110-1. Title. 110-6. System rehabilitation. 110-2. Purpose. 110-7. Liability. 110-3. Definitions. 110-8. Conflict with other 110-4. Applicability. regulations. 110-5. Applicable standards for sewage 110-9. Central sewage system. permits and operation of systems. 110-10. Appeal. 110-11. Violations. HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Paradise at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I). Amendments noted where applicable. (Revised 05/20/02, Ordinance No. 131; Revised 03/01/11, Ordinance No. 187) GENERAL REFERENCES Floodplain management -- See Ch. 65. Mobile homes -- See Ch. 80. Subdivision and land development -- See Ch. 131. Zoning -- See Ch. 160. 110-1. Title. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Paradise Township Sewage Ordinance." 110-2. Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to establish standards for the design and construction of Sewage Facilities; the submittal of permit applications relating to the same; the requirements of reports of Community Sewage Systems; and the issuance of permits in the enforcement of the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (35 P.S. ~~ 750.1 through 750.20) and any amendments thereto. 110-3. Definitions. Except as defined in this Code (see Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, Definitions), all words shall carry the customary meaning. 110-4. Applicability. 110-5 11001
A. This chapter shall apply to all Sewage Facilities which have not been permitted prior to the enactment of this chapter. B. This chapter shall also apply to all reconstruction, repair, expansion and other changes to existing Sewage Facilities which have not been permitted prior to the enactment of this chapter. 110-5. Applicable standards for all Sewage Facilities. A. Any sewage facility may be investigated for violation of the Sewage Facilities Act or this ordinance by any authorized agent of the Township or Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) at any reasonable time. B. No zoning permit, occupancy permit or change of use permit shall be issued by the municipality or its Zoning Officer for a building which will contain sewage generating facilities until approval has been obtained from the municipality's certified sewage enforcement officer. C. The owner of any Sewage Facility must own or have controlling easement rights to the land on which the Sewage Facilities are constructed and own or have controlling easement rights for any required setback, buffer or replacement effluent disposal area. D. Prior to Subdivision and/or Land Development Plan approval, and/or approval to increase wastewater disposal for any existing land use, when such Subdivision, Land Development or land use will rely on sewage disposal by way of land application of treated wastewater, by any means, including drain field and/or drip or spray irrigation, the applicant must test the soil suitability for land application and confirm, to the satisfaction of the Township, that sufficient area is designated for a primary effluent disposal area and one (1) full replacement area, and that such areas have been designated on the Subdivision and/or Land Development Plan submissions or otherwise protected from use or disturbance in compliance with 131-28 of the Subdivision and Land Development Chapter and 160-12(A)(15.A) of Zoning. Except however, the Applicant for construction of a single-family detached home on an existing subdivided lot shall only be required to provide confirmation of suitable soils for a primary effluent disposal area, in accordance with Chapter 73 of the Pennsylvania DEP Regulations. E. If the owner and/or applicant of an individual a Sewage Facility intends to increase the flow of sewage, the applicant must provide a report showing the existing capacity of the system and sewer lines, the projected increase in sewage flow and any other documentation or analysis requested by the Township to ensure that the existing facility can properly treat and discharge the existing and new sewage wastewater flow, and that any replacement area tested, if initially 11002
required, is also adequate to meet the needs of the expanded or increased use. This report shall be prepared and certified by an Engineer registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and verified by the owner of the Sewage Facilities as being acceptable to the owner of the Sewage Facilities. Except however, the Applicant for expansion of a system to serve a single-family detached home on an existing subdivided lot shall only be required to provide confirmation of suitable soils for the primary effluent disposal area, in accordance with Chapter 73 of the Pennsylvania DEP Regulations. F. Prior to the Township approval for any Sewage Facility, or parts thereof, that will provide sewage conveyance and/or treatment and/or disposal of any wastewater flow generated by development in a Municipality other than Paradise Township, the Municipality in which the flow is generated and Paradise Township shall enter into an Intermunicipal Agreement. This Intermunicipal Agreement shall delineate the responsibility of the Municipality generating the need for the Sewage Facilities in the event that the Sewage Facilities in Paradise Township are not properly constructed and/or not properly operated and maintained and the responsibility of that Municipality in the event of a Sewage Facilities malfunction or in the event that the wastewater or treated effluent causes a pollution event, permit violation or property damages. G. Industrial, toxic or hazardous substances or chemicals, as defined by the US Environmental Protection Agency including but not limited to pesticides, disinfectants, acids, paints, paint thinners, heavy metals, herbicides, gasoline and other solvents, shall not be discharged into any Sewage Facility. H. Clean surface water or groundwater, including water from roof or cellar drains, springs, basement sump pumps and french drains, shall not be discharged into any Sewage Facility. I. Pipes, tanks, joints, baffles, distribution boxes, pumps, alarms and all other parts of sewage systems shall be maintained in proper working condition. J. No raw or partially treated sewage, treatment tank effluent or seepage from a subsurface absorption system shall be discharged to the surface of the ground or into waters of the Commonwealth, nor shall it be discharged, except as hereinafter provided, into any rock formation, the structure of which is not conducive to purification of water by filtration. 110-6. Applicable standards for Individual Sewage System permits and operation of systems. A. No sewage disposal absorption area and no design spray trajectory limit from a spray head, used for treated sewage effluent dispersal, shall be located within one hundred feet (100 ) of any water supply well. 11003
B. The treatment of wastewater generated outside the boundaries of the subject property is prohibited. 110-7. Applicable standards for Community Sewage Systems. A. All required state and federal permits shall be provided to the Township as a condition of approval. B. Any new Community Sewage System, or any parts thereof, must obtain an approved Act 537 Planning Module. C. The owner of a Community Sewage System must supply a copy of the draft and final National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, as well as any modifications to the permit, to the Township sewage enforcement officer. D. Prior to the construction of any Community Sewage Systems, or any parts thereof, the Applicant shall prepare and receive Municipal approval of a Major Land Development Plan in accordance with the procedures in Chapter 131, and specifically in compliance with 131-28 of Chapter 131 and 160-12(A)(15.A) of Zoning. E. Any new Community Sewage Systems, or parts thereof, that constitute a principal use of a lot shall require a Conditional Use Permit in compliance with 160-12(A)(15.A) of Zoning, reviewed and approved by the Paradise Township Board of Supervisors in accordance with the procedures in 160-29 of Zoning. F. Any Community Sewage System that serves uses outside the borders of Paradise Township shall be a Public Sewage Facility. G. Community Sewage Systems are prohibited from treating or disposing of any wastewater not generated within the community it is designed and approved to serve. H. Screening is required in compliance with 160-18. I. All earth disturbance associated with land-based wastewater disposal systems shall be set back a minimum of one hundred (100) feet from all water supply wells, wetlands, streams, ponds or lakes and property lines, with the exception of access drive(s) and solid piping associated with collection of raw sewage or distribution of treated effluent. All drip or perforated piping associated with distribution of treated effluent of land-based disposal shall meet this one hundred (100) foot setback. The design spray trajectory limit of a spray irrigation system used for disposal of treated effluent shall also meet this one hundred (100) foot setback. 11004
J. The Site Plan or Major Land Development Plan shall show the limits of land application of any wastewater or treated wastewater, and shall show location and size of all trees within that area whose trunk exceeds six (6) inches in diameter at four (4) feet above the ground. The construction of any trench distribution system, drip system, and/or spray irrigation system used for effluent disposal shall be constructed in such a way as to minimize the need for removal of any of these identified trees, and as a minimum, should be designed to preserve and protect at least fifty percent (50%) of the trees so identified. Removal of these trees, prior to Plan submission, for the purposes of avoiding this requirement shall constitute a violation of this Ordinance. Standing trees that are dead should be separately identified. The fifty percent (50%) requirement shall pertain solely to the protection of live trees. Owners of Sewage Facilities requiring protection of fifty percent (50%) of trees shall be required to provide a biannual report prepared by a qualified forest management professional, identifying the positive or negative impacts that have resulted from the operation of the Sewage Facilities. If this report indicates that the effluent from the Sewage Facilities is causing degradation of the protected trees, the report shall contain recommendations for tree protection or tree replacement, so that the degradation, if identified, is offset by vegetation improvements. In the twelve (12) months following the issuance of this report, the Owner of the Sewage Facilities shall comply with the recommendations of this forest management professional. K. Any new Community Sewage System, or any parts thereof, must comply with wellhead protection standards in 160-21(C)(10) of Zoning. Alternatively, an Applicant for a new Community Sewage System, or any parts thereof, may provide a study, prepared by a hydrogeologist registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, demonstrating, to the satisfaction of the Township, that the proposed Community Sewage System, or any parts thereof, including any/all treatment, disposal, conveyance equipment and all associated appurtenances will pose no threat to any private or public water supply well. L. Discernable odors beyond the property line associated with the handling and/or disposal of wastewater shall constitute a public nuisance and a violation of this chapter. Discernable odors beyond the property line associated with the handling and/or disposal of wastewater shall require immediate remediation by the owner and/or operator. All tanks used for equalization, wastewater treatment or sludge holding or treatment and all sludge handling facilities shall be housed or covered to provide odor control. M. A minimum of two (2) monitoring wells, designed to Pennsylvania DEP standards for identification of water quality in the first encountered water table, shall be 11005
constructed down gradient from each effluent disposal area and a minimum of one (1) such monitoring well shall be provided for each ten (10) acres of effluent disposal area for each direction of groundwater flow identified. Any/all predevelopment groundwater test results required by DEP shall be provided to the Township. If the Pennsylvania DEP Regulations require additional monitoring wells, the more restrictive requirement shall apply. The Owner of any Sewage Facility requiring monitoring wells shall provide an annual system of Operations and Maintenance Report to the Township, which report shall include the results of annual groundwater monitoring water quality tests. The water quality parameters to be tested would be identical to the parameters required by DEP and/or as modified by the DEP in the future. If the DEP does not establish parameters for testing of monitoring wells, the applicant shall provide to the Township predevelopment groundwater test results for the following parameters: E. coli bacteria Nitrates MTBEs Two (2) samples shall be tested from each monitoring well. The owner of any Sewage Facility requiring monitoring wells shall provide groundwater test results for these same parameters on an annual basis to the Township with two (2) samples tested at each monitoring well. The owner shall provide a report prepared by an Engineer registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania providing an interpretation of the results and an opinion as to whether or not any changes in the results of the groundwater testing are attributable to the utilization of property for land application of treated or untreated wastewater. Further, the report shall provide the Engineer s recommendation for mitigation of impact that he or she would recommend for protection of any downgradient wetland, pond, lake, stream or private/public water supply. Within one (1) year of the date of issuance of that report, the owner and operator shall implement the recommendations of their Engineer and provide a report from their Engineer that this mitigation work has been satisfactorily completed. Owners of any Sewage Facility discharging less than five thousand (5,000) gallons per day are exempt from this subsection (M) of 114-7 of this Ordinance. Any future expansion of any Sewage Facilities resulting in a discharge in excess of five thousand (5,000) gallons per day will require compliance with this section. 11006
N. The owner of a Community Sewage System, or any parts thereof, must supply the Township with a copy of the Discharge Monitoring Report as provided to DEP on the schedule required by DEP and any other report required by DEP or enforcement notice issued by DEP within 15 days. 110-8. Sewage Facility rehabilitation. A. A written notice of violation shall be issued to any person who is the owner of any property which is found to be served by a malfunctioning on-lot sewage disposal system. B. Upon identification by the Township Code Enforcement Officer, the Township Sewage Enforcement Officer, and/or the Township Engineer, of a violation of this Ordinance or a malfunction of any Sewage Facilities, a written notice of such violation shall be issued to the owner of the property on which such malfunction or violation is observed and, if identifiable, the owner of the Sewage Facilities. Within seven (7) days of the notification of this violation or this malfunction, the property owner and/or the owner of the Sewage Facilities shall provide a written report to the Township, identifying specific measures and schedules that they will follow to correct the violation and/or the malfunction. If the violation and/or malfunction continues to occur after sixty (60) days of the original notification, unless a longer period is approved by the Township, the property owner and owner of the Sewage Facilities shall be determined to be in violation of this Ordinance. 110-9. Liability. No responsibility or liability for the construction of any Sewage Facilities shall be deemed to be placed upon Paradise Township or any of its officers, agents or employees by virtue of the terms of this chapter or otherwise. 110-10. Conflict with other regulations. If any provision of this chapter conflicts with the provisions of any other federal or state regulations, the provision of such act or regulations shall prevail and apply. If any provision of this chapter is not in conflict with the provisions of any other federal or state regulations, but provide stricter standards than the federal or state regulations, the standards contained herein shall apply. 110-11. Appeal. All appeals shall be heard by the local agency, which is the Paradise Township Board of Supervisors. 11007
110-12. Violations. Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, upon conviction thereof in a summary proceeding, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000 and costs of prosecution or, in default of payment of such fines and costs, to undergo imprisonment of not fewer than 10 days nor more than 30 days. Each violation of any provision of this chapter and each day the same is continued shall be deemed a separate offense. For purpose of this section, the doing of any act or thing prohibited by any provision of this chapter, or the failure to do any act or thing as to which any provision of this chapter creates an affirmative duty, shall constitute a violation of this chapter, punishable as herein stated. 11008