PRINTER'S NO. 1244
No. 1126 Session of 1993
INTRODUCED BY GEIST, PETRONE, PETRARCA, HESS, SEMMEL, STERN,
HARLEY, CIVERA, CLARK, OLASZ, BATTISTO, MASLAND, FEE,
LAUGHLIN, JAROLIN, D. W. SNYDER, HALUSKA, HECKLER, TRELLO,
PHILLIPS, CLYMER, LUCYK, HERSHEY, KAISER, CHADWICK, STISH,
MERRY AND MARKOSEK, APRIL 19, 1993
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, APRIL 19, 1993
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of May 2, 1945 (P.L.382, No.164), entitled "An
2 act providing for the incorporation as bodies corporate and
3 politic of 'Authorities' for municipalities, counties and
4 townships; prescribing the rights, powers and duties of such
5 Authorities heretofore or hereafter incorporated; authorizing
6 such Authorities to acquire, construct, improve, maintain and
7 operate projects, and to borrow money and issue bonds
8 therefor; providing for the payment of such bonds, and
9 prescribing the rights of the holders thereof; conferring the
10 right of eminent domain on such Authorities; authorizing such
11 Authorities to enter into contracts with and to accept grants
12 from the Federal Government or any agency thereof; and
13 conferring exclusive jurisdiction on certain courts over
14 rates," permitting public water service recipients to tap
15 into public water service for the purpose of providing a
16 sufficient water supply for the operation of residential
17 geothermal heat pumps.
18 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
19 hereby enacts as follows:
20 Section 1. Section 2 of the act of May 2, 1945 (P.L.382,
21 No.164), known as the Municipality Authorities Act of 1945, is
22 amended by adding definitions to read:
23 Section 2. Definitions.--The following terms whenever used
24 or referred to in this act shall have the following meanings,
1 except in those instances where the context clearly indicates
2 otherwise:
3 * * *
4 (s) The term "residential geothermal heat pump" shall mean a
5 mechanical system designed to utilize the natural heat of the
6 earth by extracting the heat energy in groundwater to provide
7 residential heating and by extracting the heat from the air and
8 dissipating it into the groundwater to provide residential
9 cooling, including, but not limited to, such components as
10 water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger, refrigerant-to-air heat
11 exchanger, refrigerant-to-water heat exchanger and refrigerant
12 compressor.
13 (t) The term "groundwater" shall mean water from aquifers,
14 lakes, wells and any other occurrences of water in and under the
15 ground, whether percolating or otherwise, located on the
16 residential property and from privately distributed or
17 municipally distributed water systems.
18 Section 2. The introductory paragraph of subclause (1) of
19 clause (t) of subsection B of section 4 of the act, added
20 December 19, 1990 (P.L.1227, No.203), is amended and the
21 subsection is amended by adding a clause to read:
22 Section 4. Purposes and Powers; General.--* * *
23 B. Every Authority is hereby granted, and shall have and may
24 exercise all powers necessary or convenient for the carrying out
25 of the aforesaid purposes, including but without limiting the
26 generality of the foregoing, the following rights and powers:
27 * * *
28 (t) To charge certain enumerated fees to property owners who
29 desire to or are required to connect to the Authority's sewer or
30 water system. Such fees shall be based upon the duly adopted fee
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1 schedule at the time of payment and shall be payable at the time
2 of application for connection or at such other time as the
3 property owner and the authority agree or in the case of
4 projects to serve existing development, such fees shall be
5 payable at a time to be determined by the Authority. An
6 Authority shall have the right to require that no capacity shall
7 be guaranteed for a property owner or owners until such time as
8 the tapping fees enumerated herein have at the option of the
9 Authority been paid or secured by other financial security. The
10 fees shall be in addition to any charges assessed against the
11 property in the construction of a sewer or water main by the
12 Authority in accordance with clauses (r) and (s) as well as any
13 other user charges imposed by the Authority pursuant to clause
14 (h) and shall not include costs included in the calculation of
15 such fees.
16 (1) The fees, except as provided in clause (t.1), may
17 include some or all of the following fee components, which shall
18 be separately set forth in the appropriate resolution of the
19 Authority establishing such fees:
20 * * *
21 (t.1) To permit the tapping of a water pipeline for the
22 purpose of providing a sufficient water supply for the operation
23 of residential geothermal heat pumps utilizing a closed-loop
24 system. Every Authority shall charge a one-time tapping fee, not
25 to exceed the normal tap fee for the cost of water service,
26 whenever the owner of any geothermal heat pump connects the heat
27 pump with a water pipeline. The one-time tapping fee shall
28 constitute the total extent of the charges and fees and there
29 shall be no other extraordinary charges and fees. Accordingly,
30 the Authority shall not fix, charge or collect any rates or
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1 other charges for the supply of water to the geothermal heat
2 pump system. The Authority shall have the unconditional right at
3 any reasonable time to inspect the geothermal heat pump
4 connections to the water system to insure the exclusive use of
5 the public water for supply to the geothermal heat pump system.
6 The Authority shall also have the right to require that the
7 geothermal heat pump system be designed and installed in a
8 manner that minimizes the risk of contamination of the public
9 water supply.
10 * * *
11 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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