[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Franklin 9-8-1997
by Ord. No. 97-12. Amendments noted where applicable.]
It is the intent of this chapter to regulate the use, spreading, disposal
and/or processing of sludge for the protection of persons and property and
for the preservation of the public health, safety and welfare of the Township
of Franklin, County of Warren, and its inhabitants and to ensure that any
sites wherein sludge shall be utilized, spread, disposed of and/or processed
are maintained and operated in such a manner as to minimize surface and ground
water contamination, air pollution, odors and other annoyances from the use
of such sludge.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
The disposal of sludge or the application of wet or dry sludge on
agricultural or other lands.
Includes any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind.
The use of sludge for the production of energy, fertilizer or other
useable materials.
Any solid, precipitates and liquids produced as a result of the storage
or treatment of domestic or industrial sewage or any solid, semisolid or liquid
waste generated from a municipal, industrial or other sewerage treatment plant,
water supply treatment plant or air pollution control facility or any other
such waste having similar characteristics and effects.
Effective September 8, 1997, it shall be a violation of this chapter
for this person to utilize, spread, dispose and/or process sludge within the
Township of Franklin without first having an approved sludge management plan
(SMP) in accordance with the requirements of this chapter. The utilization,
spreading, disposal and/or processing of sludge without an approved plan in
place shall subject the operator to fines and penalties set forth within this
chapter. The plan shall address the impact of the use, processing, etc., of
sludge on soil, water, air, animal and plant resources.
Application for approval of the SMP required by this chapter shall be
submitted to the Township Clerk no later than October 1 of each year for the
succeeding year's approval upon forms provided by the Township Clerk
and shall be signed and verified by the applicant and shall contain the following
information:
A.
The name and address of the applicant: if an individual,
the name, address and business address; if a partnership, the name, address,
residence and business address of each partner; if a corporation, the name
and address of all officers and all stockholders, including all names and
addresses of persons who own an excess of 10% of the shares of the corporation:
if not a corporation of the State of New Jersey, whether the same is authorized
to do business in the State of New Jersey; the name and address of all partners,
if any stockholder is a partnership; and the name and address of all officers,
if the stockholder is a corporation.
B.
The name and address of the owner of the property for
which approval of the SMP is sought. In the event that the applicant is not
the owner, then the written consent of the owner must be furnished.
C.
The sludge management plan (SMP) prepared by a professional,
reasonably qualified in the disciplines related to the sound and healthful
management of sludge and/or sludge byproducts, who shall be acceptable to
the Township Committee and who shall, in either case, be familiar with environmental
regulations relating to uses of property, including but not limited to the
Water Pollution Control Act,[1] the Clean Air Act, the New Jersey Pollution Discharge Elimination
System, the Solid Waste Management Act[2] and any other similar environmental laws and regulations. The
SMP shall contain the following information:
(1)
The estimated amount of sludge expected to be utilized,
spread, processed and/or disposed of (as well as a breakdown for each category)
each year for which approval is sought from January 1 to December 31.
(2)
A detailed description of how the sludge will be utilized,
spread, processed, stored and/or disposed of.
(3)
A detailed description of the treatment the sludge will
receive to minimize odors and water runoff.
(4)
Removal of sludge.
(a)
No sludge may be removed without the prior express consent
of the Township of Franklin.
(b)
For any sludge which shall be removed from the approved
premises and disposed of in Franklin Township, set forth:
[1]
A list of the location or locations to which the sludge
will be taken, including the name of each owner and the block and lot numbers
of each property.
[2]
The expected use of the sludge at the location or locations
where the sludge will be taken.
[3]
The amount of sludge expected to be removed.
[4]
The estimated range of dates on which the sludge is removed
and shall be deleted.
(c)
The information required by this subsection may be provided
by the applicant later than the date of application but no later than 30 days
prior to the removal of any sludge from the premises. No sludge shall be removed
without this portion of the plan being in place. If any sludge is removed
without permission of the Township of Franklin, applicant shall be deemed
to be in default of his SMP and the same shall be immediately revoked. Applicant
shall immediately cease any and all utilization, spreading, disposal and/or
processing of sludge. Applicant will be given 60 days in which to have all
sludge removed from the Township of Franklin and will be barred from submitting
future SMP applications to the Township.
(5)
A plan to regulate the emission into the air and such
action as to minimize the emission of substances which may be detrimental
to humans coming in contact with them or a statement that no such plan is
feasible.
A.
Each application shall be accompanied by a fee of $500.
Each applicant shall be required to place an amount in escrow and shall be
responsible for all costs of review and approval of the applicant's application.
Such costs may include, but are not limited to, engineers, consultants, attorneys
or other persons necessary, in the Township Committee's opinion, for
the approval of the applicant's application. The escrow deposit required
shall be $1,200 for an initial application and $1,200 with respect to a review
application, provided that said amounts may be adjusted downwards or upwards
by resolution of the Township Committee upon a finding of reasonable cause
for such adjustment.
B.
The fees shall not be prorated and may be adjusted from
time to time to approximate the cost of administration of various provisions
of this chapter.
C.
No review shall be taken until the required deposits
are made. If applicant shall fail to make the initial required deposits or
future deposits as may be required by the Township of Franklin, applicant's
SMP shall be considered void and applicant shall immediately cease any and
all sludge usage, spreading, processing and/or disposal. Applicant will then
have 60 days in which to remove all sludge from the Township of Franklin.
Thereafter, applicant shall be barred from submitting further SMP's for
approval.
A.
All applications shall be reviewed by the Township's
consultants and forwarded to the Township Committee along with their recommendations.
The Township Committee shall determine whether the application is in accordance
with the chapter and environmental and health practices and, if so, shall
approve the SMP. The application shall be filed with the Township no later
than October 1 of each year for the year commencing on January 1 of the next
year. The Township's consultants shall review the proposed plans submitted
by the applicant by December 1 of each year. If the applicant and the Township's
consultants cannot agree on the SMP by January 1, then the Township Committee
shall hold a hearing to approve or disapprove the SMP as provided by the applicant.
B.
Franklin Township retains the right to limit the amount
of sludge any applicant seeks to utilize, spread, dispose of and/or process
in order to protect the safety and well being of the residents of Franklin
Township. If, at any time, the applicant exceeds the limit established by
the Township of Franklin, applicant shall be deemed to have violated the terms
and conditions of the SMP and shall immediately cease any and all use, spreading,
processing and/or disposal of sludge. Thereafter, applicant will be given
60 days in which to remove all sludge from the Township of Franklin and shall
be prohibited from submitting SMP's for review and approval at any time
in the future.
The Warren County Health Department, in conjunction with the Township's
consultants, is hereby designated as inspector whose duties shall be to conduct
inspections of the improved premises in order to determine whether operations
are being conducted in accordance with the requirements contained within this
chapter and the sludge management plan. Said inspection shall be conducted
at a minimum of once per month or as frequently as deemed necessary by the
Warren County Health Department and/or the Township's consultants. The
inspector shall submit, upon request, written reports of all such inspections
to the Township Committee. The inspector is further designated as the enforcement
officer of this chapter and shall, in conjunction with the Township's
consultants, investigate any and all alleged violations thereof.
It is hereby required that, as a condition for the approval of the SMP,
the applicant, if he is the owner thereof, pay any delinquent property taxes
or assessments on the property wherein the property or activity for which
the approval is sought or wherein such business or activities are to be conducted.
A.
Delivery of sludge to the approved premises may be conducted
only from Monday through Saturday during daylight hours.
B.
All vehicles, including tires and undercarriage, used
in the delivery of sludge to the approved premises shall be washed, if necessary,
before arriving to the approved premises to reduce the dissemination of sludge
beyond the boundaries of the approved premises.
C.
No sludge shall be tracked from the site at which the
sludge is utilized, processed and/or disposed of. In the event that the sludge
is deposited on the roadway in the Township, the same shall be removed and
cleaned within 24 hours.
A.
The penalty portions of this chapter shall be enforced
on behalf of the Township of Franklin by the Warren County Health Department
and/or consultant's of the Township of Franklin which shall investigate
any violation of this chapter coming to their attention whether by complaint
by any interested person or otherwise. If a violation is found to exist or
have existed, the Warren County Health Department or Township of Franklin
shall have the authority to prosecute a claim in the Municipal Court or to
seek such other relief as may be available to it. Any proceedings pursuant
to this chapter may also be instituted and prosecuted by the Township in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter.
B.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter
or any provision of any plan approved in accordance with this chapter shall,
for each such violation or offense, be fined up to $1,000 per day in which
a violation or offense of any provision of this chapter exists or continues,
unabated.
C.
Additional relief:
(1)
Additional relief may include:
(a)
Revocation of SMP/cease immediate operation.
(b)
A temporary or permanent injunction.
(c)
Assessment against the violator for the cost of any investigation,
inspection, monitoring which led to the establishment of the violation and
for the reasonable cost of preparing and litigating the case; such cost may
be awarded only if the Township prevails in its case.
(d)
Assessment against the violator for any costs incurred
by the Township in removing, correcting or terminating the adverse effects
upon environmental quality or public health resulting from any violation of
this chapter.
(e)
Assessment against the violator for compensatory damages
for any loss or destruction of wildlife, fish, water quality and/or any actual
damages caused by any violation of the sort.
(2)
Assessment against any violator hereof may be paid from,
but shall not be limited to or by the terms or amount of, the performance
bond or letter of credit posted by such person.
The Township Committee may, by resolution, waive the compliance by an
applicant with specific technical requirements or technical defects in an
application upon finding by the Committee that:
A.
Reasonable cause exists for the grant of such waiver.
B.
Compliance with the technical requirement or cure of
the technical defect will cause undue hardship to the applicant.
C.
The health and safety purposes of this chapter will not
be materially adversely affected by such waiver.
D.
A change in conditions subsequent to the approval makes
it necessary to amend the terms of the SMP.
