Dingman Township

                                                     Pike County, Pennsylvania

 

Sewage Notice #7

MEMO

 

To:       All Sewage system Designers Working in Dingman Township

From:  Chris Wood, SEO

Date:   3/23/09

 

Re:  Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act

 

 

Recently, I have heard rumors that the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act of 2007 would apply to sewage system repairs.  I contacted the Pennsylvania Attorney general’s office for a determination of applicability.  The following is their response:

 

The Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act defines "home improvement" as "...all of the following done in connection with land or a portion of the land adjacent to a private residence...for which the total cash price of all work agreed upon between the contractor and owner is more than $500:
 
(i) Repair, replacement, remodeling, demolition, removal, renovation, installation, alteration, conversion, modernization, improvement, rehabilitation or sandblasting...."
 
The law does not exempt septic or sewage system work so to the extent the work falls within the definition, the services and those selling or performing them would be covered by the law.

 

It is pretty clear the AG’s office intends to apply the Act to sewage system repair / replacement.  This brought up a second concern.  The question was brought before PASEO’s solicitor, Eugene Dice, “What about firms that perform testing and design the replacement systems?”  Attorney Dice’s response is that he believes testers/designers might have to comply with the Act.

 

If the work you perform that is governed by the Act, the Act would require you to register with the AG’s office and would affect the contracts that you write.

 

You are advised to contact your attorney for a legal opinion to determine whether the Act applies to your work and, if so, what steps you should take to become compliant with the Act.