Borough of Norristown, PA Disposal of Municipal Waste Cooperation with County

Explosives, pathological and biological waste, residual waste and Hazardous Waste, radioactive materials, sludges, cesspool or other human waste, human and animal remains, motor vehicles, liquid waste, contained gaseous materials which may pose a hazard to the Facility or the community, hazardous substances as defined in the Federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, as it may be amended from time to time hereafter, and any analogous federal, state or local law, ordinance, rule or regulation as may be applicable at the time of delivery of waste to the Facility and commercial waste which is not permitted by law to be treated and disposed of in the Facility;

Any item of waste either smoldering or on fire;

Construction and demolition debris, ashes, incinerator residue and foundry sand;

Wastes in quantities and concentrations which require special handling in their collection and/or processing, including medical or other red bag waste; and

All other items of waste which, at the time of delivery to the Facility, would be likely to pose a threat to health or safety or have been prohibited by any valid and enforceable judicial decision, order or governmental action from being accepted by the Facility.

WHITE GOODS

Refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, window air conditioners, hot water heaters and other major home appliances.

Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 et seq. and 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq.

All other capitalized words and phrases shall have the same meanings as set forth in Act 97 or Act 101 as they may hereinafter be amended or supplemented by legislation regarding municipal waste management or planning, or as set forth in the IMA, Facility Agreement or Service Agreement. To the extent that any definition herein varies from the definition in the IMA, the definition in the IMA shall control.

§ 274-45 Operation by licensed collectors and transporters.

Licensing. No person who is not duly licensed or deemed to be licensed by the County may collect or transport Municipal Waste located or generated within the Municipality. This waste collection or transportation license shall be a County license issued by the County or the Municipal Waste Authority. The Municipality shall administer such license upon request of the County or the Municipal Waste Authority.

Compliance with rules, regulations and ordinances. In carrying on activities related to solid waste collection or transportation within this Municipality, all Municipal Waste collectors and all Municipal Waste transporters shall comply with the County Ordinance, this article and the other Municipal Waste Flow Ordinances and all rules and regulations pertaining to the collection, transportation and disposal of solid waste as may be hereafter promulgated by the Municipality or by the Municipal Waste Authority or by the County. Delivery by such collectors or transporters to the County System of Unacceptable Waste, Nonprocessible Waste (except for White Goods) and waste from unapproved sources is prohibited.

Administration. Licenses hereunder shall be issued and revoked by the County or the Municipal Waste Authority, and administered by them or, at their request, by the Municipality. Any collectors or transporters who fail to comply with the provisions of this article shall be subject to any applicable sanctions in addition to the revocation of their licenses.

§ 274-46 Disposal of municipal waste.

Delivery to County System. Except as provided in Subsections B and C below, all Acceptable Waste generated within this Municipality shall be delivered to the County System and, all Acceptable Waste collectors and transporters shall deliver to and dispose of all Acceptable Waste collected or generated within Municipality to solid waste facilities designated in the Plan at one or more Points of Entry Into the County System as designated from time to time by the County or the Municipal Waste Authority.

Disposal at other sites. Disposal of Municipal Waste collected or generated within Municipality may occur at other sites only as permitted by rule, regulation, ordinance or order duly issued by the County or Municipal Waste Authority or by the written agreement of the County or Municipal Waste Authority and the Municipality.

Recycling. Nothing herein shall be deemed to prohibit Source Separation or Recycling or to affect any sites at which Source Separation or Recycling may take place.

§ 274-47 Regulations.

Compliance with County Regulations. The collection, transportation and disposal of Municipal Waste present or generated within Municipality shall be subject to such further reasonable rules and regulations as may from time to time be promulgated by the County, including any amendments to the County Waste Flow Ordinance and to such reasonable rules and regulations as may be adopted by the County or the Municipal Waste Authority including, without limitation, regulations relating to the operation, management and administration of the County System, applications and standards for licensing, requirements for payment bonds or other payment security, including, but not limited to, meeting liability insurance requirements, fees to be charged for such licensing, the terms of licenses, procedures, recordkeeping, transportation routes, payment for services, billing for shortfalls, sanctions for nonpayment and other matters. To the extent that a Municipality is engaged in the administration of any licenses pursuant to written agreement with the County as required in Section 303(d) of Act 101[1] and as provided in the County Waste Flow Ordinance, it shall do so in accordance with the foregoing rules and regulations, and in any event, at the direction of the County.

Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 4000.303(d).

Adoption of Regulations. Rules and regulations adopted by the County or Municipal Waste Authority, for the County System shall be deemed rules and regulations adopted under this article. Each of the Municipalities shall abide by such rules and regulations and will not adopt any rules and regulations to the contrary.

Consistency of regulations with this article and other laws. No rules or regulations adopted by the Municipality pursuant to this article shall be in violation of, inconsistent with or less stringent than the provisions of this article, the other Municipal Waste Flow Ordinances, the County Waste Flow Ordinance, the Plan, the provisions and purposes of Act 97, Act 101[2] or regulations adopted thereunder, or such other laws, regulations or requirements as may be enacted by the United States of America, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources or the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board governing municipal waste planning, collection, storage, transportation, processing or disposal.

[2]

Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 et seq. and 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq.

Enforcement of waste flow control. Enforcement of waste flow control and the terms of and any duties established pursuant to the County Waste Flow Ordinance, the other Municipal Waste Flow Ordinances and this article will be the responsibility of the County or the Municipal Waste Authority or the Municipalities at the direction of the County or the Municipal Waste Authority.

§ 274-48 Annual survey.

An annual survey of all generators of Municipal Waste, and of all Municipal Waste collectors and Municipal Waste transporters, any landfill operators, any transfer station operators or any other parties involved in the collection, transportation, processing or disposal of Municipal Waste of the Municipality shall be conducted by an engineering consultant designated by the County or the Municipal Waste Authority. Such engineering consultant shall estimate, based on such survey, the amount of each type of Municipal Waste of the Municipality expected to be generated in the following year, after recycling, in total and in each of the following categories:

Municipally collected.

Municipally contracted.

Municipal Waste disposal arranged for by residents.

Municipal Waste disposal arranged for by apartment houses, condominium associations and other multiresident dwellings.

Municipal Waste disposal arranged for by commercial establishments.

(6)

Other.

All persons which are the subject of this survey are required to cooperate in the taking and preparation of the survey.

In connection with the annual survey, pursuant to the IMA, at the beginning of the first operating year and at least 150 days prior to the beginning of each subsequent operating year, the County and the Municipality shall jointly specify the size of the projection of the Municipality's Municipal Commitment for such Operating Year, which projection shall be equal to the amount of the Municipality's Residential Component (as reasonably determined by an engineer retained by the County or Municipal Waste Authority for this purpose, after taking into account any and all information provided by the Municipality, plus any other amounts agreed upon by the County and the Municipality. This projection will be net of any waste removed as a result of Source Separation. This projection shall be further stated in 12 monthly projections, the sum of which shall be equal to the Operating Year projection. This projection shall be adjusted by the County from time to time following consultation with the Municipality, as and when the County determines that such projection was incorrect, and from year to year in accordance with the experience of the previous year and the volume anticipated in the coming year.

At the time that the County and Municipality make the foregoing projection, the Municipality shall assist the County in projecting the total amount of Acceptable Waste expected to be generated within the Municipality during the forthcoming operating year.

Based upon the foregoing projections, the County shall make projections of total tonnage and projections of monthly tonnage as required pursuant to any applicable disposal agreements, including the Service Agreement with respect to the Facility. The County shall use its best efforts to maximize the tonnage delivered to the Facility up to the maximum capacity of the Facility.

§ 274-49 Certain prohibitions and requirements.

The Municipality shall not construct, enlarge, operate or contract for or renew any contract for any facility or hauling to any facility, other than a facility designated by the County pursuant to the IMA or regulations promulgated pursuant to the IMA, or enter into or renew any contract for the treatment, processing and/or disposal of Municipally Generated Acceptable Waste, except as shall conform to the County Ordinance and this article as the County may expressly agree to in writing. In addition, the Municipality shall take all such action as may be necessary to ensure that all of its obligations will be met once the County System is operational. The municipality shall agree to use its best efforts to assign its rights under any contract concerning the use of any disposal facilities or transfer stations to which it was a party to the County on the effective date of the IMA. Any such assigned contract shall become part of the County System; provided, however, that with respect to any such contracts for which assignment is not possible, each Participating Municipality shall act at the direction of the County with respect to such contract and such contract shall be deemed to be part of the County System.

No Person shall enter into any contract or conduct any other activity concerning the collection, transportation, processing, or disposal of Municipal Waste in the Municipality in contravention of the terms of the County Waste Flow Ordinance, this article, or any rules and regulations issued thereunder.

Recycling. Nothing contained in this article shall interfere with the operation of any program for Recycling.

This article shall be construed consistently with Act 97 and Act 101.[1]

Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 et seq. and 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq.

§ 274-50 Creation of Authority.

The County will create a Municipal Waste Authority to administer the terms of the County Waste Flow Ordinance and to operate the County System. This Authority shall be recognized as having the power to act in place of the County, to the extent determined by the County.

§ 274-51 Unlawful activities; nuisances.

Unlawful conduct. It shall be unlawful for any Person to:

Violate, cause or assist in the violation of any provision of this article, any rule, regulation or order promulgated hereunder, or any rule, regulation or order promulgated by the County or the Municipal Waste Authority consistent with this article.

Transport, process, treat, transfer or dispose of or cause be processed, treated, transferred or disposed Municipal Waste generated within the Municipality except as provided for in this article.

Collect or transport Municipal Waste present or generated within the Municipality without a valid license for collection or transportation issued by the County or the Municipal Waste Authority.

Hinder, obstruct, prevent or interfere with the Municipality, the Municipal Waste Authority or the County or their personnel in the performance of any duty under this article or in the enforcement of this article.

Act in a manner that is contrary to Act 97 or Act 101,[1] regulations promulgated thereunder, the Plan, this Ordinance, the County Ordinance, rules or regulations promulgated under this article, the County Ordinance or the terms of licenses issued thereunder.

Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 et seq. and 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq.

Public nuisance. Any unlawful conduct set forth in § 274-51A hereof shall constitute a public nuisance.

§ 274-52 Violations and penalties.

Any person who engages in unlawful conduct as defined in this article shall, upon conviction thereof, in a summary proceeding before a District Justice, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 and not less than $500 and, in default of payment thereof, shall be committed to the county jail for a period not exceeding 30 days. Each day that there is a violation of this article shall constitute a separate offense.

§ 274-53 Revocation of license.

Upon finding that any Person has engaged in unlawful conduct as defined in this article, the Municipal Waste Authority or the County may revoke any license issued to that Person in accordance with § 274-45 of this article and the Municipal Waste Authority or the County may deny any subsequent application by that Person for a license pursuant to § 274-45 hereof.

§ 274-54 Injunctions; concurrent remedies.

Restraining violations. In addition to any other remedy provided in this article, the Municipality or the County may institute a suit in equity where unlawful conduct or public nuisance exists as defined in this article for an injunction to restrain a violation of this article or rules, regulations, orders or the terms of licenses promulgated or issued pursuant to this article. In addition to an injunction, the court may impose penalties as authorized by § 274-52 hereof.

Concurrent remedies. The penalties and remedies prescribed by this article shall be deemed concurrent. The existence or exercise of any remedy shall not prevent the Municipality or the County from exercising any other remedy provided by this article or otherwise provided at law or equity.

§ 274-55 Intermunicipal agreement.

Entry into IMA. In order to implement the intent and terms of this article, the Municipality, pursuant to the authority of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, Act of July 12, 1972, No. 180, codified at 53 P.S. §§ 481 to 490 (Purdon 1974 and Purdon Supp. 1988) and Article IX, § 5, of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, has determined to enter into the IMA between the Municipality, the County and other Municipalities within Solid Waste District Nos. One and Two of the County, together with such changes consistent with this article, if any, as may be approved by the officials of the parties executing the same, such execution to be conclusive evidence of such approval.

Terms and Implementation of IMA. As more fully set forth in the IMA and this article:

Conditions and terms of IMA. In the IMA:

(a)

The County or the Municipal Waste Authority agrees to arrange through the County System for the provision of municipal waste disposal facilities for the economical and environmentally sound disposal of Acceptable Waste generated within the Participating Municipalities and, in the course thereof, to arrange for the construction of a privately owned one-thousand-two-hundred-ton-per-day Facility for the processing or other disposition of Acceptable Waste generated within the several jurisdictions of the Participating Municipalities.

(b)

The Participating Municipalities state that they have enacted a Municipal Waste Flow Ordinance in a form substantially similar to this article and assure that the Residential Component of their Acceptable Waste will be delivered to the County System.

(c)

The County or the Municipal Waste Authority agrees to enact or cause to be enacted rules and regulations and to enforce or cause to be enforced this article and the County Waste Flow Ordinance and the parallel Municipal Waste Flow Ordinances.

(d)

The parties agree to cooperate in the joint enforcement of the IMA and all ordinances enacted pursuant to the IMA and the Participating Municipalities thereby agree cooperatively to exercise, to delegate to the County or the Municipal Waste Authority, and to allow delegation of such powers, duties and responsibilities as set forth in the IMA.

Duration of term of the IMA. The term of the IMA shall commence on the closing date for the financing of the Facility and shall terminate on the earlier of the 30th anniversary of such date or at the end of the Operating Year in which all Bonds and any other indebtedness outstanding issued in connection with the Bonds or owed to any Assignee has been paid in full.

Purpose and objectives of IMA. The purpose of the IMA is to provide a mechanism to finance, to construct and to operate the County System to serve the Municipalities within the County, and to provide continuing municipal waste planning, as more fully set forth in the recitals to the IMA and this article.

Manner and extent of financing the IMA. During the term of the IMA, Participating Municipalities and other Persons using the County System shall pay to the County on a monthly basis the then current per ton Municipal Tipping Fee plus any other charges payable, as specified by the County and then in effect, for all tonnage delivered or caused to be delivered to the County System, in accordance with Article III of the IMA.

Execution. Appropriate officers of this Municipality are authorized and directed to execute the IMA on behalf of this Municipality.

Findings Under Intergovernmental Cooperation Act. As required by the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of July 12, 1972, P.L. 762, No. 180, as amended, the following matters are specifically found and determined:

The conditions of agreement are set forth in the IMA;

The duration of the term of the agreement is set forth in Section 901 of the IMA;

The purpose of the IMA is to cooperate with the County or Municipal Waste Authority and other Participating Municipalities in implementing the Plan;

The agreement will be financed through the budgeting and appropriation of funds by the Municipality as necessary to meet the Municipality's obligations;

The organizational structure necessary to implement the agreement is set forth in the IMA with which the current officers of the Municipality shall cooperate;

(6)

The manner in which property, real or personal, shall be acquired, managed, licensed or disposed of is by way of lease or other contract otherwise as set forth in the IMA; and

(7)

The Agreement contemplates cooperation with County or Municipal Waste Authority, which entities are empowered to enter into contracts for policies of group insurance and employee benefits, including Social Security, for its employees.

§ 274-56 Construal of provisions.

The terms and provisions of this article are to be liberally construed, so as best to achieve and to effectuate the goals and purposes hereof. This article shall be construed in pari materia with Act 97 and Act 101.[1]