[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health of the Town of Westminster 1-18-1982.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Westminster Board of Health finds that:
A.
The groundwater underlying this town is a currently significant
source of its existing and future water supply, including drinking water.
B.
The groundwater aquifer is integrally connected with,
and flows into the surface waters, lakes, streams and ponds, which constitute
significant recreational and economic resources of the town, used for bathing
and other water-related recreation.
C.
Accidental spills and discharges of petroleum products
and other toxic and hazardous materials have repeatedly threatened the quality
of such groundwater supplies and related water resources in other Massachusetts
towns, posing potential public health and safety hazards and threatening economic
losses to the affected communities.
D.
Unless preventive measures are adopted to prohibit discharge
of toxic and hazardous materials and to control their storage within the town,
further spills and discharges of such materials will predictably occur and
with greater frequency and degree of hazard by reason of increasing construction,
commercial and industrial development, population and vehicular traffic in
the Town of Westminster.
The Westminster Board of Health adopts the following in accordance with
MGL C. 111, § 31, as amended to Title V of the Environmental Code.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
The accidental or intentional spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting,
emptying or dumping of toxic or hazardous material upon or into any land or
waters of the Town of Westminster. "Discharge" includes, without limitation,
leakage of such materials from failed or discarded containers or storage systems
and disposal of such materials into any on-site sewage disposal system, dry
well, catch basin or unapproved landfill.
The term "discharge," as used and applied in this chapter, does not
include the following:
Proper disposal of any material in a sanitary or industrial landfill
that has received and maintained all necessary legal approvals for that purpose.
Application of fertilizers and pesticides in accordance with label recommendations
and with regulations of the Massachusetts Pesticide Control Board.
Application of road salts in conformance with the Snow and Ice Control
Program of the Massachusetts Department of Public Works.
Disposal of sanitary sewage to subsurface sewage disposal systems as
defined and permitted by Title V of the Massachusetts Environmental Code.
Any substance or mixture of such physical, chemical or infectious
characteristics as to pose, in the Board of Health's judgment, a significant
actual or potential hazard to water supplies or other hazard to human health
if such substance or mixture were discharged to land or waters of this town.
"Toxic or hazardous materials" include, without limitation, organic chemicals,
petroleum products, heavy metals, radioactive or infectious wastes, acids
and alkalis, and includes products such as pesticides, herbicides, solvents
and thinners. Wastes generated by the following activities, without limitation,
are presumed to be toxic or hazardous, unless and except to the extent that
anyone engaging in such an activity can demonstrate the contrary to the satisfaction
of the Board of Health:
Airplane, boat and motor vehicle service and repair.
Chemical and bacteriological laboratory operation.
Cabinetmaking.
Dry cleaning.
Electronic circuit assembly.
Metal plating, finishing and polishing.
Motor and machinery service and assembly.
Painting, wood preserving and furniture stripping.
Pesticide and herbicide application.
Photographic processing.
Printing.
Resin manufacturing.
A.
The discharge of toxic or hazardous materials upon the
ground or into any surface or ground waters within the Town of Westminster
is prohibited.
B.
Outdoor storage of toxic or hazardous materials is prohibited, except in product-tight containers which are protected from the elements, leakage, accidental damage and vandalism and which are stored in accordance with all applicable requirements of § 251-5 of this chapter. For purposes of this subsection, road salts and fertilizers shall be considered as hazardous materials.
A.
Registration.
(1)
Except as exempted below, every owner and every operator
other than an owner of a site at which toxic and hazardous materials are stored
in quantities totaling, at any time, more than fifty (50) gallons liquid volume
or twenty-five (25) pounds dry weight shall register with the Board of Health
the types of materials stored, quantities, location and method of storage.
The Board of Health may require that an inventory of such materials be maintained
on the premises and be reconciled with purchase, use, sales and disposal records
on a monthly basis in order to detect any product loss. Registration required
by this subsection shall be submitted within sixty (60) days of enactment
of this chapter, and annually thereafter. Maintenance and reconciliation of
inventories shall begin within the same sixty-day period.
(2)
Exemptions. Registration and inventory requirements shall
not apply to the following:
(a)
Fuel oil stored in conformance with Massachusetts Fire
Prevention Regulations and regulations of the Westminster Board of Health
for the purpose of heating buildings located on the site; or
(b)
The storage of toxic and hazardous materials at a single-
or two-family dwelling, except where such materials are stored for use associated
with a professional or home occupation use.
B.
Wastes containing toxic or hazardous materials shall
be held on the premises in product-tight containers and shall be removed and
disposed of in accordance with the Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Management
Act, Ch. 704, Acts of 1979.
C.
The Board of Health may require that containers of toxic
or hazardous materials be stored on an impervious, chemical-resistant surface
compatible with the material being stored and that provisions be made to contain
the product in the case of accidental spillage.
Every person having knowledge of a spill, leak or other loss of toxic
or hazardous materials believed to be in excess of five (5) gallons shall
report the spill or loss of same to the Board of Health within two (2) hours
of detection.
A.
The provisions of this regulation shall be enforced by
the Board of Health. The agent of the Board of Health may, according to law,
enter upon any premises at any reasonable time to inspect for compliance.
B.
Upon request of an agent of the Board of Health, the
owner or operator of any premises at which toxic or hazardous materials are
used or stored shall furnish all information required to monitor compliance
with this chapter, including a complete list of all chemicals, pesticides,
fuels and other toxic or hazardous materials used or stored on the premises,
a description of measures taken to protect storage containers from vandalism,
corrosion and spillage and the means of disposal of all toxic or hazardous
wastes produced on the site. A sample of wastewater disposed to on-site septic
systems, dry wells or sewage treatment systems may be required by the agent
of the Board of Health.
C.
All records pertaining to storage, removal and disposal
of toxic or hazardous wastes shall be retained for no less than three (3)
years and shall be made available for review by the agent of the Board of
Health upon request.
D.
The Building Inspector of the Town of Westminster shall
condition issuance of construction and occupancy permits upon conformity with
the requirements of this chapter respecting any toxic or hazardous materials
to be used in the course of such construction or occupancy.
Written notice of any violation of this chapter shall be given by the
agent of the Board of Health, specifying the nature of the violation; any
corrective measures that must be undertaken, including containment and cleanup
of discharged materials; any preventive measures required for avoiding future
violations; and a time for compliance. Requirements specified in such a notice
shall be reasonable in relation to the public health hazard involved and the
difficulty of compliance. The cost of containment and cleanup shall be borne
by the owner and operator of the premises.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be punished
by a fine of not more than twenty dollars ($20.). Each day or portion thereof
during which a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense; if
more than one (1), each condition violated shall constitute a separate offense.
Each provision of this chapter shall be construed as separate, to the
end that, if any part of it shall be held invalid for any reason, the remainder
shall continue in full force and effect.
