As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
PROPERTY
The personal property or real estate directly involved in
the response services, including but not limited to utility transmission
or telephone line, gas line, cable television equipment, open burning
site or hazardous substance or hazardous waste handling or storage
site.
No person, firm or corporation shall discharge or cause to be
discharged, leaked, leached or spilled upon any public or private
street, alley, public or private property, or onto the ground, surface
waters, subsurface waters, or aquifers within the Village of Athens,
except those areas specifically licensed for waste disposal or landfill
activities and to receive such materials, any explosive, flammable
or combustible solid, liquid or gas, any radioactive material at or
above nuclear regulatory restriction levels, etiologic agents, or
any solid, liquid or gas creating a hazard, potential hazard, or public
nuisance or any solid, liquid or gas having a deleterious effect on
the environment.
A person, firm, or corporation who or which possesses or controls
a hazardous substance which is discharged or who causes the discharge
of a hazardous substance shall be responsible for reimbursement to
the responding agencies for actual and necessary expenses incurred
in carrying out their duties under this article. Actual and necessary
expenses may include but not be limited to replacement of equipment
damaged by the hazardous material; cleaning, decontamination and maintenance
of the equipment specific to the incident; specific laboratory expenses
incurred in the recognition and identification of hazardous substances
in the evaluation of response; decontamination; costs incurred in
the procurement and use of specialized equipment specific to the incident;
cleanup and medical surveillance; and incurred costs in future medical
surveillance of response personnel as required by the responding agency's
medical advisor.
Access to any site, public or private, where a prohibited discharge
is indicated or suspected will be provided to emergency management
officers and staff and to Village Police Department and Athens Area
Fire Commission personnel for the purpose of evaluating the threat
to the public and monitoring containment, cleanup and restoration
activities.
Should any prohibited discharge occur that threatens the life,
safety or health of the public at, near, or around the site of a prohibited
discharge, and the situation is so critical that immediate steps must
be taken to protect life and limb, the Village President, his/her
assistant, or the senior Village police or fire official on the scene
of the emergency may order an evacuation of the area or take other
appropriate steps for a period of time until the Village Board can
take appropriate action.
The Fire Chief and his/her deputies, as well as the Village
law enforcement officers, shall have authority to issue citations
or complaints under this article.
Any person, firm or corporation in violation of this article
shall be liable to the Village for any expenses incurred by the Village
or loss or damage sustained by the Village of Athens by reason of
such violation.