[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Genesee
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
SITE or PROPERTY SITE
The property on which the applicant intends to apply sludge.
Each real estate tax parcel as found on the tax rolls of the Town
of Genesee shall constitute a separate site or property site.
SLUDGE
The accumulated residual solids (usually in liquid) resulting
from the treatment of municipal or private wastewaters.
No person, firm or corporation shall apply, or allow to be applied
to lands under his or its ownership, lease or control, sludge to any
land located within the limits of the Town of Genesee without first
having obtained a permit from the Town Board. This shall apply to
both existing and proposed sludge disposal operations.
Written application for a permit to apply sludge on any lands
located within the Town shall be made to the Town Clerk. The application
shall state:
A. The applicant shall be the owner of the treatment facility generating
the sludge.
B. The name and address of the applicant, and if the applicant is a
corporation, the name, address and registered agent of the corporation.
C. The post office and legal description of the site to be used.
D. The names and addresses of the landowners and haulers involved with
the proposed disposal of the sludge. A copy of any contract related
to the proposed disposal shall be appended to the application.
E. The length of time the applicant intends to apply sludge on the site
or sites described in the application.
F. The name or names and address of the owner of any other site or sites
upon which the applicant is presently applying sludge, whether or
not such site or sites are within or without the corporate limits
of the Town.
G. Names and addresses of all property owners within 300 yards of the
boundaries of the proposed application site.
The Town Clerk shall refer all applications for a permit under
this article to the Plan Commission for its recommendation to the
Town Board. The recommendation of the Plan Commission shall be presented
to the Town Board within 60 days after such application for a permit
is referred to the Plan Commission by the Town Clerk. Upon receipt
of such recommendation from the Plan Commission, the Town Board shall
set a date for hearing on the application for such permit and the
Clerk shall notify the applicant of the date of such hearing. The
applicant may present such evidence as it deems necessary to the Town
Board at such hearing in support of its application for a permit under
this article.
The applicant shall accompany its application with a nonrefundable
annual permit fee set by the Town Board.
A. The Town Board shall, after receiving the recommendations of the
Plan Commission and after hearing thereon as herein provided, issue
a permit hereunder if it finds the following:
(1) That the sludge will be immediately incorporated with the soil.
(2) That the sludge will be applied in accordance with the appropriate
regulations of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and that
approval has been obtained by the applicant from the DNR to apply
sludge to the real estate described in the application.
(3) That no sludge will be applied at a distance less than 200 feet from
the nearest residence.
(4) That the sludge will not be applied at a distance less than 400 feet
from the nearest private water supply well and that the application
of the sludge shall not constitute a possible contamination source
for any water supply, irrespective of the distance of the water supply
from the disposal site.
(5) That the sludge will not be applied at a distance less than 300 feet
from any stream, pond or other channelized waterway.
(6) That the sludge will not be applied to any soil which, because of
its composition, would tend to create a health hazard.
(7) That the applicant has applied for and received all appropriate licenses
from county or state licensing authorities.
(8) That a copy of all reports required by the county or state will be
sent to the Town Clerk at the same time as sent to the county or state.
(9) That the application of sludge will not constitute a nuisance as
that term is defined in Town, county or state ordinances or statutes.
B. If the Town Board does not find affirmatively with reference to any of Subsection
A(1) through
(9) inclusive, the application for such permit shall be denied.
A permit issued hereunder shall be for a period commencing on
April 1 in the year of application and ending on December 1 in the
year of application. This term may be temporarily extended if an acceptable
plan for providing storage capacity is presented.
The Town Board may require the applicant to conduct soil testing
to determine the ability of the soil upon the premises described in
the application to absorb sludge. The Town Board may also require
a sludge analysis at any time deemed necessary. The manner and type
of such soil test and sludge analysis shall be determined by the Town
Board and all costs and expenses for such soil test and sludge analysis
shall be paid by the applicant.
Before such permit shall be issued, the applicant shall file
with the Town Clerk a surety bond in the amount of $10,000 and proof
of liability insurance conditioned upon and as a guarantee that the
applicant will fully abide by all of the terms and provisions of this
article and any other ordinance of the Town of Genesee applicable
thereto and any rules and regulations imposed by the Town Board as
conditions for granting of such permit.
[Amended 9-12-1994 by Ord. No. 94-6]
Each violation of any provision of this article shall be subject to the penalties and remedies described in Chapter
1, General Provisions, Article
I, General Penalty, of this Code.
No person, corporation or organization shall install, operate,
repair, maintain or reconstruct any device designed for the holding
of sewage wastes in the Town of Genesee unless a permit therefor has
been obtained under the following conditions.
Holding tanks will be permitted to be installed, operated, repaired,
maintained, or reconstructed in the Town of Genesee only in those
instances described as follows:
A. Residential. Residential holding tanks will be permitted only to
replace an existing failing system. No new residential construction
will be serviced by a holding tank.
B. Commercial and industrial. Holding tanks will be permitted for the
replacement of existing septic or sewage systems and for new construction
of commercial and industrial projects.
An agreement as provided by the Town of Genesee in form according
to Exhibit A attached shall be executed by the applicant/owner for
a holding tank.
A. Said agreement shall provide as follows:
(1) Applicant/owner
shall agree with the Town to install a holding tank of adequate size
for the use proposed as approved by the Town Engineer.
(2) Applicant/owner
shall agree to conform to all rules and regulations, ordinances and
codes of the Town of Genesee, as well as all regulations and statutes
of the State of Wisconsin or Waukesha County, both in the installation
and the maintenance of said holding tank.
(3) Applicant/owner
shall agree to submit to the Town a copy of a contract or agreement
signed by a State of Wisconsin approved or licensed tank pumping firm
which provides for the periodic pumping of said holding tank whenever
necessary at applicant/owner expense. Further, applicant/owner agrees
to, when necessary, have the holding tank pumped out by a state-approved
wastewater holding tank pumping firm and otherwise maintain the tank
at applicant/owner expense.
(4) Applicant/owner
shall agree that at any time said holding tank is not pumped as necessary,
the Town of Genesee or any designated officer thereof shall have the
right, on 24 hours' written notice, to hire or otherwise accomplish
the emptying of said tank at the expense of the owner. The Town shall
add to said cost a fifteen-percent additional charge for the administration
of this section. The total amount owed to the Town, if said amount
remains unpaid for 30 days, shall be charged against the cash bond
deposited by the owner with the Town and the owner shall thereupon
replenish said cash bond by the same amount. In addition to all other
methods of collecting the expenses incurred herein, the Town Treasurer
may place said charge as a special charge against the real estate
taxes of the owner and it may be collected as such according to statute,
including the right by the Town to replenish said cash bond if the
owner refuses.
(5) Owner
will agree in said agreement to grant to the Town of Genesee full
right, license and authority to enter upon his property for inspection,
pumping and transportation from said holding tank.
(6) As
a further condition for the granting of said holding tank permit, the
owner agrees that he will pay all special assessments due if and when
an alternate septic system becomes available and that he will grant
all necessary easements for the installation of the same. The holding
tank agreement, required herein, when signed by the owner shall constitute
a waiver of all special assessment procedures and amounts. Applicant/owner
further shall agree that at the time an alternate septic system shall
become available, he will connect up to the same within 60 days of
the date the same becomes available. In addition, when the same is
available, applicant/owner agrees to properly abandon the holding
tank and appurtenances as required by law and the Town Engineer.
B. Applicant/owner shall simultaneously with the agreement referred
to herein deposit with the Town a cash bond in an amount as determined
by the Town Board from time to time to guarantee to the Town reimbursement
for any and all expenses incurred by the Town in alleviating any nuisance
occurring as a result of this holding tank. The cash bond shall at
all times be maintained constantly at the amount originally deposited.
Said bond shall be returned to applicant/owner upon proper connection
to an alternate sanitary septic system and abandonment of said holding
tank. Interest earned, if any, by said cash deposit shall be the property
of the Town of Genesee as an administrative charge by the Town for
administering said cash bond.
C. The agreement referred to herein shall be made a part of this article
and shall be executed in recordable form, shall contain the legal
description of the owner's property benefitted, and shall be
recorded with the Register of Deeds for Waukesha County. All parties
in interest to the owner's property shall execute and be parties
to the agreement.
D. The agreement shall continue so long as the holding tank is maintained
and shall terminate upon connection to an alternate sanitary septic
system and abandonment of said holding tank.
E. The agreement, upon execution by applicant/owner, shall thereupon
become a part of this article and enforceable as a part of this article
as if it were contained herein.
In the event a violation ever occurs causing a nuisance, the
Town may inspect said holding tank on a monthly basis to ensure that
future violations do not occur. The fee for these inspections shall
be the responsibility of the applicant/owner, and in the event the
applicant/owner does not pay said inspection fees, the cost may then
be added to the tax roll as a special real estate charge. The amount
of the inspection fee shall be as determined from time to time by
the Town Board.
[Amended 9-12-1994 by Ord. No. 94-6]
Each violation of any provision of this article shall be subject to the penalties and remedies described in Chapter
1, General Provisions, Article
I, General Penalty, of this Code.
[Added 1-13-1986]
A. In that the Town of Genesee prohibits the installation of holding
tanks for new residential construction, any person denied permission
to install and operate a residential holding tank for new construction
by the Town Board may petition the Town Board for reconsideration
of the Town Board's denial and a variance to the prohibition.
B. The Town Board shall upon receipt of any said petition as soon as
practical call a public hearing thereon. Notice of the time and place
of the hearing shall be given pursuant to the Open Meeting Law.
C. As soon as possible after such public hearing, the Town Board shall
act on said petition either granting, denying, or conditionally granting
the variance. In determining whether to grant, deny or conditionally
grant the variance the Town Board shall look to the standards as set
forth in Ch SPS 383, Wis. Adm. Code, and to the guidelines and past
practice of Waukesha County.
D. The Town of Genesee shall inform the Department of Safety and Professional
Services in writing of each variance granted.