[Adopted 3-14-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-3]
This article shall be known and cited as the
"Greene Township Septage and Sewage Sludge Management Ordinance."
The purpose of this article is to provide for an escrow of funds to
be held in a trust the purpose of which is to provide a fund to assure
the ready availability of resources to remediate and abate the potential
adverse consequences which may occur as a result of a disposal of
septage and sewage sludge upon lands of Greene Township. The source
of funding shall be through fees assessed against persons applying
septage or sewage sludge upon the land and property owners who accept
septage and/or sewage sludge on lands located within Greene Township.
The following definitions shall apply for the
various terms used throughout this article:
The deposition, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking or
placing of solid waste into or on land or water in a manner that the
solid waste or a constituent of the solid waste enters the environment,
is emitted into the air or is discharged to the waters of the commonwealth.
Garbage, refuse or sludge from an industrial or other wastewater
treatment plant, sludge from a water supply treatment plant or air
pollution control facility and other discarded material, including
solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material resulting from
municipal, commercial, industrial, institutional, mining or agricultural
operations and from community activities, or a combination of the
above, which because of its quantity, concentration or physical, chemical
or infectious characteristics may do one of the following:
Cause or significantly contribute to an increase
in mortality or increase in morbidity in either an individual or the
total population.
Pose a substantial present or potential hazard
to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored,
transported, disposed of or otherwise managed.
Agricultural utilization or land reclamation of solid waste.
The term does not include the disposal of solid waste in a landfill
or disposal impoundment.
Garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom or office waste and
other materials, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous
material resulting from operation of residential, municipal, commercial
or institutional establishments and from community activities and
sludge not meeting the definition of residential or hazardous waste
from a municipal commercial or institutional water supply treatment
plant, waste water treatment plant or air pollution control facility.
Any individual partnership, corporation, association, institution,
cooperative enterprise, municipality, municipal authority, federal
government or state agency, state institution or agency or any other
legal entity whatsoever which is recognized by law as the subject
of rights and duties. In any provisions of this article prescribing
a fine, imprisonment or penalty, or any combination of the foregoing,
the term "person" shall include the officers and directors of any
corporation or other legal entity having officers and directors.
Technology used for the purpose of reducing the volume or
bulk of municipal or residual waste or technology used to convert
part or all of the waste materials for off-site reuse. Processing
facilities include, but are not limited to, transfer facilities, composting
facilities and resource-recovery facilities.
Garbage, refuse, other discarded material or other waste,
including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous materials
resulting from industrial, mining and agricultural operations; and
sludge from an industrial, mining or agricultural water supply treatment
facility, wastewater treatment facility or air pollution control facility,
if it is not hazardous.
Liquid or solid material removed from a septic tank, cesspool
or similar treatment works that receives only waste or wastewater
from humans or household operations. The term includes processed residential
septage from a residential septage treatment facility. The term does
not include liquid or solid material removed from a septic tank, cesspool,
portable toilet, Type III marine sanitation device or similar treatment
works that receives either commercial wastewater or industrial wastewater
and does not include grease removed from a grease trap at a restaurant.
Liquid or solid sludges and other residues from a municipal
sewage collection and treatment system; and liquid or solid sludges
and other residues from septic and holding tank pumpings from commercial,
institutional or residential establishments. The term includes materials
derived from sewage sludge. The term does not include ash generated
during the firing of sewage sludge in a sewage sludge incinerator,
grit and screenings generated during preliminary treatment of sewage
sludge at a municipal sewage collection and treatment system or grit,
screenings and nonorganic objects from septic and holding tank pumpings.
Waste, including but not limited to municipal, residual or
hazardous wastes, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained
gaseous materials.
The containment of waste on a temporary basis which does
not constitute disposal of the waste. It shall be presumed that the
containment of waste in excess of one year constitutes disposal. This
presumption can be overcome by clear and convincing evidence to the
contrary.
A facility which receives and temporarily stores solid waste
at a location other than the generation site and which facilitates
the bulk transfer of accumulated solid waste to a facility for further
processing and disposal. The term includes land affected during the
lifetime of the operations, including but not limited to, areas where
the storage or transfer actually occurs, support facilities, borrow
areas, offices, equipment sheds, air and water pollution control and
treatment systems, access roads, associated on-site and contiguous
collection and transportation facilities, closure and postclosure
care and maintenance activities and other activities in which the
natural surface has been disturbed as a result of or incidental to
operation of a transfer station. A facility is a transfer facility
regardless of whether it reduces the bulk or volume of waste.
A material whose original purpose has been completed and
which is directed to a disposal or processing facility or is otherwise
disposed.
On and after the passage of this article, there
is hereby imposed an escrow fee of $6 per ton on any person applying
septage or sewage sludge upon any land within Greene Township, Franklin
County, Pennsylvania.
On or after the passage of this article, there
is hereby imposed an escrow fee of $6 per ton on the owner of land
who permits any person to apply septage or sewage sludge upon any
land within Greene Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
B.
The trusts hereby created may be used only for remedial measures and emergency actions that are necessary to prevent or abate adverse effects upon the environment caused by the land application of septage and/or sewage sludge upon the land, provided that substantial evidence reveals the contamination was directly or indirectly caused or created in whole or in part as a result of the land application of the septage and/or sewage sludge upon the land. However, the Township may withdraw actual costs incurred in establishing and administering the trust fund in an amount not to exceed 0.5% of the moneys deposited in the fund. The funds received under § 67-69 and held in the trust created under this § 67-71 are not to be used to remediate or prevent adverse environmental effects upon the land to which the septage or sewage sludge was applied, but are solely to be used to remediate and prevent adverse environmental effects upon other lands within Greene Township which were caused by the land application of septage and/or sewage sludge. The funds received under § 67-70 and held in the trust created under this § 67-71 shall be used to remediate or prevent adverse environmental effects upon the land to which the septage or sewage sludge was applied. For purposes of determining if the groundwater has become adversely impacted as a result of the land application of septage or sewage sludge, the standard contained in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's Maximum Containment Levels (MCL's) for Drinking Water shall be applicable.
C.
The trustee shall manage the trust in accordance with laws and regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, except that moneys in the trust shall be invested in a manner that will allow withdrawals as provided in Subsection D of this section. The trustee shall be a person whose trust activities are examined and regulated by a state or federal agency. The trustee may resign only after giving notice 120 days to the Township and after the appointment of a new trustee. The trustee shall have an office located within Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
D.
The trustee may release moneys from the trust only
upon written request of the full Board of Supervisors of Greene Township.
Such request shall include the proposed amount and the purpose of
the withdrawal and a certified copy of the Board of Supervisors' written
approval of the expenditure. Copies of the request shall be provided
to the person or persons who applied septage and /or sewage sludge
to the land, the owner of the land which is subject to the remedial
or preventive action and the owner of the land to which the septage
was applied. In the event that Board of Supervisors receive and expend
funds from either trust in order to undertake remedial measures or
emergency actions to prevent or abate adverse effects upon the environment,
the Board of Supervisors shall provide written notification to the
person who applied the septage and/or sewage sludge to the land and
the landowner who received the septage/sewage sludge. The written
notification shall identify the owner of the land and the land which
is subject to the particular remediation and/or preventive action,
the type of remedial action or preventive measures undertaken, the
cost incurred by the Township and the trust fund from which the moneys
were received which was used to pay for the cost incurred. Within
60 days of the date of said notification, the person who applied the
septage and/or sewage sludge to the land which caused the contamination
or, in the case of the remediation activity being conducted on the
land upon which the septage or sewage sludge was applied, the landowner
shall pay to the Township an amount of money equal to that which was
withdrawn and used by the Township to remediate or prevent the contamination.
Upon receipt of said payment, the Township shall deposit said moneys
into the particular trust fund which the Township had used to pay
for the costs incurred.
E.
The provisions of the trust agreement shall be consistent
with the requirements of this article and shall be provided to the
hauler/applicator. The trust agreement shall be accompanied by a formal
certification of acknowledgment.
F.
The trust shall continue to exist relative to a particular
parcel of land to which septage and/or sewage sludge has been applied
until 20 years after the last application of septage or sewage sludge
was made to it. At that time, the moneys remaining in the trust relative
to that particular parcel of land, together with any accrued interest
thereon, shall be withdrawn from the trust and be deposited in the
Township's general fund for use by the Township in accordance with
the Township Code.
A.
Payments due under §§ 67-69 and 67-70 of this article shall be made on the 15th day of the month for all septage and sewage sludge applied during the preceding month. The payment to be made by the person applying the septage and/or sewage sludge to the land shall be accompanied by a notarized affidavit, executed by the person who applied the septage or sewage sludge to the land, identifying the name of the person who applied the septage or sewage sludge to the land, the location of the land by reference to the tax parcel number for each particular tract, a location map delineating the tract or tracts of land to which the septage or sewage sludge was applied, the date or dates of application, the tonage of septage or sewage which was applied on each date, the name of the owner of the land to which the septage or sewage sludge was applied, the total tonage of septage or sewage sludge which was applied during the period of time for which the payment is made, the name and address of the generator of the septage or sewage sludge, the license number of the vehicle that transported and applied the septage or sewage sludge to the land, the weight of the transporting vehicle when loaded with the septage or sewage sludge prior to applying the septage sludge and the weight of the transporting vehicle when empty. Weights of the transporting vehicle shall be certified by weigh slips from a legally licensed truck scale and dated as of the date the particular load of septage and/or sewage sludge was applied to the particular parcel of land. The payment to be made by the landowner upon whose land the septage and/or sewage was applied shall be accompanied by a notarized affidavit executed by the landowner, or owners in the case of multiple ownership, identifying the name of the person who applied the septage or sewage sludge to the land, the location of the land by reference to tax parcel number for each tract to which the septage was applied, the total tonage of septage or sewage sludge which was applied during the period of time for which the payment is being made, the date or dates of each land application and the tonage of septage or sewage sludge which was applied on each date.
B.
If a hauler/applicator or landowner fails to make
timely payment of the escrow fee, the hauler/operator or landowner
shall pay interest on the unpaid amount due at the rate established
pursuant to Section 806 of the Act of April 9, 1929 (P.L. 343, No.
176), known as the "Fiscal Code,"[1] from the last day for timely payment to the date paid.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 72 P.S. § 1 et
seq.
C.
In addition to the interest provided in Subsection B, if the hauler/applicator or landowner fails to make timely payment of the escrow fee, there shall be added to the amount of fee actually due 5% of the amount of such fee, if the failure to file a timely payment is for not more than one month, with an additional 5% for each additional month, or fraction thereof, during which such failure continues, not exceeding 25% in the aggregate.
D.
If the Township determines that any hauler/applicator
or landowner of septage or sewage sludge has not made a timely payment
of the escrow fee, it will send a written notice for the amount of
the deficiency to the hauler/applicator or landowner within 30 days
from the date of determining such deficiency. When the hauler/applicator
or landowner has not provided a complete and accurate statement of
the weight of the septage or sewage sludge applied to the land for
the payment period, the Township may estimate the weight in its deficiency
notice. In the event that a hauler/applicator or landowner falls to
make escrow fee payments for three months, consecutive or otherwise,
he shall be prohibited from land applying septage or sewage sludge
until the Township receives full payment of all sums due, including
all accrued interest on the principle sum due.
E.
All escrow fee payments collected and held by a hauler/applicator
or landowner prior to payment to the Township shall constitute a trust
fund for the Township, and such trust shall be enforceable against
the hauler/applicator or landowner, its representatives and any person
receiving any part of such fund without consideration or with knowledge
that the operator is committing a breach of trust. However, any person
receiving payment of a lawful obligation of the hauler/applicator
or landowner from such fund shall be presumed to have received the
same in good faith and without knowledge of the breach of trust.
A.
Payments due under §§ 67-69 and 67-70 of this article shall not relieve either the person who applied the septage or sewage sludge to the land, the generator of the septage or sewage sludge, nor the owner of the land to which the septage or sewage sludge was applied from any and all responsibility or liability to third parties who incur damages of any nature as a result of the land application of septage or sewage sludge. The person who applied the septage or sewage sludge to the land and the landowner who permitted the septage or sewage sludge to be applied to his land shall be primarily jointly and severally liable for any damage caused as a result of the land application of septage or sewage sludge.
B.
Nothing in this article shall be understood or construed
to, in any way, relieve the hauler/applicator of septage and/or sewage
sludge nor the owner of the land receiving the same of any duty or
obligation imposed by the Federal Clean Water Act, the Pennsylvania
Clean Stream Law (35 P. S. §§ 691.1 through 691.101),
Sections 1905-A, 1917-A and 1920-A of the Administrative Code of 1929
(71 P.S. §§ 510-5, 510-17 and 510-20), the Solid Waste
Management Act (35 P.S. §§ 6018.101 through 6018.1003)
and the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act
(53 P.S. §§ 4001.101 through 4000.1904).
A.
Any person who violates any provision of this article
shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not
less than $300 nor more than $1,000 and the costs of prosecution or,
in default of payment of such fines and costs, to undergo imprisonment
of not less than 10 days nor more than 30 days. Each violation of
any provision of this article and each day the same is continued shall
be deemed a separate offense. For purposes of this subsection, the
doing of any act or thing prohibited by any provision of this article,
or the failure to do any act or thing as to which any provision of
this article creates an affirmative duty, shall constitute a violation
of this article, punishable as herein stated.
B.
The remedies provided to the Township under this article
are in addition to any other remedies provided at law or in equity.
Nothing in this article shall be understood
or construed as imposing any additional responsibility or liability
upon the Township for compliance by the hauler/applicator nor the
owner of the land receiving the application with the requirements
of the Federal Clean Water Act, the Pennsylvania Clean Stream Law,
the Solid Waste Management Act and the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling
and Waste Reduction Act and the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.
Nothing in this article shall be understood
or construed to in any way authorize any person to dispose, process
or store septage, sewage sludge or any other waste within the Township
without securing appropriate authorization from the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection. The disposal, processing and storage
(including storage at a transfer station) of septage, sewage sludge
and any other waste shall be conducted in strict compliance with all
other applicable Greene Township ordinances, including but not limited
to the Greene Township Zoning Ordinance.[1]
