[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township
of Hamilton as Ch. 6 of the 1994 Code of Ordinances. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Nuisances — See Ch. 317.
It is hereby declared that air pollution is a menace to the
health, welfare and comfort of the residents of the Township and a
cause of substantial damage to property. For the purpose of preventing
and reducing atmospheric pollution, it is hereby declared to be the
policy of the Township to minimize air pollution as defined in this
chapter and to establish standards governing the installation, maintenance
and operation of equipment and appurtenances relating to combustion,
which is a source or potential source of air pollution.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Solid particles, liquid particles, vapors or gases which
are discharged into the outdoor atmosphere.
The presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more air
contaminants in such quantities and duration as are or tend to be
injurious to human health or welfare, animal or plant life or property,
or would unreasonably interfere with the enjoyment of life or property.
Actinolite, amosite, anthophyllite, chrysotile, crocidolite
or tremolite.
Equipment in which heat from the combustion of fuel is transferred
to a substance being heated so that the latter is contacted by the
products of combustion and may contribute to the total effluent.
The person who is authorized by this chapter to exercise
the powers prescribed by this chapter.
Those chemicals used as insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides,
herbicides, nematocides or defoliants.
Any material which can be crumbled, pulverized or reduced
to powder by hand pressure.
Solid, liquid or gaseous materials used to produce useful
heat by burning.
Waste animal or vegetable matter from houses, kitchens, restaurants,
hotels, produce markets or any other source, or food of any kind to
be thrown away.
Any device, apparatus, equipment or structure used for destroying,
reducing or salvaging by fire any material or substance, including
but not limited to refuse, garbage, trade waste, debris and scrap;
or a facility for cremating human or animal remains.
Equipment in which heat from the combustion of fuel is transferred
by conduction through a heat-conducting material to a substance being
heated so that the latter is not contacted by and adds nothing to
the products of combustion.
Any maximum linear perpendicular distance from an inside
wall of a stack or chimney to the inside of an opposite wall, such
as the diameter of a circular cross section or the length or width
of a rectangular cross section.
Particles which have volume but are not of rigid shape and
which, upon collection, tend to coalesce and create uniform homogenous
films upon the surface of the collecting media.
Any action, operation or treatment embracing chemical, industrial,
manufacturing or processing factors, methods or forms, including but
not limited to furnaces, kettles, ovens, converters, cupolas, kilns,
crucibles, stills, dryers, roasters, crushers, grinders, mixers, reactors,
regenerators, separators, filters, reboilers, columns, classifiers,
screens, quenchers, cookers, digesters, towers, washers, scrubbers,
mills, condensers or absorbers.
Includes all vehicles propelled otherwise than by muscular
power, excepting such vehicles as run only upon rails or tracks.
The property of a substance which affects the sense of smell.
The property of a substance which renders it partially or
wholly obstructive to the transmission of visible light, expressed
as the percentage to which the light is obstructed.
Any fire wherein the products of combustion are emitted into
the open air and are not directed thereto through a stack or chimney
of an incinerator.
Any person who has care, custody or control of a building
or premises or a portion thereof, whether with or without knowledge
of the owner thereof.
Airspace outside buildings, stacks or exterior ducts.
Any person who, alone or jointly or severally with others,
shall have legal or equitable title to any premises, with or without
accompanying actual possession thereof, or shall have charge or control
of any dwelling or dwelling unit, as owner or agent of the owner,
or as fiduciary, including but not limited to executrix, administrator,
administratrix, trustee, receiver or guardian of the estate, or as
a mortgagee in possession regardless of how such possession was obtained.
Any person who is a lessee subletting or reassigning any part or all
of any dwelling or dwelling unit shall be deemed to be a co-owner
with the lessor and shall have a joint responsibility over the portion
of the premises sublet or assigned by the lessee.
Any material, except uncombined water, which exists in finely
divided form as liquid particles or solid particles at standard conditions.
Includes corporations, companies, associations, societies,
firms, partnerships and joint-stock companies, as well as individuals,
and also includes all political subdivisions of this state or any
agencies or instrumentalities thereof.
Vegetation, including but not limited to trees, tree branches,
leaves, yard trimmings, shrubbery, grass, weeds and crops.
Rubbish, garbage, trade waste and plant life.
Ringelmann's Scale for Grading the Density of Smoke,
as published by the United States Bureau of Mines, or any chart, recorder,
indicator or device which is approved by the State Department of Environmental
Protection as the equivalent of the Ringelmann's scale for the
measurement of smoke density.
Waste solids not considered to be highly flammable or explosive,
including but not limited to rags, old clothes, leather, rubber, carpets,
wood, excelsior, papers, ashes, furniture, tin cans, glass, crockery,
masonry and other similar materials.
Any operation or activity from which is salvaged or reclaimed
any product or material, including but not limited to metals, chemicals
or shipping containers.
Small gasborne or airborne particles, exclusive of water
vapor, arising from a process of combustion in sufficient number to
be observable.
Particles of rigid shape and definite volume.
Any manufacturing process or any identifiable part thereof
emitting an air contaminant into the outdoor atmosphere through one
or more stacks or chimneys.
A flue, conduit or opening designed and constructed for the
purpose of emitting air contaminants into the outdoor air.
Seventy degrees Fahrenheit and one atmosphere pressure (14.7
pounds per square inch absolute or 760 millimeters mercury).
All waste solid or liquid material or rubbish resulting from
construction, building operations or the prosecution of any business,
trade or industry, including but not limited to plastic products,
cartons, paints, grease, oil and other petroleum products, chemicals,
cinders and other forms of solid or liquid waste material.
Smoke which obscures light to a degree readily discernible
by visual observation.
No person or owner of property, or person having possession
or control thereof, shall cause, suffer, allow or permit to be emitted
into the open air substances in such quantities as shall result in
air pollution. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the
use of economic poisons.
A.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit a salvage operation
by open burning.
B.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit the disposal of rubbish,
garbage or trade waste or buildings or structures by open burning.
C.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit the disposal of any
type of plant life by open burning.
D.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
(1)
Variances approved and issued by the State Department of Environmental
Protection in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:27-2.
(2)
Open burning of refuse for training or research exercises when conducted
at a permanent facility or training center designed to be used solely
for such purposes on a continuing basis.
A.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit visible smoke to be
emitted into the outdoor air from combustion of fuel in any stationary
indirect heat exchanger except as provided in this chapter.
B.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit smoke the shade or
appearance of which is darker than No. 1 on the Ringelmann Smoke Chart,
or greater than 20% opacity, exclusive of water vapor, to be emitted
into the outdoor air from the combustion of fuel in any stationary
indirect heat exchanger having a rated hourly capacity of 200,000,000
Btu's or greater gross heat input and discharging through a stack
or chimney having all internal cross sectional dimensions of 60 inches
or greater.
D.
Any person responsible for the construction, installation, alteration
or use of an indirect heat exchanger shall, when requested by the
Director, provide the facilities and necessary equipment for determining
the density or opacity of smoke being discharged into the open air.
A.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit particles to be emitted
from any stack or chimney into the outdoor air the shade or appearance
of which is greater than 20% opacity, exclusive of water vapor.
B.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
(1)
Particles the shade or appearance of which is greater than 20% opacity,
exclusive of water vapor, for a period of not longer than three minutes
in any consecutive thirty-minute period.
(2)
Source operations issued a variance by the State Department of Environmental
Protection in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:27-6.5.
(3)
Indirect heat exchangers.
(4)
Incinerators.
A.
Except as provided in this section, persons burning solid or liquid
fuel whose products of combustion are discharged into the open air
from a stack or chimney shall submit to the Director information for
each such stack or chimney relating to place, type of fuel burned,
heat content in fuel burned, quantity of fuel burned per hour or year,
description of combustion equipment, usual period of operation, height
and size of outlet, description of air pollution control equipment
and such other and pertinent information as may be requested, on forms
provided for that purpose by the Director. The application forms shall
also require submission of the name, address and telephone number
of the person responsible for the day-to-day operation, and also of
the person responsible for maintenance of any such equipment. Any
change in the name, address or telephone number of such persons shall
be reported within 10 days of the occurrence of such change to the
Director.
B.
Such information shall be submitted to the Director within 90 days
after either new installations are placed into service or existing
installations are altered. Nothing in this section shall be construed
as relieving any person from the requirements of the building code
of the Township. Additional reports concerning these items may be
requested by the Director.
C.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to equipment designed
or used for a heat input rate of not more than 1,000,000 Btu's
per hour unless the equipment is designed for or actually using No.
4, No. 5 or No. 6 fuel oil or coal.
A.
No person shall operate or permit the operation of an incinerator in the Township without a permit issued by the Director in accordance with this chapter. The Director shall recommend issuance of a permit for the operation of an incinerator after examining the application and inspecting the facility and being satisfied that it may be operated in accordance with this chapter. The permit may be conditioned on improvements being made within a prescribed time or on certain operating restrictions, if necessary, to comply with this chapter. All permits shall be issued by the Director of Health, Recreation, Senior and Veterans Services and shall expire on January 31 following their issuance or at such time prior thereto as any conditions or restrictions shall not be complied with. Each incinerator shall require a permit, the annual fee for which shall be as set forth in Chapter 215, Fees, of the Township Code, payable to the Township.[1]
B.
Where the operation of an incinerator constitutes an immediate and
substantial menace to public health and safety or is a substantial
source of air pollution causing irritation and discomfort to persons
in the vicinity and the owner or operator fails upon written or oral
notice to take immediate corrective measures, the Director may take
all necessary measures to abate the condition, including but not limited
to ordering the cessation of use of the equipment and sealing the
equipment, pending a hearing in the Municipal Court.
C.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit smoke from any incinerator
the shade or appearance of which is darker than No. 1 on the Ringelmann
Smoke Chart to be emitted into the open air; or emissions of such
opacity within a stack or chimney, or exclusive of water vapor, of
such opacity leaving a stack or chimney to a degree greater than the
emission designated as No. 1 on the Ringelmann Smoke Chart.
D.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to smoke emitted during
the building of a new fire, the shade or appearance of which is not
greater than No. 2 on the Ringelmann Smoke Chart, for a period of
three consecutive minutes; or emissions of such opacity within a stack
or chimney, or exclusive of water vapor, of such opacity leaving a
stack or chimney to a degree greater than the emission designated
as No. 2 on the Ringelmann Smoke Chart, for a period no greater than
three consecutive minutes.
E.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit the emission of particles
of unburned waste or ash from any incinerator which are individually
large enough to be visible while suspended in the atmosphere.
F.
No person shall construct, install, use or cause to be used any incinerator
which will result in odors being detectable by sense of smell in any
area of human use or occupancy.
A.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit surface coating by
spraying on any building, structure, facility or installation, or
internal or external portion thereof, of asbestos or friable material
containing in excess of 0.25% (by weight) asbestos.
B.
Any person responsible for the manufacture, application or use of
any coating which the Director or any agent thereof has reason to
believe contains asbestos shall, when requested by the Director, conduct
such tests as are necessary in the opinion of the Director to determine
the presence and the amount or kinds of asbestos in the coating. Such
tests shall be conducted in a manner approved by the Director, and
shall be made at the expense of the person responsible.
A.
The Director of the Department of Health, Recreation, Senior and
Veterans Services of the Township shall, in addition to his other
duties, enforce and administer the provisions of this chapter and,
in exercising his powers and duties under this chapter, shall be known
as the Director of Air Pollution Control. The Director may appoint
or designate other employees or officers of the Township to perform
duties necessary for the enforcement of this chapter.
B.
The Director of the Department of Health, Recreation, Senior and Veterans Services, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 26:3-90, may appoint any person employed by the Township, or its successor, to administer and enforce this chapter, in addition to the powers and appointments provided for by Subsection A of this section.
A.
Emergency inspections.
(1)
Emergency inspections may be authorized without warrant if the Director
has reason to believe that a condition exists which poses an immediate
threat to life, health or safety. Such procedure shall only take place
where the time to apply for and secure the issuance of a warrant would
render ineffective the immediate action necessary to abate the condition.
(2)
Emergency inspections may also be authorized by the Governor in times
of air pollution emergencies in accordance with N.J.S.A. 26:2C-32.
(3)
Where the Director or his agent is refused entry or access or is
otherwise impeded or prevented by the owner, occupant or operator
from conducting an inspection of the premises, such person shall be
in violation of this chapter and subject to the penalties provided
in this chapter.
B.
Search warrant or access warrant.
(1)
The Director may, upon affidavit, apply to the Judge of the Municipal
Court for a search warrant, setting forth factually the actual conditions
and circumstances that provide a reasonable basis for believing that
a violation of this chapter may exist on the premises, including one
or more of the following:
(a)
That the premises require inspection according to the cycle
established by the Township for periodic inspections of premises of
the type involved.
(b)
That observation of external conditions (smoke, ash, soot, odors)
of the premises and its public areas has resulted in the belief that
violations of this chapter exist.
(c)
Circumstances such as age and design of the fuel-burning equipment
or system, type of incinerator, particular use of premises or other
factors which render systematic inspections of such buildings necessary
in the interest of public health and safety.
(2)
If the Judge of the Municipal Court is satisfied as to the matter
set forth in the affidavit, he shall authorize the issuance of a search
warrant permitting access to and inspection of that part of the premises
on which the nuisance or violation may exist.
C.
Right of entry. All buildings and premises subject to this chapter
are subject to inspection from time to time by the Director of Air
Pollution Control or his duly authorized representatives. All rooms
and areas in the building shall be available and accessible for such
inspection, which shall be made during usual business hours if the
premises are used for nonresidential purposes; provided, however,
that inspections may be made at other times if the premises is not
available during usual business hours for inspection, if there is
reason to believe that violations are occurring on the premises which
can be determined and proved by inspection only during other than
the prescribed hours, or if there is reason to believe a violation
exists of a character which is an immediate threat to health or safety
requiring inspection and abatement without delay.
This chapter is to be liberally construed to effectuate the
purpose described in this chapter. Nothing in this chapter is to be
construed as repealing or abridging the emergency powers of any agency
of government, except to the extent expressly set forth in this chapter.
