[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
New Garden 11-4-1996 by Ord. No. 114.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is:
A.
To provide for the protection and preservation of natural
resources and the environment and to promote the health, welfare and safety
of the citizens of New Garden Township by regulating the depositing, removing,
handling, storage and/or processing of spent mushroom substrate.
B.
Subject to certain conditions set forth herein, to permit
activities related to the depositing, removal, handling, storage and/or processing
of spent mushroom substrate.
This chapter is enacted pursuant to the authority granted by the legislature
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in its duly enacted statutes, including
sections of the Second Class Township Code, including, inter alia, Section
1506 and Section 1601,[1] authorizing the Township to enact ordinances which address protection
of the health and safety of Township residents and the applicable provisions
of other statutes relating thereto.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. §§ 66506 and 66601, respectively.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
An MFEMP which satisfactorily addresses, as a minimum, the following
subjects:
Erosion and sediment control.
Stormwater management.
Groundwater management.
Nutrient management.
Operation and maintenance of best management practices.
Implementation schedule.
Emergency preparedness.
Narrative/description of the operation and/or process.
Functional landscape buffering.
Odor control.
Noise control.
A written plan outlining how the mushroom grower or spent mushroom-growing
substrate handler or recipient intends to manage, within reasonable and practical
limits, the depositing, removal, handling, storage and/or processing of spent
mushroom-growing substrate in order to prevent pollution of the environment
and to maintain and/or improve the existing conditions of the soil, water,
air and other natural features of the area surrounding the site on which the
spent mushroom-growing substrate is deposited or handled.
Any material or substance remaining, which is no longer used for
growing mushrooms, after the mushroom-growing cycle is complete, and the crop
harvested. The material generally consists of organic material such as straw,
manure, hay, cobs, peat moss, and/or soil as remains after crop harvest. This
definition shall be deemed to include "aged spent mushroom compost," which
is the material remaining after the spent mushroom compost has been subjected
to natural elements for a period of time, after which the fibrous constituents
thereof have been naturally conditioned by the elements leaving the material
that is primarily a humus-type material suitable for potting soil or topsoil.
A.
Any person or entity may deposit, remove, handle, store,
and/or process spent mushroom-growing substrate upon any open tract of land,
without a permit from New Garden Township, provided that:
(1)
Such spent mushroom-growing substrate results and comes
from the growing of mushrooms in facilities that are owned, leased or operated
by the same person or entity that owns or leases the land upon which the spent
mushroom-growing substrate is deposited, removed, handled, stored and/or processed.
(2)
Such depositing, removing, handling, storage and/or processing
of spent mushroom-growing substrate is consequential and incidental to the
primary function of growing mushrooms.
(3)
Such activities are in compliance with any manual or
similar writing as may be published, adopted or approved by any regulatory
agency that are now or may be in the future developed and approved by appropriate
regulatory agencies.
(4)
Any area of a tract or site used for depositing, removing,
handling, storage and/or processing of spent mushroom-growing substrate shall
be not less than 150 feet from any well, spring, pond, stream, wetland or
designated floodplain.
(5)
Any area of a tract or site used for depositing, removing,
handling, storage and/or processing of spent mushroom-growing substrate shall
be not less than 50 feet from any lot line that abuts a compatible use and
100 feet from any lot line that abuts a use that is inconsistent or incompatible
with such use (e.g., residential use or highway commercial use).
(6)
Such depositing, removing, handling, storage and/or processing
shall be carried out in a manner that impedes, in accordance with the MFEMP
approval:
(a)
Dust, mud, debris and surface water runoff from leaving
the site;
(b)
Erosion from occurring on the site;
(c)
Adverse impacts to all water bodies on or near the site;
(d)
Adverse impacts to the groundwater in the vicinity of
the site;
(e)
Adverse impacts upon any significant natural features
of the site and wildlife habitats;
(f)
The concentration of airborne particles (dust) at all
times but particularly during periods of dry weather;
(g)
The growth of noxious weeds and similar forms of undesirable
vegetation.
(7)
Site and material conditions are established and activities
are conducted in such manner as to maintain an aerobic condition at all times
throughout the spent mushroom-growing substrate until such time that it becomes
aged spent mushroom-growing substrate.
(8)
Height limitations for spent mushroom compost measured
from the ground upon which the spent compost is deposited to the top of the
pile shall be five feet; provided, however, that in the event specialized
equipment is utilized which create rows or ricks of such materials and the
material is turned and mixed at least once per week, the height of such rows
or ricks shall not exceed 10 feet, and the width shall not exceed the width
of the specific equipment making the ricks. There shall be sufficient distance
between each rick to accommodate ease of movement of the equipment.
(9)
An MFEMP is established and approved by the Chester County
Conservation District in conformance with its rules, regulations and guidelines
that have been, or at sometime in the future may be, established governing
the preparation and permitting of an MFEMP to address each of the elements
listed in the MFEMPC. The Township shall be provided a copy of such plan on
request.
(10)
Such depositing, removing, handling, storage and/or processing
shall involve only spent mushroom-growing substrate and shall not involve
in any manner toxic materials, hazardous materials, metals, human waste, solid
waste, garbage, debris or contaminants.
(11)
All vehicles entering and leaving the site which transport
spent mushroom-growing substrate shall be covered and clean in order to prevent
release of materials onto the roadway, driveway, entrance or other cartways.
(12)
All roadways, driveways, entrances, and other cartways
shall be maintained and dust controlled, kept free of materials that result
from conducting the depositing, removing, handling, storage and/or processing
of spent mushroom-growing substrate.
(13)
The entrance/exit of the site shall be improved and maintained
to impede mud, dirt, debris and other matter from falling on any public road.
(14)
Every site used for the depositing, removing, handling,
storage, and/or processing of spent mushroom-growing substrate shall be located
only within an area of New Garden Township in which agricultural activities
are permitted uses by the New Garden Township Zoning Ordinance.[1]
(15)
Such activities are conducted only between the hours
from 7:00 a.m. and sunset.
(16)
Such activities shall be curtailed during periods when
wind conditions could intensify the off-site impact of on-site activities.
B.
Any person or entity not meeting the qualifications stipulated in Subsection A(1) and (2) above shall first obtain a permit from the Township, as provided for in §§ 118-6 and 118-7 of this chapter, before commencing or continuing to use any parcel of ground for the depositing, removing, handling, storage and/or processing of spent mushroom-growing substrate.
A.
During the month of January of every calendar year the
owner of any ground then currently used in the depositing, removing, storage,
handling and/or processing of spent mushroom-growing substrate shall notify
the Township Secretary, on forms provided by the Township for said purpose,
of said use and register the same in the Secretary's office.
B.
An annual fee as set from time to time by resolution
of the Board of Supervisors (due by the end of January of each year) shall
be due and payable to New Garden Township by the owner of any ground then
currently used in the depositing, removing, handling, storage and/or processing
of spent mushroom-growing substrate at the time said owner registers said
use with the Township Secretary to defray, in part, the cost of administering
the provisions of this chapter.[1]
C.
The requirement to register the use of ground as described in Subsections A and B above does not vest the owner of the ground so registered with any rights, privileges, permits or approvals to use his or her ground for the purposes stated herein. The land use registration requirement is an administrative function that facilitates ready access to appropriate information concerning the activities being conducted on the registered ground.
D.
The Township is to be furnished with a copy of MFEMP.
A.
Before commencing or continuing to use any parcel of ground for the depositing, removing, handling, storage and/or processing of spent mushroom-growing substrate, the owner of such parcel of ground, the applicant, must first obtain a permit, except under circumstances provided in § 118-4 above, from New Garden Township pursuant to the provisions and requirements of this chapter.
B.
The applicant shall present to the Board of Supervisors, for review and for use in making its determination regarding the issuance of a permit, sufficient documentation and written assurances to establish that each of the requirements contained in § 118-4A(3) through (16), inclusive, of this chapter will be met and full compliance will be obtained within three months after a permit is issued by the Board of Supervisors and that an MFEMP has been approved by the Chester County Conservation District and New Garden Township.
C.
Every site used for the depositing, removing, handling,
storage and/or processing of spent mushroom-growing substrate, that requires
a permit, shall contain at least seven acres of land that are contiguous and
suitable for the purposes contained and described within this chapter as demonstrated
by an MFEMP approved by the Chester County Conservation District.
D.
The applicant shall pay to New Garden Township a nonrefundable fee as set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors for each application filed with the Township to be used to defray, in part, the costs of review of the application. Such permit requirement shall be in addition to, and not in lieu of, the regulations and annual fee requirements of § 118-5.[1]
E.
A separate application must be submitted for each separate
parcel of ground to be so used unless such parcels are contiguous and in common
ownership, in which case, a single application shall suffice.
A.
The Board of Supervisors shall, within 45 days following
receipt of an application to use a parcel of ground for the depositing, removing,
handling, storage and/or processing of spent mushroom-growing substrate and
upon deposit of the required fee of this chapter, render its decision on the
application.
B.
The Board of Supervisors shall, within seven days following
the date the Board of Supervisors has made its determination concerning an
application, notify the applicant in writing of its decision to approve, with
or without conditions, or deny the application.
C.
Failure to comply with the terms and conditions contained
in the application or stipulated by the Board of Supervisors as a condition
of the permit shall be good and sufficient reason to revoke such approval
and permit as may have been previously granted by the Board of Supervisors.
Any spent mushroom-growing substrate that has been stored for a period
in excess of two years shall be leveled to a depth of not more than five feet
and shall be stabilized and seeded with grass or other appropriate ground
cover.
Any person or entity who violates or permits the violation of this chapter
shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding
commenced by the Township, be required to pay a fine of not more than $1,000,
plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney's fees incurred by
the Township. Each day a violation continues to exist shall constitute a separate
offense. The Supervisors are authorized to institute such additional proceedings
in court of equity or other courts to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
This chapter shall apply to and govern all spent mushroom compost in
the Township, whether or not presently existing or conducted hereafter.
