[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Seneca Falls 10-1-2013 by L.L. No. 3-2014. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ASHES
The residue of the combustion of solid fuel, such as wood, coal, coke, charcoal or like substances.
GARBAGE
Includes all putrescible wastes, except sewage, body wastes and recognized industrial by-products, and generally shall consist of wastes, animal, fish or fowl, fruit or vegetable, made and produced from or resulting from the growth, processing, use or storage of food for human consumption and includes spoiled food and dead animals found within the municipal limits.
LANDFILL
Any land or a disposal facility or part thereof where ashes, garbage or refuse or its residue after treatment is intentionally placed, not including a surface impoundment or injection well.
PERSON
Includes an individual, partnership, corporation, unincorporated association, firm, club or society of persons; and the singular designation shall hereby include the plural, and the masculine and feminine shall include the neuter.
REFUSE
Includes all nonputrescible wastes, except recognized industrial by-products, and generally shall consist of miscellaneous materials comprising wood, paper, rags, excelsior, straw, cardboard, leather, rubber, soil, sweepings from buildings, mill screenings, tree trimmings, shrubbery, leaves, grass, trees and other discarded articles of similar nature, including tin cans, tin ware, glass, metal products, pipes, bottles, pottery, tile, earthenware and like substances.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all lands within the Town of Seneca Falls, New York, including those premises lawfully designated as a landfill by the Town Board.
No person shall use as a landfill any of the lands, streams, waterways or bodies of water in the Town of Seneca Falls, New York, except those premises lawfully designated as a landfill by the Town Board and after compliance with the sections of this chapter and the statutes, rules and regulations of the State of New York or its duly authorized agencies pertaining to the operation of a landfill.
A. 
No person shall hereinafter construct or operate a sanitary landfill in the Town of Seneca Falls, New York, until a permit to construct and operate said sanitary landfill has first been obtained from the Town Board, Town of Seneca Falls, New York. All applications made pursuant to this section shall set forth the following information:
(1) 
The name and address of the owner and operator.
(2) 
A description of the property and a map thereof drawn to scale.
(3) 
A detailed description of the proposed operation of said landfill.
(4) 
A detailed description of soil content, water tables and plans for trenching and cover.
(5) 
A proposed date for submission of all required documents to the Health Department and the Department of Environmental Conservation and/or any other agency of the State of New York charged with the administration, supervision and control of sanitary landfill operations.
B. 
No permit shall be finally issued under this section until all requirements of the State of New York and its agencies, boards or commissions have been complied with and permission has been granted by and received from the Town Board.
C. 
The Town Board reserves the right, prior to the issuance of a permit, to require the applicant to file with the Town Clerk an easement giving the Town of Seneca Falls, New York, the right to have officers or employees of the Town enter on the premises to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
D. 
The applicant for a permit pursuant to this section shall not commence construction or operation of said landfill until he or she has been authorized by the Town Board to do so and issued a permit by the Town Clerk. The permit to construct will be issued for term to cover the period of construction, but not to exceed five years. The Town Board may renew a permit to construct for an additional five-year period. A permit to operate shall be granted for a period of one year with a renewal option by the Board. Such applicant shall pay a fee as set from time to time by resolution of the Town Board for each application and each renewal thereof at the office of the Town Clerk on or before January 1 of each year.
E. 
Conditions.
(1) 
The Town Board may impose conditions on the construction and operation of any landfill as may be necessary to protect public health, safety, welfare or the environment. Such conditions may address the environmental and economic impacts, including but not limited to odor, dust, noise, community character, litter, vermin, traffic, surface water and groundwater quality, air quality, property values, tourism and economic development, financial security for closure and post-closure monitoring and remediation, aesthetics, land use and environmental monitoring.
(2) 
It is the Town's policy to promote reuse and recycling. This section shall be administered in a manner not inconsistent with state regulation and comply with minimal requirements promulgated by the State of New York. The Town Board of the Town of Seneca Falls may impose conditions which are more stringent than those promulgated by the State of New York.
F. 
All permits issued by the Town pursuant to this chapter are transferable only upon prior written approval of the Town and a demonstration that the prospective transferee will be able to comply with applicable laws and regulations, permit conditions, and other applicable requirements. Any transfer made without the approval of the Town is void, and the responsibilities for compliance with the permit remain the liability of the transferor. The authority of the facility to operate and receive solid waste will terminate immediately upon notice by the Town Board in the event a transfer is made in violation of this section.
(1) 
Sixty days prior to a proposed sale, lease, or other transfer of ownership or control of the facility or upon application to the Department of Environmental Conservation, whichever is earlier, the proposed transferor shall file a written notice with the Town Board detailing the proposed transfer. The notice must include the following written documents:
(a) 
Proof that the proposed transferee has written notice of and acknowledges the host community agreement between the Town of Seneca Falls and the proposed transferor and the duties and obligations thereunder.
(b) 
Demonstration that the prospective transferee will be capable of complying with applicable laws and regulations, permit conditions and other requirements to which the prospective transferee is subject.
(c) 
Such a demonstration must be delivered to the Town Board and will include documentation not limited to the following:
[1] 
The proposed transferee must submit information documenting that it has the financial capability to continue landfill operations;
[2] 
The proposed transferee must submit information documenting that it has the operational experience necessary to maintain and operate the landfill;
[3] 
The proposed transferee must submit information documenting that it has a favorable environmental compliance history in other landfill operations; and
[4] 
Any other information which the Town Board determines reasonable to make a determination regarding the proposed transfer.
(2) 
No permit shall be transferred under this section until all requirements of the State of New York and its agencies, boards or commissions have been complied with.
(3) 
The Town acknowledges that the Department of Environmental Conservation shall have primary jurisdiction to determine whether the proposed transferee is qualified to operate the facility and to discharge the obligations of a permittee. If the Town has any objections to the proposed transfer, the Town must exhaust its administrative remedies in the Department's proceeding conducted to review the proposed transfer. If the Town fails to intervene in the Department's proceedings and exhaust its administrative remedies and the Department approves the proposed transfer of state permits, the transfer of permits issued under this section shall be deemed approved.
(4) 
In the event that no state permits are to be transferred, or the Town exhausts its administrative remedies in accordance with Subsection F(3) above, then within 60 days after the Town Board has received the required notice materials or 30 days after the Department of Environmental Conservation issues a final decision, whichever is later, the Town Board will issue its decision on the proposed transfer.
G. 
The Town Board may prohibit and/or impose special conditions on landfill operations regarding the receipt, handling, treatment or disposal of special wastes which will cause or are likely to cause a significant adverse impact within the Town. Permittees are required to provide the same notice to the Town Board that is provided to the Department of Environmental Conservation for the receipt of additional special wastes or a specific special waste not authorized by the Town or Department permits.
(1) 
The Town acknowledges that the Department of Environmental Conservation shall have primary jurisdiction over waste stream approval. If the Town objects to the receipt of a special waste, the Town must give written notice of its objections and the reasons therefor to the Department and the permittee.
(2) 
If neither the Department nor the permittee prohibit and/or restrict the special waste to the satisfaction of the Town, the Town may initiate a proceeding before the Town Board to restrict or limit the receipt, treatment or disposal of the special waste or specific special waste in question. In either event, the Town shall have the burden of proof to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the waste stream will cause significant adverse environmental impacts.
The Town Board of Seneca Falls, New York, may, by resolution, establish or designate a landfill site at such place or places as it shall from time to time determine. A resolution establishing such landfill shall be filed immediately with the Town Clerk of the Town of Seneca Falls, New York, for inspection by the residents of the Town of Seneca Falls, New York, or owners or occupants of real property in the Town of Seneca Falls, New York.
A. 
Approval required. The dumping or depositing of materials for filling and grading purposes upon lands in the Town of Seneca Falls, New York, shall be permitted only upon approval of the Town Board of the Town of Seneca Falls, New York. In such cases, garbage and refuse materials may not be used for fill purposes.
B. 
Permit required. Before any person shall deposit materials for filling or grading purposes, the owner of the premises to be filled and graded shall obtain a permit therefor from the Town Board and shall show compliance with any and all statutes, rules and/or regulations of the State of New York and/or its agencies pertinent to said application.
C. 
Application for permit. In all cases, the application for each permit shall be in writing and signed by the owner of the premises and shall state:
(1) 
The name and address of each owner of the premises.
(2) 
A description of the premises sufficient to readily identify the same, together with a statement as to the condition of the surface of the land to be achieved upon completion.
(3) 
A plan for weekly fill and daily cover acceptable to the Town Board.
D. 
Extent of fill. The Town Board will request a three-dimensional extent of the proposed fill and the condition of the surface of the premises before work is commenced and after work is completed.
E. 
Nuisances prohibited. When depositing of materials is authorized by the Town Board for filling and grading purposes, said depositing of material shall not despoil other properties or emit offensive odors or fumes.
F. 
Conditions. The Town Board reserves the right, prior to issuance of a permit, to require the applicant to file with the Town Clerk an easement giving the Town of Seneca Falls, New York, the right to have officers or employees of the Town enter on the premises to enforce the provisions of this chapter and to require such work to be done as may be necessary to meet the conditions of the permit imposed by the Town Board. The Town Board further reserves the right to impose such conditions in the permit in order to further the health, safety and welfare of the Town of Seneca Falls, New York.
A. 
Submission of records containing secrets. A person acting pursuant to law or regulation who submits any information to the Town may, at the time of submission, request that the Town except such information from disclosure under Paragraph (d) of Subdivision 2 of § 87 of the Public Officers Law. That section provides that an agency may deny access to records or portions thereof that are trade secrets or are maintained for the regulation of a commercial enterprise or derived from information obtained from a commercial enterprise which, if disclosed, would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of the subject enterprise. Where the request itself contains information which if disclosed would defeat the purpose for which the exception is sought, such information shall also be excepted from disclosure.
(1) 
The request for an exception shall be in writing and state the reasons why the information should be excepted from disclosure.
(2) 
The person submitting the information shall clearly identify those records or portions of records for which the exception is requested. This may be accomplished by separating and attaching to such records a cover sheet or other suitable form of notice, using such language as "trade secret" or "proprietary information."
(3) 
In all cases, the person must show the reasons why the information should be considered a trade secret or to be information maintained for the regulation of commercial enterprise which, if disclosed, would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of the person's commercial enterprise.
(4) 
The person submitting the information may request an exception from disclosure for a limited period of time. If so, the person shall indicate that period of time when submitting the information.
B. 
Safeguarding against unauthorized access to records containing trade secrets.
(1) 
Information submitted as provided in Subsection A of this section shall be excepted from disclosure and be maintained apart by the Town from all other records until 15 days after the entitlement to such exception has been finally determined by the Town or such further time as ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(2) 
The Town Clerk shall be responsible for the custody of such records.
(3) 
Each Town employee who has custody of the records containing trade secrets shall take appropriate measures to safeguard such records and to protect against their unauthorized disclosure.
(4) 
Simple and effective devices to identify and maintain repositories for records containing trade secrets shall be used so that their security is maintained.
C. 
Determination to grant or continue exception from disclosure.
(1) 
On the initiative of the Town at any time, or upon the request of any person for a record excepted from disclosure as provided herein, the Town shall:
(a) 
Inform the person who requested the exception of the Town's intention to determine whether such exception should be granted or continued;
(b) 
Permit the person who requested the exception, within 10 days of receipt of the notification from the Town, to submit a written statement of the necessity for the granting or continuation of such exception; and
(c) 
Within seven business days of receipt of such written statement, or within seven business days of the expiration of the period prescribed for submission of such statement, issue a written determination granting, continuing, or terminating such exception and the reasons therefor. Copies of such determination shall be served upon the person, if any, requesting the record, the person who requested the exception, and the Committee on Open Government.
(2) 
The following factors are among those that the Town may consider in making a determination to grant or continue an exception from disclosure under Paragraph (d) of Subdivision 2 of § 87 of the Public Officers Law:
(a) 
Any provisions of the Code of the Town of Seneca Falls, New York, or other statute which authorize or restrict access to the records;
(b) 
Whether or not the records are trade secrets or are maintained for the regulation of commercial enterprise which, if disclosed, would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of the commercial enterprise;
(c) 
The written request for an exception from disclosure and the reasons stated therein;
(d) 
The written statement, if any, of the necessity for the granting or continuation of the exception from disclosure;
(e) 
The factors pertaining to determining whether or not a trade secret exists:
[1] 
The extent to which the information is known outside of the business of the person submitting the information;
[2] 
The extent to which it is known by the person's employees and others involved in his or her business;
[3] 
The extent of measures taken by the person to guard the secrecy of the information;
[4] 
The value of the information to the person and his or her competitors;
[5] 
The amount of effort or money expended by the person in developing the information; and
[6] 
The ease or difficulty with which the information could be acquired or duplicated by others.
D. 
Appeal of action.
(1) 
A denial of an exception from disclosure under this section may be appealed by the person requesting the exception, and a denial of access to the record may be appealed by the person requesting the record in accordance with this section.
(2) 
Within seven business days of receipt of written notice denying the request, the person may file a written appeal from the determination of the Town with the Town Board or its designee.
(3) 
The appeal shall be determined within 10 business days of the receipt of the appeal. Written notice of the determination shall be served upon the person, if any, requesting the record, the person who requested the exception and the Committee on Open Government. The notice shall contain a statement of the reasons for the determination.
E. 
Trade secrets may consist of, but shall not necessarily be limited to, any formula, pattern, process, procedure, plan, compound, device, customer lists, cost records or compilation of information that is not published or divulged and which gives an advantage over competitors who do not know, use or have access to such data or information.