Any person, firm or corporation who accidentally, negligently,
or intentionally causes, suffers or permits the release, discharge,
deposit or spill of hazardous material(s) (hereinafter referred to
as a "hazardous materials incident") upon or onto any property or
facilities within the city shall be liable to the City of DeSoto for
the payment of all costs incurred by the City of DeSoto and any other
governmental agencies which assist it, for the cleanup and abatement
of such condition. Any person, firm, or corporation who owned, possessed
or controlled the hazardous material(s), or the container which held
such hazardous material(s) at the time of the discharge, release,
spill or deposit of hazardous material(s) shall also be liable to
the city for the cost of cleanup and abatement. The remedy provided
by this article shall be in addition to any other remedies provided
under city ordinances and state law.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 7, Article 7.600,
Section 7.601)
For the purposes of this article "hazardous materials" shall
be defined as any substances or materials in a quantity or form which,
in the determination of the fire chief or his authorized representative,
poses an unreasonable and imminent risk to the life, health or safety
or persons or property or to the ecological balance of the environment,
and shall include, but not be limited to, such substances as explosives,
radioactive materials, petroleum or petroleum products or gases, poisons,
eliologic (biologic) agents, flammables and corrosives.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 7, Article 7.600,
Section 7.602)
For purposes of this article, costs incurred by the City of
DeSoto or other governmental agencies shall include, but shall not
be limited to, the actual out-of-pocket expenses attributable to the
abatement and cleanup of any hazardous materials, including the cost
of equipment operation, cost of materials utilized, costs of specialists,
experts or other contract labor not in the full-time employment of
the city, actual labor costs of city personnel, including benefits
and administrative overhead, overtime costs and any other incidental
costs incurred by the City of DeSoto as a result of the abatement
and cleanup.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 7, Article 7.600,
Section 7.603)
The authority to recover costs under this article shall not
include actual fire suppression, rescue, medical, etc. service which
are normally or usually provided by the fire department and other
city departments and are unrelated to a particular hazardous material(s)
incident.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 7, Article 7.600,
Section 7.604)
The city shall keep an itemized record of expenses incurred
in the abatement and cleanup of hazardous materials and shall immediately
after completion of the abatement, send written notice of the claim
for expenses by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each
responsible person, firm, and corporation, which notice shall further
state that unless the amounts are paid in full within thirty (30)
days after the date of mailing the city will use lawful means to collect
the expenses incurred.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 7, Article 7.600,
Section 7.605)
The city may use lawful means, including a civil action to collect
the cleanup and abatement expenses incurred by the city against any
person, firm, or corporation responsible for the abatement and/or
cleanup of a hazardous materials incident.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 7, Article 7.600,
Section 7.606)
