25 Pa. Code § 72.26 - Denial of permits
(a) Notice of
denial of a permit shall be in writing to the applicant and shall include the
reasons for denial and advise the applicant of the right to a hearing before
the local agency. The local agency shall provide the Department with a copy of
the notice of denial within 7 days of issuance.
(b) The sewage enforcement officer shall
accept prior testing data and information obtained by a previous sewage
enforcement officer, provided that the site and prior testing is certified by
the previous sewage enforcement officer and meets all of the criteria contained
in paragraphs (1)-(10) and the current sewage enforcement officer certifies the
data to the local agency using a "Verification of Prior Testing" Form provided
by the Department. There shall be a presumption that, unless the prior sewage
enforcement officer's certification has been revoked or suspended by the
Department or the prior sewage enforcement officer's certification has been
voluntarily surrendered to the Department or Certification Board, the testing
data and information obtained by the prior sewage enforcement officer is valid
unless the currently employed sewage enforcement officer finds that one or more
of the criteria in the following paragraphs are not met:
(1) The soil testing performed on the
property in question has not been cited in a revocation, suspension or other
agreement to surrender certification which indicates violations of soil testing
procedures by the previous sewage enforcement officer.
(2) The exact location of the test to be used
for issuance of a permit shall be verifiable by at least one of the following
methods:
(i) Location of the test pit and
percolation hole remnants on the lot by the current sewage enforcement
officer.
(ii) The existence of
recorded measurements from at least two permanent landmarks on the property in
question establishing the original test location.
(iii) A scale drawing of the lot or property
in question indicating the location of the tests by reference to at least two
permanent landmarks.
(iv)
Identification of the exact location of the tests by the prior sewage
enforcement officer, provided that the certification has not been revoked,
suspended or voluntarily surrendered to the Department or Certification
Board.
(3) Verification
that the percolation test and soils evaluation were conducted in accordance
with the applicable regulations.
(4) Soils description and percolation test
data are available and recorded on the prescribed form, or its equivalent, in
sufficient quantity and quality to be interpreted by others.
(5) The soil probes were conducted within 10
feet of the proposed absorption area.
(6) The percolation test on the lot was
performed on the site of the proposed absorption area.
(7) The person who originally observed,
confirmed or conducted the testing was certified under the current
certification requirements of the act.
(8) No inaccuracies or falsifications of the
test data are apparent or identifiable.
(9) No changes to the site have occurred
since the time of the original testing which will materially affect the siting
or operation of an individual or community onlot sewage disposal
system.
(10) Receipt of a notarized
statement from the property owner which indemnifies and holds harmless the new
sewage enforcement officer, municipality and local agency for the actions of
the new sewage enforcement officer in verifying the prior testing data and
information obtained by a previous sewage enforcement officer.
(c) If, after conducting a
verification of prior testing under subsection (b), the currently employed
sewage enforcement officer denies an application for a permit or rejects the
previous tests performed within the immediately preceding 6 years, retesting
and reapplication fees shall be waived to the applicant and the local agency
shall pay for any equipment and operators required for a retest and for any
necessary redesign of the system if:
(1) The
tests were certified by signature of a sewage enforcement officer.
(2) Local agency records document that the
sewage enforcement officer who certified the tests was employed or under
contract with the local agency at the time the testing was conducted and
certified.
(3) The testing
documents soils and site suitability for onlot sewage disposal.
(d) Subsection (c) does not apply
if the local agency documents that one of the following exists:
(1) Changes have occurred in the physical
condition of lands which will materially affect the siting or operation of an
individual or community onlot sewage disposal system covered by a permit as
verified by the sewage enforcement officer conducting the testing in accordance
with the criteria outlined in subsection (b).
(2) The original soils testing was performed
by a sewage enforcement officer whose certification was one of the following:
(i) Revoked by the Department and any
subsequent appeal denied.
(ii)
Voluntarily surrendered to avoid prosecution or a hearing.
(iii) Suspended by the Department for
violations related to the siting, design or installation inspection of onlot
systems.
(3) The soils
testing and redesign required by the new sewage enforcement officer has been
conducted by the local agency using its staff and equipment or contracted
services.
(4) The testing under
review was conducted more than 6 years prior to the date of the submittal of a
permit application for the lot in question.
(e) A person aggrieved by the action of a
sewage enforcement officer in the issuance or denial of a permit, or another
action taken under section 7 of the act (35 P. S. §
750.7) other than a permit revocation, may
within 30 days of receipt of notice of the action, file a request for a hearing
before the local agency. The request shall be in writing.
Notes
The provisions of this § 72.26 amended under section 9 of the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (35 P. S. § 750.9); The Clean Streams Law (35 P. S. §§ 691.1-691.1001); and section 1920-A of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 510-20).
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