as CNO
0
Iron as Fe
7
Trivalent Chromium as Cr+3
1
Hexavalent Chromium as Cr+6
0.05
Nickel as Ni
1
Copper as Cu
0.5
Lead as Pb
0.5
Zinc as Zn
0.5
(2) 
Wastes containing other chemical or other matter detrimental to the operation of a sewage treatment plant or sanitary sewers causing erosion, corrosion or deterioration in sewers, equipment and structures of a sewage treatment plant.
K. 
Wastes containing more than 100 milligrams per liter by weight of tar, fat, oil or grease.
L. 
Wastes containing more than 10 milligrams per liter of any of the following gases: hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide or any of the halogens.
M. 
Wastes containing a toxic or poisonous substance, in a sufficient quantity to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals or create any hazard in the sewer system, and such toxic wastes shall include but shall not be limited to wastes containing cyanide, chromium and/or copper ions.
N. 
Any waste containing a toxic substance in quantities sufficient to interfere with the biochemical processes of the sewage treatment works or that will pass through the sewage treatment works and exceed the state and/or federal requirements in respect thereto.
O. 
Any waste containing toxic radioactive isotopes.
P. 
Any waste containing the effluent from a privy, septic tank, sinkhole or cesspool, or other receptacle for receiving and holding sanitary sewage for an extended period of time, before discharge to the sewer system.
Q. 
Any waste which hereafter is designated as unacceptable by reason of rules and regulations imposed upon the Unity Township Municipal Authority by any state or federal agency, or which the engineer of the Unity Township Municipal Authority recommends as unacceptable.
[Amended 3-13-1975 by Ord. No. 31375]
Wherever applications for permits, payments of fees or the issuance of permits or the filing of a bond are required under this article, the proper agency for handling the transaction shall be the Unity Township Municipal Authority at its general office or an agent to be hereafter designated by resolution by the said Unity Township Municipal Authority.
The Unity Township Municipal Authority is hereby designated by the Unity Township Board of Supervisors as its exclusive agency for the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this article.
[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.