[R.O. 2011 § 500.700; Ord. No. 13-107 § 1, 5-22-2013]
The purpose of this Article is to
adopt standards for identifying dangerous levels of toxic chemicals
and residue associated with the manufacture of illegal drugs such
as methamphetamine or other hazardous or dangerous chemicals that
may be present and to establish protocols whereby the Department of
Community Development may cooperate with and rely on the Drug Task
Force when applying the Property Maintenance Code of the City of St.
Charles to order or cause the abatement of contamination in structures
due to the production of methamphetamine.
[R.O. 2011 § 500.710; Ord. No. 13-107 § 1, 5-22-2013]
For purposes of this Article, the
following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates
or requires a different meaning.
Chemistry carried out in secret and particularly in illegal
drug laboratories. The term "clandestine lab" is generally used in
any situation involving the production of illicit compounds synthesized
to smaller amounts of controlled substances, regardless of whether
the facilities being used qualify as a true laboratory.
The Department of Community Development of the City of St.
Charles.
The St. Charles County Regional Drug Task Force, a multi-jurisdictional
enforcement group or MEG established by intergovernmental agreements
between St. Charles County and the municipalities of St. Charles,
St. Peters, O'Fallon, Lake St. Louis and Wentzville pursuant to the
Intergovernmental Drug Laws Enforcement Act, Sections 195.501 to 195.511,
RSMo., as amended.
Dextro methamphetamine, levo methamphetamine, and unidentified
isomers of the same, any racemic mixture of dextro/levo methamphetamine,
or any mixture of unidentified isomers of methamphetamine. The term
includes derivatives, conjugates, oxides and reduced forms of the
basic structure associated with the formation of methamphetamine.
For the purposes of this protocol, this term includes methamphetamine,
ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.
The International Property Maintenance Code adopted by the City of St. Charles by reference in Section 500.110 of the Code of Ordinances including all subsequent amendments and supplements thereto.
A company or contractor that tests structures for the presence
of unsafe contamination and/or abates such unsafe contamination and
that:
Complies with the guidelines of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Voluntary Guidelines for Methamphetamine
Laboratory Cleanup (August 2009);
Complies with the regulations of
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the United States
Department of Labor relating to hazardous waste operations and emergency
response, including 29 CFR 1910.120;
Requires that at least one (1) employee
or supervisor assigned to and on duty at any work site shall have
completed the forty (40) hour Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency
Response (HASWOPER) training [Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) 29 CFR 1910]; and
Requires its personnel to complete
a clandestine drug lab assessment and decontamination course offered
by a sponsor acceptable to the Drug Task Force and/or department.
The presence of chemicals in a structure at levels exceeding the levels for such chemicals as provided in Section 500.720.
[R.O. 2011 § 500.720; Ord. No. 13-107 § 1, 5-22-2013]
A.
A structure shall be considered unsafe
for purposes of the Property Maintenance Code of the City of St. Charles
if it is found to contain any of the chemicals listed below at exposure
limits above the levels listed below established by the National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH):
1.
Red Phosphorus: any amount.
2.
Iodine Crystals: C 0.1 ppm (1 mg/m3).
3.
Sulfuric Acid: TWA 1 mg/m3.
4.
Hydrogen Chloride: C 5 ppm (7 mg/m3).
5.
Hydrochloric Acid (Hcl gas): C 5
ppm (7 mg/m3).
6.
Methamphetamine: in a concentration
equal to or greater than 1.5 µgram/100 cm2.
7.
Lead and Mercury: if it is determined
that the phenyl-2-propanone (P2P) method of methamphetamine manufacturing
was used, surface levels for lead in excess of 20 µg/ft 2 and
vapor samples for mercury in excess of 50 ng/m3.
[R.O. 2011 § 500.730; Ord. No. 13-107 § 1, 5-22-2013]
A.
When the Drug Task Force reports to the department that a structure or one (1) or more units in a multi-unit structure in the City has been used for the production of methamphetamine/clandestine compounds or as a storage facility for chemicals used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine as identified in Section 500.720, the department may order that structure or unit closed pursuant to Section 109 or applicable Section of the Property Maintenance Code. The department shall rescind such an order if the Drug Task Force later reports that after testing and investigation, it has not found unsafe contamination in that structure.
B.
When the Drug Task Force reports to the department that it has found unsafe contamination in a structure or in one (1) or more units in a multi-unit structure in the City that has been used for the production of methamphetamine/clandestine compounds or as a storage facility for chemicals used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine as identified in Section 500.720, the department shall order that structure or unit closed pursuant to Section 109 or applicable Section of the Property Maintenance Code.
[R.O. 2011 § 500.740; Ord. No. 13-107 § 1, 5-22-2013]
A.
When closure and abatement orders pursuant
to Section 109 or applicable Section of the Property Maintenance Code
are posted on a structure, entry shall be prohibited to anyone except
a qualified company or contractor due to the safety and health concerns
commonly associated with the manufacture of methamphetamine/clandestine
compounds. Tenants desiring to enter the structure to retrieve personal
property must first register with the department. Once registered,
tenants may enter the structure only if accompanied by a member of
the Drug Task Force and/or the St. Charles Police Department.
B.
When closure and abatement orders pursuant
to Section 109 or applicable Section of the Property Maintenance Code
are posted on a structure, the department shall attempt to contact
the owner of record and/or the lienholder of the affected property
or the owner's agent as provided in Section 107 or applicable Section
of the Property Maintenance Code and provide the owner or the owner's
agent with notice that the structure has been closed.
C.
Such notice shall direct the owner to contact
the department within twenty (20) calendar days to establish a schedule
for decontaminating the structure.
D.
Such notice shall also inform the owner
that if the owner contact the department within the time specified
in the notice, the owner may request to have the structure tested
to establish that decontamination of the structure is not necessary.
Such testing must be performed as follows:
1.
The owner must employ the services
of a qualified company or contractor to perform sampling and to analyze
the samples;
2.
Sampling and testing shall be performed
in accordance with the appropriate Sections of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Voluntary Guidelines for Methamphetamine and Fentanyl
Laboratory Cleanup (Revised August 2021); and
3.
The qualified company or contractor
engaged by the owner must report the results of its analysis of the
samples taken to the Department of Community Development.
[R.O. 2011 § 500.750; Ord. No. 13-107 § 1, 5-22-2013]
A.
If testing confirms the presence of unsafe
contamination in a structure, the owner shall employ the services
of a qualified company or contractor to decontaminate the structure
and shall advise the department of the schedule for decontamination.
B.
The schedule for decontamination and evidence
that the company or contractor meets the requirements of this Article
must be submitted for approval to the department within fifteen (15)
calendar days of the date of the notice. Approval will be based on
the timeliness of the schedule and the qualifications of the company
or contractor. Approval or rejection of the schedule will be provided
within five (5) working days from the date of receipt. If rejected,
the owner will be informed in writing of specific reasons for the
rejection and will be required to amend the schedule or the proposed
qualified company or contractor. Decontamination shall be performed
in accordance with the appropriate Sections of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Voluntary Guidelines for Methamphetamine and Fentanyl
Laboratory Cleanup (Revised August 2021).
C.
If the owner of property determined to
have unsafe contamination fails to voluntarily abate that contamination,
the department may serve a summons to appear in St. Charles Municipal
Court and proceed in accordance with Sections 106 through 108 or applicable
Sections of the Property Maintenance Code. The department may also
request to disconnect utilities to the structure until the decontamination
is complete.
D.
Following completion of the decontamination
the owner shall notify the department that the work is complete. The
owner must provide written test results as evidence that the property
is compliant with this Article. Sampling and testing must be done
in accordance with the appropriate Sections of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Voluntary Guidelines for Methamphetamine and Fentanyl
Laboratory Cleanup (Revised August 2021).
[R.O. 2011 § 500.760; Ord. No. 13-107 § 1, 5-22-2013]
After the property has been decontaminated
and the department is in possession of evidence that the pertinent
chemical levels are below the levels established for unsafe contamination
by this Article, the structure will be considered safe and suitable
for performance of a full inspection for an occupancy permit in accordance
with the Property Maintenance Code. The fee for a post-decontamination
inspection shall be forty dollars ($40.00). If utilities have been
disconnected, the department shall notify the utility companies that
the unsafe conditions have been mitigated and service can be restored.
The property owner shall be responsible for any reconnection fees.
