[Ord. No. 8748, 11-22-2021]
A. 
Purpose. The purposes of this Section are:
1. 
To adopt standards for identifying dangerous levels of toxic chemicals and residue associated with the presence or production of methamphetamine; and
2. 
To establish protocols whereby the building safety personnel may cooperate with and rely on law enforcement and emergency agencies when applying property maintenance and safety standards to order or cause the abatement of contamination in structures due to the presence or production of methamphetamine.
B. 
Definitions. For purposes of this Section, the words or terms listed below are defined as follows:
DEPARTMENT
The Department of Public Works of the City of Florissant.
METHAMPHETAMINE
Dextro methamphetamine, levo methamphetamine, and unidentified isomers of the same, any racemic mixture of dextro/levo methamphetamine, or any mixture of unidentified isomers of methamphetamine. The term includes derivatives, conjugates, oxides and reduced forms of the basic structure associated with the formation of methamphetamine. For the purposes of this protocol, this term includes amphetamine, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.
QUALIFIED COMPANY or QUALIFIED CONTRACTOR
A company or contractor that tests structures for the presence of unsafe contamination and/or abates such unsafe contamination and that:
1. 
Complies with the guidelines of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Voluntary Guidelines for Methamphetamine Laboratory Cleanup (August 2009);
2. 
Complies with the regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the United States Department of Labor relating to hazardous waste operations and emergency response, including 29 Code of Federal Regulations Section 1910.120;
3. 
Requires that at least one (1) employee or supervisor assigned to and on duty at any work site shall have completed the forty (40) hour Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HASWOPER) training [Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 29 CFR 1910]; and
4. 
Requires its personnel to complete a clandestine drug lab assessment and decontamination course offered by a sponsor acceptable to a regional drug task force and/or the department.
UNSAFE CONTAMINATION
The presence of chemicals in a structure at levels exceeding the levels for such chemicals as provided in Subsection (C) below.
C. 
Unsafe Contamination. A structure will be considered unsafe for purposes of the Property Maintenance Code of the City of Florissant if it is found to contain any of the chemicals listed below at exposure limits above the levels listed below established by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH):
1. 
Red Phosphorus — any amount.
2. 
Iodine Crystals C0.1 ppm (1 mg/m3).
3. 
Sulfuric Acid TWA 1 mg/m3.
4. 
Hydrogen Chloride C 5 ppm (7 mg/m3).
5. 
Hydrochloric Acid (Hcl gas) - C 5 ppm (7 mg/m3).
6. 
Methamphetamine — in a concentration equal to or greater than 1.5 ugram/100 cm2.
7. 
Lead And Mercury. If it is determined that the phenyl-2-propanone (P2P) method of methamphetamine manufacturing was used, surface levels for lead in excess of 20 u/ft2 and vapor samples for Mercury in excess of 50 ng/m3.
D. 
Closure And Abatement Orders Upon Report And Investigation By Law Enforcement Or Emergency Agencies.
1. 
When a law enforcement or emergency agency reports to the department that a structure in the City has been used for the production of methamphetamine or as a storage facility for methamphetamine or chemicals used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine, the department may order that structure closed pursuant to the emergency measures provided in the City's property maintenance and/or safety codes. The department shall rescind such an order if the law enforcement or emergency agency later reports that after testing and investigation it has not found unsafe contamination in that structure.
2. 
When a law enforcement or emergency agency reports to the department that it has found unsafe contamination in a structure in the City that has been used for the production of methamphetamine or as a storage facility for methamphetamine or chemicals used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine, the department shall order that structure closed pursuant to the emergency measures provided in the City's property maintenance and/or safety codes.
E. 
Supplementary Notice And Instructions.
1. 
While closure and abatement orders pursuant to the emergency measures provided in the City's property maintenance and/or safety codes may be posted, the department shall also attempt to contact the owner of record of the affected property, or the owner's agent, by personal service, first class mail or by posting on the property or publication if mail is returned as undelivered.
2. 
Such notice shall direct the owner to contact the department within twenty (20) calendar days to establish a schedule for decontaminating the structure, and further advise the owner that failure to contact the department within that time specified may result in a request to disconnect utility services in order to ensure that the structure is not re-occupied until it is decontaminated.
3. 
Such notice shall also inform the owner that if the owner contacts the department within the time specified in the notice, the owner may request to have the structure retested, but such retesting must be performed as follows.
a. 
The owner must employ the services of a qualified company or contractor to perform sampling and to analyze the samples.
b. 
An inspector for the department must be present when the qualified company or contractor takes samples and the owner shall pay an inspection fee of forty dollars ($40.00), payment of which must be made prior to the appointment for taking samples.
c. 
Sampling and testing shall be performed in accordance with the appropriate sections of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Voluntary Guidelines for Methamphetamine Laboratory Cleanup (August 2009).
d. 
The qualified company or contractor engaged by the owners must report the results of its analysis of the samples taken to the department.
F. 
Decontamination.
1. 
If unsafe contamination exists in a structure, the owner shall hire a qualified contractor or company to decontaminate the structure and advise the department of the schedule for decontamination.
2. 
The schedule for the work and evidence that the qualified contractor or company meets the requirements of this Section must be submitted for approval to the department within twenty (20) calendar days of the receipt of notice. Approval will be based solely on the timeliness of the schedule and the qualifications of the contractor. Approval or rejection of the schedule will be provided within a reasonable time of submission. If rejected the owner will be informed, in writing, of specific reasons for the rejection and will be required to amend the schedule or the proposed qualified contractor or company. Decontamination shall be performed in accordance with the appropriate sections of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Voluntary Guidelines for Methamphetamine Laboratory Cleanup (August 2009).
3. 
If the owner of property determined to have unsafe contamination fails to voluntarily abate that contamination, the department may serve a notice of violation and proceed in accordance with provisions for abatement of unsafe conditions or structures in the City's property maintenance and/or safety codes. The department may request disconnection of the utility services until the decontamination is complete.
4. 
Post Decontamination Sampling. Following the completion of the work, the owner shall notify the department that work is complete and the owner must provide written test results as evidence that the property is compliant with this regulation. The post remediation sampling and testing must be performed by a qualified contractor or company other than and independent of the contractor or company that performed the decontamination, and that sampling and testing must be done in accordance with the appropriate sections of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Voluntary Guidelines for Methamphetamine Laboratory Cleanup (August 2009).
G. 
Final Action. After the property has been decontaminated and the department is in possession of evidence that the pertinent chemical levels are below unsafe contamination levels, the structure will be considered safe and suitable for performance of a full inspection for an occupancy permit. If utility services have been disconnected, the department will notify the utilities that the unsafe condition has been mitigated and service can be restored. The property owner shall be responsible for any reconnection fees.