[1][HISTORY: Adopted by the City of Norwalk Common Council
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-22-2018]
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.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The physical act of placing or spreading natural gas waste
or oil waste on any road or real property located within the City.
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.
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.
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;
Leachate from solid wastes associated with natural gas extraction
activities;
Any waste that is generated as a result of or in association
with the underground storage of natural gas;
Any waste that is generated as a result of or in association
with liquefied petroleum gas well storage operations; and
Any products or by-products resulting from the treatment, processing,
or modification of any of the above wastes.
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.
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;
Leachate from solid wastes associated with oil extraction activities;
and
Any products or by-products resulting from the treatment, processing,
or modification of any of the above wastes.
A.Â
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.Â
The introduction of natural gas waste or oil waste into any wastewater
treatment facility within or operated by the City is prohibited.
C.Â
The introduction of natural gas waste or oil waste into any solid
waste management facility within or operated by the City is prohibited.
D.Â
The storage, disposal, sale, acquisition, transfer, handling, treatment,
and/or processing of natural gas waste or oil waste within the City
is prohibited.
A.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.
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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.Â
Issue cease and desist orders demanding abatement of the violation
of the prohibitions and provisions stated in this article.
B.Â
Seek any appropriate legal relief, including immediate injunctive
relief, as a result of any violation of this article.
C.Â
File a complaint with any other proper authority.
D.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.
A.Â
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.Â
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.
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.
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.
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.