[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Clinton as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-14-1989 by L.L. No. 4-1989]
This article shall be known and may be cited
as the “Garbage, Litter, and Dumping Law of 1989 of the Town
of Clinton.”
A.
Background. The Town of Clinton, Dutchess County,
New York, is concerned about the increasing problems of waste disposal
in the Town and surrounding region. The Town of Clinton closed its
landfill dump in May, 1981, and residents have since relied on commercial
haulers for household garbage collection and disposal, or individually
have hauled household garbage to permitted disposal facilities outside
the Town. The rising cost of garbage disposal and increased traffic
along Clinton's rural roads have resulted in increased littering and
dumping in the Town. Previous regulations on garbage disposal were
enacted when Clinton's landfill dump was still in operation, and prior
to the establishment of more restrictive regulation by the Dutchess
County Resource Recovery Agency and by New York State.
B.
Legislative findings of fact.
(1)
The Town Board does hereby find that previous local
laws regulating waste disposal activity in the Town of Clinton are
inadequate to fully protect the public interest, and that appropriate
updated legislation should be enacted.
(2)
References to Clinton's landfill dump are no longer
applicable. Licensing requirements for private haulers, which were
put in place primarily to regulate activities related to the landfill
dump, have now been replaced by licensing requirement of the Dutchess
County Resource Recovery Agency.
(3)
Criminal penalties, at the local level, do not seem
advisable; state statutes for more serious activities already carry
criminal penalties; higher maximum civil penalties as a deterrent
appear to be appropriate.
C.
Legislative intent.
(1)
Pursuant to authority duly vested in it, it is the
intention of the Town Board to protect the Town by adopting reasonable
protective regulations in the public interest and for the health,
safety, and welfare of the citizens of the Town of Clinton.
(2)
It is the intent of this article to provide reasonable
standards of conduct with respect to unlawful dumping and littering
in the Town of Clinton, to protect the rights of all residents to
live in a safe and wholesome Town while protecting the rights of all
individual property owners, to encourage cleanup of hazardous wastes,
and thereby to prevent the deterioration of the environment as a result
of unlawful waste disposal.[1]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A storage collection container of steel, aluminum, or plastic,
or commercial dumpster-type steel container, with cover, where household
garbage is contained.
Used collectively in this article, and shall include any
one or more of the following: metal, tin cans, ashes, cinders, glass,
pottery, plastics, waste, food, paper, wood, construction and demolition
materials or debris of any type, vegetable or animal matter, rubber
or synthetic material, oil, chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers, hazardous
substances, and any other discarded items, except as specifically
excluded herein. [1]
Means, without limitation, any flammable, explosive, radon,
radioactive materials, asbestos, urea formaldehyde foam insulation,
polychlorinated biphenyls, petroleum, petroleum and petroleum products,
methane, hazardous materials, hazardous wastes, hazardous or toxic
substances or related materials as defined in the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (42 U.S.C.
§ 9601 et seq.), the Hazardous Materials Transportation
Act, as amended (49 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq.), the Toxic Substances
Control Act, as amended (15 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.), Articles
17 and 27 of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law or
any other applicable environmental law and the regulations promulgated
thereunder. [2]
Includes an individual, society, club, firm, partnership,
corporation, or association of persons.
Any collection of garbage, rubbish, trash, litter, or discarded
vehicles, machinery, appliances, furniture or parts thereof. Items
under a structure are not considered to constitute a private dump.
Single items may constitute a private dump, if discarded away from
an area in which they would normally be used, if they create a danger
to the public health, safety, or welfare.
No person shall throw, dump, deposit, place,
discard, abandon, or cause to be thrown, dumped, deposited, placed,
discarded, or abandoned, any garbage, rubbish, trash, or litter upon
any place, area, property, park, beach, lake, stream or other body
of water, highway, road, or right-of-way in the Town of Clinton, whether
public or private, except in an authorized receptacle.
Any person placing garbage, rubbish, trash,
or litter in an authorized receptacle, whether public or private,
shall do so in such a manner as to prevent it from being carried or
deposited by the elements upon any road, right-of-way or other public
place or private property.
No person shall discard or abandon any automobile,
vehicle, machine, appliance, bedding, furniture, any part thereof,
or any other similar item upon any place or area, property, highway,
road, or right-of-way in the Town of Clinton.
No person shall create, or cause to be created,
or increase by adding to, a private dump.
A.
It is the responsibility of the property owner to
keep his or her property clear of garbage, rubbish, trash, and litter,
and to remove any accumulation of garbage, rubbish, trash, and litter
within a reasonable time, where such accumulation creates a danger
to public health, safety, and welfare. Property owners who fail to
do so are subject to penalties as defined herein.
B.
It is the responsibility of the property owner to
remove any existing private dumps on his or her property, where such
dumps constitute a danger to public health, safety, and welfare, as
defined by applicable Dutchess County and New York State laws.
Any person who accidentally spills, dumps, places,
discharges, or leaves oil, chemicals, pesticides, or other hazardous
substances in the Town of Clinton is required to inform the Town Supervisor
and to contact the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation,
or the Dutchess County Fire Bureau Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) organization,
and to observe all requested cleanup operations as applicable. Failure
to do so is a violation of this article.
Nothing herein shall be construed as to prohibit:
A.
The accumulation of organic materials, vegetable matter,
leaves, and brush for the purpose of noncommercial composting or removal
by burning, subject to burning regulations as defined by the New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation.
B.
The application of fertilizers and chemical products
for agricultural purposes as prescribed by law.
C.
The application of road salt for snow removal as prescribed
by law.
D.
The storage of farm machinery on private property.
Enforcement of this article shall be under the
jurisdiction of the Zoning Administrator. Complaints under this article
will be made to the Zoning Administrator, who will investigate such
complaints and issue appearance tickets as he deems appropriate under
this article.
Any person who violates any provision hereof shall be guilty of a Violation C, punishable as set forth in Chapter 137, Fines and Penalties. The application of the above penalty or penalties, or the prosecution for the violation of the provisions hereof, shall not be deemed to prevent the revocation of any permit issued pursuant hereto or the enforced removal of conditions prohibited herein.
Any provision contained in this article which
purports to establish standards less stringent than the minimum standards
contained in the New York State Sanitary Code, the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation regulations, other New York
State regulations, or any Dutchess County code or agency regulations,
as they now exist or as hereafter amended, shall be inapplicable.
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[The solid waste and recycling regulations
of Dutchess County are the controlling standards in the Town of Clinton.]
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