Lower Frederick Township Supervisors Pass Ordinance Requiring Sewage System Pumping, Inspection

If you live in and have an on-site sewage system, you now have six months to document the pumping and inspection of your system.

The Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance Tuesday night that requires just that.

It states that any resident with an onsite sewage system must document the tank is pumped and inspected every three years. Township Engineer Carol Schuehler, PE, noted that if a resident has done this in the last six months, as long as it can be proven, the system will not have to be pumped or inspected for another three years. If residents have not maintained their systems within the last six months, they now have six months to do so.

The ordinance has been an ongoing discussion in the township, mainly because the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is requiring that every township and municipality in the state adopt this measure in order to receive funding for its sewage systems as well as waste- and water-treatment plants.

Schuehler says this will cost property owners a few hundred dollars, but compared to “tens of thousands of dollars that a failed system costs to fix,” it is a small price to pay.

In addition to the sheer cost of fixing a broken system, Schuehler says a failed system can endanger public health by releasing “harmful pollutants” to the surface and surrounding waterways. It can also prevent the sale of a property and negatively impact the price of neighboring properties.

While the DEP is requiring an ordinance, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is asking for the public’s help.

addressed the board Tuesday night to announce that Lower Frederick Township will be working alongside the DEA in April to collect unwanted narcotics from anyone who chooses to drop them off.

The narcotics will be collected at the township building, and authorities say they will not ask any questions as to how the drugs were acquired.

The program is called Operation Take Back. It was started last year by the DEA to collect narcotics so they do not fall into the wrong hands and can be properly disposed.

Maxey says more often than not, narcotics that are lying around someone’s home and end up being abused by someone other than who or what they were intended for.

“The number one place abusers are going to get drugs, other than purchasing them illegally on the street, is from homes of the people they know have these drugs,” said Maxey.

Last year more than six pounds of narcotics were collected, and Maxey said they were brought in by people of all ages, but it seemed there was a common theme.

“(It) was people cleaning out their medicine cabinets, usually from older people. People who had parents who recently pass away, or had major surgery,” said Maxey.

Drop-off will be upstairs at the Lower Frederick Township Building on April 30 from 10 a.m.- 2p.m.

The DEA is asking anyone who brings narcotics in to remove them from any packaging and containers to eliminate any excess waste.