[HISTORY: Adopted by the County Commissioners
of Caroline County 12-15-1992 by Bill No. 92-2.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This bill also provided for the repeal of the
dumping regulations adopted as ch. 364 of the Laws of 1953, as amended,
and the solid waste disposal regulations adopted 10-7-1980.
Unless otherwise clearly indicated by the context,
in this chapter the following terms have the meanings indicated:
A violation of a County ordinance, resolution or public local
law which has been designated a civil infraction by the County Commissioners
of Caroline County.
Any person operating a commercial refuse vehicle or other
vehicle for the purpose of collecting, transporting and disposing
of solid waste for hire, for a fee or for profit.
Any truck or other motor vehicle or roll-off type of container
operated or used for the purpose of collecting, transporting or disposing
of solid waste which involves the mechanical compaction of solid waste
or which has the capacity to carry more than 15 cubic yards of solid
waste.
Caroline County, Maryland.
The County Commissioners of Caroline County, Maryland.
The permit issued by the County for use at or in connection
with a solid waste disposal facility.
[Added 7-26-2011 by Bill No. 2011-4]
Any substance identified as a designated hazardous substance
in state or federal regulations.
The fee or fees approved from time to time by resolution
of the County Commissioners for depositing solid waste at any County-owned
or -operated solid waste disposal facility.
[Added 7-26-2011 by Bill No. 2011-4]
Any individual, group of individuals, organization, firm,
partnership, corporation, government unit or any entity of any kind.
Any garbage, refuse, ashes, junk, rubbish, industrial waste,
brush, rubble or any other material determined by the County to be
solid waste.
Any location or facility owned or operated by the County
for the purpose of disposal, treatment or processing of solid waste,
including but not limited to a collection site, transfer station,
sanitary landfill or incinerator.
A.Â
Prohibited acts.
(1)Â
No one shall throw, dump, deposit or leave any solid
waste on the land or property of another, or cause any solid waste
to be thrown, dumped, deposited or left, unless:
(2)Â
No one shall throw, dump, deposit or leave any solid
waste or cause any solid waste to be thrown, dumped, deposited or
left on or alongside any state, County or private road in Caroline
County.
(3)Â
No one shall throw, dump, deposit or leave any solid
waste or cause any solid waste to be thrown, dumped, deposited or
left on or around any public lands belonging to any federal, state,
County or local government or units thereof.
(4)Â
No
person shall throw, dump, deposit or leave any solid waste at any
County-owned or -operated solid waste disposal facility unless such
person shall have a validly issued and currently effective disposal
facility use permit.
[Added 7-26-2011 by Bill No. 2011-4]
(5)Â
No
person shall throw, dump, deposit or leave any hazardous waste at
any solid waste disposal facility except pursuant to and in accordance
with a regulated hazardous waste recycling program conducted at any
such facility.
[Added 7-26-2011 by Bill No. 2011-4]
B.Â
Rebuttable presumption. It shall be a rebuttable presumption
that any article bearing a person's name and/or address which is found
at a location in violation of this section is the property of the
person whose name and/or address it bears; and it shall be a rebuttable
presumption that this person placed or caused the article to be placed
at the location where found.
C.Â
Violations and penalties.
[Amended 7-26-2011 by Bill No. 2011-4]
(1)Â
In addition to any other penalties permitted by this chapter, a violation of this section of this chapter shall be a Class E civil infraction in accordance with Chapter 92 of this Code, which class carries an initial fine of $150 and a fine of $300 for subsequent violations.
(2)Â
Each site upon which a violation has been committed
may be considered a separate violation.
(3)Â
A person who receives a citation under this section
may elect to stand trial for the offense in district court in accordance
with the Public Local Laws of Caroline County and Article 25B of the
Annotated Code of Maryland.
[Amended 7-26-2011 by Bill No. 2011-4]
A.Â
The County
Commissioners may establish solid waste disposal facilities from time
to time and at one or more locations in Caroline County. These facilities
shall be for the noncommercial disposal of solid waste by county residents.
B.Â
No person
shall use a solid waste disposal facility for other than noncommercial
solid waste.
C.Â
The County
Commissioners may adopt any rules they deem necessary, convenient,
or appropriate for the orderly, efficient, safe, economical and aesthetic
operation of any solid waste disposal facility.
[Amended 7-26-2011 by Bill No. 2011-4]
A.Â
Disposal
facility use permits shall be issued only to residents of Caroline
County for the disposal of noncommercial solid waste. The following
persons shall not be issued disposal facility use permits:
B.Â
The County
Commissioners or their authorized representative shall adopt application
procedures and forms for and regulations regarding the issuance of
disposal facility use permits. Fees for disposal facility use permits
shall be set by the County Commissioners by resolution.
C.Â
The County
Commissioners or their authorized representative shall adopt the form
and content of the disposal facility use permit. Permits shall be
designed to prohibit the transfer of the permit from one person to
another.
D.Â
No disposal
facility use permit shall be transferred to or used by any person
other than the person to whom it was originally issued. No person
shall be required to pay an additional permit fee upon the sale or
transfer of a vehicle or upon a change of address within Caroline
County.
E.Â
The County
Commissioners or their authorized representative may refuse to issue
or to renew, or may revoke or suspend, any disposal facility use permit
issued under this section, upon a determination that the holder of
the permit has violated any provision of this chapter or that the
issuance or the continued use of the permit would endanger public
health, safety or welfare. Notice of a refusal to issue or renew,
or of revocation or suspension, shall be sufficient if sent by certified
mail to the address provided on the application for the permit. A
permit applicant or permit holder shall have the right to a hearing
before the County Administrator before such action becomes final.
If, in the opinion of the County Administrator, there is an immediate
danger to public health or safety, a hearing shall not be required
prior to the revocation or suspension of a permit, but a hearing must
be provided as promptly thereafter as possible.
F.Â
Upon approval
of an application for a disposal facility use permit and the payment
of all required fees, the applicant shall be issued a disposal facility
use permit.
A.Â
Fees may be charged for solid waste delivered to a
County solid waste disposal facility.
[Amended 7-26-2011 by Bill No. 2011-4]
B.Â
The County Commissioners shall set the fees to be
charged by resolution after a duly advertised public hearing. The
fees may be modified from time to time by resolution.
(1)Â
The County Commissioners may, when they set the fees
to be charged, vary the fees to be charged based upon any reasonable
criteria they establish, including but not limited to:
(2)Â
The County Commissioners may, based upon any reasonable
criteria they establish, waive all fees for certain classes of individuals,
vehicles or types of solid waste.
C.Â
All revenues
from charges for disposal facility use permits, fines, and other charges
provided for in this chapter shall be set aside in a separate fund
maintained by the Comptroller and shall be used to defray the costs
of solid waste management.
[Added 7-26-2011 by Bill No. 2011-4]
A.Â
Except as
otherwise provided in this chapter, any violation of this chapter
shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment
in the County jail for not more than 30 days, or both.
[Amended 7-26-2011 by Bill No. 2011-4]
B.Â
Where an act or omission is of a continuing nature,
each and every day and each and every act shall be deemed a separate
violation.
[Amended 7-26-2011 by Bill No. 2011-4]
C.Â
Any violation of any provision of this chapter shall
be grounds for the revocation or the suspension of any solid waste
disposal facility use permit issued under this chapter.
D.Â
Anyone found to have violated any provision of this
chapter shall be liable for the cost of the proceeding in any court
of competent jurisdiction.
E.Â
In addition to any fees, costs, fines, and penalties
provided for in this chapter, any person violating any provision of
this chapter shall be charged with the costs of cleanup, reclamation,
remediation, and/or disposal incurred by the County in connection
therewith, and the County may utilize all remedies in connection with
the collection thereof, including any action at law or in equity.
[Amended 7-26-2011 by Bill No. 2011-4]
The provisions of this chapter, including the
penalties for violation, shall be construed as additional and supplemental
to any existing federal, state, County and municipal laws and regulations.