City of Pawtucket, RI Chapter 231 Hazardous Materials

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the City of Pawtucket, approved 9-10-1992 as Ch. No. 2275. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Fire prevention — See Ch. 210.

§ 231-1 Cleanup; liability for costs.

A. The Fire Division is authorized to clean up or abate the effects of any hazardous material unlawfully released, discharged or deposited upon or onto property or facilities within the city.

B. The following described persons shall be jointly and severally liable to the city for the payment of all costs incurred by the city as a result of such cleanup or abatement activity:

(1) Any person or persons whose negligent or willful act or omission proximately caused such release, discharge or deposit.

(2) The person or persons who owned or had custody or control of the hazardous substance or material at the time of such release, discharge or deposit, without regard to fault or proximate cause.

(3) The person or persons who owned or had custody or control of the container which held such hazardous material or substance at the time of or immediately prior to such release, discharge or deposit, without regard to fault or proximate cause.

§ 231-2 Verification and supervision of cleanup operation; liability for costs.

In the event that any person undertakes, either voluntarily or upon order of the Fire Chief, his or her designee and/or authority having jurisdiction, or other city official, to clean up or abate the effects of any hazardous substance or material unlawfully released, discharged or deposited upon or onto property or facilities within the city, the Fire Chief may take such action as is necessary to supervise or verify the adequacy of the cleanup or abatement. The person described in § 231-1 shall be liable to the city for all costs incurred as a result of such supervision or verification.

§ 231-3 Term defined.

For the purpose of this chapter, "hazardous material" shall mean any of the following:

A. Any substance designated as a hazardous material by federal law.

B. Any substance designated as a hazardous material by the Rhode Island General Laws.

C. Any compressed gas, explosive, flammable liquid, flammable solid, oxidizer, poison or radioactive material.

D. Any of the following: explosives, pyrotechnics, flammable gas, flammable compressed gas, nonflammable compressed gas, flammable liquid, oxidizing material, any flammable material, poisonous gas, poisonous liquid, irritating material, material that causes disease in humans, gas under such pressure that an explosion hazard exists, radioactive material, corrosive material or liquid petroleum gas.

§ 231-4 Items included in city's costs for cleanup.

For the purposes of this chapter, costs incurred by the city shall include but shall not necessarily be limited to the following:

A. Actual labor costs of city personnel, including benefits and administrative overhead.

B. Cost of equipment operation.

C. Cost of materials obtained directly by the city.

D. Cost of any contract labor and materials.

§ 231-5 Nonexclusive remedy.

The remedies provided by this chapter shall be in addition to any other remedies or penalties provided by law.

§ 231-6 Fire suppression services.

The authority to recover costs under this chapter shall not include actual fire suppression services which are normally or usually provided by the Fire Division.

§ 231-7 Storage permit required.

[Added 8-24-2011 by Ch. No. 2973]

A. All storage of hazardous materials, other than motor vehicles, within the legal limits of the City shall require a permit to store, issued by the Fire Chief of the Fire Department. Such permit shall be issued annually and shall list the type and quantity of the hazardous material on the property.

B. The Chief of the Fire Department shall conduct a hazard analysis of the requested storage and may require as a condition of approval of the permit that safety measures be employed to assure handling and storage of the permitted hazardous materials not inconsistent with state or federal law. If said facility is deemed to be noncompliant with state or federal law, the Chief of the Fire Department may order a reinspection of the premises.

C. Failure to obtain a permit as required by this section shall be punishable by a fine of $100. Each day that hazardous materials are stored without the required permits shall constitute a new violation.

D. There shall be a required fee of $50 for a permit for the storage of "hazardous materials" under this section. There shall be a required fee of $100 for a permit for the storage of "extremely hazardous materials" under this section.

E. "Hazardous material" and "extremely hazardous material" as used in this section shall be defined as those materials listed in the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as the Superfund Law, including the Title III Amendments to Superfund, also known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

F. The permit required by this section does not alter in any way other federal and/or state regulations regarding the storage and/or transportation of hazardous materials, as may be required.

§ 231-8 Inspection and reinspection fee.

[Added 8-24-2011 by Ch. No. 2973]

A. The Pawtucket Fire Department shall charge and bill an inspection fee per inspection for any inspection performed by the Department pursuant to the provision of this Code or any provisions of the State Fire Code, or rules and regulations of the State Fire Marshal. Said inspection fee shall be determined as to each inspection by the Fire Department in accordance with the number of Fire Department personnel used and time to conduct said inspection at the applicable and current hourly pay rate.

B. Each subsequent reinspection shall constitute an inspection for which a separate fee shall be payable.