[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of West
Milford 4-11-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-010.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire prevention — See Ch. 152.
The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the replacement and/or
reimbursement of specialized and sometimes disposable equipment required by
state and federal law to be available in the Township of West Milford in order
to clean up a discharge, leak, spill or release of hazardous materials. This
chapter shall also entitle the Township of West Milford to reimbursement for
labor costs incurred in any such cleanup process.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
The Township of West Milford.
Any intentional or unintentional action or omission resulting in
the releasing, spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying or
pumping of hazardous substances into any waters which flow within the jurisdiction
of the Township or any land within the jurisdiction of this Township or into
the waters or land outside the jurisdiction of the Township when damage may
result to the people, lands, waters, or natural resources within the jurisdiction
of the Township.
Any items used to extinguish or prevent any hazardous material or
fire or stop or contain any leak, release or spill involving any hazardous
material which cannot be reused or replenished without cost after that particular
incident. These expendable items include, but are not limited to, fire-fighting
foam, chemical extinguishing agents, absorbent materials, sand, recovery drums,
and any protective equipment and clothing, to include but not be restricted
to chemical protective suits, gloves, boots, goggles and any other item owned
or controlled by the Township of West Milford or owned or controlled by any
volunteer organization or other municipal organizations rendering assistance.[1]
Any material, solid, liquid or gas, listed as a hazardous substance
or material, including but not necessarily limited to the NFPA Guide of Hazardous
Materials, the Department of Transportation Guide Book, the list of hazardous
substances and toxic pollutants designated by the Federal Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection pursuant
to Section 311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, Amendment of 1972,
as amended by the Clean Water Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.)
and the list of toxic pollutants designated by Congress or the EPA pursuant
to Section 307 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, and hospital or
medical waste, including but not limited to syringes, bandages and discarded
pharmaceutical products and any material warranting removal or cleanup in
the opinion of the West Milford Township Office of the Fire Official.[2]
Includes the Township of West Milford's employees, agents, officers,
officials and supporting units as directed by the Township Fire Official.[3]
Any motorized equipment, registered or unregistered, including but
not limited to a passenger car, motorcycle, truck, tractor trailer, construction
equipment, farm machinery, watercraft, aircraft, and trains.
Any container, drum, box, cylinder, bottle or tank used to hold,
contain, carry or store any hazardous materials, whether or not said container
was manufactured for the containment of hazardous material.
Any duly incorporated volunteer fire, ambulance, first aid, emergency
or rescue company or squad.
A.
Costs incurred by the Township of West Milford for the
following items in connection with the suppressing, control or cleanup of
a fire, leakage or spillage involving any hazardous materials shall be reimbursed
to the Township of West Milford by the responsible parties as set forth in
§ 5.27.5 below:
(1)
The cost of replacement of expendable items.
(2)
The expenses incurred by the Township for the wages (regular
and/or overtime) paid to its employees/agents, as a result of a hazardous
material incident.
(3)
Any and all medical costs incurred by responding personnel.
(4)
Any and all environmental tests required to ensure a
hazard-free environment (soil-water-air).
(5)
A fixed hourly rate for the use of apparatus at incidents
computed at the rate of $100 for use of a ladder truck and $50 for use of
any other vehicles.
(6)
Services rendered by any recovery company, towing company
or other technical assistance called for by the Fire Department to handle
such incidents.
B.
This article also provides a penalty for the violation
of the article for either committing a spill or for failure to report the
same.
A.
The discharge of hazardous substances is prohibited within
the Township. This article shall not apply to discharge of hazardous substances
pursuant to and in compliance with the conditions of a federal or state permit.
B.
Any person who may be subject to liability for a discharge
or who becomes aware of a discharge which occurred prior to or after the effective
date of this article shall immediately notify the Township of West Milford's
Fire Official during normal business hours or through the West Milford Township
Police Department after business hours.[1]
C.
Whenever any hazardous substance is discharged, the Township
may, in its discretion, act to remove or arrange for the removal of such discharge.
D.
Any person who has discharged a hazardous substance or
who has failed to report a discharge or who is in any way responsible for
any hazardous substance which has been or shall be removed by the Township
shall be strictly liable, jointly and severally, without regard to fault,
for all cleanup and removal costs and shall be liable for the costs associated
with the use of Township or volunteer organization vehicles, expendable items
and equipment and for the wages (regular and overtime) paid to Township employees,
agents, and servants and those persons from local municipalities who render
nonvolunteer services as a result of an incident involving a hazardous material
fire or leak, release or spill of a hazardous material and for the costs of
medical and hospital treatment for injuries incurred by agents, servants and
employees of the Township of West Milford as well as those persons who render
voluntary service as part of a volunteer organization and/or those persons
who render nonvoluntary service for the Township of West Milford as a result
of the incident.
Reimbursement to the Township for expendable items used shall be made
by the owner or operator of the vehicle responsible for any hazardous material
fire or leak or spill of hazardous material; 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; the owner or person responsible
for any property from which any leak or spill of hazardous material emanates,
whether accidental or through negligence; and any person responsible for any
hazardous material fire, leak or spill of hazardous material on public or
private property, whether accidental or through negligence.
Any person causing any hazardous material fire or leak, spill or release involving a hazardous material must provide reimbursement for services rendered by any recovery company, towing company or any other technical assistance called for by the Township to handle such incident as expressed in § 181-3 above. In the event of a vehicle having been responsible for an incident, such vehicle shall be impounded until such time as it has been deemed safe to proceed by the responsible official in conjunction and cooperation with the Township of West Milford and until such time arrangements have been made to reimburse the Township and the towing company for their expenditures under the terms of this chapter.
The person or entity responsible for any fire, leak or spill of hazardous
materials shall reimburse the Township 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, within 30 days after receipt of a bill therefor. In
the event the person or entity responsible does not reimburse the Township
within 30 days, the Township shall have the right to charge interest at the
then applicable rate and to initiate a collection action against such person
or entity, costs of such collection action to be the sole responsibility of
such person or entity. The collections agency shall utilize its best efforts
to collect costs hereunder and shall reimburse its agents or the local units
for amounts collected. In the event that the collection agency is not able
to collect said costs or only a portion thereof, the collection agency shall
not be responsible to its agents or the local units for the full amount of
the same.
The person or entity responsible for any fire, leak or spill of hazardous
material who or which fails to reimburse the Township within the time required
shall be subject to a fine of not less than $300 nor more than $500 per day
or to imprisonment for a period of not more than six months, or both. The
person or entity responsible for committing a spill, or who or which fails
to report the same, will be liable for the same penalties as aforesaid stated.
The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by the Township of
West Milford Fire Official, Police Department, Fire Prevention Bureau or any
other official designated by the Mayor and Township Council.
