City of Norwalk, CT Chapter 50 Gas and Oil Exploration

[1][HISTORY: Adopted by the City of Norwalk Common Council as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]

[1] Editor’s Note: Former Ch. 50, Garbage and Trash, adopted 10-14-1958, as amended, was repealed 5-10-1988. For current provisions, see Ch. 94, Solid Waste, Collection and Disposal of.

Article I Waste Products Within City

[Adopted 5-22-2018]

§ 50-1 Purpose.

The purpose of this article is to protect the health, safety, welfare and property of the residents of the City of Norwalk (hereinafter the "City") pursuant to the provisions of § 7-148 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended, by prohibiting the waste associated with drilling and extraction of natural gas and oil from being used, accepted, received, collected, stored, treated or transferred for any purpose on any road or real property in the City.

§ 50-2 Definitions.

As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

APPLICATION

The physical act of placing or spreading natural gas waste or oil waste on any road or real property located within the City.

HYDRAULIC FRACTURING

The fracturing of underground rock formations, including shale and nonshale formations, by man-made fluid-driven techniques for the purpose of stimulating oil, natural gas, or other subsurface hydrocarbon production.

NATURAL GAS EXTRACTION ACTIVITIES

All geologic or geophysical activities related to the exploration for or extraction of natural gas, including, but not limited to, core and rotary drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

NATURAL GAS WASTE

A. Any liquid or solid waste or its constituents that are generated as a result of natural gas extraction activities, which may consist of water, brine, chemicals, naturally occurring radioactive materials, heavy metals, or other contaminants;

B. Leachate from solid wastes associated with natural gas extraction activities;

C. Any waste that is generated as a result of or in association with the underground storage of natural gas;

D. Any waste that is generated as a result of or in association with liquefied petroleum gas well storage operations; and

E. Any products or by-products resulting from the treatment, processing, or modification of any of the above wastes.

OIL EXTRACTION ACTIVITIES

All geologic or geophysical activities related to the exploration for or extraction of oil, including, but not limited to, core and rotary drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

OIL WASTE

A. Any liquid or solid waste or its constituents that are generated as a result of oil extraction activities, which may consist of water, brine, chemicals, naturally occurring radioactive materials, heavy metals, or other contaminants;

B. Leachate from solid wastes associated with oil extraction activities; and

C. Any products or by-products resulting from the treatment, processing, or modification of any of the above wastes.

§ 50-3 Prohibitions.

A. The application of natural gas waste or oil waste, whether or not such waste has received beneficial use determination or other approval for use by the State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) or any other regulatory body, on any public road or public real property located within the City for any purpose is prohibited.

B. The introduction of natural gas waste or oil waste into any wastewater treatment facility within or operated by the City is prohibited.

C. The introduction of natural gas waste or oil waste into any solid waste management facility within or operated by the City is prohibited.

D. The storage, disposal, sale, acquisition, transfer, handling, treatment, and/or processing of natural gas waste or oil waste within the City is prohibited.

§ 50-4 Inclusion of prohibition in bids and contracts.

A. All requests for bids or proposals and contracts related to the performance of services for the construction, renovation, rehabilitation or maintenance of any public work, public roadway or public real property, including infrastructure work or capital improvement, within the City shall include a provision stating that no materials containing natural gas waste or oil waste shall be utilized in the performance of any service on behalf of the City.

B. All bids or proposals and contracts related to the purchase or acquisition of materials to be used in connection with the construction, renovation, rehabilitation, or maintenance of any public work, public roadway or public real property, including infrastructure work or capital improvement, within the City shall include a provision prohibiting the use or provision of any materials containing natural gas waste or oil waste.

C. The following statement shall be sworn by an officer or other individual with appropriate authority under penalty of perjury and shall be included in all bids or proposals related to the purchase or acquisition of materials to be used in connection with the construction, renovation, rehabilitation, or maintenance of any public work, public roadway, or public real property, including infrastructure work or capital improvement, within the City and all bids related to the retention of services to construct, renovate, rehabilitate or maintain any public work, public roadway, public real property, including infrastructure or capital improvement, within the City:

I/We, __________, hereby certify under penalty of perjury that in connection with this submission of a bid for materials, equipment and/or labor to the City, Project Number __________, no natural gas waste or oil waste (as defined in Chapter 50 of the Norwalk City Code) will be used by the undersigned bidder or any contractor, subcontractor, agent or vendor agent in connection with the performance of any contract related to such bid, if awarded.

§ 50-5 Penalties for offenses.

This article shall apply to any and all actions occurring on or after the effective date of this article. In response to a violation of this article, the City is empowered to:

A. Issue cease and desist orders demanding abatement of the violation of the prohibitions and provisions stated in this article.

B. Seek any appropriate legal relief, including immediate injunctive relief, as a result of any violation of this article.

C. File a complaint with any other proper authority.

D. Require remediation of any damage done to any land, road, building, aquifer, well, watercourse, air quality or other asset, be it public or private, within the City.

E. Recoup from the offending person(s) or business entity(ies), jointly and severally, all costs, including expert's, consultant's and attorney's fees, that it incurs as a result of having to prosecute or remediate any infraction of this article.

F. Issue citations in the maximum amount permitted under Norwalk City Code for any violation of this article and seek any other remedies allowable under the law.

§ 50-6 Enforcement.

A. The City shall issue orders and other directives under this article. In addition to any equitable relief available, this article shall be enforced by citations issued by the City. Any designee authorized by the Common Council and approved by the Mayor shall enforce this article. These designees, include but are not limited to the Norwalk Police Department, Norwalk Fire Department, Department of Public Works, Health Department, Purchasing Department and Conservation Commission and are empowered by the City to issue said orders, directives and citations.

B. City employees, officers and officials are not required to personally carry out testing of waste products to determine chemical contents, as this work may be done via contacting the State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection or an appropriate analytical laboratory or laboratories. If appropriate, the City may request that the State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection pursue civil penalties allowable under the law.

§ 50-7 Severability.

If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, or part of this article or the application thereof to any person, individual, private corporation, firm, partnership, entity, or circumstance shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such order or judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, or part of this article or in its application to the person, individual, private corporation, firm, partnership, entity or circumstance directly involved in the controversy in which such order or judgment shall be rendered. To further this end, the provisions of this article are hereby declared to be severable.

§ 50-8 Conflicts with other provisions.

In any case where a provision of this article is found to be in conflict with a provision of any other ordinance or code of the City, the provision that establishes the higher standard for the protection of the health, safety, welfare, and property of the residents of the City shall prevail. In any case where a provision of this article is found to be in conflict with a provision of any other ordinance or code of the City, which other ordinance or code establishes a lower standard for the protection of the health, safety, welfare, and property of the residents of the City, the provisions of this article shall be deemed to prevail.

§ 50-9 Transportation of waste.

Nothing in this article shall be interpreted to ban the transportation of any natural gas waste or oil waste on any roadway or real property within the City.