This chapter shall be known, and may be cited as the air pollution
control code of the borough.
It is hereby declared that pollution of the atmosphere by smoke,
cinders, soot, flyash, gases, fumes, vapors, odors, dust and other
contaminants is a menace to the health, welfare, and comfort of the
residents of the borough and a cause of substantial damage to property.
For the purpose of controlling and reducing atmospheric pollution,
it is hereby declared to be the policy of the borough to minimize
air pollution as herein defined and prohibit excessive emission of
the same, to establish standards governing the installation, maintenance
and operation of equipment and appurtenances relating to combustion
which are a source or potential source of air pollution, and in furtherance
of this purpose to cooperate and coordinate these efforts with the
State Department of Environmental Protection, Air Pollution Control
Program.
As used in this chapter. The following terms wherever used herein
of referred to in this code shall have the respective meanings assigned
to them unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context.
a. AIR POLLUTION – Shall mean the presence in the outdoor atmosphere
of one or more air contaminants in such quantities and duration as
are, or tend to be injurious to human health or welfare, to animal
or plant life, to property, or would unreasonably interfere with the
enjoyment of life or property throughout the borough as shall be affected
thereby, and excludes all aspects of employer-employee relationships
as to health and safety hazards.
b. ECONOMIC POISONS – Shall mean those chemicals used as insecticides,
rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, nematocides, or defoliants.
c. FUEL BURNING EQUIPMENT – Shall mean any furnace, boiler, water
heater, device, mechanism, stoker, burner, stack oven, stove, kiln,
still or other apparatus, or a group or collection of such units in
the process of fuel burning for the generation of heat or power. Refuse
burning equipment, shall be considered incinerators as herein defined
and not as fuel-burning equipment under this definition. Ovens, stoves,
or ranges used exclusively for domestic cooking purposes are not included
herein.
d. INCINERATOR – Shall mean any device apparatus, equipment or
structure used for destroying, reducing, or salvaging by fire any
material or substance, including but not limited to refuse, rubbish,
garbage, debris, or scrap or facilities for cremating human or animal
remains.
e. ODOR – Shall mean a property of a substance which affects the
sense of smell.
f. OPEN BURNING – Shall mean any fire wherein the products of
combustion are emitted into the open air and are not directed thereto
through a stack or chimney.
g. OPERATOR – Shall mean any person who has care, custody, or
control of a building or premises, or a portion thereof, whether with
or without knowledge of the owner thereof.
h. OWNER – Shall mean any person who, alone or jointly or severally
with others, shall have legal or equitable title to any premises,
with or without accompanying actual possession thereof; or who shall
have charge, care, or control of any premises or part thereof including
but not limited to a dwelling or dwelling unit, as owner or agent
of the owner, or as a fiduciary, including but not limited to: executor,
administrator, trustee, receiver, guardian, or as a mortgagee in possession
regardless of how such possession was obtained. Any person who is
a lessee or sublessee of all or any part of any premises, including
but not limited to a dwelling or dwelling unit, shall be deemed to
be a co-owner with the lessor and shall have joint responsibility
with the owner over the premises or portion thereof so leased or subleased.
i. PERSON – Shall mean and include corporations, companies, associations,
societies, firms, partnerships, and joint stock companies, as well
as individuals.
j. RINGELMANN SMOKE CHART – Shall mean Ringelmann's Scale
for Grading the Density of Smoke, published by the United States Bureau
of Mines, or any chart, recorder, indicator or divide for the measurement
of smoke density which is approved by the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection as the equivalent of the Ringelmann's
Scale.
k. RUBBISH – Shall mean solids not considered to be highly flammable
or explosive, and shall include but not be limited to rags, old clothes,
leather, rubber, carpets, wood, excelsior, paper, ashes, tree branches,
yard trimmings, furniture, tin cans, glass, crockery, masonry, and
other similar materials.
l. SALVAGE OPERATIONS – Shall mean any business, trade, or industry
engaged in whole or in part in salvaging or reclaiming any product
or material, including but not limited to metals, chemicals, shipping
containers, or drums.
m. SMOKE – Shall mean small gas-borne and airborne particles arising
from a process of combustion in sufficient observable.
n. TRADE WASTE – Shall mean all solid and liquid material or rubbish
resulting from construction, building operations, or the prosecution
of any business, trade or industry and shall include but not be limited
to plastic products, carton, paint, grease, oil and other petroleum
products, chemicals, cinders, and other forms of solid or liquid waste
materials.
a. No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit, open burning of refuse
or plant life nor conduct a salvage operation by open burning except
as provided in paragraph b.
b. The open burning of trade waste is not prohibited where no other
known method of disposal can be used without hazard to health or property
and the required affidavit has been filed with and approved by the
commissioner of the New Jersey State Department of Environmental Protection
in accordance with Chapter II, of Environmental Protection in accordance
with Chapter II, Section 1.4 of the New Jersey Air Pollution Control
Code.
a. No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit, smoke from any fuel-burning
equipment, the shade of appearance of which is darker than No. 1 of
the Ringelmann Smoke Chart, to be emitted in the open air.
b. The provisions of this section shall not apply to: Smoke emitted
during the cleaning of a fire box or the building of a new fire, the
shade or appearance of which is not darker than No. 2 of the Ringelmann
Smoke Chart, for a period or periods aggregating no more than three
minutes in any 15 consecutive minutes.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit, smoke from any
incinerator, the shade or appearance of which is darker than No. 1
of the Ringelmann Smoke Chart, to be emitted into the open air; or
emissions of such opacity within a stack or chimney, or exclusive
of water vapor, of such opacity leaving a stack or chimney to a degree
greater than the emission designated as No. 1 of the Ringelmann Smoke
Chart.
The provisions of subsection
12-5.1 shall not apply to smoke emitted during the building of a new fire, the shade or appearance of which is not darker than No. 2 of the Ringelmann Smoke Chart, for a period of no longer than three consecutive minutes; or to emissions of such opacity within a stack or chimney or exclusive of water vapor, of such opacity leaving a stack or chimney to a degree which is not greater than the emissions designated as No. 2 of the Ringelmann Smoke Chart, for a period no longer than three consecutive minutes.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit the emission
of particles of unburned waste or ash from any incinerator which are
individually large enough to be visible while suspended in the atmosphere.
No person shall construct, install, use or cause to be used,
any incinerator which will result in odors being detectable by sense
of smell in any area of human use or occupancy.
No person shall operate, and no owner or operator of any building
in the borough shall permit the operation of an incinerator prior
to 7:00 a.m. or after 5:00 p.m. of any day, and all operation shall
be completely terminated by 5:00 p.m., including complete extinction
of the fire and removal of material in a safe manner from the firebox
to a noncombustible container; provided, however that by special permit,
the borough council may, because of exceptional circumstances permit
different hours of operation under such conditions as he shall deem
necessary for the health, safety and welfare of the public or of persons
in the vicinity.
No person or owner of property, and no person having possession
or control of property, shall cause, suffer, allow or permit to be
emitted into the open air substances in such quantities as shall result
in air pollution. The provisions of this section shall not apply to
the use of economic poisons.
All buildings and premises subject to this code are subject
to inspection by the construction code official or his duly authorized
representatives. All rooms and areas in the building shall be available
and accessible for such inspection which shall be made during usual
business hours if the premises are used for nonresidential purposes;
provided however, that inspections may be made at other times if:
a. The premises are not available during the foregoing hours for inspection;
or
b. There is reason to believe that violations are occurring on the premises
which can only be apprehended and proved by inspection during other
than the prescribed hours; or
c. There is reason to believe a violation exists of a character which
is an immediate threat to health or safety requiring inspection and
abatement without delay.
Emergency inspections may be authorized without warrant if the
construction code official has reason to believe that a condition
exists which poses an immediate threat to life, health or safety.
Such procedure shall take place only where the time required to apply
for and secure the issuance of a warrant would render ineffective
and immediate action necessary to abate the condition. Emergency inspections
may also be authorized by the governor in times of air pollution emergencies
in accordance with R.S. 26:2C-32. Where the construction code official
or his duly authorized representatives is refused entry or access
or is otherwise impeded or prevented by the owner, occupant, or operator
from conducting an inspection of the premises, such person shall be
in violation of this code and subject to the penalties hereunder.
Construction code official may, upon affidavit, apply to the
judge of the municipal court of the borough for a search warrant setting
forth factually the actual conditions and circumstances that provide
a reasonable basis for believing that a nuisance or violation of the
code may exist on the premises, including one or more of the following:
a. That the premises require inspection according to the cycle established
by the building inspector for periodic inspections or premises of
the type involved.
b. That observation of external conditions (for example, smoke, ash,
soot, odors) of the premises and its public areas has resulted in
the belief that violations of this code exist;
c. Circumstances such as age and design of fuel-burning equipment and/or
system, types of incinerator, particular use of premises or other
factor which renders systematic inspections of such buildings necessary
in the interest of public health and safety.
If the judge of the municipal court of the borough is satisfied
as to the matters set forth in the affidavit, he shall authorize the
issuance of a search warrant permitting access to the inspection of
that part of the premises on which the nuisance or violation may exist.
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a. Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this code,
or who shall fail to comply therewith or with any of the requirements
thereof, shall be punishable as a disorderly person in accordance
with the general penalty as set forth in the Disorderly Persons Act
of the Revised Statutes of New Jersey.
b. The violation of any section or subsection of this code shall constitute
a separate and distinct offense independent of the violation of any
other section or subsection, or of any order issued pursuant to this
code. Each day of violation shall constitute an additional, separate
and distinct offense.
This code is to be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes
herein described. Nothing herein is to be construed as repealing or
abridging the emergency powers of any agency of government except
to the extent expressly set forth herein.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with the
provisions of this chapter are hereby repealed, however, to the extent
that the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed inconsistent with
the provisions of the zoning chapter and the ordinances supplementary
thereto and admendatory thereof, the provisions of the zoning chapter
as supplemented and amended shall control and shall supersede the
provisions of the chapter. To the extent that the terms of this chapter
refers to uses prohibited by the zoning chapter and the ordinances
supplementary thereto and amendatory thereof, the uses contained herein
shall not be deemed to supersede or amend the uses prohibited in the
zoning chapter as supplemented and amended and the prohibitions contained
in the zoning chapter as supplemented and amended shall obtain.
The provisions of this ordinance shall be deemed incorporated
by reference in the zoning chapter as supplemented and amended.