Mandatory Sewage Pumping

MANDATORY PUMPING REQUIREMENTS

Staff will generate reminder letters directly from the database. A letter will be sent to property owners in the first quarter of the year their property is due to be pumped. Another letter will be sent to the property owner in the third quarter of the year if no pumping report has been received by that time. This process will allow a more efficient and cost effective tracking of each individual property.

The Dickinson Township Code, Chapter 159-7 specifies that a septic tank must be pumped once every three years from the date of the last pumping unless the resident can prove there is 1/3 or less of the capacity of the septic tank in sludge through the performance of a sludge test. Upon completion and receipt of a sludge test report from the septic hauler, the property will be exempt from pumping for three years from the date of the test. This applies to all properties including recreational cabins and outhouses.

Residents will need to sign an affidavit that they have not put hazardous substances in their septic system. Hazardous substances as defined by Pennsylvania Code, Chapter 323 are “[h]azardous substances which are considered environment hazards because of their particular or extreme properties pose a danger if released into the environment”. The actual list follows the written section and is found at Appendix A. Click HERE to link to the list.

Septic Inspection

As an alternative to the pumping requirement, you have the right to have a Registered Septic Hauler or Inspection company perform a “sludge test” to verify that there is no more than a third (1/3) of the capacity of the tank filled with solids. If the tank is filled with 1/3 or less in solids, you will receive a waiver from the pumping requirements until the next three (3) year cycle. A report must be submitted for the solids inspection.

For helpful hints, review “Facts Every Septic System Owner Should Know”.

Mandatory Sewage Pumping