Section 750.10 - Powers and duties of the Department of Environmental ResourcesThe department shall have the power and its duty shall be:
(1) To order municipalities to submit official plans and revisions thereto within such time and under such conditions as the rules and regulations promulgated under this act may provide.(2) To approve or disapprove official plans and, at its discretion, to approve or disapprove revisions thereto in accordance with regulations of the department. The department may review and act upon a revision for new land development or an exception to the requirement to revise or, at its discretion, accept the municipality's review and approval of the revision for new land development or exception to the requirement to revise by a municipality without further action. If the department disapproves, it shall provide a written explanation of the deficiencies to the municipality.(3) To order the implementation of official plans and revisions thereto.(4) To administer grants and reimbursements to local agencies as provided by section 6 of this act. (5) To review the performance of local agencies in the administration of this act.(6) To cooperate with local agencies, the advisory committee and industry in studying and evaluating new methods of sewage disposal. For the purpose of investigating innovative or alternative on-lot sewage systems, the department may enter into contracts with private entities.(7) To order a local agency to undertake actions deemed by the department necessary to effectively administer this act in conformance with the rules and regulations of the department.(7.1) To review the performance of delegated agencies in the performance of the duties established by delegation agreements authorized by sections 5 and 7 of this act and to revoke such agreements for cause.(8) To enter upon lands and make inspections and to require the submission of papers, books and records by local agencies for the purposes set forth in this act.(9) To train sewage enforcement officers and to require sewage enforcement officers to participate in training.(10) To revoke or suspend the certification of sewage enforcement officers for cause, or to reinstate same, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the department. The department shall consider complaints filed by local agencies or the public relating to the performance of local sewage enforcement officers.(10.1) To revoke or suspend the certification of a sewage enforcement officer for cause, including, but not limited to, negligence or providing false information related to the administration of this act and for violations of this act which are not related to the issuance of a permit.(11) To develop a list of firms or agencies that provide testing services for evaluating gradation specifications of sand for use in elevated sand mound on-lot disposal systems. A permittee that is the sand supplier for an elevated sand mound shall certify in writing that sand used in these systems meets the requirements established by the department.(12) To set and collect a processing fee from applicants for review of sewage facilities planning modules for new land development by the department. The fees shall be as follows:(i) For any proposal to utilize on-lot sewage systems which proposal does not qualify as an exception to the requirement to revise an official plan in accordance with the rules and regulations of the department, the fee shall be thirty dollars ($30) per equivalent dwelling unit or per lot.(ii) For any proposal which can reasonably be expected to result in a surface discharge to waters of the Commonwealth or the surface of the ground of greater than two thousand gallons per day or a discharge to a subsurface absorption area for which a permit is required under the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L. 1987, No. 394), known as "The Clean Streams Law," the fee shall be one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500); however, the fee for a proposal submitted by a political subdivision shall be five hundred dollars ($500).(iii) For any proposal to utilize public sewerage services which utilization does not qualify as or is not designated as a module for a minor sewer project pursuant to the regulations of the department, the fee shall be fifty dollars ($50) per equivalent dwelling unit or per lot.(iv) For proposals consisting of one lot subdivided from a parent tract existing as of the effective date of this act, there shall be no fee. The subdivision of a second lot from the tract shall disqualify the applicant from the fee exemption.(v) For all other proposals not designated in subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) of this paragraph, the fee shall be thirty-five dollars ($35) per equivalent dwelling unit or per lot.(13) To establish minimum training requirements using any department curriculum of training as a prerequisite for applicants for certification as a sewage enforcement officer. Such curriculum may include a period of training under another certified sewage enforcement officer selected by the department as a prerequisite to certification for candidates who pass the certification test.(14) To require, at the department's discretion, a certified sewage enforcement officer whose performance has been evaluated and found deficient by the department to complete a training course which may include a department curriculum of training or a period of training under the direction of another certified sewage enforcement officer selected by the department for a time period established by the department. This training may be used by the department as an alternative to suspension or as a requirement for reinstatement of a suspended certification. The local agency employing the training sewage enforcement officer must authorize that officer to provide such training services which will be offered within the jurisdiction of that local agency. The costs of department-required training incurred by the training sewage enforcement officer and the local agency employing the training sewage enforcement officer shall be paid by the department from funds made available under section 13.2 of this act. (15) To delegate the review of certain alternate sewage systems as designated by the department to sewage enforcement officers, within the area of their jurisdiction, qualified by the department to review such systems.(16) To require local agencies to take necessary action to provide timely service, including, but not limited to, utilizing the services of an alternate sewage enforcement officer, employing temporary sewage enforcement officers and entering contracts for service.(17) To collect a fee of up to fifty dollars ($50) for the technical manual for sewage enforcement officers, except that certified sewage enforcement officers, local agencies and municipalities shall not be charged a fee.(18) To establish a training course for on-lot sewage system installers, to issue certificates of completion, to publish a listing of those installers who successfully completed the course and to charge a fee for attendance at the course.(19) To provide specific written reasons for its decision to any applicant whenever any plan or permit application required under the provisions of this act has been returned because the department has determined it to be incomplete because the department requests either additional information or verification of information submitted or because the department has issued a denial. Such information shall specify the defects found in the submission, plan or permit application and describe the requirements which have not been met.(20) To require municipalities and municipal authorities to provide municipal waste load management information regarding sewage capacity and expansion plans to any individual upon request.1966, Jan. 24, P.L. (1965) 1535, No. 537, § 10. Amended 1974, July 22, P.L. 621, No. 208, § 5; 1989 , July 1, P.L. 124, No. 26, § 5, imd. effective; 1994, Dec. 14, P.L. 1250, No. 149, § 7, effective in 365 days.