It is hereby declared to be unlawful and a public
nuisance for any person to accumulate upon any property in this municipality,
any municipal solid waste or to dispose of it except in accordance
with this article, and other applicable laws, ordinances, or regulations.
The municipality has been advised by the county
that the solid waste plan proposes to provide for a plant or plants
which will be operated efficiently and economically by the contractor
and/or by the county in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations,
and also that the contractor and/or the county will impose reasonable
charges, which will be uniform among all classes of users of the plant
or plants.
Except as it pertains to municipal solid waste
collected directly by this municipality, all collectors of municipal
solid waste generated within the municipality shall be licensed by
the municipality and shall be responsible for collecting municipal
solid waste from properties in the municipality pursuant to a contract
between them and the municipality and/or contracts between them and
the owners or occupants of properties.
All collectors shall deliver and dispose all
municipal solid waste collected within the municipality at the solid
waste plant designated by the county subject to such reasonable regulations
for the operation thereof as may be established by the county and/or
contractor. Delivery and disposal at any other place shall be a violation
of this article and cause for revocation of the collector's license,
except in special circumstances approved in advance by the municipality
and the county and/or contractor. All collectors shall comply in their
operations with all applicable laws, ordinances and regulations pertaining
to the collection and transportation of municipal solid waste.
No person shall use or permit to be used any
property owned or occupied by him within the municipality as a public
or private dump, transfer station, or landfill for municipal solid
waste, whether generated within the municipality or elsewhere, without
the express written approval of the municipality.
Any person who shall violate any provision of
this article shall, upon conviction thereof, in a summary proceeding
before a Magisterial District Judge, be sentenced to pay a fine of
not more than $300 and, in default of payment thereof, shall be committed
to the county jail for a period not exceeding 30 days; and each day's
continuance of any other violation of this article as well as each
truckload of illegally delivered trash shall constitute a separate
offense.
In addition to the remedies provided in §
192-14 herein, any continued violation of this article or other applicable law which shall constitute a nuisance in fact, or which in the opinion of the governing body of this municipality shall constitute a nuisance, may be abated by proceeding against the violator in a court of equity for relief.
The collection of municipal solid waste in the
municipality and the disposal thereof shall be subject to such further
reasonable rules and regulations as may from time to time be promulgated
by the governing body of the municipality, including, but without
limitation, regulations as to the form of license application, the
amount of fee to be charged for said license, and the terms of licenses
and license issuance procedures; provided, however, that no such rules
and regulations shall be contrary to the provisions of this article,
the county solid waste plan, or applicable law.
The municipality reserves the right to amend
this article or repeal it at any time; provided, however, that the
requirement for use of the designated solid waste facility for disposal
of municipal solid waste from the municipality shall not be amended
or repealed without the prior express written approval of the county
during the term of the contract between the county (or Authority)
and contractor providing for the construction and operation of the
plant, which contract shall have a term of 25 years. For the purposes
of securing the contractor's financing, such requirement shall be
deemed to be a contract between the county, the contractor, and the
municipality, which the municipality (subject to the terms of the
joint cooperation agreement set forth below) agrees to enforce so
that the municipal solid waste from the municipality will be available
to provide a source of energy for the plant. If the municipality is
not now a collector but in the future it becomes a collector, it agrees
to deliver all municipal solid waste so collected to the plant.
A. Municipality agrees to deliver or cause to be delivered
during the term of this agreement all municipal solid waste, as defined
herein, generated within the municipality for disposal at a facility
designated by the county.
B. County agrees to accept for disposal all such municipal solid waste described in Subsection
A above upon completion and commencement of operation of the plant in accordance with a contract, containing terms satisfactory to the county, with the contractor providing for construction and operation of the plant.
C. The term of this agreement shall be for a period of 25 years, and said term shall commence on January 1, 2017. The municipality, at its option, may terminate this agreement with 30 days' written notice to the county in the event that the municipality will incur substantial costs over and above the costs generally accepted by the other municipalities in delivering municipal solid waste to the county during the term of this agreement, provided the municipality has first obtained final approval from the Department of Environmental Protection for its own plan under the act, or an approval from the Department for a modification that brings the municipality under another plan that has already obtained final approval. It is understood, however, that (upon any such termination of this agreement by the municipality) the County, the Authority, and/or the county's contractor shall be relieved of any responsibility to accept and dispose of municipal solid waste generated within the municipality. It is further understood that any such termination of this agreement by the municipality shall constitute a repeal, whether express or implied, of §
192-18 of this article.
[Amended 4-25-2016 by Ord. No. 767]
D. The county shall hold harmless and defend the municipality
from any suit, claim or action challenging the legality of this article
against the municipality. In the event that any such suit, claim or
action is brought against the municipality, the municipality shall
authorize the county, through its designated legal counsel, to defend
against the same, and the municipality shall cooperate with the county
in said defense and shall give the county solicitor notice of any
such suit, claim or action within five days of the municipality's
receiving notice thereof.
This article shall become effective 31 days
after adoption. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this municipality shall
have neither the right nor the obligation to dispose of its municipal
solid waste at the plant which is contemplated under this article
until said plant is constructed and fully operational.