[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Town of Standish as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-12-1988 by Order No. 32-88A]
This article shall be known as and may be cited
as the "Standish Sludge Storage and Application Ordinance."
[Amended 8-13-1991 by Order No. 65-91]
This ordinance is adopted pursuant to the home rule powers as provided for in Article VIII, Part 2, of the State Constitution and 30-A M.R.S.A. § 1917.
The purposes of this article are to:
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The landowner and/or operator of the wastewater treatment
plant or generator of the sludge or residual.
The Standish Planning Board.
[Amended 6-5-2012 by Order No. 31-12]
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
Materials coming from a generator of sludge or residual who
has received a program license under the Maine Solid Waste Management
Rules: Agronomic Utilization of Residuals, 06-096 CMR 419, as may
be amended from time to time, and whose approved residual material
does not require a site license. These are materials that are less
likely to require site-specific management practices to mitigate potential
risks.
[Added 6-5-2012 by Order No. 31-12]
Mapped areas identified as sand and water aquifers on Maine
Geological Survey maps and designated by ordinance as a protected
zone.
Any person who has the care, charge or control of a landspreading
site or storage facility. This person may be the owner, an agent,
a lessee of the owner or an independent contractor.
Any person who, alone or in conjunction with others, owns
the real property upon which is located a landspreading site or storage
facility subject to this article.
Those materials, including but not limited to pulp and paper
mill wastewater treatment plant sludge, food and fiber processing
wastes, municipal wastewater treatment plant sludge, vegetable and
fish processing residuals and ash from wood-fired boilers, generated
from municipal, commercial or industrial facilities that are suitable
for controlled land application and result in vegetative assimilation
and improved soil condition.
The semisolid or liquid residual generated by a municipal,
commercial or industrial wastewater treatment plant.
[Amended 6-5-2012 by Order No. 31-12]
When the Maine Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) has determined that the processed residual is suitable as general
distribution material and the applicant does not require a site-specific
license under the Maine Solid Waste Management Rules: Agronomic Utilization
of Residuals, 06-096 CMR 419, as may be amended from time to time,
then Board approval under this article is not required; provided,
however, that the applicant must submit evidence of a current DEP
license related to the general distribution material to the Code Enforcement
Officer prior to undertaking any landspreading or storage activity
in Standish. Otherwise, Board approval is required as set forth herein.
A.
Storage and land application of sludge and residuals
is prohibited in Standish unless approval has first been obtained
from the Board and the DEP.
C.
No sludge or residual may be delivered to, stored
or spread in Standish pursuant to a variance or experimental permit
issued by DEP regulations at Chapter 567 B-1.b, unless approval has
first been obtained from the Board.
D.
No sludge or residual may be delivered to, stored
or spread in Standish if testing required by this article indicated
that concentrations of heavy metals, organic compounds or other pollutants
exceed the maximum permissible concentrations and/or loading limits
appearing in the DEP regulations at Chapter 567 B-1.b.
A.
Submission of application.
(1)
An application for sludge utilization shall be submitted
concurrently to the DEP and the Board. The application shall be sent
by registered mail to the Chairperson of the Board and shall be accompanied
by a fee of $100. In addition, the applicant shall furnish the Board
with the following:
(b)
A map of the proposed site which clearly indicates
property lines, abutters, areas not suitable for spreading and the
reasons therefor, required setbacks and the reasons therefor, storage
and stacking areas and proximity to mapped sand and gravel recharge
areas.
(2)
The application shall demonstrate how sites were selected
and how sites will be managed in order that ground- and surface waters
will not be degraded by landspreading. The Board may require other
information as it deems necessary.
B.
Within 30 days of filing the application, the Board
shall notify the applicant, in writing, either that the application
is a complete application or, if the application is incomplete, the
specific additional material needed to make a complete application.
After the Board has determined that a complete application has been
filed, it shall notify the applicant in writing and begin its review.
C.
The applicant shall notify all landowners within 1,000
feet that the application has been filed.
D.
The Board shall hold a public hearing within 60 days
of filing the completed application. The Board shall notify citizens
of the public hearing by publishing in a newspaper of area-wide circulation
the time, date and place of the hearing. There shall be at least two
notices. The date of the first publication shall be at least 14 days
prior to the hearing. The date of the second publication shall be
at least seven days prior to the hearing. Public hearings by the Board
shall be conducted according to the procedures outlined in 30-A M.R.S.A.
§ 2691(3), as amended. Within 60 days of a public hearing,
the Board shall either grant, grant with conditions or deny the permit
application. The time limit for review may be extended by mutual agreement
between the Board and the applicant.
[Amended 8-13-1991 by Order No. 65-91]
E.
Within seven days of reaching its decision, the Board
shall notify the applicant, in writing, of any action taken and make
findings of fact.
[Amended 8-13-1991 by Order No. 65-91]
F.
The Board decision may be appealed before the Board
of Appeals for a period of up to 30 days following the Board decision.
G.
A permit issued under this article shall be valid
for a period of five years from the date of issuance and shall be
subject to annual review by the Board. The Board will hold a public
hearing for annual review and will notify the applicant 30 days prior
to the annual review and will at the time of review assure that the
conditions of the permit were met for the previous year and may, at
its discretion, modify or revoke the permit if actions by the applicant
or operator were in violation of this article or if the Board finds
that a condition of the permit unreasonably threatens human and animal
health and safety and water quality.
Provided that approval of an application is
conditioned on approval by the DEP, the Board shall approve or conditionally
approve an application for landspreading, or storage for the purpose
of landspreading, of sludge or residuals if it finds that:
A.
The applicant agrees to furnish the Code Enforcement
Officer with copies of all conditions and limitations imposed by the
DEP as well as prompt notice of any changes in the composition of
the material, any further testing required by DEP and the results
of those tests and any annual variation in site spreading or stacking
permits.
B.
The applicant agrees to comply with any additional
testing required by the Board, including but not limited to the following:
(1)
Site testing and monitoring.
(a)
Soil analysis. As part of the initial site application to the Board, the applicant shall furnish the results of a baseline soils analysis. This analysis shall be conducted in the manner recommended by the Soil Conservation Service for soil testing. Testing parameters are described in Appendix A.[1] For the purposes of annual testing, the Board shall designate
one site per licensed permit to be tested each year, at the applicant's
expense, that sludge is spread with the same soil analysis as the
baseline analysis. The site selection shall be based on site characteristics,
including baseline analysis results, proximity to wells, population
density, proximity to sensitive areas, including the aquifer recharge
area, or other criteria the Board determines as relevant.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is included at the end of this chapter.
(b)
Drinking water. At the discretion of the Board or at the request of the owner of an existing well located within 500 feet of the site proposed for the storage or spreading of any sludge or residual, the Board may require baseline analysis of the well and additional testing each year, at the applicant's expense, after application of a residual to the site. Water testing parameters are included in Appendix A.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is included at the end of this chapter.
(2)
Testing requirements for sludge or residuals. Residuals spread within the town shall be analyzed for metals and nutrients. A composite sample of the actual material delivered to each site shall be analyzed. The testing parameters are described in Appendix A. All testing shall be conducted by an independent analysis in accordance with the most recent edition of Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater, published by the American Public Health Association, and the results shall be furnished to the Code Enforcement Officer or Town Manager at least annually or on a schedule approved by the Board.
C.
The applicant agrees to notify the Code Enforcement
Officer or Town Manager of the delivery of any sludge or residual
and to advise the Code Enforcement Officer or Town Manager of the
proposed spreading timetable and who is to do the actual spreading.
If, at any time, as a result of any testing
required by the DEP, this article or the Board, elements or compounds
found in quantities which may threaten environmental safety or human
or animal health, the Board may require additional testing at the
applicant's expense and may modify the conditions applicable to any
permit. If the Board, as a result of any required testing or risk
assessment, determines that continued storage or spreading of sludge
or residuals unreasonably threatens environmental safety or human
or animal health, then it may take such appropriate action as it deems
necessary, including, without limitation, the modification, suspension
or revocation of any permit.
If the Code Enforcement Officer or Town Manager
finds violations of any permit conditions or of any obligations required
by this article, he/she may recommend that the Board modify, suspend
or revoke any or all permits held by the applicant for the spreading
of sludge or residuals and/or take any other action that he/she or
the Board deems necessary. including prosecution of the article violation.
Any person found guilty of violating any provision of this article
shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $200 per day for each day
a violation is found to exist. The fine shall inure to the benefit
of the Town of Standish. Each day such a violation is permitted to
exist after notification shall constitute a separate offense.
[Adopted 7-11-1989 by Order No. 38-89]
[Amended 5-13-2003 by Order No. 54-03; 6-5-2012 by Order No. 31-12]
No individual, corporation or other legal entity shall store or dispose of any waste, effluent, sludge or other materials from a septic tank or cesspool anyplace within the Town of Standish unless licensed to do so by the Board, as established under the Hazardous and Special Waste Ordinance for Site Plan Review, in accordance with § 233-13 hereof. Septage haulers that transport any waste, effluent, sludge or other materials from a septic tank, holding tank or cesspool anyplace within the Town of Standish for delivery to a Portland Water District treatment facility must obtain a permit for each haul for each property served. Fees for such permits will be as established by Council action.
The provisions of § 233-11 shall not apply to waste disposal systems and sites directly serving the residence or structure from which the waste comes.
A.
Applications for licenses required by § 233-11 hereof shall be in writing and shall contain the following information:
(1)
The written results of a high-intensity soil survey
conducted by a qualified soil scientist.
(2)
Such other information as the Board may determine is necessary to fully inform it of the nature, scope and duration of the operation, to allow them to make an informed judgment as to whether the proposed operation would be likely to fully comply with the requirements set forth in Subsection B hereof.
[Amended 6-5-2012 by Order No. 31-12]
B.
No license shall be granted hereunder unless the Board
is able to determine that, on the basis of the evidence presented
to it in writing and at a public hearing:
[Amended 6-5-2012 by Order No. 31-12]
(1)
The operation will fully comply with all the guidelines
set forth in the publication entitled "Maine Guidelines For Septic
Tank Sludge Disposal on the Land," published by the Life Sciences
and Agriculture Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service
and the Maine Soil and Water Conservation Commission, numbered Miscellaneous
Report 155 and dated April 1974, or any revisions, amendments or changes
thereto as may from time to time be made, the provisions of which
are hereby specifically incorporated in this article.
(2)
The operation will be conducted only upon soils listed
in Table 1 at page 18 and Table II, pages 19 and 20, of the reference
Maine Guidelines or any revisions, amendments or changes thereto as
may from time to time be made.
(3)
The waste, effluent, sludge or other material will
not be disposed of closer than 1,000 feet to the property line of
any abutting owner, when disposal is done by lagooning for spray irrigation,
and 500 feet to the property line of any abutting owner, when any
other alternative form of disposal is used.
(4)
The operation will not otherwise endanger or be harmful
to the public health or safety or general welfare of the inhabitants
or the general public.
A yearly operations license application shall
be submitted to the Board, accompanied by a fee of $100 for processing
the application. Licenses shall expire on May 31 of each year. Any
individual, corporation or other legal entity which has in the past
or is presently storing or disposing of any waste, effluent, sludge
or other materials from a septic tank or cesspool within the Town
of Standish shall be required to obtain a license within two months
of the effective date of this article or cease such activity.
[Amended 6-5-2012 by Order No. 31-12]
As a condition to being granted a license, the
applicant shall consent to unannounced inspections of any area or
place where storage or disposal takes place by the Board or its agents
for the purpose of ensuring that the operation is being run in conformance
with the law and this article and that the public health, safety and
welfare are not being endangered. Furthermore, as a condition to being
granted a license, the applicant shall allow testing to be done of
any area or place where storage or disposal takes place by the Board
or its agents.
[Amended 6-5-2012 by Order No. 31-12]
The Board shall have the authority to revoke
a license if it finds that the applicant has violated any state or
local law, rule or regulation or condition to its license.
[Amended 6-5-2012 by Order No. 31-12]
The Board may require the applicant to post
a surety bond, in an amount to be determined by the Board, guaranteeing
that the operation by the licensee shall be in accordance with all
state and local laws, rules and regulations; in lieu of a bond, cash
may be placed with the Town of Standish to act as a bond, in an amount
to be determined by the Board.
Upon the effective date of this article following
enactment, the Sewage Dumping Ordinance adopted March 11, 1972, is
revoked and null and void, except insofar that it shall remain valid
for any violations which may have occurred under prior ordinances
so that such violations may be prosecuted by the Town of Standish.
A.
The Town Manager or the Code Enforcement Officer,
upon a finding that any provision of this article or the conditions
of a license issued under this article are being violated, is authorized
to institute legal proceedings to enforce this article.
B.
Violators of this article shall be deemed a nuisance.
In addition to being subject to an action to enjoin a violation, a
person who violates the provisions of this article or the conditions
of a license shall have committed a civil violation and, on adjudication,
shall be fined not less than $500 nor more than $1,000. Each day during
which a violation occurs shall constitute a separate offense and shall
also be liable for court costs and attorneys' fees incurred by the
municipality. Any fine shall inure to the Town of Standish.
The applicant, an abutting landowner or an aggrieved
party may appeal the decision to Superior Court within 30 days from
the Board's final decision, in accordance with Rule 80B of the Maine
Civil Rules of Procedure.
