[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Franklin 8-22-1994 by Ord. No. 94-5; amended in its entirety 2-9-1998 by Ord. No.
98-2. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
It is the intent of this chapter to regulate
poultry businesses, which result in the creation of poultry manure,
for the protection of persons and property and for the preservation
of the public health, safety and welfare of the Township of Franklin
and its inhabitants and to ensure that poultry business sites are
maintained and operated in such a manner as to minimize surface and
ground water contamination, air pollution, odors and annoyance from
flies. Any poultry business housing less than 10,000 birds or fowl
is exempt from this chapter.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any person, by site, whose act or process results in the
production of poultry manure.
Includes any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind.
Includes a place where poultry eggs are laid or hatched,
or poultry of any kind is raised or produced for sale.
Effective January 1, 1995, it shall be a violation
of this chapter for any person to operate and maintain a poultry business
within the Township without first having an approved poultry manure
waste management and disposal plan (MDP) in accordance with the requirements
of this chapter. The operation of a poultry business without an approved
plan in place shall subject the operator to the fines and penalties
set forth in this chapter. Nothing in this section shall be construed
to permit the Township to enjoin the operation of the poultry business
because of the failure to have an approved MDP. Approvals of MDP's
or MDP are not transferrable. Upon the sale of any poultry business,
a new application must be forwarded for review and approval as set
forth herein. If such sale occurs after November 1 in any year, the
purchaser/transferee shall have 30 days following said sale or transfer
in which to submit an MDP or MDP's for review and approval. The Township
will then have 60 days in which to review and approve or disapprove
the MDP or MDP's.
Application for approval of the MDP required by § 107-4 of this chapter shall be submitted to the Township Clerk no later than November 1 of each year for the succeeding year's approval upon forms provided by the Township Clerk and shall be signed and verified by the applicant and shall contain the following information:
A.
Name and address of applicant: if an individual, the
name, address and business address; if a partnership, the name, address,
residence and business address of each partner; if a corporation,
the name and address of all officers, all stockholders, including
all names, and addresses of persons who own in excess of 10% of the
shares of the corporation; if not a corporation of the State of New
Jersey, whether the same is authorized to do business in the State
of New Jersey; the name and address of all partners if any stockholder
is a partnership; and the name and address of all officers if any
stockholder is a corporation.
B.
The name and address of the owner of the property
for which approval of the MDP is sought. In the event that the applicant
is not the owner, then written consent of the owner must be furnished.
C.
A poultry manure waste management disposal plan (MDP)
prepared by a professional reasonably qualified in the disciplines
related to the sound and healthful management of poultry and/or poultry
wastes, who shall be acceptable to the Township Committee and who
shall, in either case, be familiar with environmental regulations
relating to industrial uses of property, including but not limited
to the Water Pollution Control Act,[1] the Clean Air Act, New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NJPDES) and other similar environmental laws and regulations.
The MDP shall contain the following information:
(1)
An estimate of the amount of poultry (birds) expected
to be kept on the approved premises in the year for which the approval
is sought from January 1 to December 31.
(2)
An estimated amount of poultry manure expected to
be generated each year for which the approval is sought from January
1 to December 31.
(3)
A detailed description of how the poultry manure is
collected and stored.
(4)
A detailed description of the treatment the poultry
manure will receive to minimize odors, flies and water runoff, otherwise
known as an "integrated pest management control plan."
(5)
A detailed description of the method used to remove
the poultry manure from inside the houses and an estimated range of
dates and times of day of expected removal.
(6)
Removal of poultry manure.
(a)
For all of the poultry manure removed from the
approved premises and disposed of in Franklin Township, set forth:
[1]
A list of the location or locations to which
the poultry manure will be taken, including the name of each property
owner and the lot and block numbers of property, and certification
that for each disposal site an approved nutrient management plan is
on file; provided that from February 1 through October 14 of every
calendar year, no poultry manure shall be delivered or applied if
the ground is frozen or temperature reaches 60° F. in the following
zone: from north of the railroad to the Township line and east of
Edison Road to the Township lines under any circumstances.
[Amended 3-2-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-3]
[2]
The number of acres to which poultry manure
will be applied.
[3]
The type of crop expected to be grown with the
use of poultry manure.
[4]
The amount expected to be applied to each acre.
[5]
A range of dates on which poultry manure is
to be delivered to such farms.
[6]
The range of dates on which poultry manure may
be delivered shall be limited to October 15 through April 15 of every
calendar year unless the temperature on any given day reaches 60°
F. and the ground is not frozen, then under those circumstances, no
poultry manure shall be delivered.
[Added 3-29-1999 by Ord. No. 99-8; amended 7-12-1999 by Ord. No.
99-14; 3-2-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-3]
[7]
In specific cases and for particular reasons on application made by an applicant, the range of dates set forth in Subsection C(6)(a)[6] herein may be extended; provided, however, that nothing herein shall infer, imply or grant any modification to the remaining provisions of Subsection C(6)(a)[6].
[Added 3-10-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-6]
(b)
If the information required by this subsection
is not available by the November 1 deadline for plan submission, then
such information shall be provided at a later date, but in no event
shall the information required by the subsection be provided by the
applicant later than 30 days prior to the removal of any manure from
the premises. No manure shall be removed without this portion of the
plan being in place.
(7)
A plan to regulate the emission of air and other contents
from each building into the outside air in such a fashion as to minimize
the emission of substances which may be deleterious to humans coming
into contact with them or a statement that no such plan is feasible.
(8)
The plan and any information provided to the Township
pursuant to this chapter shall be forwarded to the Township via certified
mail, return receipt requested with a copy to the Mayor of the Township
and the Township Zoning Officer.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 58:10A-1.
A.
Each application shall be accompanied by a fee of
$500. Each applicant shall also be required to place an escrow towards
and shall be responsible for all costs of review and approval of the
applicant's application. Such costs may include, but are not limited
to, engineers, consultants, attorneys or other persons necessary,
in the Township Committee's opinion, for the approval of the applicant's
application. The escrow deposit required shall be $8,500 for an initial
application and $2,500 with respect to a review application, provided
that said amounts may be adjusted downwards or upwards by resolution
of the Township Committee upon a finding of reasonable cause for such
adjustment.
B.
The fee shall not be prorated and may be adjusted
from time to time to approximate the cost of administration of various
provisions of this chapter.
All applications shall be reviewed by the Township's
consultants and forwarded to the Township Committee along with their
recommendations. The Township Committee shall determine whether the
application is in accordance with this chapter and good farming and
health practices and, if so, shall approve the MDP. The application
shall be filed with the Township no later than November 1 of each
year for the year commencing on January 1 of the next year. The Township's
consultants shall review the proposed plan submitted by the applicant
by December 1 of each year. If the applicant and Township's consultants
cannot agree on the MDP by January 1, then the Township Committee
shall hold a hearing to approve or disapprove the MDP as proposed
by the applicant.
The Warren County Health Department, in conjunction
with the Township's consultants, is hereby designated as inspector
whose duty shall be to conduct inspections of the approved premises
in order to determine whether operations are being conducted n accordance
with the requirements contained in this chapter and the poultry manure
waste management disposal plan. Said inspections shall be conducted
at a minimum of once per month or as frequently as deemed necessary
by the Warren County Health Department in conjunction with the Township's
consultants. The inspector shall submit, upon written request, written
reports of all such inspections to the Township Committee. The inspector
is further designated as the enforcement officer of this chapter and
shall, in conjunction with the Township's consultants, investigate
any and all alleged violations thereof.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:52-1.2 and Town Ordinance
90-2[1], it is hereby required that, as a condition for the approval
of an MDP, the applicant, if he is the owner thereof, shall pay any
delinquent property taxes or assessments on the property wherein the
business or activity for which the approval is sought or wherein such
business or activity is to be conducted.
A.
Removal of poultry manure from the approved premises
may be conducted only from Monday through Saturday during daylight
hours.
B.
All roads or traveled rights-of-way within the approved
premises must be regularly cleaned or treated with a dust-arresting
agent as necessary to reduce the excessive accumulation and dissemination
of manure beyond the approved premises.
C.
All vehicles, including tires and undercarriage, used
in the removal of the manure from the approved premises shall be washed,
if necessary, before leaving the approved premises to reduce the dissemination
of manure beyond the boundaries of the approved premises.
D.
No manure or soil shall be tracked from a site at
which manure is disposed. In the event that manure or soil is deposited
on a roadway in the Township, the same shall be cleaned within 24
hours.
E.
All vehicles shall be enclosed or tarped in such a
way as to prevent the escape of manure from the vehicle transporting
it.
F.
Disposal of poultry manure on the approved premises
is prohibited. Also the stockpiling or other presence of manure outside
the buildings which house the poultry for more than the time necessary
to clean up an accidental spill or discharge is prohibited. Nothing
herein contained shall be construed to prevent or prohibit an operator
of a poultry business from using poultry manure in its own farming
operations, in accordance with its MDP and otherwise in compliances
with applicable laws and good farming practice.
G.
Manure shall be plowed into the ground by mold board plowed into the soil. The user of the manure must have an approved soil management plan from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. (Note: See Nuisance Ordinance, Chapter 146.)
[Amended 3-29-1999 by Ord. No. 99-8; 7-12-1999 by Ord. No.
99-14; 12-20-1999 by Ord. No. 99-24]
A.
The penalty portions of this chapter shall be enforced
on behalf of the Township of Franklin by the Warren County Health
Department which shall investigate any violation of this chapter coming
to its attention whether by complaint by any interested person or
otherwise. If a violation is found to exist or have existed, the Warren
County Health Department shall have the authority to prosecute a complaint
in the Municipal Court or to seek such other relief as may be available
to it. Any proceedings pursuant to this chapter may also be instituted
and prosecuted by the Township in accordance with the provisions of
this chapter.
B.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter
or any provision of any plan approved in accordance with this chapter
shall, for each such violation or offense, be fined up to $1,000 for
every day in which a violation or offense of any provision of this
chapter exists or continues, unabated.
C.
Additional relief.
(1)
Additional relief may include:
(a)
A temporary or permanent injunction.
(b)
Assessment against the violator for the cost
of any investigation, inspection, monitoring which led to the establishment
of the violation and for the reasonable costs of preparing and litigating
the case; such costs may be awarded only if the Township prevails
in its case.
(c)
Assessment against the violator for any costs
incurred by the Township in removing, correcting or terminating the
adverse effects upon environmental quality or public health resulting
from any violation of this chapter.
(d)
Assessment against the violator for compensatory
damages for any loss or destruction of wildlife, fish, water quality
and/or for any actual damages caused by any violation of the sort.
(2)
Assessments against any violator hereof may be paid
from, but shall not be limited to or by the terms or amount of, the
performance bond or letter of credit posted by such person.
The Township Committee may, by resolution, waive
the compliance by an applicant with specific technical requirements
or technical defects in an application, upon a finding by such Committee
that:
A.
Reasonable cause exists for the grant of such waiver.
B.
Compliance with the technical requirement or cure
of the technical defect will cause undue hardship to the applicant.
C.
The health and safety purposes of this chapter will
not be materially adversely affected by such waiver.
D.
A change in conditions subsequent to an approval makes
it necessary to amend the terms of an MDP.
