This article shall be known as the “East Allen Township Solid
Waste Ordinance.”
The following words and phrases when used in this article shall have,
unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the meanings given to them
in this section:
APPLICANT
A person desirous of being authorized as a collector.
COLLECTOR
A person authorized to collect, transport, and dispose of municipal
waste from East Allen Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT
Any establishment engaged in a nonmanufacturing or nonprocessing
business, including but not limited to stores, markets, office buildings,
restaurants, shopping centers, and theaters.
DISPOSAL
The incineration, deposition, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking,
or placing of municipal waste into or on the land or water in a manner that
the waste or a constituent of the waste enters the environment, is emitted
into the air, or is discharged to the waters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
DISPOSAL SITE
Any site, facility, location, area, or premises to be used for the
disposal of municipal waste.
GARBAGE
All animal and vegetable wastes attending or resulting from the handling,
dealing, storing, preparation, cooking and consumption of foods.
INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENT
Any establishment engaged in manufacturing or processing, including
but not limited to factories, foundries, mills, processing plants, refineries,
and the like.
INSTITUTIONAL ESTABLISHMENT
Any establishment engaged in service to persons, including but not
limited to hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, schools, and universities.
MANAGEMENT
The entire process, or any part thereof, of storage, collection,
transportation, processing, treatment, and disposal of municipal waste by
any person engaging in such process.
MUNICIPAL WASTE
Any garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom or office waste and other
material including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material
resulting from operation of residential, municipal, commercial or institutional
establishments and from community activities and any sludge not meeting the
definition of residual or hazardous waste from a municipal, commercial or
institutional water supply treatment plant, waste water treatment plant, or
air pollution control facility. (Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Act 97,
Section 103.)
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, institution,
cooperative enterprise, municipal authority, federal government or agency,
state institution and agency, or any other legal entity whatsoever which is
recognized by law as being subject to the rights and duties of a person.
PROCESSING
Any technology used for the purpose of reducing the volume or bulk
of municipal waste or any technology used to convert part or all of such waste
materials for off-site reuse. Processing facilities include, but are not limited
to, transfer facilities, composting facilities, incinerators, recycling facilities,
and resource recovery facilities.
REFUSE
The collective term applying to all garbage, rubbish, ashes, leaves,
and grass trimmings from residential, municipal, commercial, or institutional
premises.
REGULAR
At least three or more times per month.
SOLID WASTE
Any waste, including but not limited to, municipal, residual, or
hazardous wastes, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous
materials. (Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Act 97, Section 103.)
STORAGE
The containment of any municipal waste on a temporary basis in such
a manner as not to constitute disposal of such waste, and it shall be presumed
that the containment of any municipal waste in excess of one year constitutes
disposal.
TOWNSHIP
East Allen Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
TRANSPORTATION
The off-site removal of any municipal waste generated or present
at any time from the Township.
It shall be the duty of every owner of property and every person occupying
any dwelling unit, premises or place of business within the Township where
municipal waste is produced and is accumulated, by his own expense and cost,
to provide and keep at all times a sufficient number of containers to hold
all municipal waste which may accumulate during the intervals between collection
of such municipal waste by an authorized collector.
It shall be unlawful for any person, other than such persons as are
duly authorized by the Township, to collect and transport solid waste of any
nature as a regular hauling business within or from the Township. Authorization
shall be given only as set forth below.
Authorization to collect, transport, and dispose of municipal waste
for persons other than oneself may be given only by the Township through the
issuance of a license. All applications for licensing shall be approved in
accordance with the following:
A. Eligible persons. Municipal solid waste collection licenses
may be issued to only those persons who can provide satisfactory evidence
that they are capable of providing the necessary services and can comply with
the provisions and intent of this article. The Township reserves the right
to disapprove any application for license.
B. Application procedure. Applicants for a municipal solid
waste collection license must furnish the following information:
(1) The make, model, license plate number, and size of each
vehicle to be used for collection and transportation;
(2) The location, address, and telephone number of the business
office of the applicant;
(3) A certificate of the applicant’s workmen’s
compensation insurance as required by law;
(4) A certificate of insurance coverage providing complete
third-party comprehensive, bodily injury and property damage, liability insurance,
the limits of which shall not be less than $100,000/$300,000 for bodily injury
and $50,000 for property damage; and
(5) Any other information which the Township may request
and deem necessary prior to the issuance of a license.
C. Issuance. Licenses shall be issued on a calendar-year
basis, but may be revoked at any time by the Township for failure to comply
with the provisions of this article.
D. Fees. Fees for licenses shall be set by resolution of
the Township, amended from time to time, and the amount thereof shall be provided
to any applicant or other person upon request.
E. License and capacity. Each vehicle must prominently display
the name and number of the licensee and the cubic yard capacity of the vehicle’s
body.
Any person transporting solid waste within the Township shall prevent
or remedy any spillage from vehicles or containers used in the transport of
such solid waste.
All municipal. waste produced, collected, and transported from within
the jurisdictional limits of the Township shall be, to the extent permitted
by law, disposed of at disposal facilities designated by the Township and
in accordance with any currently effective solid waste management plan of
the Township. In the absence of such designated facilities and/or such currently
effective solid waste management plan, municipal waste from the Township must
be disposed of at a state-permitted facility.
If the Township designates the disposal facilities as provided for above,
all authorized collectors and other interested persons shall be informed of
the location and other information pertaining to the designated disposal facilities
to be used for the disposal of municipal waste collected, transported, removed,
and disposed.
Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to prohibit any residential
property occupant not regularly engaged in the business of collecting municipal
waste from hauling his own municipal waste on an irregular and unscheduled
basis to a state-permitted disposal facility.
Nothing contained herein shall prohibit a farmer from carrying out the
normal activities of his farming operation, including composting and spreading
of manure or other farm-produced agricultural waste.
The provisions of this article do not apply to anything but the storage,
collection, transportation, and disposal of municipal waste and do not apply,
therefore, to hazardous or residual waste as defined by the Pennsylvania Solid
Waste Management Act.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this article shall,
upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a District Justice
under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary
offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs
of prosecution. In default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced
to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof
that such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute
a separate offense, and each section of this article that is violated shall
also constitute a separate offense.
In addition to the foregoing penalty, the Township may require the owner
or occupant of a property to remove any accumulation of solid waste and should
said person fail to remove such solid waste after 10 days following written
notice, the Township may cause the solid waste to be collected and disposed
of with the costs for such actions to be charged to the owner or occupant
of the property in a manner provided by law.
The imposition of the penalties herein prescribed shall not preclude
the Township from instituting appropriate actions or proceedings to prevent
the violation of this article, to restrain, correct or abate any such violation,
or to prevent any act, conduct, business or activity constituting a violation,
including but not limited to injunctive and equitable relief.
This article shall be subject to all applicable federal, state, and
local laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations, including the rules and regulations
as set forth by the Department of Environmental Protection, Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.
The headings of the sections of this article are inserted for convenience
of reference only and shall not be considered a part hereof.