[HISTORY: Adopted 10-26-1981 Special Town Meeting, Art. 4. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter is adopted by the Town under its home rule powers, its police powers to protect the public health and welfare and its authorization under MGL C. 40, § 21.
The purpose of this chapter is to protect, preserve and maintain the existing and potential groundwater supply, groundwater recharge areas and surface water within the Town from contamination with toxic or hazardous materials.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
TOXIC OR HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
Includes all liquid hydrocarbon products, including but not limited to gasoline, fuel and diesel oil, and also any other toxic, caustic or corrosive chemicals, radioactive materials or other substances controlled as being toxic or hazardous by the Division of Hazardous Waste under the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 21C.
A. 
Every owner or operator of a commercial or industrial establishment, including permitted home occupations, storing toxic or hazardous materials in containers, any of which holds more than five gallons' liquid volume or 25 pounds' dry weight, except heating oil stored in the building it heats; kerosene, liquefied propane and fuel or diesel oil stored in two-hundred-seventy-five-gallon or smaller containers; and lubricants, gasoline and hydraulic oil stored in fifty-five-gallon or smaller containers, shall register with the Board of health the types of material stored, quantities, location and method of storage. The Board of Health may require, by written notification, that an inventory of some or all of such materials be maintained on the premises and be reconciled with purchase, use, sales and disposal records on a monthly basis, in order to detect any product loss. Registration required by this provision shall be initially submitted by January 1, 1982, and annually thereafter. Agricultural and horticultural operations are exempt. Maintenance and reconciliation of inventories shall begin within seven days of receipt of notification from the Board of Health that inventories are required. The Board of Health may publish lists of specific materials or classes of materials which, even though stored in quantities less than those specified above, must be registered and inventoried. The Board of Health all consider the cost and inconvenience of maintaining inventories and related records compared with the degree of hazard before requiring that inventories be kept.
B. 
Wastes containing toxic or hazardous materials shall be held on the premises in product-tight containers for removal by a licensed carrier and for disposal in accordance with the Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Management Act, Chapter 21C. Containers used to store petroleum wastes and, with the written permission of the Board of Health, other materials may be vented to the air.
C. 
The Board of Health may require that containers which hold more than five gallons' liquid volume or 25 pounds' dry weight of toxic or hazardous materials, except heating fuel stored within the building it heats, be stored on an impervious, chemical-resistant surface compatible with the material being stored and that the storage area be enclosed with a permanent dike of impermeable construction.
The following provisions shall apply to all underground liquid toxic or hazardous material storage systems with capacities of 50 gallons or greater:
A. 
Owners shall file with the Fire Department the size, type, age and location of each tank and the type of material stored in each on or before January 1, 1982. Evidence of date of purchase and installation shall be included along with a sketch map showing the location of such tanks on the property. The Fire Department shall notify the Board of Health of all underground storage systems containing toxic or hazardous waste materials, including flammable and explosive materials, as regulated under MGL C.148.
B. 
Owners of a tank system(s) for which evidence of installation date is not available shall, at the order of the Board of Health/Fire Department, as applicable, have such tank system tested. Should the governing board/department determine that the tank is not product-tight, it shall be removed.
C. 
Nonconforming steel tanks installed prior to January 1, 1961, shall be removed and properly disposed of by June 1, 1982. All other nonconforming steel tanks installed prior to the effective date of this chapter shall be tested annually when 20 years old. Certification of testing shall be submitted to the Fire Department, with a copy sent to the Board of Health.
D. 
New installations and replacements are restricted to tanks of Owens/Corning fiberglass, Buffhide tanks or the equivalent.
E. 
Tank installations on lots not having a permit prior to adoption of this chapter are not permitted within four feet of the maximum high-water table or within 100 feet of a surface water body.
F. 
Fifteen years after installation, all tanks shall be subject to one of the following tests conducted in the presence of the Fire Chief and/or the Board of Health: the five-pounds-per-square-inch air-pressure test performed on an empty tank or the Kent-Moore pressure test. Twenty years after installation, all tanks must pass one of these tests annually. Any tank without evidence of the date of installation shall be required to be tested annually. Any tank failing either of these tests shall be immediately replaced with a new tank or immediately repaired or suitably dismantled or abandoned with its contents removed. Removal, repair or abandonment shall be done with the approval of the Board of Health and the Fire Chief or by the issuance of a permit by the Fire Chief pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 148.
The Board of Health may vary the application of any provision of this chapter, with the exception of materials regulated pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 148, in any case when, in its opinion, the enforcement thereof would do manifest injustice and the applicant has demonstrated that the same degree of environmental protection required under this chapter will still be achieved. Requests for such variance shall be in writing. The applicant must notify all abutters by certified mail, at his own expense, at least 10 days before the Board of Health meeting at which the variance request will be considered.
The Board of Health and the Fire Department may charge for expenses incurred for the enforcement of this chapter.
All discharges of toxic or hazardous materials within the Town are prohibited.
All spills, leaks or other loss of toxic or hazardous materials shall be reported to the Board of Health and the Fire Department.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be punished by a fine of not more than the maximum allowed by the state. Each day during which a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense; if more than one, each condition violated shall constitute a separate offense.
This chapter may be enforced by the Select Board pursuant to MGL C. 40, § 21D.