[Adopted 7-10-2013 by Ord. No. 40-2013]
The following shall constitute the City's Precautionary
Principle policy. All officers, boards, commissions, and departments
of the City shall implement the Precautionary Principle in conducting
the City's affairs: The Precautionary Principle requires a thorough
exploration and a careful analysis of a wide range of alternatives.
Based on the best available science, the Precautionary Principle requires
the selection of the alternative that presents the least potential
threat to human health and the City's natural systems. Public
participation and an open and transparent decisionmaking process are
critical to finding and selecting alternatives. Where threats of serious
or irreversible damage to people or nature exist, lack of full scientific
certainty about cause and effect shall not be viewed as sufficient
reason for the City to postpone cost-effective measures to prevent
the degradation of the environment or protect the health of its citizens.
Any gaps in scientific data uncovered by the examination of alternatives
will provide a guidepost for future research, but will not prevent
the City from taking protective action. As new scientific data become
available, the City will review its decisions and make adjustments
when warranted. Where there are reasonable grounds for concern, the
precautionary approach to decisionmaking is meant to help reduce harm
by triggering a process to select the least potential threat. The
key elements of the Precautionary Principle approach to decisionmaking
include:
A. Anticipatory action: There is a duty to take anticipatory action
to prevent harm. Government, business, and community groups, as well
as the general public, share this responsibility.
B. Right to know: The community has a right to know complete and accurate
information on potential human health and environmental impacts associated
with the selection of products, services, operations or plans. The
burden to supply this information lies with the proponent, not with
the general public.
C. Alternatives assessment: An obligation exists to examine a full range
of alternatives and select the alternative with the least potential
impact on human health and the environment, including the alternative
of doing nothing.
D. Full cost accounting: When evaluating potential alternatives, there
is a duty to consider all the reasonably foreseeable costs, including
raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, Precautionary Principle
Policy statement use, cleanup, eventual disposal, and health costs
even if such costs are not reflected in the initial price. Short-
and long-term benefits and time thresholds should be considered when
making decisions.
E. Participatory decision process: Decisions applying the Precautionary
Principle must be transparent, participatory, and informed by the
best available science and other relevant information.
No later than three years from the effective date of this article,
and after a public hearing, the Department of Planning and Development
shall submit a report to the City Council on the effectiveness of
the Precautionary Principle policy.
The Business Administrator shall produce and maintain a list
of all City ordinances and resolutions which affect or relate to the
environment and shall post this list on the City website.
The City Council of the City of Atlantic City encourages all
City employees and officials to take the Precautionary Principle into
consideration and evaluate alternatives when taking actions that could
impact health and the environment, especially where those actions
could pose threats of serious harm or irreversible damage. This article
does not impose specific duties upon any City employee or official
to take specific actions. In adopting and undertaking the enforcement
of this article, the City of Atlantic City is assuming an undertaking
only to promote the general welfare. It is not assuming, nor is it
imposing on its officers and employees, an obligation for breach of
which it is liable in money damages to any person who claims that
such breach proximately caused injury nor may this article provide
any basis for any other judicial relief, including, but not limited
to, a writ of mandamus or an injunction. In adopting this article,
City Council does not intend to authorize or require the disclosure
to the public of any proprietary information protected under the laws
of the State of New Jersey.