[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Town of Portsmouth 4-25-1983 by Ord. No. 83-4. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
For the purpose of promoting general health,
safety and welfare of the citizens of the Town of Portsmouth and for
efficiently and effectively treating hazardous wastes while protecting
the environment from contamination, it is the intent of this chapter
to regulate the siting and ongoing operation of hazardous waste management
facilities to the extent permitted by the "Rhode Island Hazardous
Waste Management Facilities Act of 1982," being Title 23, Chapter
19.7, of the General Laws of the State of Rhode Island, R.I.G.L. § 23-19.7-1
et seq., as amended.
The definitions included within Chapter 19.7
(Hazardous Waste Management Facilities) of Title 23 of the General
Laws of Rhode Island and all amendments thereto are incorporated within
this chapter as though fully set forth herein.
No property located totally or partially within
the Town of Portsmouth shall be used either for a landfill and/or
injection well for the storage, disposal, elimination, destruction
or siting of hazardous waste.
A hazardous waste management facility shall
not be sited in the Town of Portsmouth unless the following restrictions
are fully met:
A.
A development site for a hazardous waste management
facility shall be located a minimum of 300 feet within the zoning
district boundary lines of an HI Zone, from the nearest residential
or farming use of a residential or farming zone.
B.
A development site for a hazardous waste management
facility shall be located at least 2,500 feet from centers of population,
including but not limited to elderly housing, primary and secondary
schools, nursing homes, and any buildings where the concentration
of population exceeds one person per 100 square feet of building area.
Said minimum distance shall be measured from the property line as
shown on maps in the Tax Assessor's office.
C.
A development site for a hazardous waste management
facility shall be located at least 2,500 feet from a public recreational
facility. Said minimum distance shall be measured from the property
line as shown on maps in the Tax Assessor's office.
D.
Hazardous waste management facilities shall be prohibited
within 1,000 feet of environmentally sensitive areas. These areas
include but are not limited to areas of steep slope, e.g., slopes
of 5% or more; areas identified as freshwater wetlands; water-related
sensitive areas as delineated on the State of Rhode Island 208 Areawide
Water Quality Management Plan [Rhode Island Statewide Planning Project
(FRC-JF-01-13)]; and areas of flood hazard districts as delineated
within the one-hundred-year-flood zone or plain of the Town of Portsmouth.
E.
A development site for a hazardous waste management
facility shall be at least 1,000 feet from any pond, stream, river
or watercourse. Parking lots and surrounding structures associated
with the hazardous waste management facility shall not disturb topography
within the above distances from watercourses and wetland areas.
F.
The following regulations for an industrial hazardous
waste management facility shall apply:
A.
Any developer seeking to site a hazardous waste management
facility in the Town of Portsmouth shall file with the Town Clerk
of the Town of Portsmouth 10 copies of the entire filing made pursuant
to the "Hazardous Waste Management Act of 1978" (R.I.G.L. § 23-19.1-1
et seq.) in seeking a permit for such facility. Said copies shall
be filed with the Town Clerk within 10 days of filing under the Act.
B.
In addition to the foregoing, any person seeking any
renewals, extensions or modifications of a DEM variance for any facility
in the Town of Portsmouth or in a neighboring community shall file
with the Town Clerk a copy of the entire application within 10 days
of filing for such variance.
C.
In addition, any such developer shall file with the
Town Clerk of the Town of Portsmouth 10 copies of a proposed impact
report as herein required for review by the Local Assessment Committee.
This filing shall be made within 10 days of receiving the permit.
A.
Appointment.
(1)
There shall be appointed a Local Assessment Committee
consisting of no less than five nor more than nine members, including
the chief executive officer, the city or Town Council President or,
if either the Council President is the chief executive officer or
chooses not to serve on the Local Assessment Committee, another member
of the Council chosen by the Council, the Chairman of the Planning
Commission, and not less than two public members appointed by the
chief elected official, at least one of whom shall be knowledgeable
in environmental matters by reason of training or experience. The
Committee shall elect its own Chairman. Service on any other board
or committee of the Town or on any other assessment committee shall
not bar participation on an assessment committee of any such member,
and such person may be designated as a public member for the purpose
of this chapter. An assessment committee may consider more than one
hazardous waste management facility siting application.
(2)
The Local Assessment Committee shall be appointed
within 45 days after the issuance of necessary state permits for construction
or substantial alteration of a hazardous waste management facility
under the provisions of the Rhode Island Hazardous Waste Management
Act of 1978, as amended, which facility proposes to be sited in or
have impact upon the Town of Portsmouth. The Committee shall serve
until such time as siting or impact agreements are negotiated with
the developer and ratified by the Town Council of the Town of Portsmouth
or until such time as a siting or impact agreement is reached in accordance
with Chapter 19.7 of Title 23 of the General Laws of Rhode Island,
R.I.G.L. § 23-19.7-1 et seq., as amended.
(3)
Prior to dissolving at the end of its mandated existence,
the Committee shall suggest to the Town Council the appointment of
a Town official, board or department which is to be responsible for
monitoring of the construction and on a regular basis the ongoing
practices and procedures of the hazardous waste management facility
involved in its review and to assure the continued safe operation
in compliance with the siting or impact agreement and other Town ordinances
and regulations. The Committee may require the developer to make regular
or specifically defined reports to such official, board or department,
and a system of inspections, reports and funding by the developer
for such monitoring may be included in the siting or impact agreement.
The Town Council shall have the authority to take any appropriate
action pursuant to the agreement as a result of the ongoing hazardous
waste management facility operation and this provision.
B.
Powers and duties. The powers and duties of the Local
Assessment Committee shall be those set forth in Chapter 19.7 of Title
23 of the General Laws of Rhode Island, R.I.G.L. § 23-19.7-1
et seq., and all amendments thereto.
C.
Ratification. No siting or impact agreement negotiated
by the Local Assessment Committee shall be binding upon or enforceable
against the Town of Portsmouth until the Local Assessment Committee
holds a public hearing on the proposed siting or impact agreement
and, following said public hearing, the agreement is ratified by the
Town Council. The Town Council shall by this chapter have the power
to approve or reject any such siting or impact agreement.
B.
Procedure for DEM variances. Upon receipt of the Town
Clerk of any notice of a variance application filed with the Department
of Environmental Management pursuant to R.I.G.L. § 23-19.1-11
of the General Laws, the Town Council shall review said application
or cause the same to be reviewed by some other Town official, board
or department and request an advisory opinion therefrom. If, in the
Town Council's determination, the variance might adversely affect
the Town, its citizens or the environment, the Council may authorize
such action as it deems appropriate, including opposing the application.
The Town Clerk shall notify forthwith all members
of the Town Council upon receipt from the Department of Environmental
Management of notice that an application to construct or substantially
alter a hazardous waste management facility has been received. Council
members shall be notified of applications for hazardous waste management
facilities both within the Town of Portsmouth and in neighboring communities.
A.
The Town Council of the Town of Portsmouth shall hereby
be empowered to approve or reject any proposed siting or impact agreement
submitted to it by the Local Assessment Committee herein. The Town
Council shall exercise their power to approve or reject the proposed
siting or impact agreement only after there has been a public hearing
as set forth in this chapter.
B.
A two-thirds majority vote of the Council shall be
necessary for approval. Once approved, the siting or impact agreement
statement shall be binding and enforceable upon all parties thereto.
A.
Notice of the public hearing required to be held by
the Assessment Committee shall be sent by certified mail to all owners
of real property within 500 feet of the property being proposed for
a hazardous waste management facility not less than 10 days prior
to such hearing. Additional public notice shall be given by publication
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town at least seven days
prior to the date of the hearing.
B.
The Committee shall afford all interested persons
an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing, and the hearing
shall be conducted in accordance with the customary procedural rules
governing Town Council public hearings. Since the hearing is for informational
purposes, no right of appeal shall exist.
In addition to the provisions herein, all hazardous
waste management facilities shall comply with the relevant portions
of all Zoning Ordinance[1] requirements as from time to time established by the Town
of Portsmouth.
The project developer shall submit to the Town
Council a project impact report delineating the potential environmental
and other impacts of the following minimum considerations:
A.
Public or private water and aquifers.
B.
Fire-fighting, police protection and other public
services to be provided.
C.
Sewer facilities.
D.
By-products of a facility.
E.
Monitoring procedures and practices.
F.
Proximity to food processors.
G.
Taxation.
H.
Economic security of community.
I.
Economic viability of developer.
J.
Natural resources.
K.
Risk to public health, safety and welfare.
L.
Transporting (routes and methods).
M.
Training of emergency personnel.
The applicant shall submit an affidavit acknowledging
his understanding of the applicable standards provided herein and
his continuing agreement to comply with these standards.
