[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Town of Barrington 1-6-1992 by Ord. No. 91-24 (Ch. III, Sec. 10,
of Title Five of the 1965 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
RHODE ISLAND GENERAL LAWS (AS
AMENDED)
Hazardous substances generally — See
§ 23-24-1 et seq.
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire Department — See Ch. 2
of Title 10 of the Charter.
Fire Department Rules and Regulations — See Ch. 12.
In the interest of protecting the health, safety
and welfare of the citizens of the Town of Barrington, the Town Council
deems this chapter to be necessary and appropriate.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall be defined as follows:
Those necessary and reasonable costs incurred by the Town
in connection with investigating, mitigating, minimizing, removing
or abating discharges of hazardous substances, including but not limited
to the following:
Actual labor costs of Town personnel or its
authorized agents.
Cost of equipment operation and rental.
Cost of expendable items, including but not
limited to fire-fighting foam, chemical extinguishing agents, absorbent
material, sand, recovery drums, acid suits, acid gloves, goggles and
protective clothing.
Any intentional or unintentional action or omission resulting
in the releasing, spilling, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying or
dumping of a hazardous substance upon public or private property located
within the corporate limits of the Town of Barrington.
Any substance or material in a quantity or form which, in
the determination of the Fire Chief or their authorized designee,
poses an unreasonable and imminent risk to the life, health, safety
or welfare of persons or property within the Town of Barrington and
shall include but not be limited to those hazardous substances listed
in the National Fire Protection Association Guide on Hazardous Materials
or the Environmental Protection Agency's list of extremely hazardous
substances.
One or more individuals, partnerships, corporations, joint
ventures, associations or any other entity or entities, or any combination
thereof.
A.
The Fire Department is hereby authorized to take such
steps as it may deem necessary to clean up, remove or abate the effects
of any hazardous substances discharged upon or unto public or private
property or facilities located within the corporate limits of the
Town.
B.
When responding to an emergency caused by the unauthorized
discharge of hazardous substances, the Fire Department of the Town
shall keep a detailed record of the costs attributable thereto.
C.
The authority to recover costs under this section
shall not include costs incurred for actual fire suppression services
which are normally or usually provided by the Town's Fire Department
or its authorized agent.
A.
Any person or persons responsible for causing or allowing
an unauthorized discharge of hazardous substances which requires emergency
action by the Fire Department of the Town or its authorized agents,
in order to protect the public health, safety or welfare, shall be
jointly and severally liable to the Town of Barrington for the costs
incurred by the Town in investigating, mitigating, minimizing, removing
and abating any such discharge.
B.
Any person or persons responsible for causing or allowing
an unauthorized discharge of hazardous substances shall reimburse
the Town of Barrington for the full amount of all costs, as defined
herein, associated with the investigating, mitigating, minimizing,
removing and abating of any such discharge within a period of 30 days
after receipt of an itemized bill for such costs from the Town of
Barrington.
C.
Any person or persons responsible for causing or allowing an unauthorized discharge of hazardous substances and who fails to reimburse the Town of Barrington within the time period set forth in Subsection B of this section shall be subject to a fine equal to the greater of $50 per day or 10% of the total amount of the bill for each additional day that the bill for such costs remains unpaid.
D.
The remedy provided herein shall be supplemental to
and in addition to all other available remedies at law.
