[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of County Commissioners of Dorchester
County 9-11-73. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to implement provisions set forth in
Article 25, § 3(v)(2), of the Annotated Code of Maryland as follows:
To license refuse collectors for hire and to make it unlawful to collect,
remove or dispose of refuse for hire without a license; to authorize regulation
of commercial refuse collectors, including provision for suspension, revocation
and renewal of licenses, all to promote the health, safety and welfare of
the county; and to require public notice or hearing with the right to be represented
by counsel in any case where an applicant is denied a license.
This chapter may be cited as the "Dorchester County Regulations for
Licensing Refuse Collectors."
For the purposes of these regulations, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
Dorchester County Highway Department and/or County Roads Board.
All organic waste, consisting of the residue of animal, fruit or
vegetable matter, resulting from the preparation, cooking, handling or storage
of food, exclusive of human or animal feces.
The Manager of the Dorchester County Highway Department and/or County
Roads Board.
Ashes, garbage, rubbish, junk, industrial waste, dead animals and
all other solid waste materials, including salvable waste.
All refuse other than garbage, whether combustible or noncombustible,
and such forms shall include but not be limited to the following: rubbish
from building construction or reconstruction, dead trees, uprooted tree stumps,
slash, rubble, street refuse, abandoned automobiles, machinery, bottles, cans,
wastepaper, cardboard, sawdust piles, slash from sawmill operations and all
other waste material.
It shall be unlawful for any person to collect or to transport any refuse
within the county for hire except as provided in these regulations. The City
of Cambridge and incorporated towns within Dorchester County are exempt.
A.
License required. No refuse shall be collected or transported
within the county for hire except by a licensed collector or hauler, provided
that this shall not prohibit a person from transporting his own refuse to
an approved sanitary landfill.
B.
Conditions for issuance. No license to engage in the
business of collection or transportation of refuse for hire in Dorchester
County shall be issued unless and until the applicant complies with the following
conditions:
(1)
The applicant shall maintain an office or contact point
where the owner or responsible personnel may be contacted for the transaction
of business, which shall include complaints and the answering of inquires.
(2)
Performance bond.
(a)
The applicant shall furnish the Manager with a cash bond
or corporate bond in a form satisfactory to him and approved by the County
Attorney conditioned upon the faithful performance and maintenance of the
conditions for issuance of a license in the amount of five hundred dollars
($500.) for each regularly used registered collection vehicle, excluding backup
or standby vehicles; provided, however, that such bond shall not be more than
five thousand dollars ($5,000.). Such bonds shall be posted by January 1,
1974.
(b)
A corporate bond shall be maintained and renewed annually
and shall be executed by a surety or guaranty company qualified to transact
business in this state; however, such corporate bond may provide in its terms
that it may be canceled upon sixty (60) days' written notice by the surety
to the licensee and to the Manager. In such event, the licensee shall furnish
the Manager with a bond, as required above, within thirty (30) days of such
cancellation notice. A cash bond shall be deposited with the Manager, who
shall give his receipt therefor, reciting that the cash has been deposited
with and subject to the provisions of this subsection. The bond shall obligate
the principal, his executors, administrators, successors and assigns, jointly
and severally, with the surety and shall inure to the benefit of Dorchester
County, its officers, employees and to anyone personally aggrieved by the
principal's failure to comply with the conditions thereof. Whenever the
Manager of the Dorchester County Highway Department shall find that a default
has occurred in the performance of any term or condition of the bond, oral
notice by telephone shall be given to the principal, to be followed by written
notice confirming such oral notice. Such notices shall state the work to be
done and specify that it is to be completed within twenty-four (24) hours.
In the event that such work is not completed within twenty-four (24) hours,
the Manager shall cause the principal to be charged for the cost of the work
and shall send a bill. In the event that the principal fails to pay the bill
within fifteen (15) days after receipt thereof, written notice of nonpayment
shall be given to the principal and to the surety of the bond. Such notice
shall state the work done and the cost thereof. After receipt of such notice,
the surety must pay to the Manager the cost of doing the work as set forth
in the notice, but not to exceed the principal sum of the bond. If a cash
bond has been posted, notice of default, as provided above, shall be given
to the principal, and if payment is not made within fifteen (15) days, the
Manager shall proceed, without delay and without further notice or proceedings
whatsoever, to use the cash deposited or any portion of such deposit.
A.
For each truck or other vehicle used in the collection
or transportation of refuse for hire by a licensee there shall be issued a
registration card by the Manager which shall contain the name of the owner,
the description and serial number of the truck or vehicle and a registration
number. For each card there shall be furnished a metal refuse-collector's
tag containing the registration number and the year such tag is valid. Such
tag shall be attached to the truck or vehicle in such manner as to readily
be visible and shall not be transferred to another truck or vehicle without
prior approval by the Manager.
B.
No truck or other vehicle shall be registered until it
has been inspected and found to be in compliance with the following requirements:
(1)
It shall be registered as a commercial vehicle for hire
with the Department of Motor Vehicles of the State of Maryland. In the event
that any vehicle for which a registration card and tag have been issued under
this section shall, subsequent to issuance of such registration, become no
longer registered as a commercial vehicle with the Department of Motor Vehicles,
the county registration shall immediately become invalid and the county registration
card and tag shall be surrendered to the Manager.
(2)
It shall be equipped with a suitable watertight, leakproof
metal body designed for the collection of refuse and shall have a suitable
tightly fitting cover of metal or canvas to prevent the blowing of refuse,
which cover shall be in place at all times, except when loading or unloading;
provided, however, that an open flat-body vehicle having a suitable tarpaulin
or canvas cover, which shall be in place at all times, except when loading
or unloading, may be used for transporting refuse firmly sealed and secured
in cardboard boxes or plastic bags, building materials, trees and parts of
trees, rubble, abandoned vehicles, machinery, appliances and nonincinerable
materials. The body shall be so mounted on the chassis that, when fully loaded,
the axle load shall fall within the maximum axle-load limit prescribed by
law.
(3)
Each truck or vehicle shall be lettered in letters plainly
distinguishable and not less than three (3) inches high, in permanent paint
or decals on each of the two (2) sides of the truck or vehicle, which lettering
shall include the name of the company or individual by whom the truck or vehicle
is owned or operated, the word "Refuse" and the business telephone number.
A licensee's detachable containers shall be conspicuously marked with
the licensee's name and telephone number.
(4)
Any truck or vehicle found to be in an unsafe physical,
mechanical or sanitary condition shall have its registration suspended; provided,
however, that the Manager may grant one (1) grace period not to exceed fifteen
(15) days in which to correct such condition or defect. The Manager shall
reinstate any suspended registration upon satisfactory proof that the aforesaid
condition or defects have been corrected.
Licensees shall operate fully in accordance with the following regulations:
A.
They shall remove all refuse in containers or bundles
in accordance with the approved written statement of service for disposal
from every point of pickup and clean up spillage by the collector at pickup
points and along the route from the point of pickup to the truck.
B.
They shall maintain regular service in accordance with
the written statement of service.
C.
They shall provide alternate service within forty-eight
(48) hours in the event of a mishap or the breakdown of regular equipment
or if collection service is missed for any reason.
Permits or licenses issued under these regulations shall expire on January
1 of each year and may be renewed if the applicant complies with the applicable
provisions of these regulations. No permit or license shall be transferred,
except that in the event of the death of the permittee or licensee, his executor,
administrator or heirs shall be entitled to operate under the existing permit
or license.
Permit or license fees under these regulations shall be fixed annually
by resolution of the County Commissioners.
A.
The Manager may refuse to issue or to renew or he may
revoke or suspend any license or permit issued under these regulations or
take such other action as he may deem necessary upon a finding that the holder
of the license or permit has violated any provision of these regulations or
the continued use or operation under these regulations would endanger the
health, welfare or safety of the public. Notice of revocation, suspension
or refusal to renew or other action shall be in writing and mailed by certified
mail or delivered in person to the address shown on the application and shall
provide for a right to a hearing before the Manager prior to final action.
In the event of an immediate danger to the public health or safety, notice
and hearing shall not be required but shall be given as promptly thereafter
as practical.
B.
In the collection and transportation of refuse for hire,
the Manager may revoke the registration of a particular vehicle or vehicles
of the licensee found to be in violation of these regulations, such revocation
to remain in force until such time as the licensee puts any or all vehicles
in compliance with the provisions of these regulations or corrects the violation.
Notice of revocation shall be as provided above. Such revocation of the registration
of a particular vehicle shall not otherwise affect the license to do business
issued under these regulations or affect the registration of complying vehicles
of the licensee.
A.
The Dorchester County Commissioners sitting as a Roads
Board shall have full authority to hear testimony and decide all appeals taken
from decisions or orders of the Manager of the Dorchester County Highway Department
under these regulations. Any persons aggrieved by the issuance, denial, renewal,
suspension or revocation of a permit or any other decision or order of the
Manager made under these regulations may appeal to the Dorchester County Commissioners
sitting as a Roads Board within ten (10) days from such order or decision.
Upon notice, after hearing, the Board shall have authority to affirm, modify
or reverse the order or decision of the Manager. Such appeal shall not stay
execution of the order unless the Board, upon application, shall grant a stay
of such order.
B.
Any person shall have the right to appeal the action
of the County Commissioners of Dorchester County to the Circuit Court of Dorchester
County within thirty (30) days after said action is taken by the County Commissioners
of Dorchester County. Said appeal shall be taken in accordance with Subtitle
B of Chapter 1100 of the Maryland Rules of Procedure.
Any violation of any provisions of these regulations shall, upon conviction
thereof before a court of competent jurisdiction, be punished by a fine of
not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.) or by confinement in the county
jail for not more than six (6) months, or both such fine and imprisonment,
in the discretion of the court. Each day a violation of the provisions of
these regulations continues to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
In addition thereto, the county may institute injunctive, mandamus or any
other appropriate action or proceedings at law or equity for the enforcement
of these regulations or to correct violations of these regulations, and any
court of competent jurisdiction shall have the right to issue restraining
orders, temporary or permanent injunctions or mandamus or other appropriate
forms of remedy or relief.
