[Added 7-1-1985]
The Common Council of the City of Albany does hereby deem it in the best interest of its citizens to prescribe further regulations for the use and control of its sanitary solid waste landfill facility.
When used in this article, unless otherwise expressly stated or unless the context or subject matter requires otherwise, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
COMMISSIONER
The Commissioner of the Department of General Services.
[Amended 5-4-1998 by Ord. No. 28.42.98; 12-20-2004 by Ord. No. 38.121.04]
DEMOLITION DEBRIS
Such debris which shall include but is not necessarily limited to trees or any other part thereof, vegetation, surplus from products, shipping cartons or crates, furniture, appliances, scrap iron or other metals, tires, bricks, concrete, cinder and cement blocks, pipes, wire or wiring, roofing materials, glass, spoil, plaster, plaster board, plastic boards of all shapes and sizes and all other material common to the building construction industry.
GARBAGE
All putrescible animal and vegetable waste resulting from growing, processing, marketing and preparation of food items, including container in which packaged.
HAZARDOUS WASTE
Any substance so defined and in quantities so proscribed by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq.), the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.) or Article 27 of the Environmental Conservation Law or any rule or regulation promulgated under any of those laws. For the purposes of this article, "hazardous waste" shall also include any nuclear or radioactive waste as defined by either federal or state law, rule or regulation.
LANDFILL
Any site, location, tract of land, area, building or premises authorized by the City of Albany to be used for the disposal of refuse or demolition debris.
NATURAL GAS EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION WASTES
Any garbage, refuse, sludge, or other discarded materials, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material, that results from the exploration, drilling or extraction of natural gas.
[Added 10-17-2011 by Ord. No. 42.62.11]
PASSENGER AUTOMOBILE
Any car, pickup truck, van or other vehicle temporarily used to transport refuse or demolition debris not as a business or service, which has a maximum load capacity of 2,000 pounds or less as determined pursuant to the provisions of § 401 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law and regulations promulgated thereunder.
PERMIT
A permit granted by the Commissioner of General Services to a person, allowing that person to deposit refuse or demolition debris in a City landfill.
[Amended 5-4-1998 by Ord. No. 28.42.98; 12-20-2004 by Ord. No. 38.121.04]
PERSON
An individual, trust, firm, joint-stock company, corporation (including a government corporation), partnership, association, state, federal government or agency thereof, municipality, commission, political subdivision of a state or any interstate body engaged in the business of hauling or collecting waste materials.
REFUSE
Garbage or rubbish or any combination thereof.
RUBBISH
Discarded combustible and noncombustible materials, including residue from the burning of wood, coal, coke and other combustible material, newspapers, papers, rags, cartons, boxes, wood, excelsior, rubber, leather, yard trimmings, tin or other cans, metals, mineral matter, glass, crockery and dust or any useless waste or other rejected matter similar in nature.
TRUCK
Any truck, trailer, conveyance, equipment or vehicle used to collect or transport refuse or demolition debris as a business or service.
[Amended 7-17-2023 by Ord. No. 23.61.23]
This article shall apply to the Rapp Road Landfill on Rapp Road, in Albany, New York (refuse), as well as any future landfill or disposal site operated by the City of Albany.
A. 
Permits.
[Amended 7-17-2023 by Ord. No. 23.61.23]
(1) 
Unless otherwise provided, it shall be unlawful for any person to dispose of any refuse or demolition debris at the City landfill facility unless that person has a valid permit for each truck so used.
(2) 
The Commissioner or their designee is authorized to grant a permit to qualified applicants. All applications for permits shall be made on forms to be provided by the Commissioner.
(3) 
No truck will be permitted to enter a landfill without a valid City of Albany sticker adhered to the front left window of the truck.
(4) 
The permit shall be issued on the basis of the calendar year and shall expire on the 31st day of December of the year of issuance and must be renewed on or before the first day of January in each year.
(5) 
Permits shall be issued with an individual identification number, which shall be permanently assigned to each truck, and shall not be transferable or assignable without permission of the Commissioner. Permits shall be kept available within the vehicle for inspection upon demand.
(6) 
Passenger automobiles shall not be allowed in landfills subject to this article.
B. 
Hazardous waste material or natural gas exploration and production wastes are under no circumstance to be deposited in any City landfill facility.
[Amended 10-17-2011 by Ord. No. 42.62.11]
[Amended 5-19-2008 by Ord. No. 25.42.08; 7-17-2023 by Ord. No. 23.61.23]
A. 
A nonrefundable application fee of $200, as well as an additional fee of $100 per vehicle, shall be required to obtain a permit. The fee shall be paid at the time of application for the permit.
B. 
All charges credited to a person's landfill account are payable 30 days after the date of billing, after which said accounts will be considered overdue.
C. 
All overdue accounts are subject to a monthly interest rate of 1.5%.
D. 
Permits of persons with outstanding balances over 60 days shall be revoked.
A. 
Every person holding a permit shall report to the Commissioner any change of residence or place of business within five days of such change.
B. 
Each permit holder, by submitting an application, agrees to comply with the terms of this article and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this article.
C. 
A permit is not assignable or transferable.
Any person violating this article or any regulations promulgated thereunder shall have his permit revoked for a period not to exceed one year and shall further be subject to penalties as set forth in Chapter 258 of the Code of the City of Albany.
[Amended 10-17-2011 by Ord. No. 42.62.11]
A. 
Upon reasonable cause to believe that any person has disposed or has attempted to dispose of hazardous waste or natural gas exploration and production wastes at a landfill, the Commissioner shall forthwith notify the enforcement sections of the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Environmental Protection Agency and the Chief of the Albany Police Department. The Commissioner shall take all necessary steps to initiate an investigation of the matter.
B. 
Upon a determination made by the Commissioner, after notice to the person with an opportunity to be heard consistent with constitutional due-process requirements, that a person has disposed or has attempted to dispose of hazardous waste or natural gas exploration and production wastes at a landfill, the Commissioner shall revoke all permits held in the name of that person, and that person shall not be eligible for another permit for a period to be determined by the Commissioner, which shall be a minimum of at least one year and a maximum of five years; nor shall any other person be eligible for a permit where the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to believe that issuing a permit to such person will have the effect of defeating the purposes of this article.
The Commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations as may be necessary to effectuate and supplement the provisions of this article.
If any part of this article is declared unconstitutional or otherwise ineffective by a court of competent jurisdiction, such determination shall not invalidate the remaining provisions thereof, and, to that extent, the existing provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 313-36, Effective date, was repealed 12-20-2004 by Ord. No. 38.121.04.