[Amended 10-20-2008]
The City has a statutory obligation to provide
a solid waste disposal facility for domestic and commercial waste
generated within the City and is authorized to provide such a facility
for industrial waste and sewage treatment plant sludge pursuant to
38 M.R.S.A. § 1305, Subsection 1.
As used in this article, the following terms
have the following meanings, unless the context indicates otherwise:
Solid wastes of the type presently accepted at the landfill
used by the municipality, including all ordinary household, municipal,
institutional and industrial wastes, with the following exceptions:
Demolition or construction debris from building
and roadway projects or locations.
Liquid wastes or sludges.
Abandoned or junk vehicles.
Hazardous waste; that is, waste with inherent
properties that make it dangerous to manage by ordinary means, including
but not limited to chemicals, explosives, pathological wastes, radioactive
wastes, toxic wastes and other wastes defined as hazardous by the
State of Maine or the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976,
as amended, or other federal, state and local laws, regulations, orders
or other actions promulgated or taken with respect thereto.
Dead animals or portions thereof or other pathological
wastes.
Water treatment residues.
Tree stumps.
Tannery sludge.
Waste oil.
Discarded white goods, including but not limited
to freezers, stoves, refrigerators and washing machines.
A building or container or designated area at which acceptable
waste is disposed for transshipment to the energy recovery facility.
One or more facilities designated by the municipality as
the storage and/or disposal site for unacceptable wastes.
The facility designated herein which processes and recovers
energy and/or useful materials from acceptable waste generated in
the City.
Municipal solid waste generated by two or more municipalities
and transported by a single waste vehicle for disposal at a licensed
waste handling facility and chargeable to respective municipalities.
[Amended 10-20-2008]
The City of Saco, Maine.
All solid waste of the type municipalities are required to
regulate by 38 M.R.S.A. § 1305, as amended, which specifically
excludes industrial and sewage treatment plant sludge and is not included
in the definition of acceptable waste.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 181-16,
Energy recovery facility, was repealed 10-20-2008.
The accumulation, collection, transportation
and disposal of acceptable waste and unacceptable waste generated
within the City shall be regulated in the following manner:
The following categories of waste shall be exempted
from regulation by this article:
A.
Materials from manufacturing, processing or packaging
operations which are segregated from solid waste and salvaged for
alternate use or reuse by the generator or sold to third parties.
B.
Glass, metal or other noncombustible materials which
are separated from acceptable waste by the generator as part of a
recycling program approved by the City Council.
C.
Cardboard, paper or other combustible materials which
are separated from acceptable waste by the generator as part of a
recycling program approved by the City Council, provided that any
such recycling program shall not reduce the British thermal unit (Btu)
content of acceptable waste below the Btu level acceptable to the
energy recovery facility.
All acceptable waste collected for transfer
to the energy recovery facility or deposited at a disposal facility
shall become the property of the City or its assignee. No one may
salvage, remove or carry off any such waste without prior approval
of the City Council.
This article shall be administered by the City
Council. Its powers and duties are as follows:
A.
To adopt reasonable rules and regulations as needed
to enforce this article.
B.
To consider all license applications and to grant
or deny each application within 60 days after receipt of a completed
application at the City offices or within such other time as the Council
and the applicant shall agree is reasonable.
C.
To review any alleged violation of this article and
to impose appropriate penalties therefor after notice and hearing
as required by this article.
D.
To institute necessary proceedings, either legal or
equitable, to enforce this article.
A.
No person, firm or corporation shall accumulate, collect,
store, transport or dispose of acceptable waste or unacceptable waste
generated within the City without obtaining a license from the City
Council.
B.
Any person, firm or corporation required by this article
to obtain a license shall make application to the City Council, providing
the information required. The rate shall be established by the City
Council after a public hearing.[1]
[Amended 5-15-2000]
[1]
Editor's Note: Copies of the current fee schedule
are on file in the office of the City Clerk.
C.
The application shall contain all information required
by the City Council, including but not limited to a description of
the activity, e.g., collection, transport or disposal of acceptable
and/or unacceptable waste; current list of customers; the type and
amount of waste handled in each service area; a description of the
facility operated and used; and an equipment inventory, including,
for vehicles, a description of the make, model and year of each vehicle
used for the collection or transportation of solid waste, which information
shall be revised annually upon license renewal. If the City Council
determines the application to be incomplete, it shall notify the applicant,
in writing, of the specific information necessary to complete it.
The City Council shall be informed immediately of any changes in or
additions to equipment, including vehicles.
[Amended 9-3-2002]
D.
Licenses are not transferable.
E.
All licenses shall expire one year from the date of
issue, unless otherwise stated on the license or revoked or suspended
sooner in accordance with the provisions of this article.
F.
In the event that the City Council denies a license application, it shall notify the applicant, in writing, and shall state the reasons for the denial. The applicant may request a public hearing in accordance with the procedures in § 181-23.
G.
In the event that the City Council grants a license
application, the applicant shall pay the rate established by the City
Council after a public hearing for each vehicle licensed or a rate
to be established by the City Council after a public hearing for each
applicant licensed for activities not involving the transport of solid
waste.[2] This fee is in addition to the application fee. The Council
may prorate this fee where appropriate. The Council may not refund
any portion of this fee if the license is suspended or revoked.
[Amended 5-15-2000]
[2]
Editor's Note: Copies of the current fee schedule
are on file in the office of the City Clerk.
H.
The Council may grant a special license to a licensee,
for a limited period and upon such terms and conditions as it deems
appropriate using the procedure that it deems appropriate, for a replacement
vehicle in the event of an emergency or a vehicle breakdown.
I.
The Council may deny a license application upon a
finding that the applicant:
(1)
Does not have the financial capacity and technical
ability to conduct the activity described in the application.
(2)
Has not made adequate provision for the control of
offensive odors or has not made adequate provision to prevent air
and water pollution.
(3)
Has not previously secured any necessary state or
federal permits.
(4)
Has failed to respond to inquiries relative to the
source of waste or location of waste generators during periods of
time when the City Administrator or his/her designee is monitoring
tonnage being hauled by waste haulers. Failure to respond within 14
days of an inquiry shall be reason for denial.
(5)
Has failed to transport waste loads in completely
enclosed containers or vehicles. Such containers or vehicles shall
be kept tightly covered and secured to prevent any spillage on public
ways.
(6)
Has failed to comply with any other provisions of
this article.
J.
As a general condition of all licenses, a licensee
shall be billed monthly by the City of Saco for the tipping fees paid
at MERC on the licensee's behalf by the City of Saco. In addition,
the City shall establish a rate after a public hearing for an administrative
surcharge to the monthly bill.[3] Allowing a balance to remain unpaid for longer than 30
days will constitute a violation of this article and is grounds for
revocation of the license. (Within 30 days of the effective date of
this amendment, all licenses issued under this article shall be reissued
with this general condition. No additional application fee will be
required and the existing expiration date will remain the same.) This
provision will not pertain to any company operating under a City contract.
[Amended 5-15-2000]
[3]
Editor's Note: Copies of the current fee schedule
are on file in the office of the City Clerk.
Any license issued may be suspended or revoked by order of the City Council after benefit of a hearing in accordance with the procedures in § 181-23 for the following causes:
A.
Anyone denied a license or whose license is suspended or revoked pursuant to § 181-22 is entitled to a hearing before the City Council if such request is made, in writing, within 10 days of the denial, suspension or revocation.
B.
Such hearings shall be held within 30 days after receipt
of the written request for a hearing.
C.
The licensee or applicant shall be notified, in writing,
as to the time and place of the hearing at least 10 days prior to
the hearing date. The applicant or licensee has the right to be represented
by counsel, to offer evidence and to cross-examine witnesses, but
the hearing is not subject to rules of evidence or formal rules for
adjudicatory proceedings.
D.
A determination shall be made by the City Council
within 10 days after the conclusion of the hearing, and notice of
the decision shall be served upon the applicant or licensee by registered
mail, return receipt requested.
E.
The City Council's final determination relative to
the denial or suspension or revocation of a license and the period
of suspension or revocation shall take effect as provided in the notice,
unless, at the time of final determination, the City Council made
it effective immediately. The City Council's determination is conclusive.
Notice of the final determination shall set forth the reasons for
the denial, suspension or revocation and the effective dates thereof,
together with a statement that such decision may be appealed as provided
in this article.
F.
Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating
to the municipal officers' determination may be appealed to the Superior
Court pursuant to Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 80B, within
30 days after the City Council's final determination.
This article shall be enforced by the City Council
or its designees. Any person violating any provision of this article
commits a civil violation for which a forfeiture of not less than
$500 nor more than $1,000 shall be adjudged. Each day of violation
constitutes a separate offense. Any violation is deemed to be a nuisance,
and the City Council may bring an action for equitable relief.
The City officers may, on written application,
grant a variance from a specific provision of this article in a specific
case, subject to appropriate conditions, where such variance is in
harmony with the general purpose and intent of this article and the
agreement between the City and the energy recovery facility.
This article shall become effective on the date
that the energy recovery facility begins commercial operations, provided
that the City provides notice of commencement in the manner required
for publication of ordinances. Any person, firm or corporation required
to obtain a license hereunder shall have 60 days from the date of
adoption of this article to secure such license, which shall become
effective on the date specified therein.
