[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of West
Haven 11-25-1968 by Ord. No. 93. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Pollution Control Commissions — See Ch. 39.
Fire prevention — See Ch. 105.
Garbage, rubbish and refuse — See Ch. 119.
Littering — See Ch. 142.
Oil and oil-burning equipment — See Ch. 162.
Sewers — See Ch. 191
Toxic Solvents — See Ch. 199.
Space Heathers — See Ch. 202.
Water pollution — See Ch. 224.
It is declared that the pollution of air is detrimental to the
health, welfare and safety of the inhabitants of the City of West
Haven, that it is necessary to provide for the control and regulation
of air pollution caused by the emission or escape into the atmosphere
of smoke, soot, dust, fumes, odors, noxious gases and other air contaminants
and that the necessity, in the public interest and in the protection
of the health, welfare and safety of the community, of the provisions
contained in this chapter is declared hereby as a matter of legislative
determination.
When used in this chapter, the following words and terms shall
have the following meanings:
Any work which involves a change either in the capacity of
fuel-burning equipment, the design of the furnace, the methods of
combustion or in any process or equipment capable of producing air
pollution, affecting the emission of smoke, dust, fumes, odors or
noxious gases.
A measure of heat. One "BTU" is the amount of heat required
to raise the temperature of one pound of water 1° F.
The Bureau of Air Pollution Control.
A boiler or furnace in which fuel has not been consumed for
a period of 24 hours or more.
The chamber or enclosure in which the burning or heating
of fuel, refuse or any combustible material takes place.
The Pollution Control Commission.
The Director of Air Pollution Control.
Airborne and gasborne solid particles, including but not
limited to cinders, fly ash, grit and soot.
Any substance capable of producing or disseminating dust,
including but not limited to cement, charcoal, coal, coke, dirt, gravel,
rubbish, sand and waste material.
Any device for separating dust from the gas medium in which
it is carried.
Includes devices or apparatus.
Any furnace, incinerator, refuse-burning equipment, boiler,
burner, stoke, apparatus, device, mechanism, stack or structure used
in the process of burning fuel, refuse or any combustible material.
Gases or vapors that are of such character as to create an
uncleanly, destructive, offensive or unhealthy condition.
A chamber or enclosure in which any combustion process takes
place.
A furnace or retort for reducing substances to ashes.
An engine in which combustion of a gaseous, liquid or pulverized
solid fuel takes place within one or more cylinders.
A direct facsimile reduction of the Ringelmann Smoke Chart
for measuring the shade or appearance of smoke.
Work upon existing installations or equipment which involves
no change in the capacity of the equipment or in the configuration
of the combustion chamber and which does not involve a change in the
method of combustion or adversely affect the emission of smoke, soot,
dust, fumes, odors or noxious gases.
A street or highway conveyance propelled by an internal-combustion
engine.
Gases which are or may be injurious, hurtful, harmful or
unwholesome.
The discharge into the open air of any smoke, soot, dust,
fumes, odors, noxious gases or other emission which causes injury,
detriment or annoyance or which endangers the comfort, repose, health
or safety of any person or the public or which causes or is likely
to cause injury or damage to business, health or property.
A substance which affects the sense of smell.
All space outside of buildings, stacks or exterior ducts.
Any fire wherein the products of combustion are emitted into
the open air and are not directed thereto through a stack or chimney.
Includes the owner or owners of the fee of the premises or
lesser estate therein, a lessee or joint lessees of the whole or part
thereof, an ageny or any other person directly in control of the premises.
Any individual, partnership, association, company, firm,
corporation, government corporation, municipal corporation or other
entity recognized by law as subject to rights and duties.
Equipment which is designed for the purpose of being readily
transferred from one location to another.
Any furnace, cupola, kiln, oven, still or combustion device
in an industrial or commercial plant, other than a boiler furnace.
Any work which requires any equipment to be wholly or partially
dismantled and which results in the restoration of the same to its
original state.
The Ringelmann Chart with instructions for use as published
by the United States Bureau of Mines.
The emission, except water vapor, from a chimney, stack or
open fire.
An instrument correlated with the Ringelmann Chart for measuring
the shade or appearance of smoke emissions.
A dark substance, essentially carbon, resulting from the
burning or heating of fuel or refuse.
A flue, conduit or opening arranged for emitting gases, smoke,
dust and fumes into the open air.
A person qualified by law to practice professional engineering
or one having qualifications for full membership in the American Society
of Mechanical Engineers.
A separate and individual piece of equipment, including but
not limited to an afterburner, boiler, collector, furnace, incinerator,
oil burner, process furnace, pulverized coal burner, scrubber, set
of steam-air jets or over-fire air jets and stokes.
A.
Except as hereinafter specified, no person shall construct, reconstruct,
install or alter any equipment capable of emitting into the open air
smoke, soot, dust, fumes, odors, vapors, noxious gases or products
of combustion or of incomplete combustion or any equipment, the use
of which may eliminate or reduce or control the emission of any air
contaminant, until an installation permit for such construction or
reconstruction shall have been issued by the Director.
Installation permits shall be issued under and subject to the
following terms, conditions and limitations:
A.
Applications for installation permits shall be in writing on such
forms as may be prescribed by the Department and shall be accompanied
by plans and specifications of the equipment or apparatus and of the
work to be done, a description of the building or structure in which
such equipment or apparatus is to be installed and such other information
as may be required by the Director.
B.
At the time of making application for an installation permit, payment
shall be made to the Department of the application fee established
in the schedule of fees to be adopted by the Commission as hereinbefore
provided.
C.
No fee shall be charged for any application or the issuance of any
permit where any building or structure in which an installation is
made is owned by the United States of America, the State of Connecticut
or the City of West Haven.
D.
An emergency alteration or repair may be made prior to the application
for and the issuance of an installation permit in the event that an
emergency arises, and there may be an interruption in essential services.
When such emergency alteration or repair is made, application for
a permit therefor shall be filed with the Bureau within 48 hours after
the starting of such work.
E.
Without the written approval of the Director, no construction, reconstruction,
installation or alteration of any equipment for which an installation
permit is required hereunder shall be made which is not in accordance
with the plans, specifications and other pertinent information upon
which the installation permit was issued.
F.
A separate installation permit shall be required for each unit of
equipment or apparatus.
G.
Any violation of this section or of the installation permit shall
be sufficient cause for the Director to stop all work, and he is hereby
authorized to seal the installation, and further work shall not proceed
until the Director is assured that the violation in question will
be corrected and that the work will proceed in accordance with the
installation permit.
H.
If the construction, reconstruction, installation or alteration covered
by a permit is not started within one year of the date of issue or
is suspended for more than one year, the permit shall automatically
be canceled, and all fees paid shall be forfeited.
I.
Each day of work on such construction, reconstruction, installation
or alteration in violation of this section shall constitute a separate
offense.
Except as hereafter specified, no person shall use or cause,
suffer or allow to be used any new or remodeled or reconstructed or
altered equipment for which an installation permit is required hereunder
unless and until an operating certificate with relation thereto shall
have been issued by the Director. Such certificate shall be issued
under and subject to the following terms, conditions and limitations:
A.
No operating certificate shall be issued until the work for which
an installation permit has been issued shall have been inspected and
approved by the Director.
B.
Each operating certificate shall be displayed in the boiler, furnace
or equipment room on the premises in a conspicuous location.
C.
The Director is hereby authorized to seal any equipment in operation
for which an operating certificate has not been obtained as required
by this chapter.
D.
The issuance by the Director of an installation permit or operating
certificate shall not exempt the person to whom such permit or certificate
has been issued or other person responsible hereunder from prosecution
for the emission of smoke, soot, dust, fumes, odors, vapor or noxious
gases in violation of this chapter.
E.
Each day of operation of any new, remodeled, reconstructed or altered
equipment prior to the issuance of the operating certificate required
hereunder shall constitute a separate offense.
No person shall cause, suffer or allow to be emitted into the
open air from any fuel-burning equipment, process furnace, internalcombustion
engine, motor vehicle, locomotive, floating equipment, portable equipment,
stack, premises or open fire, within the City of West Haven or upon
waters within the jurisdiction of said city, smoke, the shade or appearance
of which is equal to or darker than No. Two of the Ringelmann Chart,
except in the following instances:
A.
Smoke, the shade or appearance of which is equal to but not darker
than No. Two of the Ringelmann Chart, may be emitted for a period
or for periods aggregating three minutes in any period of 15 minutes.
B.
Smoke, the shade or appearance of which is equal to but not darker
than No. Three of the Ringelmann Chart, may be emitted for a period
of five continuous minutes when a fire box is being cleaned or a new
fire is being built in a cold boiler or furnace.
C.
For the purpose of grading the shade or appearance of smoke, the
Ringelmann Chart, which is hereby made a part of this chapter by reference,
shall be the standard. In grading and determining the shade or appearance
of smoke, the Micro-Ringelmann Chart, the Smokescope or other generally
recognized means or equipment, when correlated with the Ringelmann
Chart, may be used.
No person shall cause, suffer or allow to be emitted into the
open air from any fuel-burning equipment, process furnace, stack,
premises or open fire or to pass any convenient measuring point adjacent
to the stack outlet dust in the gases to exceed 0.85 pound per 1,000
pounds of gases, adjusted to 50% excess air for product of combustion,
except as follows:
A.
For any equipment constructed or installed prior to the effective
date of this chapter, the foregoing dust-emission concentration figure
may be exceeded, but a dust-collecting efficiency of at least 90%
for any dust-separating apparatus will be required.
B.
The foregoing dust-emission concentration figure may be exceeded
during the cleaning periods, provided that the methods used and the
period of time are approved by the Director.
C.
The amount of solids in the gases shall be determined according to
the Test Code for Dust-Separating Apparatus of the American Society
of Mechanical Engineers, revised and amended to date, which is hereby
made a part of this chapter by reference.
No person shall cause, suffer or allow to be emitted into the
open air such quantities of fumes, vapors, odors and noxious gases
in such place or manner as to be detrimental to any person or to the
public or to endanger the health, comfort and safety of such person
or of the public or in such manner as to cause or have a tendency
to cause injury or damage to property or business.
When any person owning or controlling any premises, motor vehicle or portable equipment has been previously notified of three or more violations of § 67-6, 67-7 or 67-8 within any consecutive twelve-month period in respect to the emission of smoke, soot, dust, fumes, odors, noxious gases or other air contaminent, such person may be notified by the Director to show cause on a specified day not less than 10 days from the date of the notice why the equipment causing such violations should not be sealed. The notice herein provided for shall be addressed to the owner or owners, lessees or occupant of the premises, motor vehicle or portable equipment affected thereby. Service of any such notice may be made by delivery of a copy thereof to the owner or any one of several owners, to the lessee or to any one of several lessees or to any person of suitable age or discretion in charge or apparently in charge of the premises or, if no person is found in charge of the premises, then by affixing a copy of such notice prominently upon or near the premises on which the violations have occurred. Upon such hearing, if the Director finds that adequate corrective means and methods have not been employed to correct the cause of such condition, then the Director may order such equipment to be sealed until such person submits a statement of the intended change in equipment with a definite plan for its accomplishment and the approximate date of compliance which meets the approval of the Director.
No person shall tamper with or remove the seal on any equipment
that has been sealed at the direction of the Director unless authorized
by the Director, in writing, to do so.
No person shall burn any garbage, refuse, rubbish or other material
in an open fire within the city except at such places and under such
conditions and subject to such safeguards as to air pollution and
fire as may from time to time be prescribed by the Director. To the
extent that it shall not be possible to dispose of any material or
substance by incineration and no other means of disposal is reasonably
possible except by burning in the open, the Director shall be privileged
to permit the burning in the open of such material or substance, notwithstanding
the provision of this chapter, under such conditions and subject to
such safeguards as to air pollution and fire as shall be prescribed
by him.
No person shall so handle, transport, work, load, unload, treat
or deal with any dust-producing substance in any place in the city
as, by the spreading or dissemination of dust, to annoy or disturb
unreasonably or to endanger the comfort, repose, health or safety
of any person not therein or thereupon engaged or to cause detriment
to the business or property of others.
All piles of coal, dirt, sands and other dust-producing substances
in the open air shall be covered or treated so as to effectively control
the spreading or dissemination of dust.
No person shall cause, suffer or allow any dust-producing substance
to be transported through any street without protective covering,
at all times, sufficient to prevent effectually the spreading or dissemination
of dust from such dust-producing substance into the open air or upon
any public or private property. The provisions of this section shall
be enforced by the Police Department. Each violation of this section
shall constitute a separate offense.
Whenever it is adequately demonstrated that compliance with
the terms of this chapter cannot be effectively and immediately accomplished,
the Director shall have authority to grant a temporary permit for
the continuance of such noncomplying practices or the continued operation
of such noncomplying equipment, provided that adequate steps are being
or will be taken to secure compliance with this chapter. The time
for which such temporary permit may be granted shall not be greater
than shall be reasonably necessary to obtain such equipment or adopt
such procedures as will result in compliance with the provisions of
this chapter.
No person shall in any manner hinder, obstruct, delay, resist,
prevent or in any way interfere with the Director or any of the personnel
of the Bureau in the performance of their duty hereunder or, after
proper identification, refuse to permit him or them to perform his
or their duty by refusing him or any of them entrance to the premises
at reasonable hours. If necessary, a search warrant may be issued
by the Director of Air Pollution Control based upon an affidavit stating
probable cause to search the premises for Air Pollution Ordinance
violations.
All persons owning, operating or in charge or in control of
any equipment or premises who shall cause or permit or participate
in any violation of this chapter, either as proprietors, owners, lessees,
tenants, managers, superintendents, constructors, installers, mechanics,
repairmen, captains, janitors, engineers, operators, firemen or otherwise,
shall be individually and collectively liable for any penalties imposed
by this chapter.
In addition to such other powers as are provided herein, the
Director shall have the following powers and duties:
A.
He shall have authority to refuse to approve any application for
an installation permit or operating certificate and to suspend or
revoke any permit if the installation, equipment, construction, reconstruction
or alteration does not conform to the provisions of this chapter and
the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
B.
He shall send notices, in writing, of his action in refusing an installation
permit or operating certificate or of any order or requirement set
forth in this chapter.
C.
He may, in his discretion, require a test to be made as one of the
conditions of approval of any new or altered installation. Such test
shall be made at the expense of the person seeking such approval.
Notice of the time and place of the test shall be given to the Director
at least 10 days in advance. Reasonable facilities shall be made available
to the Director or his representative to witness the test.
D.
He may require that samples be taken and analyses made of any fuels
used in installations upon any premises to determine whether they
are of the grade and character called for by the specifications or
permits or suitable for the equipment installed. Such analyses shall
be made at the expense of the owner.
E.
He may require the owner or operator of any equipment capable of
producing air pollution to submit a stack analysis, which shall include
the type and quantity of gases being discharged as well as the quantity
and character of the solid matter. These tests shall be conducted
by or under the supervision of a licensed professional engineer, at
the expense of the owner. Notice of the time and place of the test
shall be given to the Director at least five days in advance thereof.
Reasonable facilities shall be made available to the Director or his
representative to witness the tests.
F.
He may require the written registration of points of emission of
air pollution, whether by stack, ducts, flue or by any other means,
when, in his opinion, such information is necessary for the conduct
of the work of the Bureau. A period of 60 days shall be allowed for
the filing of such registration.
G.
The written registration of points of emission shall include the
following information: location of point or points of emission, size
of outlets, height of outlets, rate of emission, composition of effluent
or emission and such other data as may be required by the Director.
Any person whose application for a permit or certificate has
been refused or who is aggrieved by any decision, order or ruling
of the Director may appeal therefrom to the Board.[1] Such appeal shall be in writing and shall be taken within
10 days after the mailing of the notice of refusal, decision, order
or ruling. The appeal shall state the refusal, decision, ruling or
order appealed from, the reason for appeal and the relief requested.
The procedure to be followed on such an appeal shall be as follows:
A.
The Director shall transmit to the Board all papers and records relating
to the refusal, decision, order or ruling which is appealed.
B.
Any person taking an appeal shall, at the time of filing thereof,
pay a deposit of $25. If the decision of the Director is affirmed
by the Board, said deposit shall be retained by the city. If the decision
is reversed or modified, said deposit shall be returned to the appellant.
C.
The Board shall set a date for the hearing of the appeal, which shall
be not less than 10 days nor more than 30 days after the filing of
the appeal, and shall give due notice thereof to the appellant. Such
an appeal shall act as a stay of the refusal, decision, order or ruling
appealed from.
D.
At such hearing, any party may appear in person or be represented
by an agent or attorney. Within a period of 10 days after the hearing,
the Board shall affirm, modify or set aside the refusal decision,
order or ruling of the Director. The decision of the Board shall be
binding on the Director and the appellant.
Any person violating any provision of this chapter or of the
regulations adopted pursuant thereto or who shall fail to obey any
order of the Director made pursuant thereto shall be fined not more
than $100 for the first offense and not more than $200 or imprisoned
for each succeeding offense. Each day of such violation shall constitute
a separate offense.
No permit shall be issued for the erection, construction or alteration of any building or structure if, incident thereto, any equipment is to be constructed, reconstructed, installed or altered for which an installation permit is required under § 67-3 hereof until the Director shall have issued an installation permit for such equipment or indicated that, in his judgment, the plans and specifications submitted provide for or will permit the installation of facilities adequate for compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
