[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Red Hook 4-13-1976 by L.L. No. 10-1976 as Ch. 43 of the 1976 Code. Amendments noted where applicable].
GENERAL REFERENCES
Zoning — See Ch. 143.
This chapter shall be known as the "Refuse Disposal Regulations of the Town of Red Hook, New York."
By the adoption of this chapter, the Town Board of the Town of Red Hook declares its intent to be to regulate and license the operation within this town of refuse disposal areas known as sanitary landfill sites and to prohibit the dumping of refuse, garbage and rubbish in an open area without being treated in the manner herein provided. Such dumping is hereby declared to constitute a menace and threat to the public health, safety, welfare and morals and can adversely affect the growth and development of this town. Fire, odors and fumes are frequently emitted from such open dumps, all a potential public hazard and threat to the person and property of the inhabitants of this town. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in the Town Law § 130, Subdivision 6, and pursuant to its police power as contained in the Town Law § 130, Subdivisions 11 and 15, the Town Board of the Town of Red Hook does hereby ordain as follows.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
GARBAGE
Waste food, papers, dead animals or parts thereof and all waste or discarded wood, lumber or vegetable matter of any kind, or any other matter which shall be inflammable or capable of fermentation or decay.
NATURAL GAS AND OIL PRODUCTION BY-PRODUCTS
Any refuse, sludge, or other waste materials, whether or not recycled or reused or intended to be recycled or reused, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material that results from, is associated with or is produced as a by-product of the exploration, drilling or extraction of natural gas or oil and other subsurface hydrocarbons, including without limitation production brine, produced waters, flowback, flowback fluids or hydraulic fracturing fluids.
[Added 5-14-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]
PERSON
An individual, group of individuals, partnership, firm, public or private corporation, institution, association or other entity.
PREMISES
Land, buildings or other structures, vehicles or parts thereof.
REFUSE
All putrescible and nonputrescible solid wastes, including garbage, rubbish, ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, offal, construction and demolition debris and solid commercial and industrial wastes, not including natural gas and oil production by-products.
[Amended 4-9-1991 by L.L. No. 1-1991; 5-14-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]
REFUSE DISPOSAL
The use of a disposal area for an accumulation of refuse for profit, or use of a disposal area for an accumulation of refuse not confined to collection of refuse from a single family.
REFUSE DISPOSAL AREA
Land used for the depositing of refuse.
RUBBISH
Waste metal, tin cans, ashes, cinders, glass, pottery and all discarded substances of a solid and combustible nature.
The owner and/or the owner's agent, and the occupant of any premises within the Town of Red Hook, Dutchess County, New York, shall be responsible for the sanitary condition of any premises owned or occupied by him or her or of which he or she has possession and control, and it shall be unlawful for any person to place, collect, deposit or allow to be placed, collected or deposited on any premises in the Town of Red Hook any refuse, except as provided in this chapter.
[Added 5-14-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]
No land in the Town of Red Hook shall be used for the disposal of natural gas and oil production by-products.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to carry on or conduct a refuse disposal business within the Town of Red Hook unless such person shall first obtain a license for such business, which license shall be issued by the Town Clerk only upon the approval of the Town Board and after proper application therefor and payment of the required fee.
B. 
The fee for a refuse disposal business license shall be the sum of $1,000.
[Amended 4-9-1991 by L.L. No. 1-1991]
C. 
All such licenses shall be annual licenses for the period January 1 to December 31 and shall expire at 12:00 midnight on December 31 of the year in which issued; renewals of such licenses shall not be granted except upon proper application to the Town Clerk and payment of the annual fee.
D. 
All applications for licenses shall be made upon forms approved by the Town Board and shall contain the following:
(1) 
The name, citizenship, sex, age, occupation and address of the applicant and any other addresses used by the applicant during the preceding 10 years.
(2) 
If a partnership, corporation or association, the names and addresses of all partners, officers and directors, with a statement of the age and occupation of each.
(3) 
A description and list of all operating equipment and the minimum number of employees to be used by the applicant.
(4) 
The ownership and location of the site to be used, its size and dimensions, a complete description thereof and the interest of the applicant therein.
(5) 
An express agreement by the applicant that the applicant will carry on and conduct the licensed business in full compliance with this chapter and with any amendments thereof, and that the applicant's site and equipment may be inspected at any reasonable time by the Town Board or its designated agents.
E. 
Such license shall be personal with the licensee. It shall not go with the title to the land nor may it be sold, assigned, transferred or disposed of in any manner.
F. 
Such license may be revoked by the Town Board after public hearing thereon, at which time the licensee shall have an opportunity to be heard. Upon revocation or the expiration of a license issued hereunder, the town may require the licensee to put the licensed site area in a proper, safe and sanitary state.
G. 
The maximum number of licensed disposal sites permitted within the Town of Red Hook at one time shall be five in number.
A. 
No refuse disposal area or the fills thereon shall be located so as to obstruct natural drainage channels, nor where springs exist, nor in any location subject to flooding, unless protective dikes are erected or other measures are taken to prevent erosion of the fill.
B. 
No refuse disposal area or the fills thereon shall be located in areas where a normal or raised water table during rainy seasons might result in pollution of public or private water supplies, nor where the presence of creviced limestone or other rock or soil formation might cause underground pollution.
A. 
The refuse disposal area shall be maintained and operated in a safe and sanitary manner at all times.
B. 
The Town Board of the Town of Red Hook and its representatives and any officer of the Town of Red Hook designated by the Town Board may inspect and supervise the disposal area at all times. The frequency of such inspections and the making and filing of inspection reports shall be as designated by the Town Board.
C. 
The disposal and treatment of refuse shall be performed in accordance with state and local laws, and the following procedures shall be observed at all times:
(1) 
General standards. Refuse shall be deposited, compacted thoroughly in layers, and all exposed surfaces shall be completely covered with at least six inches of compacted earth, with a final suitable cover of compacted earth, having such composition that will support equipment and not shrink and crack open when dry. Suitable equipment must be used to perform the necessary digging, compacting and covering.
(2) 
Specific standards.
(a) 
Refuse shall be compacted into layers of approximately 1/4 of the original refuse volume, taking into consideration compaction which may occur in special types of collecting trucks or vehicles.
(b) 
Bulky waste material which might furnish rat harborage may not be used for final surface or side slopes but must be placed completely within the fill.
(c) 
All exposed surfaces, including the face of the fill, shall be covered with at least six inches of earth at the end of each day of operation.
(d) 
The final earth covering shall consist of compacted earth of a suitable depth.
(e) 
Cracks, depressions and erosion of earth covering shall be promptly repaired and all completed fills must be maintained until fill becomes stabilized.
(f) 
Surface water shall be properly drained or treated with effective chemicals so as to prevent mosquito production and odors.
(g) 
Suitable measures, including fencing, shall be taken to prevent the scattering of lightweight materials, to control dust and otherwise prevent a local nuisance or the breeding or harborage of rodents or insects in or on the site.
(h) 
Adequate equipment for digging, compacting and covering shall be provided as needed.
(i) 
Scavenger wastes shall not be deposited unless specifically approved and such material is completely buried under competent supervision immediately after depositing.
(j) 
All disposals shall be conducted in conformity with rules and regulations adopted for the protection of any source of public water supply.
(k) 
No material shall be permitted to burn after placement in the fill. The burning of refuse shall be restricted to readily combustible materials, shall be permitted only between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays only and at all times shall be permitted only in such manner as not to create a nuisance to adjacent property, and the residue therefrom shall be disposed of by incorporation into the sanitary fill.
(l) 
No scavenging shall be permitted except under a special permit for the removal of such wastes. Any material removed from the disposal site shall be so processed, treated or changed as to render it unusable for reuse by humans without suitable cleansing and disinfection.
(m) 
All depositing of refuse shall be made in a planned and controlled manner.
D. 
No refuse originating outside the boundaries of the Town of Red Hook or collected outside such boundaries shall be deposited in or brought to any disposal area.
A. 
Any person who commits or permits any offense against any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a violation and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $250 for each offense or by imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment; and each day that a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense.
B. 
Conviction of a violation of this chapter shall constitute and effect an immediate forfeiture of any license hereunder held by the person so convicted.
In addition to the penalties and punishment hereinabove provided, the Town Board may also give notice by ordinary mail to any licensee of any violations of this chapter by such licensee, and if such violations are not corrected and cured within a reasonable time set by said Board, and in no event later than 10 days from the date of such notice, the Town Board may suspend or revoke any license which may have been issued to such licensee. The Town Board may also maintain an action or proceeding in the name of the town in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance with, or to restrain by injunction the violation of, this chapter.