Article I Solid Waste Disposal

Any material or substance which, by reason of its composition or characteristics, is toxic or hazardous waste as defined in the Resource, Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq.; as defined in Section 6(e) of the Toxic Substances Control Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2605(e); under Act 97;[1] or under any other applicable laws of similar purpose or effect, including but not limited to, with respect to each of such items, any replacement, amendment, expansion or supplement thereto and any rules, regulations or policies thereunder; or special nuclear or by-product materials within the meaning of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 42 U.S.C. § 2011 et seq., and any replacement, amendment, expansion or supplement thereto and any rules, regulations or policies thereunder.

Any other material that any governmental agency or unit having appropriate jurisdiction shall determine from time to time is harmful, toxic or dangerous or otherwise ineligible for disposal in the landfill.

LANDFILL

A landfill with which the Waste Authority has contracted to dispose of acceptable waste.

MUNICIPALITY

The Borough of North Wales, located within the County of Montgomery, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

MUNICIPAL WASTE

Municipal waste as defined in Section 103 of Act 97 and Section 103 of Act 101,[2] and any rules, regulations or policies promulgated thereunder.

NONPROCESSIBLE WASTE

White goods.

Automobile tires in quantity.

Noncombustible items, stumps, logs, brush and other waste which either weighs in excess of 25 pounds or exceeds one of the following dimensions: four feet in length, four inches in diameter or four inches in thickness.

Sludges.

NORTHERN COUNTY SYSTEM or SYSTEM

Construction and demolition debris.

(6)

Leaf waste beyond that permitted by Act 101.[3]

The solid waste management and disposal system created by the county for the Northern District and every aspect thereof, including but not limited to equipment, transfer stations and resource recovery facilities, residue disposal sites, contractual arrangements or other rights owned, acquired, leased, placed under contract, constructed or assumed, operated or to be owned, acquired, leased, placed under contract, constructed, operated or assumed by the Waste Authority, the county or any agent, designee or contractor of either in connection with the plan or the plan revision.

PERSON

Any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association, institution, cooperative enterprise, trust, municipal authority, federal institution or agency, state institution or agency, municipality, other governmental agency or any other legal entity or any group of such persons whatsoever which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties. In any provisions of this article prescribing a fine, penalty, imprisonment or denial or grant of any license, or any combination of the foregoing, the term "person" shall include the officers and directors of any corporation or other legal entity having officers and directors.

PLAN

The county-wide municipal waste management plan developed by the county and approved by the Department of Environmental Resources (DER), as such has been and may hereafter be amended or revised in compliance with law.

PLAN REVISION

The revision, dated June 1990, to the County Municipal Waste Management Plan developed by the county, to be submitted to DER and approved by a majority of the affected municipalities within the county representing a majority of the county's population.

POINT OF ENTRY INTO THE NORTHERN COUNTY SYSTEM

Any delivery point within the Northern County System designated by the Waste Authority for delivery of acceptable waste.

PROCESSIBLE WASTE

That portion of acceptable waste which is not nonprocessible waste.

RECYCLING or RECYCLED

The collection, separation, recovery and sale or reuse of metals, glass, paper, leaf waste, plastics and other materials which would otherwise be disposed or processed as municipal waste or the mechanized separation and treatment of municipal waste (other than through combustion) and creation and recovery of reusable materials other than a fuel for the operation of energy.

SOURCE SEPARATION

The segregation and collection, prior to the point of entry into the Northern County System, for the purpose of recycling of individual components of acceptable waste, such as (without limitation) bottles, cans and other materials in accordance with Act 101.[4]

UNACCEPTABLE WASTE

Any material that by reason of its composition, characteristics or quantity is ineligible for disposal at the landfill pursuant to the provisions of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq., and the regulations thereunder; or except for trace amounts normally found in household or commercial solid waste, any other similarly applicable law (including but not limited to the following laws and the regulations, if any, promulgated under each: the Toxic Substances Control Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.; the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, 7 U.S.C. § 136 et seq.; the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.; the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq.; Act 97[5]; the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, Act 108, enacted October 18, 1988;[6] and any similar or substituted legislation or regulations or amendments to the foregoing, as well as any other laws coextensive with the foregoing).

Any other materials that any governmental body or unit having or claiming appropriate jurisdiction shall determine from time to time to be harmful, toxic, dangerous or otherwise ineligible for disposal at the landfill.

Any waste that a landfill or other applicable facility is precluded from accepting pursuant to any permit or governmental plan governing such landfill or other applicable facility.

Hazardous waste.

Residual waste, as defined in Act 101[7] (except as otherwise provided in any landfill agreement to which the Waste Authority is a party).

(6)

Special nuclear or by-product materials within the meaning of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 42 U.S.C. § 2011 et seq., and any similar or substituted legislation or regulation or amendments to the foregoing, including but not limited to any other laws coextensive with the foregoing.

(7)

Asbestos, sludge, infectious waste, chemother-apeutic waste and incinerator ash (except as otherwise provided in any landfill agreement to which the Waste Authority is a party).

(8)

White goods in quantity and/or automobile tires in quantity.

(9)

Any other material that the Waste Authority reasonably concludes would require special handling or present an endangerment to a disposal facility, the public health or safety or the environment.

WASTE AUTHORITY

The Waste System Authority of Northern Montgomery County created by the county for purposes relating to municipal waste disposal and/or the IMA[8] and the County Waste Flow Ordinance.

WHITE GOODS

Refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, window air conditioners, hot-water heaters and other major home appliances.

§ 178-2 Operation by licensed collectors and transporters.

Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 et seq.

[2]

Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 and 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq., respectively.

[3]

Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq.

[4]

Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq.

[5]

Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 et seq.

[6]

Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6020.101 et seq.

[7]

Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq.

[8]

Editor's Note: The term "IMA" stands for the Intermunicipal Agreement for the Disposal of Northern Montgomery County Municipal Solid Waste.

All other words and phrases as defined in Act 97 or Act 101[9] shall have the same meanings as set forth in those Acts, as they may hereinafter be amended or supplemented by legislation regarding municipal waste management or planning or as set forth in the IMA. To the extent that any definition herein varies from the definition in the IMA, the definition in the IMA shall control.[10]

[9]

Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 and 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq., respectively.

[10]

Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.

Licensing. No person who is not duly licensed or deemed to be licensed by the Waste Authority may collect or transport municipal waste located or generated within the municipality. This waste collection or transportation license shall be a county license issued by the Waste Authority.

Compliance with rules, regulations and ordinances. In carrying on activities related to solid waste collection or transportation within this municipality, all municipal waste collectors and all municipal waste transporters shall comply with the county ordinance, this article and the other municipal waste flow ordinances and all rules and regulations pertaining to the collection, transportation, processing and disposal of solid waste as may be hereafter promulgated by the Waste Authority. Delivery by such collectors or transporters to the Northern County System of unacceptable waste, nonprocessible waste (except for white goods) and waste from unapproved sources is prohibited.

Administration. Licenses hereunder shall be issued and revoked by the Waste Authority and administered by it. Any collectors or transporters who fail to comply with the provisions of this article shall be subject to any applicable sanctions in addition to the revocation of their licenses.

§ 178-3 Disposal of municipal waste.

Delivery to Northern County System. Except as provided in Subsections B and C below, all acceptable waste generated within this municipality shall be delivered to the Northern County System, and all acceptable waste collectors and transporters shall deliver to and dispose of all acceptable waste collected or generated within this municipality to solid waste facilities designated in the plan or the plan revision at one or more points of entry into the Northern County System as designated from time to time by the Waste Authority.

Disposal at other sites. Disposal of municipal waste collected or generated within municipality may occur at other sites only as permitted by rule, regulation, ordinance or order duly issued by the Waste Authority or by the written agreement of the Waste Authority.

Recycling. Nothing herein shall be deemed to prohibit source separation or recycling or to affect any sites at which source separation or recycling may take place.

§ 178-4 Regulations.

Compliance with waste authority regulations. The collection, transportation, processing and disposal of municipal waste present or generated within the municipality shall be subject to such further reasonable rules and regulations as may from time to time be promulgated by the Waste Authority, including, without limitation, regulations relating to the operation, management and administration of the Northern County System, applications and standards for licensing requirements for payment bonds or other payment security, including but not limited to meeting liability insurance requirements, fees to be charged for such licensing, the terms of licenses, procedures, recordkeeping, transportation routes, payment for services, billing for shortfalls, sanctions for nonpayment and other matters.

Adoption of regulations. Rules and regulations adopted by the Waste Authority for the Northern County System shall be deemed rules and regulations adopted under this article.

Consistency of regulations with ordinance and other laws. No rules or regulations adopted by the municipality pursuant to this article shall be in violation of or inconsistent with the provisions of this article, the other municipal waste flow ordinances, the County Waste Flow Ordinance, the plan, the plan revision, the provisions and purposes of Act 97, Act 101[1] or regulations adopted thereunder or such other laws, regulations or requirements as may be enacted by the United States of America, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources or the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board governing municipal waste planning, collection, storage, transportation, processing or disposal.

§ 178-6 Certain prohibitions and requirements.

Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 and 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq., respectively.

Enforcement of waste flow control. Enforcement of waste flow control and the terms of and any duties established pursuant to the County Waste Flow Ordinance, the other municipal waste flow ordinances and this article will be the responsibility of the county or the Waste Authority and, if requested by the county or the Waste Authority, with the cooperation of the municipalities.

§ 178-5 Annual survey.

All generators of municipal waste, and all municipal waste collectors and municipal waste transporters, any landfill operators, any transfer station operators or any other parties involved in the collection, transportation, processing or disposal of municipal waste of the municipality shall cooperate in the taking and preparation of an annual survey to be conducted by an engineering consultant designated by the Waste Authority.

No person shall enter into any contract or conduct any other activity concerning the collection, transportation, processing or disposal of municipal waste in the municipality in contravention of the terms of the County Waste Flow Ordinance, this article or any rules and regulations issued thereunder.

Recycling. Nothing contained in this article shall interfere with the operation of any program for recycling.

This Article shall be construed consistently with Act 97 and Act 101.[1]

Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 and 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq., respectively.

§ 178-7 Creation of authority.

The county has created the Waste Authority to administer the terms of the County Waste Flow Ordinance and to operate and administer the Northern County System.

§ 178-8 Unlawful activities; nuisance.

Unlawful conduct. It shall be unlawful for any person to:

Violate, cause or assist in the violation of any provision of this article, any rule, regulation or order promulgated hereunder or any rule, regulation or order promulgated by the Waste Authority or the county consistent with this article.

Transport, process, treat, transfer or dispose of or cause to be processed, treated, transferred or disposed municipal waste generated within the municipality except as provided for in this article.

Collect or transport municipal waste present or generated within the municipality without a valid license for collection or transportation issued by the waste authority.

Hinder, obstruct, prevent or interfere with the municipality, the Waste Authority or the county or their personnel in the performance of any duty under this article or in the enforcement of this article.

Act in a manner that is contrary to Act 97 or Act 101,[1] regulations promulgated thereunder, the plan, the plan revision, this article, the county ordinance, rules or regulations promulgated under this article, the county ordinance or the terms of licenses issued thereunder.

§ 178-11 Injunctions; concurrent remedies.

Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 and 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq., respectively.

Public nuisance. Any unlawful conduct set forth in Subsection A hereof shall constitute a public nuisance.

§ 178-9 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 11-22-1994 by Ord. No. 674]

Any person who engages in unlawful conduct as defined in this article shall, upon conviction thereof in a summary proceeding before a District Justice be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 for each offense, and, in default of payment thereof, shall be committed to the county jail for a period not exceeding 30 days. Each day that there is a violation of this article shall constitute a separate offense.

§ 178-10 Revocation of license.

Upon finding that any person has engaged in unlawful conduct as defined in this article, the Waste Authority may revoke any license issued to that person in accordance with § 178-2 of this article, and the Waste Authority may deny any subsequent application by that person for a license pursuant to § 178-2 hereof.

Restraining violations. In addition to any other remedy provided in this article, the Waste Authority or the county may institute a suit in equity where unlawful conduct or public nuisance exists as defined in this article for an injunction to restrain a violation of this article or rules, regulations, orders or the terms of licenses promulgated or issued pursuant to this article. In addition to an injunction, the court may impose penalties as authorized by § 178-9 hereof.

Concurrent remedies. The penalties and remedies prescribed by this article shall be deemed concurrent. The existence or exercise of any remedy shall not prevent the Waste Authority or the county from exercising any other remedy provided by this article or otherwise provided at law or equity.

§ 178-12 Intermunicipal agreement.

Entry into IMA. In order to implement the intent and terms of this article, the municipality, pursuant to the authority of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, Act of July 12, 1972, No. 180, codified at 53 P.S. §§ 481 to 490 (Purdon 1974 and Purdon Supp. 1990) and Article IX, Section 5, of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, has determined to enter into the IMA between the municipality, the county, the Waste Authority and other municipalities within the Northern District, together with such changes consistent with this article, if any, as may be approved by the officials of the parties executing the same, such execution to be conclusive evidence of such approval.

Terms and implementation of IMA. As more fully set forth in the IMA and this article:

Terms of IMA. In the IMA:

(a)

The Waste Authority agrees to arrange through the Northern County System for the provision of municipal waste disposal facilities for the economical and environmentally sound disposal of acceptable waste generated within the municipalities.

(b)

The municipalities state that they have enacted a municipal waste flow ordinance in a form substantially similar to this article which requires that all acceptable waste be delivered to the Northern County System.

(c)

The county and the Waste Authority agree to enact or cause to be enacted rules and regulations and to enforce or cause to be enforced this article and the County Waste Flow Ordinance and the parallel municipal waste flow ordinances.

(d)

The municipalities agree to cooperate with the Waste Authority in the enforcement of the IMA and all ordinances enacted pursuant to the IMA (provided, however that to the extent the enforcement of such ordinances can properly be delegated to it, the Waste Authority shall undertake the primary responsibility for such enforcement) and the municipalities thereby agree cooperatively to exercise their powers to accomplish the objectives of the IMA.

Duration of term of the IMA. The term of the IMA shall commence on the date thereof and shall terminate on the 10th anniversary of the date the Northern County System becomes operational.

Purpose and objectives of IMA. The purpose of the IMA is to provide a mechanism to implement and operate the Northern County System.

Financial obligations under the IMA. During the term of the IMA, municipalities (to the extent that they engage in the collection or transportation of municipal waste or contract with other persons for the collection or disposal of municipal waste) and other persons using the Northern County System shall pay to the Waste Authority on a monthly basis the appropriate per ton tipping fee plus any other charges payable, as specified by the Waste Authority, for all tonnage delivered or caused to be delivered to the Northern County System in accordance with Article III of the IMA. Municipalities shall provide certain moneys for operating expenses of the Authority to the extent not paid for through tipping fees on the basis of adjusted population data.

Execution. Appropriate officers of this municipality are authorized and directed to execute the IMA on behalf of this municipality.

Findings under Intergovernmental Cooperation Act. As required by the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of July 12, 1972, P.L. 762, No. 180, as amended, the following matters are specifically found and determined:

The conditions of agreement are set forth in the IMA;

The duration of the term of the agreement is set forth in Section 801 of the IMA;

The purpose of the IMA is to cooperate with the county or Waste Authority and other municipalities in implementing the plan and the plan revision;

The agreement will be financed through tipping fees imposed on users of the Northern County System and through the budgeting and appropriation of funds by municipality as necessary to meet the expenses of the Waste Authority;

The organizational structure necessary to implement the agreement is set forth in the IMA with which the current officers of the municipality shall cooperate;

(6)

The manner in which property, real or personal, shall be acquired, managed, licensed or disposed of is as set forth in the IMA; and

(7)

The Agreement contemplates cooperation with the county or Waste Authority, which entities are empowered to enter into contracts for policies of group insurance and employee benefits, including social security, for their employees.

§ 178-13 Construction.

The terms and provisions of this article are to be liberally construed, so as best to achieve and to effectuate the goals and purposes hereof. This Article shall be construed in pari materia with Act 97 and Act 101.[1]