[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee (now Township Council)
of the Township of Bridgewater 2-7-1972 as Ord. No. 72-3. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Air Pollution Control
Code of the Township of Bridgewater."
It is hereby declared that pollution of the atmosphere by smoke, cinders,
soot, fly ash, gases, fumes, vapors, odors, dust and other contaminants is
a menace to the health, welfare and comfort of the residents of Bridgewater
Township and a cause of substantial damage to property. For the purpose of
controlling and reducing atmospheric pollution, it is hereby declared to be
the policy of the Township of Bridgewater to minimize air pollution as herein
defined and prohibit excessive emission of the same, to establish standards
governing the installation, maintenance and operation of equipment and appurtenances
relating to combustion which are a source or potential source of air pollution,
and in furtherance of this purpose to cooperate and coordinate these efforts
with the State Department of Environmental Protection. However, this chapter
is intended to exclude industrial pollution (which is within the jurisdiction
of the state) but to include commercial pollution (such as but not limited
to shopping centers, apartment buildings and cottage industries) and individuals.
The following terms wherever used herein or referred to in this chapter
shall have the respective meanings assigned to them unless a different meaning
clearly appears from the context:
The presence in the outdoor atmosphere and the exterior of any building
of one or more air contaminants in such quantities and duration as are or
tend to be injurious to human health or welfare, to animal or plant life or
to property or would unreasonably interfere with the enjoyment of life or
property throughout the Township of Bridgewater as shall be affected thereby,
and excludes all aspects of employer-employee relationship as to health and
safety hazards and any person otherwise regulated by an applicable state or
federal statute, rule, regulation or order thereof.
Those chemicals used as insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides,
nematocides or defoliants.
Any furnace, boiler, water heater, device, mechanism, stoker, burner,
stack, oven, stove, kiln, still or other apparatus or a group or collection
of such units in the process of fuel-burning for the generation of heat or
power. Refuse-burning equipment shall be considered incinerators as herein
defined and not as "fuel-burning equipment" under this definition. Ovens,
stoves, ranges or barbecues used exclusively for domestic cooking purposes
and indoor fireplaces are not included herein.
Any device, apparatus, equipment or structure used for destroying,
reducing or salvaging by fire any material or substance, including but not
limited to refuse, rubbish, garbage, debris or scrap, or facilities for cremating
human or animal remains.
A property of a substance which affects the sense of smell.
Any fire wherein the products of combustion are emitted into the
open air and are not directed thereto through a stack or chimney of an approved
incinerator.
Any person who has care, custody or control of a building or premises
or a portion thereof, whether with or without knowledge of the owner thereof.
Any person who, alone or jointly or severally with others, shall
have legal or equitable title to any premises, with or without accompanying
actual possession thereof; or who shall have charge, care or control of any
premises or part thereof, including but not limited to a dwelling or dwelling
unit, as owner or agent of the owner or as a fiduciary, including but not
limited to executor, administrator, trustee, receiver or guardian, or as a
mortgagee in possession regardless of how such possession was obtained. Any
person who is a lessee or sublessee of all or any part of any premises, including
but not limited to a dwelling or dwelling unit, shall be deemed to be a co-owner
with the lessor and shall have joint responsibility with the owner over the
premises or portion thereof so leased or subleased.
Includes any individual, corporation, company, association, society,
firm, partnership and joint-stock company, but excludes anyone otherwise regulated
by an applicable state or federal statute, rule, regulation or order thereof.
Vegetation, including but not limited to trees, tree branches, leaves,
yard trimmings, shrubbery, grass, weeds and crops.
All putrescible and nonputrescible wastes (except body wastes), including
but not limited to garbage, rubbish, yard trimmings, leaves, ashes, street
cleanings, dead animals, abandoned automobiles and solid market and industrial
wastes.
Ringelmann's Scale for Grading the Density of Smoke, published by
the United States Bureau of Mines, or any chart, recorder, indicator or device
for the measurement of smoke density which is approved by the State Department
of Environmental Protection of the State of New Jersey as the equivalent of
said Ringelmann's Scale.
Solids not considered to be highly flammable or explosive, including
but not limited to rags, old clothes, leather, rubber, carpets, wood, excelsior,
paper, ashes, tree branches, yard trimmings, furniture, tin cans, glass, crockery,
masonry and other similar materials.
Any business, trade or industry engaged in whole or in part in salvaging
or reclaiming any product or material, including but not limited to metals,
chemicals, shipping containers or drums.
Small gas-borne and airborne particles arising from a process of
combustion in sufficient number to be observable.
All solid or liquid material or rubbish resulting from construction,
building operations or the prosecution of any business, trade or industry,
including but not limited to plastic products, carton, paint, grease, oil
and other petroleum products, chemicals, cinders and other forms of solid
or liquid waste materials.
B.
Open burning is not prohibited when an owner or operator
possesses a valid permit which has been issued by the New Jersey State Department
of Environmental Protection.
C.
The use of campfires and barbecues is not intended to
be prohibited.
D.
Open burning of refuse for training or research exercises
in fire protection or prevention is permitted when conducted at a permanent
facility or training center designed to be used solely for such purposes on
a continuing basis.
E.
Open burning of plant life other than leaves is permitted
on the premises where grown until January 1, 1973.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit visible smoke from any fuel-burning equipment except as permitted under Chapter 4 of the New Jersey Air Pollution Control Code.
A.
Permitted type. No person shall use or cause to be used
any new or existing incinerator unless such incinerator is of the multiple-chamber
type or other type and is approved by the State Department of Environmental
Protection.
B.
Smoke emissions. No person shall cause, suffer, allow
or permit smoke from any incinerator, the shade or appearance of which is
darker than No. 1 of the Ringelmann Smoke Chart, to be emitted into the open
air; nor emissions of such opacity within a stack or chimney, or, exclusive
of water vapor, of such opacity leaving a stack or chimney, to a degree greater
than the emission designated as No. 1 of the Ringelmann Smoke Chart.
C.
New fires. The provisions of Subsection B hereof shall not apply to smoke emitted during the building of a new fire, the shade or appearance of which is not darker than No. 2 of the Ringelmann Smoke Chart, for a period of no longer than three consecutive minutes; nor to emissions of such opacity within a stack or chimney, or, exclusive of water vapor, of such opacity leaving a stack or chimney, to a degree which is not greater than the emissions designated as No. 2 of the Ringlemann Smoke Chart, for a period no longer than three consecutive minutes.
D.
Visible particles. No person shall cause, suffer, allow
or permit the emission of particles of unburned waste or ash from any incinerator
which are individually large enough to be visible while suspended in the atmosphere.
E.
Odors. No person shall construct, install, use or cause
to be used any incinerator which will result in odors being detectable by
sense of smell in any area of human use or occupancy.
F.
Limitation on time of operation. No person shall operate,
and no owner or operator of any building in the Township of Bridgewater shall
permit the operation of, an incinerator prior to 7:00 a.m. or after 5:00 p.m.
of any day, and all operations shall be completely terminated by 5:00 p.m.,
including complete extinction of the fire and removal of material in a safe
manner from the firebox to a noncombustible container; provided, however,
that by special written permission of the Board of Health of Bridgewater Township,
said Board may, because of exceptional circumstances, permit different hours
of operation under such conditions as it shall deem necessary for the health,
safety and welfare of the public or of persons in the vicinity.
No person or owner of property and no person having possession or control
of property shall cause, suffer, allow or permit to be emitted into the open
air substances in such quantities as shall result in air pollution. The provisions
of this section shall not apply to the use of economic poisons.
A.
Inspections. All buildings and premises subject to this
chapter are subject to inspection by the Board of Health or its duly authorized
representatives at reasonable times and upon due notice.
B.
Search warrant or access warrant.
(1)
The Township of Bridgewater may, upon affidavit, apply
to the Judge of the Municipal Court of the Township of Bridgewater for a search
warrant, setting forth factually the actual conditions and circumstances that
provide a reasonable basis for believing that a nuisance or violation of this
chapter may exist on the premises, including one or more of the following:
(a)
That the premises require inspection according to the
cycle established by the Township of Bridgewater for periodic inspections
of the type involved.
(b)
That observation of external conditions (for example,
smoke, ash, soot, odors) of the premises and its public areas has resulted
in the belief that violations of this chapter exist.
(c)
Circumstances such as age and design of fuel-burning
equipment and/or system, types of incinerator, particular use of premises
or other factor which renders systematic inspections of such buildings necessary
in the interest of public health and safety.
(2)
If the Judge of the Municipal Court of the Township of
Bridgewater is satisfied as to the matters set forth in the said affidavit,
he shall authorize the issuance of a search warrant permitting access to and
inspection of that part of the premises on which the nuisance or violation
may exist.
[Amended 10-3-1997 by Ord.
No. 77-37]
A.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of
this chapter or who shall fail to comply therewith or with any of the requirements
thereof shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 90 days, or both.
B.
The violations of any section or subsection of this chapter
shall constitute a separate and distinct offense independent of the violation
of any other section or subsection or of any order issued pursuant to this
chapter. Each day of violation shall constitute an additional separate and
distinct offense.
