[Ord. No. 5272 §1, 9-24-2012]
This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as "The Scrap Metal
Dealers Code".
[Ord. No. 5272 §1, 9-24-2012]
Unless it appears that a different meaning is intended, the
following words shall have the meaning given them by this Section:
A device designed for use in a vehicle for the purpose of
chemically converting exhaust gases, produced by the internal combustion
engine, into carbon dioxide and water vapor.
Any insulated copper wire, copper tubing, copper guttering
and downspouts, copper alloys, or any item composed completely of
copper.
Any air conditioner evaporator coil or condenser used in
connection with a residential, commercial or industrial building.
Shall have the same meaning as in Section 311.082, RSMo.
Any person or business entity that purchases products containing
ferrous or non-ferrous metals for recycling or resale. For the purposes
of this Chapter, any person holding a license under "The Waste Management
Code" of St. Louis County as a recycling center or as a waste hauler
shall not be considered a scrap metal dealer, nor shall a duly licensed
HVAC contractor, plumber or electrician be considered a scrap metal
dealer. For the purpose of enforcing violations of this Chapter, it
shall be a rebuttable presumption that any person storing or possessing
at their place of business more than one hundred (100) pounds of ferrous
or non-ferrous metals for recycling or resale is a scrap metal dealer.
Any commercial facility engaged in the repair or replacement
of car, truck and van, motorcycle or other motorized mechanical and
exhaust components, whether as a primary or ancillary activity.
[Ord. No. 5272 §1, 9-24-2012]
Hours of operation for scrap metal dealers may be no earlier
than 6:00 A.M. and no later than 7:00 P.M. daily.
[Ord. No. 5272 §1, 9-24-2012; Ord. No. 5358 §1, 3-24-2014; Ord. No. 5434 §7, 8-10-2015; Ord. No. 5773, 3-14-2022]
A.
Scrap metal dealers and other purchasers or collectors or dealers
in or of junk, scrap metal, or any secondhand property who keeps items
for resale or profit shall use and maintain a retrievable electronic
database containing a consecutively numbered record of each and every
purchase or trade of ferrous and non-ferrous metals and other materials
subject to the provisions of this Section. There shall be a separate
record for each transaction involving any:
1.
Copper, brass, or bronze;
2.
Aluminum wire, cable, pipe, tubing, bar, ingot, rod, fitting,
or fastener;
3.
Material containing copper or aluminum known to be used for
farming purposes as defined in Section 350.010, RSMo., of any length
or condition;
4.
Detached catalytic converter;
5.
Motor vehicle, heavy equipment, or tractor battery.
B.
Any person selling, exchanging or trading materials in a transaction described in Subsection (A) shall present a valid driver's license and/or a photographic identification from a State or Federal issuing agency (i.e., State-issued identification or Federal passport) to the person acquiring the material(s), and a copy shall be placed in the electronic database.
C.
The acquiring party shall, at the time of making the purchase or
trade, enter into the electronic database the following information:
1.
Name, gender, date of birth, and current address and color photograph of the seller if not included or different from the identification required under Subsection (B).
2.
Date, time, and place of the transaction.
3.
A full description of the material, including weight and purchase
price.
4.
License plate number of the vehicle delivering the material.
The information entered into the electronic database shall be
completed in full without any missing data or information.
D.
The electronic database shall at all times be maintained on the business
premises of the acquiring party.
E.
A transaction receipt shall consist of the same information required under Subsection (C) of this Section and shall include the following statement:
"By accepting payment from [insert name of acquiring party],
seller represents and warrants that the material documented by this
receipt is owned by or was lawfully obtained and the seller has the
legal right to sell the material to [insert name of acquiring party]."
If the seller provides any documentation that the person is
in lawful possession of the materials, or was otherwise lawfully acquired,
including without limitation a bill of sale or receipt, the acquiring
party shall photocopy such documentation and maintain it with the
transaction information otherwise required by this Section.
F.
All records described in this Section shall be maintained for thirty-six
(36) months from the date of the transaction.
[1]
State Law Reference — These requirements include and
exceed those established by Section 407.300, RSMo.
[Ord. No. 5272 §1, 9-24-2012; Ord. No. 5358 §1, 3-24-2014; Ord. No. 5434 §8, 8-10-2015; Ord. No. 5773, 3-14-2022]
A.
No person subject to this Chapter 621 shall knowingly and willfully purchase any stolen scrap metal or any of the following types of materials:
1.
New materials, such as those used in construction, or equipment
or tools used by contractors unless accompanied by proof of ownership
or authorization to sell the materials on behalf of the owner;
2.
Materials which are clearly marked as property belonging to
someone other than the seller, unless accompanied by written authorization
from the business or property owner evidencing the seller has the
legal right to sell the material;
3.
HVAC components unless accompanied by written authorization
from a licensed HVAC business evidencing that the components were
legally removed in compliance with the Federal Clean Air Act and related
regulations and the seller has the legal right to sell the material;
4.
Catalytic converters except when sold directly to or from a
vehicle repair business; no transaction that includes a detached catalytic
converter shall occur at any location other than the fixed place of
business of the acquiring party and no detached catalytic converter
shall be altered, modified, or destroyed until it has been in the
possession of the acquiring party for at least five (5) business days;
6.
Any metal that can be identified as belonging to a public or
private cemetery, a political subdivision, telecommunications provider,
cable provider, wireless service or other communications-related provider,
electrical cooperative, water utility, municipal utility, or utility
regulated under Chapters 386, 392 or 393, RSMo., including twisted
pair copper telecommunications wiring of one (1) pair or more existing
in 19, 22, 24, or 26 gauge burnt wire, bleachers, guardrails, signs,
street and traffic lights or signals, and manhole cover or covers,
whether broken or unbroken, from anyone other than the cemetery or
monument owner, political subdivision, telecommunications provider,
cable provider, wireless service or other communications-related provider,
electrical cooperative, water utility, municipal utility, utility
regulated under Chapters 386, 392 or 393, RSMo., or manufacturer of
the metal or item described in this Section unless such person is
authorized, in writing, by the cemetery or monument owner, political
subdivision, telecommunications provider, cable provider, wireless
service or other communications-related provider, water utility, municipal
utility, electrical cooperative, utility regulated under Chapter 386,
392 or 393, RSMo., or manufacturer to sell the metal.[2]
[Ord. No. 5855, 9-14-2023]
[2]
State Law Reference — § 407.302, RSMo.
B.
The acquiring party shall make a photocopy of any documentation provided
pursuant to this Section, retain the copy as part of the transaction
record, and maintain such photocopy for a period of thirty-six (36)
months following the transaction.
C.
No person shall purchase or otherwise receive from a person under
the age of eighteen (18) any ferrous or non-ferrous metal, other than
aluminum cans.
[Ord. No. 5272 §1, 9-24-2012; Ord. No. 5358 §1, 3-24-2014; Ord.
No. 5773, 3-14-2022]
A.
An acquiring party subject to this Chapter shall pay for any copper property or HVAC component in accordance with Subsection (B) regardless of the amount of payment.
B.
An acquiring party that is subject to this Chapter paying out an
amount that is five hundred dollars ($500.00) or more shall make such
payment by issuing a prenumbered check drawn on a regular bank account
in the name of the acquiring party and with such check made payable
to the person documented as the seller in accordance with City ordinances
and applicable law, or by using a system for automated cash or electronic
payment distribution which photographs or videotapes the payment recipient
and identifies the payment with a distinct transaction in the register
maintained in accordance with this Chapter.
[1]
State Law Reference — §407.303, RSMo.
[Ord. No. 5272 §1, 9-24-2012; Ord. No. 5773, 3-14-2022]
A.
An
acquiring party subject to this Chapter with actual knowledge that
materials in its possession has been stolen shall notify the Police
Department and provide any information in its possession relative
to the seller or to the sale transaction.
[Ord. No. 5272 §1, 9-24-2012; Ord. No. 5773, 3-14-2022]
Acquiring parties subject to this Chapter shall register with
or subscribe to the alert system established by the Institute of Scrap
Recycling Industries, Inc., referred to as the "ISRI scrap metal theft
alert system" and maintain and make regular use of that registration
or subscription.
[Ord. No. 5773, 3-14-2022]
A.
This Chapter shall not apply to either of the following transactions:
1.
Any transaction for which the seller has an existing business
relationship with the acquiring party and is known to that party to
be an established business or political subdivision that operates
a business with a fixed location that can be reasonably expected to
generate regulated scrap metal and can be reasonably identified as
such a business, and for which the seller is paid by check or by electronic
funds transfer, or the seller produces an acceptable identification,
which shall be a copy of the driver's license or photo identification
issued by the State or by the United States government or agency thereof,
and a copy is retained by the purchaser; or
2.
Any transaction for which the type of metal subject to this
Chapter is a minor part of a larger item, except for heating and cooling
equipment or equipment used in the generation and transmission of
electrical power or telecommunications.
