1445 Quehanna-Covington-Karthaus Area Authority and Covington Township v. DEP and Sandy Creek Forest Lot Owners; EHB doc. no. 94-092-MR

ENVIRONMENTAL HEARING BOARD

Quehanna-Covington-Karthaus Area Authority and Covington Township v. DEP and Sandy Creek Forest Lot Owners; EHB Doc. No. 94-092-MR

[26 Pa.B. 4290]

   The Quehanna-Covington-Karthaus Area Authority having withdrawn its appeal, the remaining parties have agreed to a settlement, the major provisions of which provide in substance:

   1.  Covington Township is a municipality in Clearfield County organized and existing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

   2.  Sandy Creek Forest is a 99 lot subdivision, each lot being in excess of 10 acres, located in Covington Township, Clearfield County, PA, and created by Sandy Creek Forest, Inc. with the subdivision plan filed in the Clearfield County Recorder of Deeds Office on October 6, 1982, in Miscellaneous Book 155, page 106, Square SQ.

   3.  All citations in this document to the Sewage Facilities Act and the Pennsylvania Code refer to the Sewage Facilities Act and the regulations as they existed prior to the Sewage Facilities Act's amendment by Act No. 1994-149.

   4.  By agreement of the parties, the terms and conditions of this Consent Adjudication applicable to the Sandy Creek Forest Lot Owners shall also apply to Marvin Steward, owner of Lot No. 1, of the Sandy Creek Forest Subdivision.

   5.  The Department will review the information previously submitted to it by the Sandy Creek Forest Lot Owners and determine within 90 days from the time this Consent Adjudication is approved by the Environmental Hearing Board if that information satisfies the requirements of section 7(b)(5)(i) of the Sewage Facilities Act (35 P. S. § 750.7(b)(5)(i)).

   6.  The Department will inform each Sandy Creek Forest Lot Owner within 90 days from the time this Consent Adjudication is approved by the Environmental Hearing Board if their lot, or lots, satisfies the requirements of section 7(b)(5)(i) of the Sewage Facilities Act (35 P. S. § 750.7(b)(5)(i).

   7.  For each lot that satisfies the requirements of section 7(b)(5)(i) of the Sewage Facilities Act (35 P. S. § 750.7(b)(5)(i), each Sandy Creek Forest Lot Owner agrees that the exception provided under section 7(b)(5)(i) of the Sewage Facilities Act (35 P. S. § 750.7(b)(5)(i)) shall not be effective until December 31, 1995. The Sandy Creek Forest Lot Owners agree that they will not apply for a permit under the exception granted by § 7(b)(5)(i) of the Sewage Facilities Act (35 P. S. § 750.7(b)(5)(i)), until December 31, 1995, or until they receive notification from the Department under paragraph above whichever date is later. Covington Township agrees that each Sandy Creek Forest Lot Owner shall be entitled to apply for a permit on and after January 1, 1996.

   8.  Each Sandy Creek Forest Lot Owner agrees that as part of their permit application they shall demonstrate that there is an adequate source of power to insure the proper operation of the proposed sewage disposal system.Further, upon installation of the sewage disposal system, each Sandy Creek Forest Lot Owner shall include in the installation all components necessary to supply adequate power for operation of the sewage disposal system. A properly sized portable electrical generator will be considered an adequate power source for operation of the sewage disposal system.

   9.  Upon installation of a sewage disposal system, each Sandy Creek Forest Lot Owner shall, on an annual basis, have the system inspected and the septic tank shall be pumped on an ''as needed'' basis, as determined by the annual inspection.

   10.  Covington Township shall review and approve, as appropriate, the proposed design for each sewage disposal system proposed to be installed under this Consent Adjudication. If all applicable regulations, statutory requirements, and the requirements of Paragraphs f, g and k hereof have been complied with by the respective Sandy Creek Forest Lot Owner, the Township will approve the proposed sewage disposal system.

   11.  Each Sandy Creek Forest Lot Owner shall pay $50 to Covington Township on an annual basis. Said monies shall be held in escrow for the purpose of financing operation and maintenance inspections in the Sandy Creek Forest subdivision. The annual payment shall be made for a period not to exceed 3 years, or until Covington Township enacts an operation and maintenance ordinance, whichever occurs first.

   12.  Covington Township shall enact an operation and maintenance ordinance, governing the periodic inspection and proper maintenance (including the pumping of septic tanks) of all sewage disposal systems located within the Township, within 2 years of the effective date of this Consent Adjudication.

   Copies of the full Consent Adjudication are in the possession of:

   Jeffrey W. Stover, Esquire, Novak, Stover & McCarty, 122 East High Street, P. O. Box 209, Bellefonte, PA 16823, [phone];

   Charles E. Gutshall, Esquire, Rhoads & Sinon, Dauphin Bank Building, Twelfth Floor, One South Market Square, P. O. Box 1146, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1146, [phone];

   Nels J. Taber, Esquire, Regional Counsel, Department of Environmental Protection, Northcentral Region Office of Chief Counsel, 208 West Third Street, Suite 101, Williamsport, PA 17701, [phone];

and the Environmental Hearing Board at its office, and it may be reviewed by any interested party on request during normal business hours.

   Persons who are aggrieved by the above settlement have a right to appeal to the Environmental Hearing Board, Second Floor, Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market Street, P. O. Box 8457, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8457.

   If information concerning this notice is required in an alternative form, contact the Secretary to the Board at [phone]. TDD users may telephone the Board through AT&T Pennsylvania Relay Center at 1 [phone].

   Appeals must be filed within 20 days of this publication.

   The Environmental Hearing Board is empowered to approve this settlement if no objection is timely made.

GEORGE J. MILLER,   
Chairperson

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 96-1445. Filed for public inspection August 30, 1996, 9:00 a.m.]