[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Silverdale as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Solid waste — See Ch. 271.
[Adopted 10-7-1991 by Ord. No. 226]
The purpose of this article, to be known as
the "Spill Cleanup Ordinance," is to protect the public health and
safety of all Borough residents from petroleum products, oil, gas
and other chemical spills and fires by requiring that the party who
caused or is responsible for the spill to bear the costs of the cleanup
and to take all steps necessary to complete the cleanup in an expeditious
fashion. It is anticipated that the Borough and its officials will
monitor the cause and progress of the cleanup closely.
As used in this article, the following terms
are to be defined as follows:
The Borough of Silverdale, Pennsylvania.
Oily liquids, ranging in hue from almost colorless to black,
consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons with other materials. Petroleum
products are to include but not be limited to gasoline, fuel oil,
motor oil, diesel fuel, natural gas, propane, etc.
The owner of petroleum products or chemicals or the common
carrier of any type whatsoever, including pipelines of said petroleum
products or chemicals, as well as any person who, through negligence
or otherwise, is a cause of petroleum product or chemical spills,
releases or fire involving said petroleum products or chemicals.
The owner or possessor of petroleum products or
chemicals or the common carrier of any type whatsoever, including
pipelines carrying said petroleum products or chemicals, shall be
responsible for and bear the cost of the control, extinguishment and
cleanup of petroleum products or chemical spills, releases or fire
involving said petroleum products or chemical spills within the Borough
of Silverdale. In the event of the failure of the responsible party
to control, extinguish or clean up any spill, fire or release immediately
after notification or knowledge of the occurrence, the Borough may
perform the necessary work and bill such person to compensate the
Borough for all related costs and expenses plus 10%, including but
not limited to special equipment and materials used and labor costs.
The cost of any and all special equipment and
material used by the Borough and/or its assigns in the performance
of any cleanup action shall be reimbursed and recovered by the Borough
from any and all parties responsible for said cleanup action to be
instituted.
The cost of labor shall include actual wage
rates, including fringe benefits, paid by the Borough to all personnel
involved in the extinguishing of any extraordinary fire or in cleaning
up any extraordinary spill or release involving chemicals or petroleum
products, together with any medical expenses for said personnel.
The owner, possessor or carrier of any petroleum
products or chemicals, including pipeline as aforesaid, shall also
be liable for all costs of any storage of chemicals or petroleum products
or the costs of disposing the same.
The responsible party for any spill or release
involving petroleum products or chemicals is to begin the cleanup
immediately upon notification or knowledge of the occurrence.
A.
Whenever a petroleum product or chemical accident
occurs, the responsible party causing the accident shall be required
to test the sites of the accident and surrounding properties and wells
for contamination. The responsible party shall pay the costs of the
testing and shall pay the costs for any necessary cleanup. The responsible
party must thereafter certify that there is no contamination at the
site and surrounding properties and wells and that the Borough and
its residents are free from any future damages relating to the accident
and that person(s) causing the accident will pay restitution for any
such future damages.
B.
Surrounding properties are those contiguous to each
property in any way affected by an accident or spill. If there is
any evidence or any adverse effects of any nature on any contiguous
property, then properties contiguous to the contiguous properties
shall also be deemed "surrounding properties."
Any person who fails, neglects or refuses to
comply with any of the terms or provisions of this article or fails
to make payment for billed costs within 30 days shall be sentenced
to pay a fine of not more than $1,000, and the Borough Attorney's
fees and costs of prosecution, or be imprisoned for not more than
30 days, or both. The imposition of one penalty for any such violation
shall not excuse the violation or permit it to continue, and the responsible
party shall correct or remedy such violations within a reasonable
time. Each day that prohibited conditions or noncompliance is maintained
shall constitute a separate offense under this section. Imposition
of the aforesaid fine or imprisonment, however, shall not relieve
any responsible person or corporation hereunder from civil liability
to the Borough or any Borough resident as provided herein.
[Adopted 2-3-2003 by Ord. No. 269]
This article shall be known as the "Silverdale
Borough Emergency Service Cost Reimbursement Ordinance."
A.
Authority. Under Section 1202 of the Borough Code,
53 P.S. § 46202, and the Hazardous Material Emergency Planning
and Response Act, 35 P.S. § 6022.101 et seq., the Borough
has the authority to make rules and regulations for the government
of fire companies located within the Borough.
B.
Findings. The Borough recognizes that the duties of
volunteer fire companies require specialized emergency rescue tools
and equipment, emergency rescue materials, hazardous material abatement
equipment, and hazardous abatement materials during emergency responses.
The Borough recognizes that such tools and equipment place a financial
burden on volunteer fire companies and that the replacement of such
materials and specialized training add to the additional financial
burden for volunteer fire companies.
C.
Purpose: to grant any fire company operating in Silverdale
Borough ("Fire Departments") the authority to seek reimbursement for
the reasonable cost of responding to such incidents, either directly
or in coordination with the Office of Emergency Management, as provided
below.
A.
The Borough authorizes the Fire Departments to recover
the reasonable cost of emergency rescue tools, equipment, and materials;
hazardous material abatement tools, equipment, and materials; and
incurred third-party expenses involving any hazardous material, environmental,
firesafety, and/or rescue incident or operation, including vehicular
accidents.
B.
The reasonable costs outlined above may be recovered
directly by the Fire Departments or through a third-party billing
service as an authorized agent for the collection of such costs.
C.
The Fire Departments or third-party billing service
shall only have the authority to recover the aforementioned costs
from the applicable insurance company/carrier.
D.
The reimbursement rates for the aforementioned tools,
equipment, and materials shall be set by the Fire Departments from
time to time and shall be only applied to the recovery of costs arising
out of incidents that occurred subsequent to the setting of the rates.
These rates shall be approved by the Borough and be kept on file in
the Borough building.
E.
In addition to the aforementioned reasonable costs,
the Fire Departments or third-party billing service shall be authorized
to collect reasonable interest, as well as a reasonable administrative
fee for collecting the same, and any and all additional fees as may
be authorized by the Hazardous Material and Emergency Planning and
Response Act or authorized by any other statute or law.
The Borough shall not be responsible for any
aspect of the recovery of costs under this article. The Borough shall
not take any steps to assist the Fire Departments or any third-party
billing service in recovery of costs under this article.
Any attempt by a Fire Department or third-party billing service to recover costs from any individual/entity
other than the appropriate insurance company/carrier shall result
in the immediate revocation of the authority to recover such costs
granted under this article.
