Municipality of Bethel Park, PA Chapter 33 Environmental Protection

Article I Environmental Protection

[Adopted 7-14-1975 by Ord. No. 7-14-75B]

33.1 Litter and debris.

[Amended 12-14-1981 by Ord. No. 12-14-81H; 10-14-1996 by Ord. No. 10-14-96C]

33.1.1. No person, partnership, firm or corporation shall deposit, leave or cause to be left or accumulated on any street, land, highway, alley, vacant lot, stream, creek or any other public or private property within the Municipality of Bethel Park, any garbage, rubbish, waste materials, old building materials, litter and debris of any kind, junked, scrapped, dilapidated or outworn construction equipment or machinery including parts of same and fuel or lubrication equipment and other apparatus associated with their use, flammable articles or stored junk vehicles which shall be those without a current inspection sticker and are either rusted, wrecked, discarded, dismantled, partly dismantled, inoperative or in an abandoned condition, including parts of the same, all of which are hereby declared to be a nuisance and detrimental to the environment of the Municipality of Bethel Park.

33.1.2. No person, partnership, firm or corporation shall allow to accumulate and/or remain on his own property the material and objects listed above, whether or not such material and objects were accumulated or deposited with the consent or knowledge of such a person, partnership, firm or corporation.

33.1.3. Notwithstanding the requirements set forth in 33.1.1 above, damaged or wrecked vehicles with or without current inspection stickers may be stored on the premises of property being used as an auto repair facility, provided all of the following criteria set forth below are met:

1. The vehicles are stored behind the front face of the building where legal parking areas exist in the side or rear yards and that no more than 10 vehicles are stored at one time.

2. The period of storage, notwithstanding any work order, for any one vehicle does not exceed one month from the date of first storage, provided further a break in storage of less than one week shall not begin a new storage period.

3. The owner or occupier of the property can show by work order or other proper documentation that each vehicle is scheduled for repair within the time period set forth in two above.

4. The owner or occupier of the property has a current Certificate of Use, Occupancy and Compliance, pursuant to the requirements of Bethel Park Zoning Ordinance, as amended.

5. The vehicles do not harbor rodents, mosquitoes or other vermin and do not present a hazard to public health or safety.

33.1.4. Storage of Junk Vehicles Exception: Junk vehicles as defined in 33.1.1 above may be stored in manufacturing and light industrial districts (MLI) provided all of the following criteria set forth below are met:

1. No vehicles shall be stored within 50 feet of residential zoned property.

2. No vehicles shall be stored in required parking spaces as set forth in Bethel Park Zoning Ordinance.

3. No vehicles shall be stacked on top of each other.

4. That the storage of said vehicles do not constitute a junkyard as per Chapter 44 of Bethel Park Municipal Code.

5. The vehicles do not harbor rodents, mosquitoes or other vermin and do not present a hazard to public health or safety.

6. The MLI property abuts a street that does not serve as an ingress and egress to a residential zoned area.

33.2 Obnoxious vegetation.

33.2.1. No person, partnership, firm or corporation shall permit the following growths and vegetation which are hereby declared to be a detriment to the environment of Bethel Park Municipality:

1. Grass in excess of eight inches.

[Amended 11-8-1982 by Ord. No. 11-8-82F]

2. Poison ivy, poison oak and other toxic vegetation.

3. Weeds and other obnoxious vegetation.

4. Dead, dying or diseased trees or parts thereof whose existence poses a hazard to persons or property in their vicinity.

5. Trees, shrubs or other vegetation whose limbs or parts thereof project into a public right-of-way, thereby interfering with the normal use of said right-of-way.

33.3 Stagnant water and siltation.

33.3.1. No person, partnership, firm or corporation shall permit the accumulation of stagnant water nor allow siltation to be deposited on any public or private property.

33.4 Infestations.

33.4.1. No person, partnership, firm or corporation shall permit property under his ownership or control to become a harborage or infestation of insects, rodents or vermin.

33.5 Obstruction of watercourses.

33.5.1. No person, partnership, firm or corporation shall do any act or engage in any activity which shall restrict or impede the flow of any stream, creek or other watercourse which has its source beyond the limits of property under the ownership or control of such person, partnership, firm or corporation. The building of walls or the dumping of fill in such a manner as to restrict or impede the flow of any stream, creek or other watercourse described herein are prohibited. The building of bridges or other appurtenances that span streams, creeks or other watercourses described herein shall be in accordance with a permit regulating the design and location of same which has been issued by the Code Enforcement Officer, and further, no trees, shrubs or other vegetation or parts of same shall be planted or allowed to exist in such a manner as to restrict or impede the flow of such streams, creeks or other watercourses described herein.

33.6 Notice to remove violations; failure to comply.

33.6.1. The Municipal Manager or his delegate is hereby authorized and directed to give notice by personal service or by United States mail to the owner or occupant, as the case may be, of any premises where violations of 33.1 through 33.5 exist, directing and requiring such owner or occupant to remove or eliminate such violation within five days after issuance of such notice. If any person, partnership, firm or corporation shall neglect, fail, or refuse to comply with such notice within the period stated therein, such person, partnership, firm or corporation shall be subject to the penalties provided elsewhere in this ordinance and, in addition, the municipal authorities may remove such deposits, accumulations, harborages or infestations in violation of this ordinance; and the costs thereof, together with any additional payment authorized by law, may be collected by the municipality from such person, partnership, firm or corporation in the manner provided by law.

33.7 Violations and penalties.

33.7.1. Any person, partnership, firm or corporation who violates 33.1 through 33.5 of this ordinance shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $25 and costs of prosecution, and in default of payment of such fines and costs, to undergo imprisonment in the County jail for not more than 10 days, provided that each day's violation shall constitute a separate offense and notice to the offender shall not be necessary in order to constitute an offense, and provided further that any person, firm or corporation who shall ignore or fail to comply with notice given pursuant to 33.6 of this ordinance shall be subject to an additional fine of $300, and each day's continuance of the violation therein shall constitute a separate offense.

33.8 Certain rights-of-way to be considered private property.

[Added 11-8-1982 by Ord. No. 11-8-82F]

33.8.1. For the purpose of this ordinance, the term "private property" shall include that portion of any public right-of-way to the property line which is not improved with a cartway for public travel and which area may contain or be improved in part by sidewalks, grass strips, street trees or drainage ditches.

33.9 Smoking ban.

[Added 11-2-1992 by Ord. No. 11-2-92A]

33.9.1. No person shall smoke within Bethel Park's Municipal Building.

33.10 Repealer.

33.10.1. Any ordinance or part of an ordinance conflicting with the provisions of this ordinance be and the same is hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.

33.11 Severability.

33.11.1. The provisions of this ordinance are severable, and if any section, sentence, clause or phrase shall be held to be illegal, invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining portions of this ordinance shall not be affected or impaired thereby.

[Added 12-12-1983 by Ord. No. 12-12-83B]

33.12 Oil and gas wells.

[Added 9-13-1999 by Ord. No. 9-13-99C]

33.12.1. All procedures and rules for the drilling, alteration, operation and plugging of oil and gas wells shall be maintained in accordance with Act of 1984, P.L. 1140, No. 223, and the rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania Code, Title 25, Environmental Protection; Chapter 78, Oil and Gas Wells, whose agents are charged with the administration and enforcement of said Act. In addition to the restriction stated above, the following conditions set forth below must be met:

1. For all wells within 15 feet of a cartway, protective barriers must be installed adjacent to the well to prevent damage from stray vehicles. All barricades must be approved by the Code Official and installed so as not to interfere with access to the wellhead for maintenance and emergency purposes.

2. Landscaping is permitted to aesthetically enhance the appearance of the wellhead; however, it must not interfere with access to the wellhead for maintenance and emergency purposes.

33.13 Open burning.

[Added 8-8-2022 by Ord. No. 8-8-22]

33.13.1. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

AIR QUALITY ACTION DAY

A day for which a forecast has been issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Allegheny County Health Department, or the Southwest Pennsylvania Air Quality Partnership indicating that ambient concentrations of ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, or nitrogen dioxide might reach unhealthful levels or exceed the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

NEW SOURCE PERFORMANCE STANDARD

Any emission limitation promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to Section 111 of the Clean Air Act.

OPEN BURNING

Any fire or combustion from which air contaminants pass directly into the open air without passing through a flue. The term includes any fire or combustion which occurs in a chiminea, fire pit, outdoor fireplace, or grill.

33.13.2. Open burning.

1. No person shall conduct, or allow to be conducted, the open burning of any material, except where the municipality has issued an open burning permit to such person in accordance with this chapter or where the open burning is conducted solely for the purpose of preparation of food for human consumption, recreation, light, or ornament, and in a manner which contributes a negligible amount of air contaminants, and which is in accordance with Subsections 1a through c, below.

a. No material other than clean wood, propane, or natural gas may be burned except as provided for in this subsection.

(1) Charcoal may be used in an outdoor fireplace or grill for the purpose of cooking.

(2) Commercially available fire logs, paraffin logs, or wood pellets may be used in outdoor fireplaces.

(3) Paper or commercial smokeless fire starters may be used with clean wood to start an allowed fire.

b. Any volume of clean wood being burned shall be no larger than three feet wide by three feet long by two feet high and shall be at least 15 feet from the nearest neighbor's dwelling or inhabited area, any property line, roadway, sidewalk, or public access way.

c. Open burning using chimineas, firepits, or outdoor fireplaces may only be conducted using materials meeting Subsection 1a, above.

2. Any open burning shall be tended by a responsible adult, 18 years of age or older, at all times.

3. Wood burning activities shall not be conducted on Allegheny County Health Department air quality action days, with the exception of conducting such burning for the commercial preparation of food.

4. The municipality may prohibit, or reduce, any open burning activity which it determines to be a nuisance. This determination will be based on, but not limited to, the following criteria:

a. The severity of the amount of air pollutants, or malodorous material;

b. The duration or frequency of open burning;

c. The topography of the surroundings; and/or

d. The meteorological conditions.

5. This section shall not allow or permit any open burning which would not otherwise be allowed or permitted under any applicable ordinance or fire code.

33.13.3. Discovery of fire. Immediately upon the discovery of any open burning that is not being conducted in accordance with this section, the person responsible for the property on which such burning occurs shall immediately extinguish, or cause the extinguishment of, such burning.

33.13.4. Presumption. Proof that the defendant in any enforcement action owns or controls the property on which open burning occurs shall be prima facie evidence that such defendant has conducted, or allowed to be conducted, such open burning.

33.13.5. Permits.

1. The municipality may issue a permit for open burning during a period specified by the municipality, but only where the open burning is solely for:

a. The abatement of a fire or public health hazard when the burning is conducted under the supervision of a public officer;

b. The instruction of personnel in firefighting, except that instruction using only propane does not require a permit;

c. The fostering of agriculture;

d. The conducting of a ceremony; or

e. Clearing and grubbing wastes subject to, at a minimum, the following requirements:

(1) Air curtain incineration units shall be used at all times when burning clearing and grubbing wastes.

(2) The use of air curtain incineration units shall not be permitted unless approved by the municipality in writing with respect to equipment arrangement, design, and existing environmental conditions prior to commencement of burning.

(3) Approval for use of an air curtain incineration unit at one site may be granted for a specified period not to exceed three months, but may be extended for additional limited periods upon further written approval by the municipality.

(4) If operated at commercial, industrial, or institutional facilities, the air curtain incinerator may also be subject to the new source performance standard requirements of 40 CFR 60 Subpart CCCC or EEEE.

2. The permit application shall be submitted on forms prepared by the municipality at least 15 days prior to the proposed burning date(s) and shall specify the types of materials to be burned, and only those types of materials which are approved by the municipality in the permit shall be burned.

3. The application for said permit must be accompanied by a nonrefundable permit application fee (see Municipal Fee Schedule) by corporate check or money order payable to the "Municipality of Bethel Park," to cover the costs associated with processing, reviewing, and acting upon the application. The fee shall be set in accordance with a schedule of fees, charges, or expenses as determined by Municipal Council.

4. The municipality may issue a permit subject to any additional terms and conditions as are appropriate to further the purposes of this code, and may deny a permit application or rescind any such permit when it determines that an actual or potential air pollution problem exists.

5. An approved permit shall be in the possession of the applicant or an authorized representative at the site of the permitted open burning at all times during said open burning and shall be available for inspection upon request by any Municipal personnel, law enforcement officer, or fire protection officer.

6. Any open burning permit issued by the municipality shall immediately be suspended upon the declaration of an alert or localized incident pursuant to Subsection 33.13.7 of this section and shall remain suspended for the duration of the alert or localized incident. If the open burning permit expires during such period of suspension, an extension of such permit shall be obtained from the municipality prior to burning any materials.

7. Open burning activities requiring a permit shall not be conducted on air quality action days.

33.13.6. Coal refuse piles. In the case of a fire at any coal refuse pile or dump, the person responsible shall:

1. Report such fire immediately to the municipality upon discovery;

2. Immediately extinguish such fire, or demonstrate to the municipality's satisfaction that all necessary steps are being taken to extinguish such fires as expeditiously as possible; and

3. Report the status of such fire to the municipality at such intervals as required by the municipality.

33.13.7. Enforcement. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Municipal Code, the prohibitions of this section may be enforced by any code enforcement officer, fire company official, police officer or other duly authorized law enforcement officer ("officer") of the Municipality of Bethel Park. Such enforcement shall be in accordance with the laws governing the Municipality of Bethel Park.

1. An officer may, upon investigation, order that any fire be immediately extinguished, abated, diminished, or corrected (in his or her sole discretion) if, in the officer's sole judgment, the fire:

a. Is emitting excessive smoke, excessive odor, or malodorous emissions.

b. Contains prohibited materials or is using a prohibited or inadequate containment device or mechanism.

c. Is in a prohibited location or of a prohibited size.

d. Is emitting sparks or hot ashes that may pose a threat to nearby structures, trees, other combustible materials, or to the safety of persons or property.

e. Where its size, materials, containment, location, emissions, proximity to structures, trees, other combustible materials, conduct of participants, weather conditions (including, but not limited to, wind, drought, dry or other conditions) or air quality, or other circumstances, are such that continuation of the fire poses a risk of harm to persons or property.

33.13.8. Violations. Enforcement of this chapter shall be by action brought before the magisterial district justice in the same manner provided for the enforcement of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a criminal fine of not more than $1,000 per violation, plus costs and, in default of payment of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 30 days. Each violation of any provision of this chapter shall constitute a separate offense. In addition, any person found guilty of violating this chapter shall be assessed court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the municipality in the enforcement proceedings.