No person shall establish, construct, substantially alter, own, operate or maintain any municipal waste storage, treatment processing or disposal site or facility in the Township without first obtaining a permit for such site or facility pursuant to the provisions of Part 5 of this chapter.
A. 
The disposal of residual and hazardous wastes shall be prohibited at any municipal waste storage, treatment, processing or disposal site or facility covered by Article II of this chapter. Any violation of this Subsection A whatsoever shall result in the immediate revocation of all applicable municipal permits and the issuance of a cease and desist order from the Mayor.
[Amended 6-8-2009 by Ord. No. 2776, approved 11-3-2009]
B. 
The disposal of municipal waste shall be prohibited in areas where continuous or intermittent contact occurs between the waste and the ground water table.
C. 
The municipal waste storage, treatment, processing or disposal sites or facilities shall be operated or maintained in such manner as to prevent health hazards and environmental degradation.
D. 
The storage, treatment, processing or disposal of municipal wastes shall be practiced so as to prevent the attraction, harborage or breeding of insects or rodents and to eliminate conditions which are harmful to public health or which create safety hazards, odors, dust, unsightliness and public nuisances.
E. 
The proposed operation of a site or facility shall not: create any nuisance which shall include, but not be limited to, excessive noise, odor, rodent or insect infestation or effects similar in nature, or impose a hardship on adjoining property owner or result in an undue burden upon the Township, the Township's municipal services and/or infrastructure.
F. 
All equipment shall be stored inside totally enclosed buildings during those hours when the landfill is not in operation.
G. 
Bonding and liability insurance in such amounts with companies and upon forms acceptable to the Township must be established by the site of facility operator to compensate private property owners and the Township for well contamination, property damage, etc.
A. 
A one-hundred-yard buffer zone shall be established upon which no municipal waste shall be deposited adjacent to perimeter property lines unless otherwise approved by the Mayor.
[Amended 6-8-2009 by Ord. No. 2776, approved 11-3-2009]
B. 
Within the buffer zone, two parallel rows of six-foot-high arborvitae set three feet apart, as well as trees, shrubs and other suitable vegetation, shall be planted and landscaping provided to fully obscure any view of the site or facility from public roadways and adjacent public or private properties and to maintain, preserve and enhance the environmental integrity of the surrounding area. Arborvitae shall be set back not less than 50 yards from all property lines.
C. 
All municipal waste storage, treatment, processing or disposal sites or facilities shall be completely enclosed by chain-link fencing or such other durable fencing as approved by the Township, which fencing shall be no less than six feet in height but which shall not exceed the maximum height limitation of eight feet. All fencing shall be set back at least 15 feet from the property line.
[Amended 6-8-2009 by Ord. No. 2776, approved 11-3-2009]
The Mayor, the Board of Commissioners, any Township fire official, law enforcement officer or building, housing or zoning official or inspector or representative of Whitehall Township Authority shall have the authority to inspect each municipal waste storage, treatment, processing or disposal site or facility, and all structures of buildings situate thereat, as often as may be necessary for the purpose of ascertaining or causing to be corrected any condition which may be in violation of this chapter or any regulation promulgated thereunder.
Access to any municipal waste storage, treatment, processing or disposal site or facility shall be limited in the following manner:
A. 
Access to the site or facility shall be limited to normal operating hours.
B. 
A gate or barrier as approved by the Township at the entrance to the site or facility shall be erected to block access to the site or facility during times when an attendant is not on duty.
C. 
Normal operating hours of the landfill during weekdays shall be from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on weekends from 7:00 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. No operation of the site or facility of any type, including waste deliveries, shall be permitted at any other time and the site or facility shall be closed on:
(1) 
Christmas Day.
(2) 
New Year's Day.
(3) 
Thanksgiving Day.
(4) 
Good Friday.
(5) 
Labor Day.
(6) 
Memorial Day.
(7) 
Fourth of July.
D. 
Hours of operation and other limitations regarding access to the site or facility shall be prominently displayed on a sign at the entrance which sign shall have a minimum size of three feet by four feet.
E. 
Access to the site or facility shall be limited to vehicles bearing identification stickers issued by the Township. Such stickers shall be plainly visible on all vehicles admitted to the site or facility. Access to the site or facility by unauthorized vehicles or persons shall be prohibited.
F. 
Operators shall, upon request, provide access keys to the facility for emergency personnel.
A. 
Portable fencing constructed of wire mesh, snowfencing or other suitable material shall be used to control blowing litter.
B. 
Litter control fences shall be located in the immediate operating area or working face of any municipal waste landfill or similar site or facility. The nature of the waste or excessive winds may require additional litter control measures, which shall be provided.
C. 
The entire site or facility shall be adequately policed and litter shall be collected daily from fences, roadways and any trees or live barriers.
D. 
Provisions shall be made to prevent dust from interrupting, hampering or preventing operations at the site or facility and from causing health or safety hazards or public nuisances.
E. 
An equipment cleaning area shall be provided at the site or facility at a location approved by the Mayor. All equipment used to grade and compact waste in, on or at the site or facility shall be cleaned daily to prevent odors, vectors and other nuisances. All drainage from equipment cleaning areas shall be managed so as to prevent water pollution and shall be discharged to a sanitary sewer system or other facility approved by the Mayor.
[Amended 6-8-2009 by Ord. No. 2776, approved 11-3-2009]
F. 
A tire cleaning area shall be provided on the access road within the site or facility. All tires on all vehicles leaving the site or facility shall be cleaned. Runoff from the tire cleaning area shall be controlled in accordance with Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Landfill Management Regulations.
G. 
Requirements.
(1) 
Vehicles utilizing the site or facility shall take appropriate measures to guarantee that all waste materials, including solid, semisolid and liquid wastes, shall remain within the transportation vehicles during the trip to the site or facility. Any open-bodied vehicles shall be provided with a suitable cover which shall remain in place during transportation to and from the site or facility. Any transporting vehicles shall travel only those designed routes that are established by the Mayor with the approval of the Board of Commissioners.
[Amended 6-8-2009 by Ord. No. 2776, approved 11-3-2009]
(2) 
The provisions of Subsection G(1) hereinabove shall be applicable to collectors who are in the process of traveling to or from established accounts that such collector services within the Township.
A. 
Access roads to the entrance of a municipal waste storage, treatment, processing or disposal site or facility shall be paved with asphalt, curbed and provided with a base capable of withstanding anticipated load limits. Two-way traffic access roads shall have a minimum cartway width of 36 feet or two single cartways each a minimum width of 16 feet. For one-way traffic, separate access roads with a minimum cartway width of 16 feet shall be established.
B. 
Any cartway from a site or facility entrance into the dumping or unloading areas, working faces or treatment facility located within the property boundaries of the site or facility shall be constructed in a manner which will be negotiated by loaded collection vehicles and provide utilization by such vehicles in all weather conditions.
A. 
Measures and procedures to prevent and minimize fire hazards shall be established and practiced at the site or facility which measures or procedures shall be at least equivalent to the Township Fire Control Ordinance or regulations enacted or adopted from time to time.
B. 
Necessary measures shall be taken to prevent and extinguish fires. Water of adequate volume and pressure, as determined by the Township Engineer after consultation with the Township Fire Chief, to supply water hose streams or foam producing equipment or water spray systems as well as necessary equipment, compatible with the local fire department equipment, such as hoses, nozzles and pumps for minimizing fire hazards, shall be available at the site or facility. All equipment and buildings at the site or facility shall be equipped with functional fire extinguishers. In addition to the foregoing, at least three functional Scott air packs shall be housed at the site or facility. All employees, prior to commencing work at the site or facility, undergo a training program in cooperation with local fire departments, designed to teach basic firefighting techniques.
C. 
Telephone or radio communication shall be located at the site or facility or shall be readily available or accessible. Furthermore, a list of all emergency numbers shall be provided for the plant operators. The Township shall be provided with information including the names, addresses and phone numbers of the appropriate plant operators, managers and owners to be contacted in case of an emergency.
D. 
Each site or facility shall have onsite, during all operating hours, at least one person certified in first aid cardiopulmonary resuscitation by the American Red Cross or the equivalent.
A. 
The unloading of municipal wastes shall be controlled and restricted to the working face of the municipal waste landfill. The size of the working face shall be confined to an area no greater than that which can be easily compacted and covered daily.
B. 
A uniform six inch compacted layer of daily cover material shall be placed on all exposed waste by the end each working day, at the end of every 24 hours or at the completion of every shift, whichever interval is less.
C. 
A layer of intermediate cover material, compacted to a minimum uniform depth of one foot, shall be placed on completed portions or areas within the site or facility where there is a clear intention to dispose or store additional waste materials within one year. When additional waste is not deposited within one year, additional cover and vegetation shall be provided as required by Subsection D hereof for final cover.
D. 
Complete portions of a disposal or storage area within the site or facility where there is no intention of placing any additional waste materials at any time shall receive final cover within two weeks of completion. Final cover shall provide a cap consisting of a uniform and compacted one foot layer of clay placed over the surface of the final lift, a drainage layer capable of transmitting flow and preventing erosion placed over the cap, and a uniform and compacted layer of soil at least two feet in thickness placed over the drainage layer. Final cover shall not exceed the height of the original contour of the land on which the facility is situate. Seed bed preparation and planting operations to promote stabilization of the final soil cover shall be completed as soon as weather permits and seasonal conditions are suitable for the establishment of a vegetative cover suitable to prevent erosion.
E. 
Soils to be used as daily, intermediate and final cover material shall be soils that fall within the United States Department of Agriculture ("USDA") textural classes of sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, silty clay loam, loamy sand and silt loan. For final cover to be acceptable, the same shall compact well, not crack excessively when dry and support a vegetative cover.
[Amended 6-8-2009 by Ord. No. 2776, approved 11-3-2009]
The Mayor may, with the approval of the Board of Commissioners, grant a variance upon a showing that compliance with the requirements of this article of this chapter, or any regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, would not endanger the public health, safety and welfare and that the best interests of the residents of the Township would be served by granting the variance.
A. 
The Township is hereby empowered to enter into agreements with other municipalities or other public bodies in Lehigh County for the purpose of establishing a cooperation among such municipalities toward the completion and implementation of a solid waste management plan so long as the parties adhere to the following terms:
(1) 
The Township will commit itself to participation as an active member in the solid water management planning process.
(2) 
The Township shall authorize Lehigh County to prepare the solid waste management plan required by law.
(3) 
The Township shall cooperate with participating entities in approving a budget and other related fiscal activities necessary to undertake the appropriate planning process.
(4) 
The Township shall share in the cost of the planning process on a per capita basis, which per capita amount shall be agreed upon by a simple majority of the participating municipalities.
(5) 
The Township shall appoint an individual to serve in the Lehigh County Solid Waste Association.
B. 
The proper officers and other personnel of the Township are hereby authorized and empowered to take all such further actions and execute such additional documents as they may deem appropriate to carry out the purposes of § 20-13 of this chapter.