[Adopted 9-4-1990 by Ord.
No. 480 (Ch. 11, Art. III, of the 1990 Code)]
A.
It is the purpose of this Part 3 to establish a procedure for annual
licensing of commercial solid waste and/or septage waste facilities
in the City. It is determined that due to the health and safety concerns
normally associated with waste, a system for continuous health and
safety monitoring of all solid and/or septage waste facilities is
in the public interest. Therefore, all solid waste and/or septage
waste facilities located within the corporate boundaries of the City
shall henceforth comply with the requirements outlined below.
B.
The City Council further finds that solid waste and septage waste
are very malodorous, putrescible, and likely to contain large numbers
of harmful viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms.
C.
Additionally, because most odorous pollutants have a complex chemical
composition and may elicit a broad spectrum of responses by the receptors,
special methods must be employed in their measurement and characterization.
Although analytical data are more precise and may be useful in identifying
a source, it is the human response of the sensory data that is most
critical in determining the necessary degree of odor control. Analytical
data may be used to specify permissible emission levels from a source,
but sensory data must be employed to assess the impact in the surrounding
community. The latter is the City's primary concern.
As used in this Part 3, the following words shall have the following
meanings:
A waste facility whose principal function is the storage,
processing, disposal and/or handling of solid waste and/or septage
waste.
The discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking
or placing of any solid waste or septage waste into or on any land
or water so that the solid waste or septage waste or any constituent
thereof may enter the environment or be emitted into the air, or discharged
into any waters, including groundwaters.
To store, transfer, collect, separate, salvage, process,
reduce, recover, incinerate, treat or dispose of.
Any structure, machine, device, system, or combination thereof,
other than collection or transfer vehicles and incinerators, designed
and operated to reduce the volume or change the chemical or physical
characteristics of, or otherwise change the nature of, solid waste
or septage waste.
Waste, refuse, effluent, sludge and any other materials from
septic tanks, cesspools or any other similar facilities.
Useless, unwanted or discarded solid material with insufficient
liquid content to be free-flowing, including, but not limited to,
rubbish, garbage, refuse-derived fuel, scrap materials, junk, refuse,
inert fill material and landscape refuse. The fact that a solid waste
or constituent of the waste may have value or other use or may be
sold or exchanged does not exclude it from this definition. Not included
in this definition are beverage container redemption centers.
The placement or containment of septage waste or solid waste
on a temporary basis in such a manner as not to constitute disposal
of such waste.
It shall be unlawful for any person, association, partnership, company, group, firm or corporation to commercially establish, construct, alter or operate a storage and/or processing establishment for solid waste and/or septage waste as defined above within the corporate limits of the City without having a license as hereinafter provided, or in violation of the terms of such license, or in violation of the provisions of this Part 3. Excluded from the provisions of this Part 3 are such facilities owned by public utilities, municipalities and/or public water and sanitary districts. A facility which is licensed as a junkyard under § 190-15 and operates only as a junkyard or automobile graveyard does not have to be licensed under this Part 3.
The annual license fee under this Part 3 shall be $100.
Every applicant for a license under this Part 3 shall:
A.
In the case of an application for a new license, complete and file
with the City Clerk an application for either a building permit or
special exception as required under the ordinances of the City. Within
15 days following a final decision by the Planning Board or by the
Code Enforcement Officer, whichever is applicable, the entire public
record of the proceedings on said application will be forwarded to
the City Clerk and made part of the applicant's file.
B.
Complete and file an application on a form prescribed by the City
Council.
C.
Deposit the prescribed license fee in advance with the City Clerk.
D.
Submit, with the completed application to the City Clerk, the following:
(1)
An attested copy of the articles of incorporation and bylaws if the
applicant is a corporation, or articles of association and bylaws
if the applicant is an association, or partnership documents if the
applicant is a partnership, as well as a list of all principal officers
of the entity making the application.
(2)
An affidavit which will identify all principal officers, their places
of residency at the present time and/or the immediately preceding
three years.
E.
Prior to the issuance of a license, provide a performance bond running
to the City in the amount of $100,000 to insure the performance and
adherence to the terms and conditions of any license or special exception
granted to the applicant for the operation of a commercial solid waste
and/or septage waste facility.
[Amended 1-6-1992 by Ord.
No. 244]
A.
Upon receipt of each application for a renewal license or prior to
a hearing on revocation or suspension under this Part 3:
(1)
The Code Enforcement Officer (or designated representative) shall
verify that the premises of the proposed commercial solid waste and/or
septage waste facility comply with any requirements or conditions
placed upon any special exception or variance granted to the facility
and be in compliance with the applicable ordinances of the City and
Maine state statutes, including, but not by way of limitation, the
building code, noise standards and zoning ordinance, and report his/her
findings in writing to the City Council.
(2)
The Sanitation Officer shall cause an inspection to be made of the
proposed location of the commercial solid waste and/or septage waste
facility, for the purpose of determining if City ordinances and Maine
state statutes and any conditions placed upon any special exception
or variance granted to the facility concerning health, safety and
odor have been complied with. A report of his/her findings shall be
made in writing to the City Council.
(3)
The Police Chief shall cause an inspection to be made of the proposed
location of the commercial solid waste and/or septage waste facility,
for the purpose of determining if City ordinances and Maine state
statutes and any conditions placed upon any special exception or variance
granted to the facility concerning fire and safety have been complied
with. A report of his/her findings shall be submitted in writing to
the City Council.
B.
All reports required under this section shall be filed with the City
Clerk within 30 days of the filing of the application for a license
unless an extension is granted for cause by the City Council.
A.
With respect to the enforcement of this Part 3 and any license issued
hereunder, an odor and/or noise will be deemed objectionable and is
a public nuisance when any of the following occurs:
(1)
A public nuisance at common law or under the Maine Revised Statutes
is created; or
(2)
Noxious exhalations or offensive smells and/or noise from the commercial
solid waste and/or septage waste facility become injurious or dangerous
to the health, comfort or property of individuals, or of the public;
or
(3)
All the members of a panel consisting of the Code Enforcement Officer
and three residents of the City appointed by the Mayor to assist the
Code Enforcement Officer to investigate complaints and who are not
aggrieved by the source determine, following concurrent, personal
observation, that the odor and/or noise at the property line of the
source, based on City Tax Maps, or elsewhere in the City is objectionable,
taking into account its nature, concentration, location, and duration,
and are able to identify the source.
B.
The Code Enforcement Officer, or any court, may order the abatement
of objectionable odors and/or noise by injunction or other legal action.
After receipt of all written material required by this Part
3, the City Clerk shall give notice of a public hearing on the application,
in the form and manner and to the persons herein specified:
A.
The notice shall include the time and place of such hearing, to be
held by the City Council, which shall be within 30 days of such notice,
the nature of the matter to be heard, and the address or location
of the property involved. Where notice by mail is required, it shall
be mailed at least seven days in advance of the hearing date, by regular
United States mail.
B.
Notice shall be given to each of the following, with cost of posting
and mailing to be paid in advance by the applicant:
(1)
The applicant.
(2)
All residents of the City, by publication in a newspaper of general
circulation in the City at least once, not more than 30 days nor less
than five days before the date of the hearing.
(3)
The owners of the property within 1,000 feet of such parcel or tract
by regular United States mail. For the purpose of this section, the
owners of property shall be considered to be the parties listed by
the Assessor's office of the City of Augusta as those against whom
taxes are assessed. Failure of any property owner to receive a notice
of public hearing shall not necessitate another hearing and shall
not invalidate any action of the City Council.
A separate license must be obtained for each commercial solid
waste and/or septage waste facility. Each license shall authorize
the operation of such an establishment only at the location described
in such license and in conformity with all applicable ordinances and
laws. No license shall be transferred to another person or to any
other location.
Every commercial solid waste and/or septage waste facility shall
exhibit its license at all times in a conspicuous place on its premises.
A.
The City Council shall grant or grant with conditions a license under
this Part 3 only after determining, following notice and hearing,
that the applicant has established that the proposed facility will
not:
(1)
Create a public nuisance;
(2)
Create a traffic hazard;
(3)
Create an adverse health effect on the neighboring properties;
(4)
Create an adverse safety effect on the neighboring properties; and
(5)
Cause or allow the emission of odors or noxious smells resulting
in offensive or objectionable odors at or beyond the lot line of the
facility.
B.
The applicant's failure to meet any one or more of the five subsections
above requires the denial of a license application hereunder.
An appeal from any final decision of the City Council shall
be taken by any party to the Superior Court, in accordance with the
provisions of Rule 80B of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure.
Any person, firm, partnership, company, group or association
or corporation violating any of the provisions of this Part 3 or who
fails to comply with any of its requirements, including violations
of conditions and safeguards established in connection with granting
of a license, shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than
$1,000. Each day such violation continues shall constitute a separate
offense. In addition to the above, the City has the right to seek
and obtain equitable relief to enforce the provisions of this Part
3 because money damages do not constitute an adequate remedy for the
enforcement of this Part 3.
No commercial solid waste and/or septage waste facility as defined in § 190-41 shall be exempt from this Part 3 because of grandfathering or because of being an existing use or activity at the time this Part 3 is enacted. Because of the City Council's findings as set forth in § 190-40 above, this Part 3 applies to all commercial solid and/or septage waste facilities as defined above, odor sources, noise sources, land uses and activities in the City that are existing or are proposed to exist in any pending proceeding, application or petitions as of the enactment of this Part 3.
