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                                                        PRINTER'S NO. 54

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA


HOUSE BILL

No. 52 Session of 1989


        INTRODUCED BY GEORGE, FEE, WOZNIAK, LUCYK, HAYDEN, LEVDANSKY,
           TRELLO, HALUSKA, HERMAN, CAWLEY, MORRIS, ROBINSON, VAN HORNE,
           DIETTERICK, LAUGHLIN, STABACK, DALEY, BATTISTO, ANGSTADT,
           COLAIZZO, CLYMER, WASS, TIGUE, BELFANTI, BURD, DISTLER AND
           BOWLEY, JANUARY 18, 1989

        REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSERVATION, JANUARY 18, 1989

                                     AN ACT

     1  Amending the act of January 24, 1966 (1965 P.L.1535, No.537),
     2     entitled, as amended, "An act providing for the planning and
     3     regulation of community sewage systems and individual sewage
     4     systems; requiring municipalities to submit plans for systems
     5     in their jurisdiction; authorizing grants; requiring permits
     6     for persons installing such systems; requiring disclosure
     7     statements in certain land sale contracts; authorizing the
     8     Department of Environmental Resources to adopt and administer
     9     rules, regulations, standards and procedures; creating an
    10     advisory committee; providing remedies and prescribing
    11     penalties," further providing for the approval of certain
    12     plans, for permits, for the powers and duties of local
    13     agencies, the certification board, the Environmental Quality
    14     Board and the department; and reestablishing the State Board
    15     for Certification of Sewage Enforcement Officers pursuant to
    16     the Sunset Act.

    17     The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
    18  hereby enacts as follows:
    19     Section 1.  Sections 5(e) and 7(b)(7) of the act of January
    20  24, 1966 (1965 P.L.1535, No.537), known as the Pennsylvania
    21  Sewage Facilities Act, amended July 22, 1974 (P.L.621, No.208),
    22  are amended to read:
    23     Section 5.  Official Plans.--* * *


     1     (e)  The department is hereby authorized to approve or
     2  disapprove official plans for sewage systems submitted in
     3  accordance with this act within one year of date of submission
     4  and revisions of official plans within such lesser time as the
     5  regulations shall stipulate, except that the department shall
     6  approve or disapprove revisions constituting residential
     7  subdivision plans within ninety days of the date of submission,
     8  for the period of one year from the effective date of this
     9  amendatory act, and within sixty days of the date of submission
    10  thereafter.
    11     * * *
    12     Section 7.  Permits.--* * *
    13     (b)  * * *
    14     (7)  If construction or installation of an individual sewage
    15  system or community sewage system and of any building or
    16  structure for which such system is to be installed has not
    17  commenced within [two] three years after the issuance of a
    18  permit for such system, the said permit shall expire, and a new
    19  permit shall be obtained prior to the commencement of said
    20  construction or installation.
    21     * * *
    22     Section 2.  Section 8(b) of the act is amended by adding a
    23  paragraph and the section is amended by adding a subsection to
    24  read:
    25     Section 8.  Powers and Duties of Local Agencies.--* * *
    26     (b)  Each local agency in addition to the powers and duties
    27  conferred upon it by existing law shall have the power and the
    28  duty:
    29     * * *
    30     (1.1)  To have at least one alternate sewage enforcement
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     1  officer authorized to work in the municipality or municipalities
     2  of the local agency.
     3     * * *
     4     (c)  Sewage enforcement officers employed by local agencies
     5  in accordance with this act, in performing their duties as
     6  required under this act, may accept prior testing data and
     7  information obtained by a previous sewage enforcement officer,
     8  provided that the site and prior testing meets all of the
     9  following criteria and the sewage enforcement officer certifies
    10  same to the local agency:
    11     (1)  The soils testing performed on the property in question
    12  has not been cited in a revocation, suspension or other
    13  agreement to surrender certification which indicates violations
    14  of soil testing procedures by the previous sewage enforcement
    15  officer.
    16     (2)  The exact location of the test to be used for issuance
    17  of a permit must be verifiable by at least one of the following
    18  methods:
    19     (i)  Location of the test pit and percolation hole remnants
    20  on the lot by the current sewage enforcement officer.
    21     (ii)  The existence of recorded measurements from at least
    22  two permanent landmarks on the property in question establishing
    23  the original test location.
    24     (iii)  A scale drawing of the lot or property in question
    25  indicating the location of the tests by reference to at least
    26  two permanent landmarks.
    27     (iv)  Identification of the exact location of the tests by
    28  the prior sewage enforcement officer, provided that his or her
    29  certification has not been revoked, suspended or voluntarily
    30  surrendered to the department.
    19890H0052B0054                  - 3 -

     1     (3)  Verification that the percolation test and soils
     2  evaluation was conducted in accordance with the applicable
     3  regulations.
     4     (4)  Soils description and percolation test data are
     5  available and recorded on the prescribed form, or its
     6  equivalent, in sufficient quantity and quality to be interpreted
     7  by others.
     8     (5)  The soil probes were conducted within ten feet of the
     9  proposed absorption area.
    10     (6)  The percolation test on the lot was performed on the
    11  site of the proposed absorption area.
    12     (7)  The person who originally observed or conducted the
    13  testing was certified under the current certification
    14  requirements of this act.
    15     (8)  No inaccuracies or falsifications of the test data are
    16  apparent or identifiable.
    17     (9)  No changes to the site have occurred since the time of
    18  the original testing.
    19     Section 3.  Section 9 of the act, amended December 10, 1974
    20  (P.L.856, No.288), is amended to read:
    21     Section 9.  Powers and Duties of the Environmental Quality
    22  Board.--(a)  The Environmental Quality Board shall have the
    23  power and its duty shall be to adopt such rules and regulations
    24  of the department, applicable throughout the Commonwealth, as
    25  shall be necessary for the implementation of the provisions of
    26  this act. Such rules and regulations shall establish standards
    27  for the construction, installation, alteration, maintenance and
    28  operation of individual sewage systems and community sewage
    29  systems and of sewage treatment plants in such systems, take
    30  cognizance of latest technological developments in the field of
    19890H0052B0054                  - 4 -

     1  individual sewage systems, including adoption of standards
     2  providing for use of alternate individual sewage systems,
     3  standards for enforcement programs of local agencies and for the
     4  certification of personnel employed by local agencies to
     5  administer the provisions of this act, standards for the
     6  preparation, review and acceptance of official plans, and
     7  requirements for the disbursement of State and Federal funds to
     8  municipalities and local agencies for planning, personnel and
     9  construction of sewage disposal systems. Such rules and
    10  regulations shall be adopted pursuant to the act of July 31,
    11  1968 (P.L.769, No.240), known as the "Commonwealth Documents
    12  Law," upon such notice and after such public hearings as the
    13  board deems appropriate. The rules and regulations adopted by
    14  the board under this section shall supersede any ordinance,
    15  rules or regulations of local agencies which are not in
    16  conformity with the rules and regulations of the board.
    17     (b)  Within one year of the effective date of this amendatory
    18  act, the board shall promulgate proposed rules and regulations
    19  that govern the ability of local agencies to issue permits for
    20  the construction of individual residential sewage systems where
    21  soil mottling is present. The rules and regulations shall
    22  include, but not be limited to, the following:
    23     (1)  A requirement that a local agency perform a percolation
    24  test when one is requested in writing by the owner of property,
    25  at the owner's expense, where the local agency determines soil
    26  mottling is present.
    27     (2)  Where the sole reason for a property not meeting the
    28  requirements for the installation of an individual residential
    29  sewage system is the presence of soil mottling and where no
    30  other approved alternate sewage systems can be permitted on the
    19890H0052B0054                  - 5 -

     1  property, the local agency may still issue a permit for an
     2  individual sewage system where the property owner meets all of
     3  the following conditions:
     4     (i)  The property owner demonstrates that at least three
     5  individual residential sewage systems in close proximity to the
     6  applicant's property have been functioning without pollutional
     7  discharges to surface or groundwater for five years or more and
     8  have soil conditions similar to the applicant's property as
     9  verified by a qualified soil scientist.
    10     (ii)  The property owner proposes an individual residential
    11  sewage system that, in the opinion of a registered professional
    12  engineer, can be expected to function in the soils on the
    13  property without pollutional discharges to surface or
    14  groundwater.
    15     (iii)  The property owner provides evidence of financial
    16  assurance to the local agency in an amount equal to the cost of
    17  replacement of the individual residential sewage system proposed
    18  and the reasonably anticipated cost of remedial measures to
    19  cleanup contaminated groundwater and to replace any contaminated
    20  water supplies. In no case shall the local agency approve
    21  financial assurance in an amount less than twenty thousand
    22  dollars ($20,000) for each year up to three years. The township
    23  may require an additional two years financial assurance. The
    24  local agency may waive the financial assurance requirement after
    25  five years if there is no evidence of pollutional discharge to
    26  surface or groundwater.
    27     (iv)  The property owner produces evidence of a clause in the
    28  deed to the property that clearly indicates soil mottling is
    29  present on the property and that an individual residential
    30  sewage system meeting the requirements of this section was
    19890H0052B0054                  - 6 -

     1  installed on the property.
     2     (c)  The Environmental Quality Board shall promulgate rules
     3  and regulations that are to establish the specific types of
     4  financial assurance that are acceptable under this section, the
     5  procedures local agencies are to follow in forfeiting the
     6  financial assurance and the type of additional financial
     7  assurance required if a system approved under this section is
     8  replaced. The financial assurances may include an option where
     9  the local agency may offer, for a fee, financial assurance for
    10  systems installed under this section up to the amount
    11  established in subsection (b)(2)(iii).
    12     (d)  The local agency shall not be held liable for the
    13  performance of an individual residential sewage system approved
    14  under this section, except where financial assurance is provided
    15  by the local agency under subsection (c).
    16     Section 4.  Sections 10 and 11 of the act, amended July 22,
    17  1974 (P.L.621, No.208), are amended to read:
    18     Section 10.  Powers and Duties of the Department of
    19  Environmental Resources.--The department shall have the power
    20  and its duty shall be:
    21     (1)  To order municipalities to submit official plans and
    22  revisions thereto within such time and under such conditions as
    23  the rules and regulations promulgated under this act may
    24  provide.
    25     (2)  To approve or disapprove official plans and revisions
    26  thereto.
    27     (3)  To order the implementation of official plans and
    28  revisions thereto.
    29     (4)  To administer grants and reimbursements to local
    30  agencies as provided by section 6 of this act.
    19890H0052B0054                  - 7 -

     1     (5)  To review the performance of local agencies in the
     2  administration of section 7 of this act.
     3     (6)  To cooperate with local agencies, the advisory committee
     4  and industry in studying and evaluating new methods of sewage
     5  disposal. For the purpose of investigating innovative or
     6  alternative on-lot sewage systems, the department may enter into
     7  contracts with private entities. Such contracts shall be funded
     8  from funds specifically appropriated by the General Assembly for
     9  this purpose.
    10     (7)  To order a local agency to undertake actions deemed by
    11  the department necessary to administer effectively section 7 of
    12  this act in conformance with the rules and regulations of the
    13  department.
    14     (8)  To enter upon lands and make inspections and to require
    15  the submission of papers, books and records by local agencies
    16  for the purposes set forth in this act.
    17     (9)  To train sewage enforcement officers and to require
    18  sewage enforcement officers to participate in training. Such
    19  training shall be funded from funds specifically appropriated by
    20  the General Assembly for this purpose.
    21     (10)  To revoke or suspend the certification of sewage
    22  enforcement officers for cause, or to reinstate same, in
    23  accordance with the rules and regulations of the department:
    24  Provided, however, That such actions of the department shall
    25  become effective only after notice and an opportunity for
    26  hearing before the certification board has been given.
    27     (11)  To consider for renewal biennially certificates issued
    28  under this section and collect a fee of five dollars ($5.00), or
    29  any different amount, which shall be established by regulation,
    30  from each certificate holder applying for renewal.
    19890H0052B0054                  - 8 -

     1     (12)  To compile and keep current a register showing the
     2  names and addresses of certified sewage enforcement officers.
     3  Copies of this register shall be furnished on request to
     4  municipalities and to others upon payment of such reasonable fee
     5  as the department shall establish by regulation.
     6     (13)  To develop a list of firms or agencies that provide
     7  testing services for evaluating gradation specifications of sand
     8  for use in elevated sand mound on lot disposal systems. A
     9  permittee that is the sand supplier for an elevated sand mound
    10  shall certify in writing that sand used in these systems meets
    11  the requirements established by the department.
    12     Section 11.  Certification Board.--(a)  There is hereby
    13  created within the department a State Board for Certification of
    14  Sewage Enforcement Officers. The board shall consist of five
    15  members to be appointed by the secretary. One member shall be a
    16  representative of local government; one member shall be a sewage
    17  enforcement officer certified under the provisions of this act;
    18  one member shall be a representative of the engineering
    19  profession; and two additional members shall be chosen from a
    20  list of nominees submitted to the secretary by the advisory
    21  committee. The advisory committee shall designate a minimum of
    22  three nominees for the latter two positions. The original
    23  appointed members of the board in the order listed above shall
    24  hold office for one, two, three, three and four years,
    25  respectively. Thereafter, each appointment shall be for a period
    26  of four years' duration. The secretary may reappoint board
    27  members for successive terms. Members of the board shall remain
    28  in office until a successor is appointed and qualified. If
    29  vacancies occur prior to completion of a term, the secretary
    30  shall appoint another member in accordance with this section to
    19890H0052B0054                  - 9 -

     1  fill the unexpired term.
     2     The secretary, or his representative, shall call the first
     3  meeting of the board at which time a chairman of the board shall
     4  be elected. Thereafter, the chairman shall be elected annually.
     5  Three members of the board shall constitute a quorum. Meetings
     6  may be called by the chairman as needed to conduct the business
     7  of the board.
     8     The members of the board shall receive no compensation for
     9  their services but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary
    10  expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
    11     (b)  The board shall have the power and its duty shall be, in
    12  accordance with the rules and regulations of the department, to:
    13     (1)  Review and pass upon applications for certification of
    14  sewage enforcement officers within thirty days of the receipt of
    15  the test results from the testing contractor. If the board does
    16  not meet within this time period, the applicants who have
    17  achieved the necessary passing score on the certification
    18  examination and who are not in violation or restrained by any
    19  department regulation from certification shall be deemed to be
    20  certified.
    21     (2)  Administer such examinations as prepared by the
    22  department, as may be deemed necessary to determine the fitness
    23  of candidates for certification. Such examinations shall be held
    24  [at frequent intervals and at least annually to afford all
    25  applicants an equal opportunity for taking such examinations] no
    26  less than four times in each calendar year. The board shall
    27  determine and shall announce, in sufficient time, the location
    28  and time for such examinations, except that the board shall
    29  allow the department to schedule special "walk-in" examinations
    30  when a local agency demonstrates an immediate need to obtain a
    19890H0052B0054                 - 10 -

     1  sewage enforcement officer. During the first year of this act,
     2  no fees will be charged for said examinations. During the second
     3  and subsequent years, the board is hereby authorized to collect
     4  a fee of ten dollars ($10) from each applicant.
     5     (3)  Hold hearings and issue adjudications under the
     6  provisions of the act of June 4, 1945 (P.L.1388, No.442), known
     7  as the "Administrative Agency Law," on any revocation,
     8  suspension or reinstatement of certification by the department:
     9  Provided, That the filing of an appeal with the board shall not
    10  operate as an automatic supersedeas of the action of the board.
    11  The provisions of section 1921-A of The Administrative Code
    12  notwithstanding, such actions of the department shall not
    13  appealable to the Environmental Hearing Board.
    14     (4)  Consider for renewal biennially certificates issued
    15  under this section, and collect a fee of five dollars ($5) from
    16  each certificate holder for such renewal.
    17     (5)  Compile and keep current a register showing the names
    18  and addresses of certified sewage enforcement officers. Copies
    19  of this register shall be furnished on request for
    20  municipalities and upon payment of such reasonable fee for all
    21  others, as the department shall establish.
    22     Section 5.  The act is amended by adding a section to read:
    23     Section 20.1.  Sunset Provisions.--(a)  The State Board for
    24  Certification of Sewage Enforcement Officers, scheduled for
    25  termination under section 6 of the act of December 22, 1981
    26  (P.L.508, No.142), known as the "Sunset Act," is hereby
    27  reestablished.
    28     (b)  The board is subject to evaluation, review and
    29  termination within the time and in the manner provided in the
    30  "Sunset Act."
    19890H0052B0054                 - 11 -

     1     (c)  This section, with respect to the board, constitutes the
     2  legislation required to reestablish that board under the "Sunset
     3  Act."
     4     Section 6.  This act shall take effect immediately.


















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