[Adopted 3-24-2015 by Ord. No. 15-06]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
All costs incurred by the Town or Department, including but
not limited to the following: actual labor costs of personnel, including
workers' compensation benefits, fringe benefits and administrative
overhead; cost of equipment operation; cost of materials; and the
cost of any outside contract for labor and materials.
The Town of Clinton Volunteer Fire Department.
Any intentional or unintentional action or omission resulting
in the releasing, spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying
or dumping of any hazardous substance into the water, onto the land,
or into the air.
Any incident where there is a discharge or threat of discharge
of a hazardous substance or petroleum product.
Any and all elements and compounds, including petroleum products,
which are defined as such by the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection or as are defined in the N.F.P.A. Guide of Hazardous Materials,
or as are set forth in the list of hazardous substances adopted by
the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, or as are defined on
the list of toxic pollutants designated by Congress or the Environmental
Protection Agency.
All materials, including but not limited to firefighting
foam, chemical extinguishing agents, absorbent material, sand recovery
drums, and specialized protective equipment, such as acid suits, acid
gloves, goggles and protective clothing.
Any public or private corporation, company, association,
society, firm, partnership, joint-stock company, individual, or other
entity.
Oil or petroleum of any kind and in any form, including but
not limited to oil, petroleum, gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil, oil sludge,
oil refuse, oil mixed with other wastes, crude oils and substantives
or additives utilized in the refining or blending of crude, petroleum
or petroleum stock.
The governing body of the Town of Clinton authorizes the Department
to recover the costs of firefighting materials used and expended;
the costs of the use of the fire trucks, fire engines, rescue equipment,
and tankers; the costs of personnel hours and hazardous situation
abatement materials involved in any hazardous abatement incident.
Below is a schedule of fees and costs to be charged and invoiced
by the Department to any person or its insurance carrier for whom
or for whose property such services were rendered and/or materials
provided.
|
Type of Incident
|
Description
|
Fee
|
|---|---|---|
|
Vehicle incidents
|
Any hazardous abatement incident involving a vehicle substantial
enough to cause the Department to use tools and skill (or extinguishing
agent) to bring the incident under control
|
$750 per vehicle
|
|
Hazardous substance discharge
|
Intentional or unintentional discharge of a hazardous substance
as defined herein, which includes, but is not limited to, hazardous
materials fires
|
Actual costs incurred and an hourly rate (not in excess of $50
per hour) for all personnel involved in the response
|
Reimbursement to the Department as hereinbefore indicated shall
be made by:
A.Â
The owner or operator of the vehicle responsible for hazardous material
fire or discharge of hazardous material;
B.Â
Any person who causes, by act or omission, or is otherwise responsible
for a discharge of any hazardous substance which is cleaned up or
abated by the Department, including the owner of real or personal
property from which a discharge of hazardous substance occurs, shall
be liable for the payment of all costs incurred by the Department
as a result of such cleanup or abatement, including but not limited
to all costs for services rendered by any recovery company, towing
company or such other technical assistance called for by the Department
to handle such incident;
C.Â
The owner or person responsible for the vessel containing the hazardous
material involved in such fire or discharge, whether stationary or
in transit, and whether accidental or negligent;
D.Â
The owner or person responsible for any property from which any discharge
of hazardous material emanates, whether accidental or through negligence;
and
E.Â
The person responsible for the hazardous material fire, leak or spill,
whether accidental or through negligence.
The Department is hereby authorized to bill and collect costs
due to it under this article through a third-party billing agent,
provided that any such agreement with any professional agency engaged
in the business of emergency response billing shall be subject to
the approval of the Town Council.
Said costs and fees as outlined above and as set forth on the
schedule of fees and costs herein shall be recovered directly by the
Department, or through a third-party professional agency engaged in
the business of emergency response billing under a contract with the
Department, by billing to the responsible party.
In addition to the aforementioned fees and costs, the Department
is hereby authorized to collect reasonable interest and administration
fees for the collection of the fees and costs due and owing from the
insurance companies or responsible parties for the services rendered
and/or materials provided.
The Department shall provide a monthly report to the Town Council
detailing all billing and receipts under this article.
Any person or entity responsible for any vehicle fire or discharge
of hazardous materials shall reimburse the Department pursuant to
the schedule of fees hereunder or provide proof that it has submitted
a claim to its insurance carrier for payment within 45 days after
receipt of a statement from the Department outlining said costs and
expenses. These provisions shall be subject to the following:
A.Â
Persons receiving services from the Department shall cooperate with
the Department or other billing personnel hired by the Department
to secure full payment for services rendered from any necessary insurance
carrier.
B.Â
Due to anticipated time requirements for the preparation and processing
of insurance claims, parties that have provided proof of a claim to
their insurance carrier shall not be charged interest or be subject
to penalties hereunder.
C.Â
Responsible parties under this chapter shall ensure that the Department
is authorized to receive any payments from an insurance carrier as
required by this article.
D.Â
The Department reserves the right to determine that a bill is uncollectable
by reason of unavailability of insurance coverage and be written off.
