[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health
of Allegheny County as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted effective 9-1-1990]
The purpose of this article is to create an
ACHD mechanism to accept and expend funds generated by activities
of the Bureau of Environmental Quality in the areas of solid waste,
water pollution, and drinking water as well as to create a County
Health Department mechanism to deal with violations of certain county
environmental health regulations and state laws expeditiously and
without resorting to litigation where circumstances dictate and law
or regulation allows such action.
The intent of this regulation is to provide
additional cumulative remedies and processes and in no way is to be
construed as replacing, revoking, or supplanting any existing remedy,
law or regulation.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The actual date of receipt of a notice from the Department
or either the date of mailing via the United States postal service,
whichever is earlier.
The Allegheny County Health Department.
The Director of the Allegheny County Health Department or
his/her authorized representative.
A natural person, corporation, municipality, partnership
association, institution, cooperative enterprise of legal entity.
[Amended 11-2-2016, ratified
by the County Council 3-7-2017 by Ord. No. 07-17]
This article shall apply to all civil penalties initiated by
ACHD under Article III, "Food Safety"; Article VI, "Houses and Community
Environment"; Article VIII, "Solid Waste and Recycling Management";
Article IX, "Lifeguards, Bathing Places, Bathing Beaches, Hot Tubs
and Spas"; Article XII, "Carbon Monoxide Hazards"; Article XIV, "Sewage
Management"; Article XV, "Plumbing Code of the Allegheny County Health
Department"; and Article XXII, "Use of Electronic Cigarette Devices
in Public Places."
A.
This article may be utilized to assess and utilize civil penalties
initiated and obtained via ACHD enforcement and administration under
state environmental statutes and minimum program standards, 28 Pa.
Code, Chapter 17.
A.
The Director may assess a civil penalty against any
person for a violation of any ACHD article as provided herein.
B.
The Director may assess a civil penalty against such
person whether or not the violation is willful. The penalty so assessed
shall not exceed $10,000, plus up to $2,500 for each day of continued
or repeated violation.
C.
Penalty determination. In determining the amount of
civil penalties to be assessed, the Director shall consider the economic
benefit gained by such person by failing to comply with the article,
the willfulness of the violation, the actual and potential harm to
the public health, safety and welfare and to the environment, the
nature, frequency and magnitude of the violation, and any other relevant
factors.
D.
Penalty payments. Civil penalties assessed by the
Director shall be payable to Allegheny County and shall be collectable
in any manner provided at law for the collection of debt. If any person
fails to pay such penalty after such assessment has become final,
the amount of such penalty together with interest from the date of
demand and any costs which may accrue shall be a lien in favor of
Allegheny County upon the real and personal property of such person,
but only after the penalty has been entered and docketed of record
by the Prothonotary of the County in which such property is situated.
Any appeal from penalty assessment by the Director
shall be taken in accordance with Article XI, ACHD Rules and Regulations,
Hearings and Appeals.
Any penalty assessment imposed by the Director
under this article shall be final 30 days from date of notification
or upon written acceptance of such assessment by the person against
whom the penalty was issued.
A.
The purpose of Allegheny County Environmental Health
Fund is to support activities related to the improvement of environmental
health within Allegheny County and to support activities which will
increase or improve knowledge of the environment as it relates to
public health and its control so as to benefit public health.
B.
Disposition of monies collected. All funds received
by the County as a result of consent orders, civil penalty actions,
consent decrees, or civil penalties relating to actions taken by the
Department in conjunction or cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Resources under State statutes or regulations relating
to water pollution, drinking water, sewage or solid waste, shall be
paid into a special fund known as the Allegheny County Environmental
Health Fund which is hereby established.
(1)
This fund shall be administered in accordance with
the provisions of the Second Class County Code and other applicable
laws. The County Treasurer shall invest monies deposited in the fund
and in such manner as not to impair the liquidity of the fund and
shall credit all interest accruing on such monies to the fund.
(2)
The Director shall report on the status of the fund
to the Board of Health on a semiannual basis, or at such other intervals
as the Board may require.
(3)
Audits of the fund shall be performed as required
by law.
C.
Disbursements.
(1)
Disbursements of monies from the Allegheny County
Environmental Health Fund shall be utilized for the improvement of
environmental health within the County and for increasing or improving
knowledge concerning the relationship between environment and health
and regulation thereof. Funds may therefore be disbursed for such
purposes:
(a)
The support of research and development;
(b)
Health effects studies and surveys concerning
environmental health;
(c)
Public/Staff education and professional development
concerning environmental health;
(d)
The acquisition of consulting or other services
from persons with special experience and/or expertise; or
(e)
The purchase of equipment, materials, or services
to supplement the County's environmental health enforcement programs.
(2)
Disbursement of monies from the Environmental Health
Fund shall not be used to replace the normal operating funds of the
Allegheny County Bureau of Environmental Quality.
D.
Procedures for disbursement of funds. Procedures for
disbursement of monies paid into the Environmental Health Fund shall
be as follows:
(1)
The Director shall prepare requests for disbursements
upon consultation with the Board of Health.
(2)
The Director shall present requests for disbursements
to the Board of County Commissioners. The request shall include a
statement as to the results of the consultation with the Board of
Health.
(3)
The Board of County Commissioners shall approve or
disapprove requests for disbursement made by the Director. If approved,
the Board of County Commissioners shall authorize disbursement of
funds in the manner provided by law.
The provisions of this article shall become
effective on September 1, 1990.
It is the policy of the Allegheny County Health
Department that individuals seeking medical services from the Department
shall not be denied such health services because of inability to pay.
However, where a charge can be made, it is the policy of the Department
to bill the individual and/or appropriate third party.
A.
All recipients of services provided by the Allegheny County Health Department shall be charged, where applicable, a fee in accordance with the provision established under § 825-15 and the schedule of fees and charges for personal health services.
B.
Charges for personal health services shall not be
more than, but may be less than, the cost of providing these services.
C.
Separate fees shall be charged for x-rays and other
diagnostic tests.
A.
All persons shall be responsible for the cost of the
services received except patients whose cost of medical care is the
responsibility of a third-party payor.
B.
Charges for services shall be billed directly to the
third-party payor or the private payor, as appropriate, but not both,
and payment made by third-party payor will be accepted as payment
in full.
The Director of the Allegheny County Health
Department shall be responsible for the determination of charges and
the administration of the charge policy established by the Board of
Health of the Allegheny County Health Department under this regulation.
The Director shall annually provide the Board
of Health a current schedule of medical service fees.
The following personal health services provided
by the Department shall be charged at a rate not to exceed the Allegheny
County Health Department's cost of delivery of such health service:
Where Allegheny County Health Department is
prohibited by statute, regulation, contract, or grant specifications
from collection of medical service fees specified herein, it shall
not collect such fees.
