[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Abington 4-3-2006 ATM by Art. 8.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This Article also superseded former Ch. 49, Dumping, comprised of Art. I, Landfill Material, derived from Ch. 2, Sec. 10, of the 1992 Town of Abington Bylaws; and Art. II, Control of Dump and Compost Site, derived from Ch. 7, Sec. 2, of the 1992 Town of Abington Bylaws, amended by Art. 34 of 1996 ATM.
[Amended 4-2-2012 ATM by Art. 15F; 6-9-2014 ATM by Art. 20; 6-6-2016 ATM
by Art. 9; 5-20-2019 ATM by Art.
24]
A.
When permit required. No person shall dump or allow to be dumped
any fill material on any property in the Town of Abington in excess
of 250 cubic yards without first receiving a permit therefor from
the Planning Board. For the purposes of this Bylaw, the term "fill
material" shall include debris, refuse, sand, gravel, loam or other
types of earth or other materials of any kind.
B.
Application. No action shall be taken on application for a permit
unless it includes:
(1)
Submission of a "Permit to Fill" application form and filing fee,
as may be prepared and approved by the Planning Board from time to
time;
(2)
A plot plan or sketch plan with sufficient accuracy, scale and detail
to show the subject property's boundaries and the approximate
location, depth and dimensions of the portion of the property at which
the fill is to be placed (the "fill area"), as well as the existing
and proposed finish topography of the affected area with at least
two-foot contours;
(3)
A description of the type of fill (gravel, sand, loam, etc.) and
the approximate amount of fill to be brought to the fill area;
(4)
A description of the truck routes to be taken to access and leave
the fill area, as well as the proposed hours of trucking; and where
the fill is being sourced from and the estimated number of trucks
to be used for delivery;
(5)
A description of the measures to be used to control spilled material
and dust (i.e., sweeping and water spraying);
(6)
An abutter list, based upon the most recent data available to and
certified by the Town Assessor, identifying all direct abutters to
the property and any abutters located directly across the street from
the property;
(7)
Two sets of envelopes with printed/typed name and address of each
abutter (or mailing labels available from the Assessors' Office),
and with proper first-class postage on each envelope.
C.
Notice of hearing. Upon receipt of a complete application package,
the Planning Board shall schedule a public hearing and the Planning
Board shall provide written notice of the public hearing by first-class
mail to the certified abutters and to the applicant, which written
notice shall be mailed at least 14 days prior to the date of the scheduled
public hearing.
D.
Permit conditions. Upon a determination by the majority of the Planning
Board members present and voting that any health or safety concerns
have been addressed by appropriate and reasonable conditions required
by the Planning Board, a permit shall be issued to allow the fill
material to be placed at the property. Such conditions may include
but are not limited to: size or number of trucks which may access
the property within any twenty-four-hour period; implementation of
spill control and dust control measures; requirements applicable to
loaming and seeding of material; and implementation of erosion and
sedimentation control measures to prevent the material from moving
off site or into nearby wetland or water resources during a storm
event. If such conditions are thereafter violated, the Planning Board
may immediately suspend or revoke the permit if the public health
and safety so require, or otherwise, upon 24 hours' notice to
the holder of the permit.
E.
Permit expiration. Any such permit shall expire two years from the
date of issuance, unless a shorter expiration is voted by the Board.
A current permit may be extended for up to an additional two years
by vote of the Planning Board at any meeting, provided that the request
for the extension is received before the permit expires and that such
vote otherwise complies with the Open Meeting Law, as it may be amended
from time to time.
F.
Permit exemptions. This section shall not apply to any project which
was the subject of a public hearing for site plan approval or definitive
subdivision approval, during which hearings issues regarding topography
and/or fill were available. The provisions of this section shall also
not apply to any public project involving any agency or department
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the Town of Abington or any
individual or business organization performing services pursuant to
a contract or subcontract with the Commonwealth and/or the Town.
G.
The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to the Town
of Abington or any individual or business organization performing
services pursuant to a contract or subcontract with the Town of Abington
("Town Contractor"). However, prior to commencing any undertaking
which would otherwise be subject to this section, the Town of Abington
or any Town Contractor shall file a plan for such undertaking with
the Planning Board and may consult with the Planning Board on the
implementation of said plan.
H.
If a violation of this Bylaw or any condition of a permit is suspected, the Planning Board shall, at a public meeting and, after notifying the permit-holder and/or the operator of the dumping activity in writing, determine whether a violation exists or occurred. The Planning Board or its designee shall take appropriate action, up to and including issuing a fine, ordering the permit-holder and/or the operator of the dumping activity to cure the violation by removing the unpermitted fill, imposing additional conditions to safeguard against the violation, or issuing an order to cease earth removal activities. This Bylaw may be enforced through noncriminal disposition procedures set forth in MGL. c. 40, § 21D and imposed fines up to the amount of $300, as provided in Chapter 1, Article I of the town's General Bylaws. Each day during any portion of which such violation is allowed to continue shall be considered a separate offense. Additionally, the Planning Board may seek injunctive relief to restrain violations or to compel abatement or remediation of violations.
This article may be superseded by the rules
and regulations of the Planning Board.
[Amended 6-6-2016 ATM
by Art. 9]
The Town Landfill and compost site shall be under the control
of the Board of Health and no person shall maintain a landfill on
any other premises in the Town.
