[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Grand Chute 1-7-1997 as § 7.24 of the 1997 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fires and fire prevention — See Ch. 291.
Fireworks — See Ch. 295.
Nuisances — See Ch. 398.
Sewers — See Ch. 440.
Waste management — See Ch. 520.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CLEANUP
An operation where any solid, liquid, vaporous, or gaseous substance that creates a known, potential or suspected material, safety or health hazard, public nuisance, or a deleterious effect upon the environment is removed, contained, incinerated, neutralized, stabilized, cleared up, or in any manner processed, handled or disposed of with the primary goal of restoring the site to its pre-incident condition or, secondarily, to make the site harmless to people and the environment. This language is consistent with the definition of "cleanup operation" in 29 CFR 1910.120.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE
A response effort by trained employees from outside the immediate incident area or by other designated responders to a known, potential or suspected substance release that results, or is likely to result, in an uncontrolled release of a known, potential or suspected material, safety, health or environmental hazard. The intent of defining "emergency response" in this chapter is to allow trained personnel to implement and coordinate assessment, containment, cleanup and restoration operations of substance releases within an incident command system in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.120.
ENTITY
Each and every individual, agent, firm, company, partnership, corporation, business establishment, or other enterprise.
STRICT LIABILITY
Liability without fault. Specifically, each and every entity responsible for containment of a solid, liquid, vaporous or gaseous substance at the point of release into the ecosystem of the Town of Grand Chute, including owners, controllers, and possessors of those substances, shall assume joint and several responsibility for pecuniary liabilities of those releases for containment, cleanup, restoration expenses and associated administrative fees, legal fees, and court costs. The intent of incorporating strict liability in this chapter is to reject matters of care, negligence, knowledge, ignorance, good faith, bad faith, or any other justification as a cause or reason for being a responsible entity in a substance release incident.
The release into the ecosystem of the Town of Grand Chute of any solid, liquid, vaporous, or gaseous substance that creates a known, potential or suspected material, safety, health or environmental hazard or public nuisance within the Town of Grand Chute, except those occurring during sanctioned waste disposal, hazardous material collection or landfill activities, shall be considered such a hazard, unless determined otherwise by the on-scene incident commander, and be a condition that warrants an emergency response.
The entity responsible for containment of a solid, liquid, vaporous or gaseous substance at the point of release into the ecosystem of the Town of Grand Chute, including owners, controllers, and possessors of those substances, except those specifically sanctioned to perform waste disposal, hazardous material collection or landfill activities, which presents a known, potential or suspected material, safety, health, or environmental hazard or public nuisance shall begin immediate actions to clean and clean up the offending substance and restore the site to its original condition upon direction of any emergency management, law enforcement or Fire Department representative having jurisdictional authority. Should an entity fail to comply for any reason or be incapable of completing the requirements of this section in a time frame that is acceptable to the incident commander, emergency management, law enforcement or Fire Department representative having jurisdictional authority, such public official(s) may order containment, cleanup, and site restoration actions to be taken by public or private agencies.
Agencies involved in the containment, cleanup and restoration of substance releases shall be allowed to recoup reasonable and necessary expenses for those activities, including but not limited to personnel hours, equipment hours, supplies, equipment losses, administrative costs, legal fees and court costs, per § 310- 3. Agencies seeking reimbursement under this section shall develop charge- back criteria for substance release response operations.
[Amended 11-21-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-14]
A. 
Agencies involved in the containment, cleanup and restoration of substance releases shall be allowed to recoup reasonable and necessary expenses for those activities, including but not limited to personnel hours, equipment hours, supplies, equipment losses, administrative costs, legal fees and court costs, per § 310-3. Agencies seeking reimbursement under this section shall develop charge-back criteria for substance release response operations.
B. 
If an individual or entity receiving notice objects to the amount of claimed expenses, that individual or entity may petition the agency seeking reimbursement, in writing, within 10 days of receiving such notice that the agency review its determinations. Such request must state specific objections to claimed expenses and offer concise rationale for those objections. The agency may modify its determination and shall notify the entity of the results of its review. The agency shall be allowed to recoup expenses for processing claims under this section. The entity that is strictly liable under § 310-3 shall make direct reimbursement to each agency that submitted a claim in accordance with this section.
Access to any site, public or private, where there is a known, potential or suspected substance release will be provided to the incident commander, emergency management, law enforcement or Fire Department representative having jurisdictional authority for purposes of implementing and coordinating assessment, containment, cleanup, and restoration operations.
Should any substance release occur that indicates a material, safety, health or environmental hazard to the public or any person or persons at, near, or around the incident site and the situation appears to be so critical that immediate action must be taken to protect safety, health, or the environment, the incident commander or emergency management, law enforcement or Fire Department representative having jurisdictional authority on the scene may order an evacuation of the area or take other appropriate measures as determined necessary. Personnel involved in the containment, cleanup, and site restoration of substance releases per § 310-3 shall be trained to the standards required for their functional responsibilities, except that such personnel shall be allowed to perform necessary defensive actions upon the release of substances per § 310-3 to a point where such releases are controlled, contained or otherwise not presenting an unreasonable safety, health or environmental risk and to a point where personnel health and safety of the responders are not placed at unnecessary risk.
A. 
Enforcement. The chief law enforcement official or his designated representative of jurisdiction shall have authority to issue citations for violations of this chapter. Citations shall be in a form that is in accordance with § 66.0113, Wis. Stats.
B. 
Forfeitures. Entities that fail to comply with this chapter shall be subject to citations, per Subsection A of this section, and to forfeitures in accordance with the Uniform Forfeiture and Bond Schedules, in addition to reimbursements per § 310-5 of this chapter.
C. 
Civil liability. Any entity in violation of this chapter shall be liable to the Town of Grand Chute for any expenses incurred by the Town of Grand Chute for loss or damage sustained by the Town of Grand Chute or its agents by reason of such violation, including legal fees and court costs for enforcement and collection under this chapter.
D. 
Obstruction of agents. No person shall obstruct, hinder or delay the Town of Grand Chute or any of its agents in the enforcement of an order, rule, regulation or plan issued pursuant to the authority contained in this chapter.