[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Council of the Village of
Cassopolis 7-11-1994 by Ord. No. 185; amended 6-11-2007 by Ord. No. 185-A (Ch. 14, Art. I, of the 2003 Code of Ordinances). Amendments noted
where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Solid waste — See Ch. 314.
The Village Council of the Village of Cassopolis finds that
the surface waters, groundwaters, soils, and atmosphere within the
Village of Cassopolis are susceptible to damage from the handling,
storage, use, processing, and disposal of hazardous materials; and
that the expenses incurred by Village taxpayers, as a result of the
Village of Cassopolis having to clean up the surface waters, ground
waters, soils, and atmosphere that have been damaged by the handling
of hazardous materials, should be recovered from the individuals,
firms, and corporations responsible for the damage. The use, handling,
storage, disposal, or discharge of any hazardous material, as herein
defined, in such a manner as to cause degradation of the surface waters,
groundwaters, soils and atmosphere of the Village of Cassopolis, is
hereby declared unlawful and a public nuisance.
As used herein, the following definitions shall apply:
Includes but is not be limited to such substances as explosives,
radioactive materials, petroleum, or petroleum products, gases, poisons,
etiological (biological) agents, flammables, corrosives, and any substance
or material classified or defined as a hazardous material by the Environmental
Protection Agency and all rules promulgated thereunder.
All persons, firms, and corporations who have damaged the surface
waters, groundwaters, soils, or atmosphere within the corporate boundaries
of the Village of Cassopolis by the handling, storage, disposal, or
discharge of hazardous materials, are required to immediately notify
the Village of Cassopolis, as represented by its Village Manager,
Fire Chief, Police Chief or Superintendent of Public Works.
The Village Manager or his designee is authorized to evaluate,
clean up, or abate any damage to the surface waters, groundwaters,
soils, or atmosphere within the Village of Cassopolis caused by the
handling or storage of hazardous materials. The cost of any testing
ordered by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), DEQ (Department
of Environmental Quality) or the DNR (Department of Natural Resources),
where there is a cost to the Village of Cassopolis, shall be borne
by said responsible person, firm or corporation. Any person, firm,
or corporation that has caused such damage shall be liable for the
payment of all reasonable costs incurred by the Village of Cassopolis
as a result of, or attributable to, such evaluation, cleanup, or abatement
activity(ies).
For the purpose of this chapter, costs incurred by the Village
of Cassopolis shall include, but shall not be limited to if so defined
by the Village Council, Village Manager, or his designee, the following:
A.
Actual labor cost of Village personnel, including worker's compensation
benefits, fringe benefits, administrative overhead, costs of equipment
operation, costs of materials obtained directly by the Village, consulting
fees, engineering fees, and any other costs reasonably incurred as
a result of any violation of this chapter.
B.
Actual costs of proper disposal of all hazardous materials deposited
or created within the Village of Cassopolis if found liable under
the provisions of this chapter.
In addition to any other remedy available at law or equity,
to recover such costs or abate such nuisance, the Village of Cassopolis
may specially assess such costs against any premises benefiting from
such cleanup or abatement.
