[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Spencer 3-9-1988 by L.L. No. 1-1988. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Sanitary Landfill Local
Law of the Town of Spencer."
This chapter is adopted under the authority of § 130,
Subdivision 6, of the Town Law of the State of New York.
It is the purpose of this chapter to promote the health, safety
and general welfare of the residents of the Town of Spencer by the
proper regulation of disposal areas known as "sanitary landfills,"
to prohibit the dumping of refuse in the Town except in such areas
and prohibit the open burning of refuse in such areas.
This chapter shall not apply to the landfill operation presently
being conducted by Tompkins County within the Town of Spencer at the
premises formerly known as the "Landstrom Landfill."
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
To dump, deposit, throw away by a person or by another with
the consent or approval, active or passive, of a person in a position
to control or prevent the same.
A person who shall operate a sanitary landfill site for which
a permit is granted hereunder.
An individual, association, partnership, corporation, municipality
or combination thereof and/or the agent or employee thereof.
Includes any one or more of the following: garbage, trash,
rubbish and similar used or waste material.
A disposal area conducted in compliance with the regulations
prescribed herein.
No person shall receive or accept for disposal or delivery,
dump or offer for disposal any refuse on any land or at any location,
site or area within the Town of Spencer, unless such land, location,
site or area is a sanitary landfill disposal area and has been licensed
as such as provided hereunder, and no person shall operate any such
disposal area unless the same has been licensed as provided hereunder.
A.
Any person who shall desire and intend to establish, operate and
maintain a sanitary landfill in the Town of Spencer shall obtain a
permit from the Department of Environmental Conservation and execute
under oath an application to the Town Board for a license which shall
contain the following information:
[Amended 4-14-1998 by L.L. No. 1-1998]
(1)
The name and address of the applicant.
(2)
A brief description of machinery and equipment which will be used
in the operation of the site.
(3)
The minimum number of employees he intends to engage in the operation
of the site.
(4)
The maximum volume of refuse the applicant will accept for disposal
on a weekly and on a monthly basis.
(5)
The name and address of the owner of the land upon which the site
is to be located and, if the applicant is not the owner, the nature
of his right of occupancy of such land and, if the applicant is a
corporation, the names of all shareholders and the number of shares
held by each shareholder and, if the applicant is a partnership, the
names of each partner and the interest held by each such partner.
B.
There shall accompany such application a map or plan of the premises
drawn to a scale of not less than one inch to 100 feet showing the
following:
(1)
The location of all boundary lines and/or streets and highways abutting
the premises and all dwellings situate within 1,000 feet of the area
intended for use as a landfill.
(2)
The exact location of the area intended for use as a landfill.
(3)
The exact location of areas formerly used for landfill purposes and
completed at the time of application.
[Amended 4-14-1998 by L.L. No. 1-1998]
The annual fee for the issuance of a license hereunder, or any
renewal thereof, is fixed by resolution of the Town Board.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The Fee Schedule is on file in the Town
Clerk's office.
Such license shall at all times be displayed conspicuously at
or near the entrance to the site for operation of which it was issued.
Any license issued hereunder shall be effective from the date
of its issuance until December 31 following its issuance. A license
hereunder may be renewed for additional one-year periods, provided
that all regulations and provisions contained in this chapter are
being complied with.
All licenses issued under this chapter shall be nontransferable
from or assignable by the named permittee or licensee thereof, and,
for the purpose of this subsection, if such permit or such license
is issued to a corporation whose stock is not sold to the general
public on any recognized stock exchange or over-the-counter and in
compliance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations,
any type transfer or assignment of the ownership of a share or shares
of stock in said corporation, subsequent to the issuance of a permit
or license hereunder, by the owner or owners of said share or shares
of stock at the time of the issuance of the permit or license hereunder,
which transfer or assignment would cause the controlling interest
in said corporation to be vested in a party other than the party holding
controlling interest in the corporation at the time of the issuance
of the license or permit hereunder, except through inheritance or
disposition on death, shall be deemed and considered a transfer or
assignment within the meaning of this section, and, further, in any
event, the Town Board of the Town of Spencer must be notified, in
writing, by the corporate licensee or permittee as to any transfer
or assignment of ownership of a share or shares of stock in said corporation,
whether or not such transfer vests controlling interest of the corporation
in another party. Any transfer or assignment as defined in this subsection
will cause an automatic revocation of any permit or license issued
hereunder.
Any such license may be revoked or suspended by the Town Board
for the violation of any regulation herein after a public hearing
at which the licensee shall have an opportunity to be heard.
A.
A person who shall operate a sanitary landfill site for which license
is granted hereunder shall be responsible for the operation and management
of said site.
B.
The operator shall not accept refuse for disposal at any sanitary
landfill site on Sundays or before 8:00 a.m. or after 4:00 p.m. prevailing
time on other days. The operator shall post at the entrance gate of
the sanitary landfill site a sign stating the hours of the day during
which refuse will be accepted for disposal as herein specified. No
refuse may be accepted outside of such hours, during which time the
entrance gate will be kept closed and securely locked.
C.
Refuse generated outside of the Town of Spencer, New York, will not
be accepted at facilities licensed by the Town of Spencer.
[Amended 4-14-1998 by L.L. No. 1-1998]
D.
The refuse is to be covered before the close of the working day.
E.
The area designated to be used for landfill purposes shall be no
less than 1,000 feet from any dwelling or from any public street or
highway and no less than 500 feet from any adjoining property boundary.
F.
No license shall be granted or renewed except upon proof that the
sanitary landfill for which the permit is sought and its operator
has fully complied with all applicable federal, state and local laws,
rules and regulations pertaining thereto, including, but not limited
to, the New York Environmental Conservation Law and applicable regulations
thereunder.
G.
No license shall be granted to any person unless he posts a bond
or other financial security in the minimum sum of $10,000,000 to constitute
a fund for reclamation and compensation for damages resulting from
the use of said license. The amount of the bond or other financial
security, if the Board shall determine a sum greater than the minimum
is required, and its term shall be negotiated based upon the size
of the operation, type of soil, condition, type of materials to be
deposited and such other relevant criteria as the Town Board may determine.
Said bond or financial security shall provide for extended coverage
during site operation and for a minimum period of 20 years after the
closing of the landfill site or other cessation of business thereon.
The Town Board shall reserve the right to accept or reject any bond
or financial security which it deems does not provide proper protection
to the Town of Spencer or its residents.
H.
The Department of Environmental Conservation shall establish the
depth of the landfill.
I.
The area designated to be used for landfill purposes shall be enclosed
with a suitable fence and entrance gate to contain blowing papers
and to secure the area during nonoperational hours. All unloading
of solid waste shall be conducted in such a manner as to eliminate
odor and litter outside the facility, and such litter and odor outside
of the facility would constitute a temporary suspension of the permit,
until the violation is remedied.
J.
Refuse should not be unloaded when weather conditions, e.g., high
winds, make it probable that the litter may be carried beyond the
limits of the sanitary landfill.
K.
Sanitary landfill sites are prohibited in a major groundwater recharge
area when their locations can be identified by reliable engineering
investigations or where it can be shown that public or private water
supplies would be jeopardized by pollution.
L.
Salvage or scavenger operations shall not be permitted at any landfill.
M.
All materials used in the covering of refuse shall be taken from within the area designated to be used for landfill purposes on the map required by § 91-7B of this chapter.
N.
At the discretion of the Town Board, a ground- and surface water
monitoring system may be required, at the licensee's expense.
O.
Any peace officer, the Town Supervisor and members of the Town Board,
or their duly authorized representatives, shall be granted access
to any sanitary landfill site permitted hereunder to inspect the same
for compliance herewith.
P.
Certificate of approval.
(1)
The Town Board shall have the right to require certificates of approval
of any refuse to be deposited in the landfill in order to monitor
compliance with and promote enforcement of this chapter. If such procedure
is adopted by the Town, no licensee shall accumulate, deposit, store,
manage or accept for such purpose any refuse or other waste material
which has not been certified as approved for deposit by the Town of
Spencer or any officers or representatives thereof acting under the
authority of the Town Board.
(2)
Before issuing a certificate of approval, the Town of Spencer Code
Enforcement Officer, or designee, must first record:
(a)
The nature of the substance sought to be deposited.
(b)
Its point of origin, which, in the case of refuse or other waste
materials originating outside the Town of Spencer in accordance with
these regulations, must be evidence by a bill of lading.
(c)
Its volume in cubic yards.
(d)
Whether it is compacted or loose.
Q.
No site for the disposal or transfer of refuse or other waste materials
situated within the Town of Spencer may accept for deposit, storage
or management more than 1,000 cubic yards, in loose form or the equivalent
volume in compacted form, of any substance in any single calendar
week.
R.
Recyclable items, e.g. glass, aluminum, newspaper, etc., shall not
be deposited in the sanitary landfill. Such items shall be removed
from any deposits of refuse by the licensee and delivered to any appropriate
recycling center for disposal. Proof of such delivery shall be furnished
to the Town on a monthly basis on the tenth of each month following
the month of disposal.
S.
The Town of Spencer reserves the right to promulgate rules and regulations
applicable to licensees and the operation of landfills consistent
with this chapter in order to clarify its terms and/or to monitor
compliance with its provisions and/or promote enforcement thereof.
Violation of any such rules and regulations shall be deemed a violation
of any of the provisions of this chapter.
T.
The completed area of any landfill shall have a finished slope of
no greater than 25%.
U.
The sanitary landfill shall be operated in compliance with all applicable
federal, state and local laws.
A.
The name and address of any collector using the licensee's landfill shall be filed with the Town Clerk. In the case of corporate or partnership collector, the information required for corporate or partnership licensees under § 91-7A(5) of this chapter shall also be filed.
B.
All vehicles used in collection shall be duly registered and shall
carry general liability insurance or equivalent financial security
satisfactory to the Town Board of not less than $500,000. All vehicles
used shall comply with any applicable federal and state laws, rules
and regulations.
C.
Each vehicle used by any collector for refuse to be deposited in
the licensee's landfill shall have the collector's name
and address and the collector's Town or city of collection and
the number of the vehicle (if the collector has more than one) clearly
printed and readily visible on the side of each vehicle.
[Amended 4-14-1998 by L.L. No. 1-1998]
D.
The bodies of all vehicles used to haul, transport or dispose of
refuse or other solid waste should be metal or other impervious material.
All vehicles shall be constructed and maintained, so as to prevent
refuse from accumulating in or on the body, and shall be capable of
being completely emptied.
E.
Any vehicle used to haul garbage, wet or dry, shall be of the packer-type,
with a fully enclosed body or other approved type to minimize the
escape of any noxious or disagreeable odors or the escape of any of
the vehicle's contents, either liquid or solid.
F.
Any vehicle, the use of which is intended for dry wastes such as
trash, rubbish, empty boxes, papers, grass and tree trimmings, cans,
bottles and all similar materials, may be of the open-body type, but
shall be equipped with eye hooks, cleats or other similar hold-fast
facilities fixed to the sides and ends of the vehicle and with a tarpaulin
or other approved cover to prevent blowing off, spilling or scattering
of the same along the route of the haul.
The disposal of all hazardous and special wastes is prohibited
at a sanitary landfill.
A.
Hazardous wastes.
B.
"Special wastes" include, but are not limited to, materials from
construction, repair, demolition and excavation, solid industrial
wastes, large condemned or dead animals and solid wastes from slaughter
houses, food processing facilities, markets, butcher shops and similar
establishments, hazardous wastes and infectious wastes. Normal residential
and commercial wastes associated with municipal solid wastes are not
included.
C.
"Infectious wastes" mean:
(1)
Equipment, instruments, utensils and fomites (any substance that
may harbor or transmit pathogenic organisms) of a disposable nature
from the rooms of patients who are suspected to have or have been
diagnosed as having a communicable disease;
(2)
Laboratory wastes, including pathological specimens, i.e., all excretions
and secretions obtained from patients or laboratory animals, and disposable
fomites attendant thereto; and
(3)
Surgical operating room pathological specimens and disposable fomites
attendant thereto and similar disposable materials from outpatient
areas and emergency rooms.
A.
Any person who commits or permits the commission of any act or acts
in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject
to a fine of not more that $250 or imprisonment for not more than
15 days, or both such fine and imprisonment, and/or suspension of
the permit for a period of at least five days, for each such violation.
Each day such violation shall continue or be permitted to exist shall
constitute a separate violation.
B.
In addition to the penalties herein provided for, the Town Board
may also maintain an action or proceeding in the name of the Town
in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance with or
to restrain by injunction any violation of the local law.
The Town of Spencer shall have the authority to appoint an enforcement
officer authorized to act on behalf of the Town of Spencer to enforce
the provisions of this chapter.
