§ 72.42. Powers and duties of local agencies.
(a) The local agency has the power and duty to:
(1) Employ or contract with sewage enforcement officers to administer section 7 of the act (35 P. S. § 750.7) and this part.
(2) Employ or contract with other technical and administrative personnel necessary to support the activities of the sewage enforcement officer.
(3) Set rates of compensation for the sewage enforcement officer and other employes necessary for the administration of the act by the local agency.
(4) Maintain offices and purchase equipment and supplies necessary for the administration of the act.
(5) Establish a schedule of fees for the processing of applications and other services provided by the local agency. This fee schedule may establish different charges for various activities and types of systems consistent with the administrative costs of reviewing applications, conducting necessary tests and investigations and supervising the installation of the system.
(6) Collect the appropriate fees as designated in the established fee schedule. The local agency shall maintain records of income, expenses and transactions of the local agency in a manner consistent with accepted accounting practices.
(7) Establish a system of receipts for monetary transactions. The receipt system shall provide to the local agency and to the applicant a record of the amount tendered to the local agency and the specific purpose of the transaction.
(8) Adopt and maintain standards and procedures for applications and permits for individual and community onlot sewage systems identical to those of the Department, as contained in this part.
(9) Adopt and maintain other regulations the local agency deems necessary for the administration and enforcement of section 7 of the act as long as they are consistent with the act and this part.
(10) Submit reports and data to the Department as required by this part or an order of the Department.
(11) Submit to the Department annually the name and address of its certified sewage enforcement officer and alternate sewage enforcement officer.
(12) Make or cause to be made inspections and tests necessary to carry out sections 7, 8, 12, 13, 13.1, 14, 15 and 16 of the act. For this purpose, the authorized representatives of the local agency have the right to enter upon lands.
(13) Proceed under sections 7, 8, 12, 13, 13.1, 13.2(b) 14, 15, and 16 of the act to restrain violations of the act and this part, and to abate nuisances in accordance with existing statutes, or as defined in the act.
(14) Notify the Department in writing within 15 days of a change in the sewage enforcement officer or his address.
(15) Cease issuing permits in designated areas when ordered to do so by the Department under section 10(7) of the act (35 P. S. § 750.10(7)), after notice and opportunity for a Departmental hearing. The local agency may issue permits in these areas for the abatement of existing health hazards and public nuisances.
(16) When applicable, establish a program for requiring, verifying, forfeiting, administering and enforcing the provision of financial assurances under § 73.151 (relating to standards for financial assurances). Costs for administering this program shall be included in the fee schedule of the local agency.
(17) Adopt by resolution a list of individuals who are sewage enforcement officers employed by companies or corporations under contract with the local agency to perform the services of sewage enforcement officers.
(18) Set and collect fees necessary to support the administrative and personnel costs of a maintenance inspection and enforcement program.
(19) Charge for engineering or consulting services required by the local agency to complete its review of a permit application. The application or review fees charged for these services shall be reasonable and in accordance with the ordinary and customary charges by the engineer or consultant for similar service in the community, and fees may not exceed the rate or cost charged by the engineer or consultant to the local agency when fees are not reimbursed by or otherwise imposed on applicants.
(i) If the applicant disputes the amount of the fees or charges, the applicant shall, within 10 working days of the date of billing, notify the local agency that the fees or expenses are disputed as unreasonable or unnecessary, in which case the local agency may not delay or disapprove an application for any approval or permit due to the applicant’s dispute over fees or charges.
(ii) If, within 20 days from the date of billing, the local agency and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of fees or charges which are reasonable and necessary, the applicant and local agency shall comply with the procedure established in section 8(b)(4) of the act (35 P. S. § 750.8(b)(4)) to resolve the fee or charge dispute.
(20) Complete and provide to the applicant the results of any site suitability review, soil probe testing and soil percolation testing within 20 working days of the local agency’s receipt of a permit application.
(i) The testing and results of the testing may be deferred to a later date that the applicant may request in writing or by a later date agreed to by the sewage enforcement officer and the applicant, which is confirmed in writing by the sewage enforcement officer.
(ii) A one-call system serial number shall be obtained prior to soil testing by the permit applicant or the contractor retained by the applicant to perform the test excavation. This notification shall take place no less than 3 and no more than 10 working days prior to the excavation. The deadline for permit review by the local agency in this subsection does not apply to an applicant who fails to comply with the one-call system notification requirement.
(iii) It is the obligation of the applicant to have the site prepared in the manner required by written instructions provided to the applicant after receipt of at least 48 hours’ notice from the local agency or sewage enforcement officer of the anticipated time the soils tests will be performed. Written instructions shall include provisions for deferral of testing due to weather.
(iv) Failure of the local agency to comply with these time limits shall entitle the applicant, upon request, to a refund of fees paid by the applicant for soil testing that was not performed by the local agency, and the applicant shall be entitled to submit results of soils tests, on forms provided by the Department conducted in a manner consistent with this article by a certified sewage enforcement officer, who need not be employed by or under contract with the local agency. These test results shall be accepted by the local agency and its sewage enforcement officer, who shall rely upon the results of these tests in acting on an application.
(v) An applicant who, after receiving the notice of testing, fails to have the site prepared for soil testing in a manner required by the local agency, does not have the right to submit the results of soils testing performed by a certified sewage enforcement officer not employed by or under contract with the local agency, nor is the applicant entitled to a refund of fees paid for soil testing as provided in this section.
(vi) Neither the municipality, local agency, local agency’s sewage enforcement officer nor the Department will be held liable on a cause of action arising out of soil tests performed under this section by a certified sewage enforcement officer not employed by or under contract with the local agency.
(21) Make inspections of and verify measurements made by applicants on public or private properties which are determined by the local agency’s authorized representative to have natural or manmade features from which specific isolation distances are required prior to the approval of onlot sewage disposal system usage in subdivisions or individual lots. The local agency’s authorized representative shall have the right to enter upon lands for these purposes.
(22) Determine if a proposed individual residential spray irrigation system will create a nuisance or adversely impact existing and proposed drinking water supplies and report this information to any affected municipality served by the local agency.
(23) Assure that an individual residential spray irrigation system discharge is sampled at least once per year by the property owner through a testing laboratory for fecal coliforms, carbonaceous biological oxygen demand, suspended solids and disinfectant residual or effectiveness. Individual effluent samples may not exceed a BOD5 of 25 mg/l and suspended solids concentration of 30 mg/l. Free chlorine residual shall be maintained at a range of 0.2—2.0 PPM unless a higher level is required to control disease producing organisms. This disinfection shall produce an effluent which will contain a concentration not greater than 200 fecal coliform organisms per 100 milliliters in a single sample. The local agency shall review the results of these samples and the most recent system inspection conducted under § 73.167 (relating to operation and maintenance) and take any necessary action to resolve operational or maintenance problems identified through the sample results. Additional sampling may be required by the local agency if the annual sample indicates a violation of the limitations specified in this paragraph.
(24) A county health department and joint county departments of health may also administer the continuing maintenance provisions of § 71.73 (relating to sewage management programs) when the municipality relinquishes and the county health department or joint county department of health accepts the authority and conforms with § 71.73.
(b) The local agency may offer a program to provide financial assurance, for a fee, for systems installed under § 73.77 (relating to general requirements for bonded disposal systems). Financial assurance provided by the local agency shall comply with § 73.151.
(c) The local agency may not orally or in writing, suggest, recommend or require the use of a particular consultant, soil scientist or professional engineer, or an individual or firm providing these services when these services may be required or are subject to review under this part.
Authority The provisions of this § 72.42 amended under sections 7.2 and 9 of the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (35 P. S. § § 750.7b and 750.9); The Clean Streams Act (35 P. S. § § 691.1—691.1001); and section 1920-A of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 510-20).
Source The provisions of this § 72.42 amended November 1, 1996, effective November 2, 1996, 26 Pa.B. 5347; amended November 7, 1997, effective November 8, 1997, 27 Pa.B. 5877. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (221891) to (221892).
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 72.41 (relating to powers and duties of Sewage Enforcement Officers).
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