Shell Oil Co. v. Bucks County Department of Health

73 Pa. D. & C.2d 91
CourtPennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board
DecidedJune 30, 1975
DocketDocket no. 74-177-C
StatusPublished

This text of 73 Pa. D. & C.2d 91 (Shell Oil Co. v. Bucks County Department of Health) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shell Oil Co. v. Bucks County Department of Health, 73 Pa. D. & C.2d 91 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1975).

Opinion

COHEN, Member,

This matter is before the board on the appeal of Shell Oil Company (hereinafter Shell) from the action of the Bucks County Department of Health (hereinafter Bucks), taken on July 2,1974, denying Shell’s application to install a holding tank in connection with its proposed service station to be built on its property situate at the intersection of Route 611 and Edison Road, Doylestown, Bucks County, Pa. The stated reasons for the denial was Shell’s alleged failure to comply with the requirements of 25 Pa. Code §71.61(a)(1) and (2) which, at the time of the denial, provided:

“§71.61.1 Restrictions on use.
[93]*93“(a) Holding tanks require regular service and maintenance to prevent their malfunction and overflow and shall be used only in lieu of treatment tanks and subsurface absorption areas when all the following specific conditions are met:
“(1)' The applicable official plan or the revision thereto indicate the use of holding tanks for that lot and provides for replacement by adequate sewerage services in accordance with a schedule approved by the Department . . .
“(2) The municipality, sewer authority, or other Department-approved entity with jurisdiction or responsibility over the site has by suitable ordinance, regulation, or restriction assumed responsibility for maintaining existing and new holding tanks and has received Department approval for its proposed disposal site.”

On September 17,1974, the board issued an order to Shell and Bucks, the only parties of record before the board at that time, to submit to the board on or before October 17, 1974, a stipulation of those material facts to which they are able to agree. The said stipulation was filed with the board on October 19, 1974. On January 20, 1975, the parties were ordered to submit briefs on the legality of 25 Pa. Code §71.61(a)(1) and (2) on or before January 31, 1975. On January 30, 1975, the parties submitted their briefs on the issue of the legality of the aforementioned regulation. On the same day, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (hereinafter DER) filed a petition for leave to intervene. On February 7, 1975, Shell filed an answer to DER’s petition. On February 14, 1975, the board granted the Commonwealth’s petition to intervene for the sole purpose of allowing it to file a brief in support of the legality of the contested regu[94]*94lation of DER. Said brief was to be filed on or before March 3, 1975. The Commonwealth filed its brief with the board on the scheduled date.

On March 4, 1975, DER filed a motion for oral argument and a petition for a hearing. On March 6, 1975, DER filed an amended petition for hearing. The motion for oral argument and the petitions for a hearing were denied by the board on May 19, 1975.

On the basis of the foregoing, the board enters the following

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Appellant is Shell Oil Company, a Delaware corporation registered to do business in Pennsylvania with a registered business address of P. O. Box 805, Valley Forge, Pa.

2. Appellee is the Bucks County Department of Health, which is authorized to issue permits under the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act of January 24, 1966, P.L. (1965) 1535 (No. 537), as amended, 35 PS §750.1, et seq.

3. Intervenor is DER, the agency of the Commonwealth authorized to administer The Clean Streams Law of June 22, 1937, P.L. 1987, as amended, 35 PS §690.901, et seq., and to adopt regulations under the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act, supra.

4. Shell Oil Company is the owner of a certain tract of real estate situate at the intersection of Route 611 and Edison Road in Doylestown, Bucks County, Pa.

5. Shell has obtained the requisite zoning and building permits from the appropriate local authorities for the erection of a gasoline service station on the aforesaid property.

[95]*956. On May 8, 1972, Bucks issued a permit to Shell for the installation of an on-site sewage disposal system at the above site.

7. In April 1973, Shell began extensive demolition, grading and rock removal at the above site.

8. Construction of the service station proper was begun by Shell in late August, 1973.

9. On October 15, 1973, Shell received formal notice of a stop order issued by Bucks.

10. A hearing on the Bucks stop order was held on November 21, 1973.

11. Shell was notified by Bucks on November 23, 1973, that the revocation of the permit previously issued was upheld. Shell never appealed this revocation to the Environmental Hearing Board.

12. On April 30, 1974, Shell submitted revised plans for an on-site system.

13. On May 6, 1974, Shell was advised by Bucks County that no on-site system except a holding tank would be approved for this location.

14. Shell was also advised by Bucks on May 6, 1974, that in order to get approval for a holding tank, the requirements set forth in 25 Pa. Code §71.61(a)(1) and (2) would have to be met.

15. On June 17, 1974, Shell filed an application for approval of a holding tank system with Bucks. Bucks denied the application for failure to comply with 25 Pa. Code §71.61(a)(1) and (2).

16. The applicable official plan does not indicate the use of holding tanks for the lot in question and does not provide for replacement by other sewerage services in accordance with a schedule approved by the Department.

17. Doylestown Township has not assumed responsibility for maintaining existing and new holding tanks by appropriate ordinance or resolution.

[96]*9618. The holding tank proposed by Shell meets all the holding tank design specifications set forth in the DER rules and regulations.

19. Shell has offered to post a bond to guarantee the absolute cleanliness of its holding tank operation and to give appropriate assurances that it will deal only with a competent and reputable holding tank cleaning company.

20. There is no community sewer line accessible to this property.

21. Shell has thus fax expended $130,188 in site preparation and improvement of the property in question.

DISCUSSION

The central issue in this case is whether 25 Pa. Code §71.61(a)(1) and (2) are a proper exercise of the authority of DER finder the provisions of the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act, supra, or the provisions of The Clean Streams Law, supra. We are not concerned in this appeal with the action of Bucks in revoking a prior permit issued to Shell for an on-lot sewage disposal facility on the same tract of land in question. Shell never appealed that revocation to this board within the requisite time; therefore, we may not inquire as to the propriety of that action. Neither are we concerned with whether the revocation of the permit was the result of activities engaged in by Shell or for some other reason. We must presume that the revocation was for the reasons set forth in section 7(f) of the then operative provisions of the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act, supra.

Whether the provisions of the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act, supra, authorized the adoption of 25 Pa. Code §71.61(a)(1) and (2) depends upon the [97]*97provisions of that act.

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73 Pa. D. & C.2d 91, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shell-oil-co-v-bucks-county-department-of-health-paenvhrbd-1975.