City Code, ExplainedBetaPardon our dust while we build this out — expect some changes along the way.

This chapter governs connections to the public sewer system, use of sewers, and prohibits improper waste disposal methods like septic tanks once a sewer is available. It also sets permit requirements and fees for individual/community sewage disposal systems where no public sewer connection applies.

Who this affects

Owners of "improved property" (any property with a structure that discharges or may discharge sanitary sewage or industrial wastes) within the City must connect to available sewers and pay for construction, connection, and any resulting damage. Anyone installing or repairing an individual or community sewage disposal system (e.g., septic system) must obtain a permit and pay associated fees.

Key rules

• Owners of improved property benefited by a sewer must connect to it within 45 days of notice from the City (§ 180-2).
• After connection, all sanitary sewage and industrial wastes must be conducted into the sewer (§ 180-3).
• No person may place, deposit, or discharge sanitary sewage or industrial wastes onto property or into a natural outlet in violation of § 180-2, except where suitable treatment satisfactory to the City has been provided (§ 180-4).
• Privy vaults, cesspools, sinkholes, septic tanks, or similar receptacles may not be used or maintained on property connected (or required to be connected) to a sewer, and existing ones must be abandoned, cleansed, and filled at the owner's expense; failure to do so constitutes a nuisance (§ 180-5).
• Septic tanks and similar receptacles may never be connected to a sewer (§ 180-6).
• Each improved property must be connected separately and independently to a sewer through its own building sewer; grouping multiple properties on one building sewer requires special written permission from the City and the Authority (§ 180-8).
• The owner bears all costs of building sewer construction and connection, including testing, and must indemnify the City and Authority from resulting loss or damage (§ 180-9).
• Building sewer connections must be made at the place designated by the Authority, with the invert at the same or higher elevation than the sewer's invert, and joints made secure and watertight (§ 180-10).
• If an owner fails to connect after 45 days' notice, the City may make the connection itself and recover costs via municipal claim or legal action (§ 180-11).
• No building sewer may be covered until inspected and approved by the City and Sewer Authority; if covered early, it must be uncovered for inspection at the owner's expense (§ 180-13A).
• The City or Sewer Authority has the right to enter sites or buildings to take samples or perform inspections for compliance with state, federal, and local law, and owners must cooperate (§ 180-13B, C).
• Owners must maintain their building sewer in a sanitary and safe operating condition (§ 180-14).
• Excavations for building sewers must be guarded with barricades and lights, and disturbed streets, sidewalks, and public property must be restored at the owner's expense (§ 180-15).
• If unsatisfactory conditions with a building sewer aren't remedied within 45 days of notice, the City or Sewer Authority may refuse to permit further discharge into the sewer system (§ 180-16).
• Dry weather overflows, construction of new combined sewers, inflow sources into sanitary sewers tributary to the combined system, and motor oil/excessive grease entering the sewer system are all prohibited (§ 180-19A).
• Where stormwater and sewage have been separated per state/federal directives, owners must disconnect or separate stormwater drainage from the sewer connection as directed (§ 180-19B).
• No person may install an individual or community sewage disposal system, build a structure requiring one, or repair one without a permit showing compliance with the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (Act 537) (§ 180-22).
• Specific permit fees apply depending on system type (e.g., $800 total for standard single-family site investigation, testing, and design review/inspection; $930 for pressure-dosed systems; $966 for elevated sand trenches/alternate beds; $346 for holding tanks), plus additional charges for resubmission, callbacks, transfers, complaints, and hourly rates for commercial/multifamily work (§ 180-23).
• A minimum $180 fee and a completed PADEP application must accompany all applications, paid by certified check, money order, or equivalent to the Sewage Enforcement Officer (§ 180-23K).
• Applicants must provide their own backhoe and operator for digging test pits and percolation holes, ensure site accessibility for two-wheel-drive vehicles within 50 feet, and supply a minimum of 50 gallons of water per percolation test site (§ 180-23L).
• All fees must be paid in full before permits or test results are released (§ 180-23M).

Penalties

Violations of Article I (sewer connections, use, and enforcement) subject a person to "penalties as prescribed by state and federal law, including, but not limited to, equitable or injunctive relief as well as civil penalties, fees and costs as provided by local, state or federal law" (§ 180-18, § 180-21). Violations of Article II (individual sewage disposal systems) carry a fine of not more than $600 plus costs of prosecution, or, in default of payment, commitment to the county jail for not more than 90 days (§ 180-25).

Notable and archaic details

• Failure to abandon an old septic tank, cesspool, or privy vault after sewer connection is explicitly declared a legal "nuisance" that the City may abate at the owner's expense (§ 180-5).
• The chapter requires applicants for sewage disposal permits to personally supply a backhoe and operator and at least 50 gallons of water for testing — an unusually specific practical burden placed on the applicant (§ 180-23L).