Borough of Woodstown, NJ Chapter 4 Emergency Management Council

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Woodstown upon adoption of Code. Amended in its entirety 9-12-95 by Ord. No. 495. Further amendments noted where applicable.]

Be it ordained by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Woodstown in the County of Salem and State of New Jersey:

§ 4-1 Establishment.

There is hereby established a Local Emergency Management Council pursuant to N.J.S.A. App. A:9-41, et seq.

§ 4-2 Composition.

The Local Emergency Management Council shall be composed of not more than 15 members to be appointed by the Mayor and hold office at his will and pleasure. The municipal Emergency Management Coordinator shall be a member of the Council and shall serve as the Chairperson.

§ 4-3 Powers and duty.

The Local Emergency Management Council shall have all the functions, powers and duties prescribed by N.J.S.A. App. A:9-41, et seq.

§ 4-4 Clean up or abatement of hazardous discharges.

[Added 12-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-14]

A. Definitions. In this section, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

CLEAN UP AND REMOVAL COSTS

All costs incurred by the Borough or a volunteer services company in (1) the removal or attempted removal of any hazardous substance; or (2) the taking of reasonable measure to prevent or mitigate damage to public health, safety or welfare, including but not limited to public and private property, surface waters, subsurface waters, water columns and bottom sediments, soils and other affected property, including wildlife and other natural resources.

COSTS

All costs incurred by the Borough or a volunteer services company, including but not limited to the following: actual labor costs of personnel, including workers' compensation benefits, fringe benefits and administrative overhead; cost of equipment operation; cost of materials; and the cost of any outside contract for labor and materials. Said costs shall be in accordance with the FEMA fee schedule and/or the actual purchase price of the materials used.

DISCHARGE

Any intentional or unintentional action or omission resulting in the releasing, spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying or dumping of any hazardous substances into the water, onto the land or into the air.

HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE

Any elements and compounds, including petroleum products, which are defined as such by the Department of Environmental Protection of the State of New Jersey or as are defined in the N.F.P.A. Guide of Hazardous Materials, or as are set forth in the list of hazardous substances adopted by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, or as defined on the list of toxic pollutants designated by Congress or the Environmental Protection Agency. This definition shall also include substances that the Borough Emergency Management Coordinator has reason to believe may be hazardous substances.

MATERIALS

All materials, including but not limited to firefighting foam, chemical extinguishing agents, absorbent material, sand recovery drums and specialized protective equipment such as acid suits, acid goggles and protective clothing.

PERSON

Any public or private corporation, company, association, society, firm, partnership, joint stock company, individual or other entity.

PETROLEUM PRODUCT

Oil or petroleum of any kind and in any form, including but not limited to oil, petroleum, gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil, oil sludge, oil refuse, oil mixed with other wastes, crude oils and substantives or additives utilized in the refining or blending of crude, petroleum or petroleum stock.

B. Borough and emergency services companies may undertake clean up. The Borough and volunteer emergency services companies within the Borough are hereby authorized to clean up and remove and discharge of hazardous substance which occurs within the Borough of Woodstown, or outside the boundaries of the Borough when authorized by agreement between the Borough and any other governing body.

C. Persons causing discharge liable for costs. Any person who causes, by act or omission, or is otherwise responsible for, a discharge of any hazardous substance which is cleaned up or abated by the Borough of a volunteer emergency services company, including the owner of real or personal property from which a discharge of hazardous substances occurs, shall be liable for the payment of all costs incurred by the Borough and the volunteer emergency services company as a result of such clean up or abatement. The remedy provided by this section shall be in addition to any other remedies provided by law.

D. Parties responsible for reimbursement to Borough. Reimbursement to the Borough, voluntary hazardous material response teams and others as hereinafter indicated shall be made by:

(1) The owner or operator of the vehicle responsible for the hazardous material, fire, leak or spill of hazardous material;

(2) The owner or person responsible for the vessel containing the hazardous material involved in such fire, leak, or spill on public or private property, whether stationary or in transit and whether accidental or through negligence.

(3) The owner or person responsible for any property from which any leak or spill of hazardous material emanates, whether accidental or through negligence; and

(4) The person responsible for the hazardous material fire, leak or spill of hazardous material on public private property, whether accidental or through negligence.

E. Reimbursement for services of recovery company, towing company or technical assistance. Any person and/or entity causing any hazardous material, fire, leak, spill or release involving a hazardous material and substance shall be responsible for all cots for services rendered by any recovery company, towing company or any other technical assistance called for by the Borough or by a volunteer emergency service company to handle such incident. Whenever the Borough seeks to recover costs it shall be the responsibility of the respective Department head or the Borough Emergency Management Coordinator to provide a bill for materials and services rendered to the Borough Clerk, who thereafter shall send by certified and regular mail a demand letter to the responsible party or parties, which shall contain:

(1) The date and time of the discharge;

(2) The basis for liability;

(3) A detailed narrative description of the costs incurred by the Borough, its employees, agents, contractors and authorized political subdivisions in responding to the discharge;

(4) A calculation sheet, including hours and personnel charged, salary rates and any overhead rates; and

(5) An explanation of the procedures to be followed to pay the costs demanded or to appeal the demand.

F. Time limit for payment of reimbursement. Any person and/or entity responsible for any fire, leak or spill of hazardous materials shall reimburse the Borough the full price of expendable items and costs used to extinguish such fire, or to stop or contain such leak, or to control such spill and for all costs and expenses set forth in this chapter within 45 days after receipt of a statement from the Borough outlining said costs and expenses. Whenever the Borough issues a demand letter to a responsible party and the responsible party fails to remit payment within 45 days as prescribed herein, the Borough may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover the costs incurred in the emergency response action, reasonable litigation costs and interest on the outstanding amount due calculated from the 46th day following the receipt of the demand letter to the date judgment is rendered at the interest rate set forth in the Rules Governing the Courts of New Jersey.