Sanitary Sewer Compliance at Property Transfer

 

Virtually every aged Sanitary Sewer System, throughout not only the Commonwealth, but across the entire Nation, experiences operational difficulties related to significant precipitation events. Such “operational difficulties” may include basement flooding, manhole overflows or temporary discharges from piping into local waterways. Naturally, such occurrences can be a burden on customers, as well as being a safety and health issue for the public at large. A malfunctioning sanitary sewer system is a violation of State and Federal law. In the simplest of terms, a Sanitary Sewer System is designed (and sized) to accommodate the sewage flows originating with customers. A sanitary sewer system is not intended to be used to drain surface water, groundwater, storm water, springs or snowmelt. These types of “clear” water should be directed to the Storm Sewer Network. The direct or indirect draining of “clear” water/storm water, either purposeful or accidental (commonly referred to as Inflow and Infiltration (I&I), overloads the Sanitary Sewer System and causes overflows and back-up at various locations. The Sanitary sewer system is divided into two (2) segments, the Public (Highland owned) and the Private (Customer owned). Sources of I&I on an aging system are numerous and located on both the Public and Private sectors.  Highland has been conducting a rather extensive system rehabilitation program since 1988. We have gained much experience and are now considered experts in the field. One of our most profound findings is that over half of the I&I introduced into Highland’s Sanitary Sewer System originates with the Private sector. Further, we have found that older, residential homes are overwhelmingly our biggest I&I contributors. Accordingly, we have implemented the Sanitary Sewer Compliance at Property Transfer Regulation, targeted at this largest source of I&I. It is as follows:

 

SANITARY SEWER COMPLIANCE AT PROPERTY TRANSFER

 

The following Regulations are applicable to both parties of a Real Estate Transfer, both before and after the Transfer of the Property.

 

Transfer of Residential Property

  1. Prior to the sale or Transfer of improved Residential Real Estate, which has been provided Sanitary Sewer Service by the Authority, said Property must successfully pass an air or water pressure Test as hereinafter set forth. This Regulation includes, but is not limited to, Single Family Homes and includes Double Homes and Townhouses wherein the dwelling unit’s Building Drain and Building Sewer is not interconnected with that of any other dwelling unit. In addition, this Regulation includes any Property previously constructed as a Residence, but which has been converted to a Commercial use.
    1. In the case where the sides of a Double House or a Townhouse are owned by the same Occupant, and each side has its own separate Building Drain and Building Sewer piping connected to an Authority lateral, only the one side thereof being Transferred is required to perform the noted Testing. If the side being transferred does not have a separate Building Drain or Building Sewer and separate Authority lateral, the plumbing of both sides of the Double House/Townhouse needs to be reconfigured so as to provide separate systems. If a separate Authority lateral is needed in order to allow for such separation, the Authority will provide the second Authority lateral free of charge. Subsequently, both sides of the Double House or Townhouse must successfully pass the Test.
    2. This Regulation does not apply to a Double House or a Townhouse that shares a common Building Drain and/or Building Sewer piping and where each side is owned by a different Occupant. Nor does it apply to Double Houses or Townhouses, multi-unit Apartment Buildings or Row Houses that use common, shared Building Drain and/or Building Sewer piping, unless such above- mentioned units are sold as a single Property or parcel. In such cases, Testing will be required.
  2. This Regulation requires that all buried and under-slab Sewer piping, both outside and inside the foundation wall, (most often identified as the Building Drain and Building Sewer), be Tested for water tightness. Such Testing must be witnessed and approved by the Authority. Any sale or Transfer of Residential Property, as previously defined, without having successfully passed a Test and/or without first obtaining a certification thereof from the Authority, shall be in violation of the Authority’s Rules and Regulations and subject to penalty as hereinafter set forth.
  3. A Transfer of Residential Property is exempt from Sewer Testing if the Occupant can provide documentation that the Property successfully passed an air or water pressure Test, as set forth in Section Five (5) below, during the previous fifteen (15) years and that no alterations, repairs, replacements or additions were performed on the varied, buried and/or under-slab Sewer piping (both inside and outside the foundation wall). The Occupant shall provide such documentation as is required by the Authority, including access to perform visual inspections as are deemed necessary by the Authority to establish that said piping has not been altered in any way since the prior Testing.
  4. The Occupant of Residential Property shall install or cause to be installed, a viewport (if none exists) in accordance with the Authority’s specification for purposes of the aforesaid Testing. If a viewport already exists on the Property, but it is not visible or easily accessible, the Occupant shall expose said viewport. All of the foregoing shall be at the expense of the Occupant. Existing viewports shall not be required to be upgraded to current standards, unless said viewport is being replaced as part of repair work to be performed as a result of the Test results.
  5. Acceptable Testing Methods:
    1. Testing by water wherein all buried and under-slab piping (both inside and outside the foundation) is filled with water and a temporary water column is introduced to a minimum of ten (10) feet of head to the highest portion of the buried and under-slab piping, with no water loss observed during a fifteen (15) minute period; and
    2. Testing by air wherein all buried and under-slab piping is pressurized with air to a minimum of five pounds per square inch (5 psi) and thereafter held for a period of fifteen (15) minutes with no noticeable pressure drop.
    3. For details of such acceptable Testing, see §312 of the International Plumbing Code (IPC) as contained in the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, as from time to time amended.
  6. Requests for inspection or witnessing of the Testing must be made a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the requested time. The Authority will allow a maximum of one (1) hour per Test, and the witnessing shall be for the actual Test itself, not for preliminary hook up or other work which precedes the actual Test. In the event that the Property does not pass the initial Test, the Authority will charge a fee, paid in advance at the Authority office, for each and every re-Test that is necessary (See Rates and Fees). (NOTE: It is the intent of this Regulation that the Authority Inspector is scheduled only to witness a passing Air/Water Test.) The Authority inspector shall make the sole determination as to when the actual Testing period commences and thereafter when the fifteen (15) minute duration of the Test has expired. Upon successful completion of the Testing, the inspector shall signify his/her approval by affixing his/her signature and dating the completed “Sanitary Sewer Inspection/Testing Form”.

 

Transfer of Commercial/Industrial Property

  1. Commercial/Industrial Real Estate, which has been provided Sanitary Sewer Service by the Authority, is exempt from the requirement to successfully pass a Sewer air or water pressure Test prior to sale or Transfer.
  2. The Occupant of Commercial/Industrial Property shall provide a Plumbing/Site Plan, showing the Building Sanitary Sewer and storm sewer piping, to be witnessed by an authorized representative of the Authority.
  3. The Occupant of Commercial/Industrial Property shall install, or cause to be installed, a functional viewport (if none exists) or manhole at the point of Connection between the Authority-owned lateral and the Property’s Building Sewer. All work, equipment and materials necessary for the aforementioned installation shall be the responsibility of the Occupant. If a viewport already exists on the Property, but it is not visible or easily accessible, the Occupant shall expose the viewport. Existing viewports shall not be required to be upgraded to current standards.
  4. After the sale or Transfer of improved Commercial/Industrial Property, such property shall be subject to future Video Inspection to determine the existence of Inflow and Infiltration (I&I) entering the Sanitary Sewer System through the Property’s Building Drain/Building Sewer.
  5. Any sale or Transfer of Commercial/Industrial Property, as previously defined, without having first obtained a certification of Compliance from the Authority, shall be in violation of the Authority’s Rules and Regulations and subject to penalty as hereinafter set forth.

 

Hardship Extension

  1. In cases where complying with these Regulations prior to closing would cause an undue hardship, the Occupant may request a hardship Extension, not to exceed sixty (60) days from the date of closing, which may be granted at the sole discretion of the Authority.
  2. Application for said Extension may be made at the Authority office by: a. Completing the Time Extension Agreement; b. Providing proof of a bona-fide contract, which states the contractor will perform the work required to bring the Property into Compliance, and; c. Providing proof that the funds required to bring the Property into Compliance have been escrowed or otherwise set aside to pay for the work needed.

 

Definitions

  1. Sale or Transfer of Real Estate shall include the sale, Transfer or assignment of any interest in Real Property; provided however, that a refinancing of real Property without a conveyance of an interest in the real Property is not a sale or Transfer under these Regulations. A Transfer from an individual or individuals into an ordinary grantor trust as that term is commonly accepted is likewise not a sale or Transfer under these Regulations. A Transfer between spouses or former spouses pursuant to a bona fide Marriage Settlement Agreement in a Divorce Action shall not be a sale or Transfer hereunder. A Transfer arising from a Sheriff’s Sale, where the purchaser at the Sale is a mortgage holder or lien creditor shall be exempted from these Regulations. However, once the mortgage holder or lien creditor becomes the record Occupant pursuant to a recorded deed from the Sheriff to the mortgage holder or lien creditor, a subsequent Transfer of the Property shall be subject to this Regulation. In addition, a Transfer from a record Occupant to a mortgage holder/lien creditor pursuant to a “Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure” shall also be exempted from these Regulations. However, when the mortgage holder or lien creditor Transfers the Property, that Transfer shall be subject to these Regulations.
  2. Inflow and Infiltration or I & I. Any surface water and/or groundwater which enters the Sanitary Sewer System by any means. These Regulations expressly prohibit any person from causing, allowing or permitting any quantity of I & I to enter the Sanitary Sewer System.

 

Enforcement

  1. Any violation of these Regulations is hereby declared to be a summary offense in accordance with §5607(d)(17) of the Municipality Authorities Act and shall be punishable for a fine of up to Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) for each offense. Each and every day that a violation of the Regulation exists shall be a separate and distinct offense.
  2. The requirements of these Regulations may be enforced by the Authority in an action in Equity brought in the Court of Common Pleas of Cambria County, Pennsylvania.
  3. I & I creates a potential public health hazard and a public nuisance as it greatly increases the possibility of a discharge of Sewage into the waterways of the Commonwealth, in violation of Law and the Highland Sewer and Water Authority Rules and Regulations. Accordingly, the Authority may discontinue Water and/or Sanitary Sewer Service, in its sole discretion, for any violation of these Regulations. The cost of terminating said service and the restoration thereof, shall be that of the Customer or Occupant of the Property receiving the service, which was disconnected and/or restored.