City of Old Town, ME Flow Control and General Provisions

The municipality has a statutory obligation to provide a solid waste disposal facility for domestic and commercial waste generated within the municipality and is authorized to provide such a facility for industrial waste and sewage treatment plant sludge, pursuant to 38 M.R.S.A. §§ 1305, Subsection 1. Municipal solid waste contains valuable, recoverable resources, including energy, which if recovered, will reduce the cost of solid waste disposal. Because energy recovery technology is complex, most energy recovery facilities have high capital costs and long payback periods. To remain cost-effective and operate efficiently during their useful lives, energy recovery facilities require a guaranteed steady supply of waste during their entire useful life.

Consequently, a municipality that wants to utilize an energy recovery facility for processing municipal solid wastes, generally must agree to provide the facility with a steady supply of solid waste for a relatively long period of time.

(c)

The municipality must exercise its legal authority to control and regulate the collection, transportation and disposal of solid waste generated within its borders to ensure delivery of a steady supply of waste to the energy recovery facility designated herein. The municipality finds that use of an energy recovery facility to process acceptable solid waste is an environmentally sound and economically viable solution to the solid waste disposal problem and thereby protects the public health, welfare and safety of the citizens of the municipality.

§ 22-4 Definitions.

[Ord. of 10-1-1990]

All terms not specifically defined herein shall have their ordinary meaning; words used in the present tense include the future, and the plural includes the singular.

ACCEPTABLE WASTES

All solid wastes of the type presently accepted at the landfill used by the municipality, including all ordinary household, municipal, institutional, commercial and industrial wastes with the following exceptions:

Demolition or construction debris from building and roadway projects or locations;

Liquid wastes or sludges;

Abandoned or junk vehicles;

(4)

Hazardous waste, that is waste with inherent properties that make it dangerous to manage by ordinary means, including but not limited to, asbestos, chemicals, explosives, pathological wastes, radioactive wastes, toxic wastes and other wastes defined as hazardous by the State of Maine or the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended, or other federal, state or local laws, regulations, orders or other actions promulgated or taken with respect thereto;

(5)

Dead animals or portions thereof or other pathological wastes;

(6)

Water treatment residues;

Tree stumps;

Tannery sludge;

Waste oil; and

Discarded "white goods" including, but not limited to freezers, stoves, refrigerators and washing machines.

BOARD OF APPEALS

The zoning board of appeals.

CLASSIFIED WASTE

All solid waste of the type municipalities are required to regulate by 38 M.R.S.A. § 1305, as amended, which specifically excludes industrial and sewage treatment plant sludge, and not included in the definition of "acceptable waste."

DISPOSAL FACILITY

The facilities designated by the municipality as the storage and/or disposal sites for acceptable or classified wastes.

ENERGY RECOVERY FACILITY

The facility designated herein which processes and recovers energy and/or useful materials from acceptable waste generated in the municipality.

MUNICIPALITY

The City of Old Town.

TRANSFER STATION

A building or container or designated area in which acceptable waste is deposited and temporarily stored for transshipment to the energy recovery facility.

§ 22-5 Designation of disposal facility.

[Ord. of 10-1-1990]

In accordance with the provisions of 38 M.R.S.A. § 1304-B, the municipality hereby designates the Penobscot Energy Recovery Company facility located in Orrington, Maine, as the energy recovery facility and disposal facility for acceptable waste.

The City further reserves that it may designate an alternate disposal facility for a specified time period for acceptable waste should circumstances require it upon a majority vote of the municipal officers.

§ 22-6 Regulated activity.

[Ord. of 10-1-1990]

The accumulation, collection, transportation and disposal of acceptable waste and classified waste generated within the municipality shall be regulated in the following manner:

All acceptable wastes generated within the municipality shall be deposited at the transfer station; provided that, until the City's transfer station is open for operation, all acceptable waste will be deposited at a suitable disposal facility which is designated for handling acceptable wastes.

All classified waste generated within the municipality shall be deposited only at a suitable disposal facility which is designed for the express purpose of handling said classified waste.

All other waste shall be deposited in a site that is properly licensed by the federal and/or state government and specifically designated to handle the type of waste to be disposed of. The following waste, by way of example and not limitation, would be disposed of in special facilities: Hazardous waste, radioactive waste, pathological waste, toxic waste, chemicals, explosives, and sludge, waste oil.

§ 22-7 Exempted waste.

[Ord. of 10-1-1990]

The following categories of waste shall be exempted from regulation by this article:

Materials from manufacturing, processing or packaging operations which are segregated from solid waste and salvaged for alternate use or reuse by the generator or sold to third parties.

Glass, metal or other noncombustible materials which are separated from acceptable wastes by the generator as part of a recycling program approved by municipal officers.

Cardboard, paper, or other combustible materials which are separated from acceptable waste [by the] generator as part of a recycling program approved by the municipal officers, provided that any such recycling program shall not reduce the Btu content of acceptable waste below the Btu level acceptable to the energy recovery facility.

§ 22-8 Mandatory recycling of waste.

[Ord. of 10-1-1990]

The following categories of waste must be separated from other waste and delivered to the Old Town Recycling Center and deposited in the appropriate location, commencing with the opening of the recycling center:

Retail, commercial and industrial entities doing business in Old Town:

Corrugated cardboard.

Newspaper.

Glass.

HDPE plastic.

PET plastic.

High grade office paper.

Clean wood.

Residential customers, beginning when the City implements a curbside pick up program, for specific items:

Corrugated cardboard.

Newspaper.

Glass.

HDPE plastic.

PET plastic.

Leaves must be placed at curbside in 30 gallon compostable paper bags.

§ 22-9 Administration.

[Ord. of 10-1-1990]

This chapter shall be administered by the City Manager, or his or her duly authorized representative. The powers and duties of the City Manager, or his or her duly authorized representative, are as follows:

To enforce the provisions of this chapter.

To cause the initiation of any necessary or appropriate proceedings, either legal or equitable, to enforce this chapter.

To consider all license applications and to grant or deny each application within 30 days after receipt of a completed application at the municipal offices or within such other time as may be mutually agreeable to the municipal officers and the applicant.

The responsibilities of the City Council are as follows: To adopt such rules, regulations, and fees as may be reasonably necessary or appropriate to enforce and implement the chapter.

§ 22-10 Licensing.

[Ord. of 10-1-1990]

Any trash collection business that collects from any business or from two or more residences shall be licensed by the City of Old Town.

Any person, firm or corporation required by this article to obtain a license shall make application to the code enforcement officer, providing the information required. Each application shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee of $5.

The application shall contain all information required by the municipality including but not limited to a description of the activity(ies) engaged in, e.g., collection, transport, storage or disposal of acceptable and/or classified waste, types and amount of waste handled in each service area, a description of the facility(ies) operated and used, and equipment inventory, including for vehicles, a description of the make, model, and year of each vehicle used for collection or transportation of solid waste. All information provided shall be revised annually upon application for license renewal. If the code enforcement officer determines the application is incomplete, he shall notify the applicant in writing of the specific information necessary to complete it. The code enforcement officer shall be informed immediately in writing of any changes in or additions to equipment, including vehicles.

Licenses shall not be transferable. In the event of an emergency or vehicle breakdown, a licensee shall be issued a special license for a satisfactory replacement vehicle, upon the furnishing of all information required for a licensed vehicle.

(4)

All licenses shall expire June thirtieth unless otherwise stated on the license or revoked or suspended sooner in accordance with the provisions of this article.

(5)

The annual license fee shall be established by the City Council. License or permit fees shall not be refunded in the event that a license or permit is suspended or revoked.

(6)

In the consideration of a license application, the code enforcement officer shall review the following:

The state of repair, whether the vehicle contains sufficient covering to prevent littering, whether the vehicle has a current state inspection sticker, and the sufficiency of any equipment for its intended purpose.

The burden shall be on the applicant to demonstrate that its proposal satisfies the above criteria.

In the granting of a license, the code enforcement officer shall have the authority to impose such conditions thereon as he deems reasonably necessary or appropriate to ensure compliance with the intent of this article.

In the event the code enforcement officer denies a license application, he shall notify the applicant in writing and shall state the reasons for the denial. The applicant may appeal the decision of the code enforcement officer in accordance with the procedures set forth in § 22-11 of the Old Town Code.

§ 22-11 Suspension or revocation of license.

[Ord. of 10-1-1990]

Any license issued may be suspended or revoked by order of the code enforcement officer for the following causes:

Violation of any provision of any state or local law, ordinance, code or regulation which relates directly to the provisions of this chapter.

Violation of any license condition(s).

Falsehoods, misrepresentations or omissions in the license application.

§ 22-12 Appeal hearings.

[Ord. of 10-1-1990]

Anyone denied a license, or whose license is suspended or revoked pursuant to § 22-10, shall be entitled to a hearing before the board of appeals, if such request is made in writing to the code enforcement officer within 30 days of the denial, suspension or revocation. Said written request shall contain a statement of the reason(s) why the applicant or licensee believes the code enforcement officer's action was improper. The City Council is hereby authorized to promulgate reasonable fees for the application of appeals to the board of appeals.

Such hearings shall be held 30 days after receipt of the written request for a hearing.

(c)

The licensee or applicant shall be notified, in writing, as to the time and place of the hearing at least 10 days prior to the hearing date. The applicant or licensee has the right to be represented by counsel at his own expense, to offer evidence, and to cross-examine witnesses.

(d)

In order for the board of appeals to overturn the decision of the code enforcement officer to deny, suspend or revoke a license, the board of appeals must determine that:

No violation of any state or local law, ordinance, code or regulation which relates directly to this chapter has occurred;

No violation of any license condition has taken place; and

That the application for a license contained no falsehoods, misrepresentations or omissions.

(e)

A determination shall be made by the board of appeals within 10 days after conclusion of the hearings, and notice of the decision shall be served upon the applicant or licensee by certified mail, return receipt requested. Notice of the determination shall set forth the reasons for the denial, suspension or revocation and the effective dates thereof together with a statement that such decision may be appealed as provided in this chapter.

(f)

Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to the board of appeals' determination shall be directly reviewable by superior court pursuant to M.R. Civ. P., Rule 80B.

§ 22-13 Enforcement.

[Ord. of 10-1-1990]

All provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by the City Manager or his or her duly authorized representative.

Whenever the duly authorized enforcement agent determines that there has been a violation of this chapter, he or she shall give written notice of such violation to the person(s) responsible by personal service or by certified mail, return receipt requested.

The notice shall include a statement of the alleged violations and shall allow reasonable time for the performance of any act it requires.

The notice may contain an order for remedial action which, if taken, will effect compliance.

The notice shall state that unless corrections are made within the allotted time, the violator is subject to legal enforcement action and/or license revocation or suspension pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

§ 22-14 Penalties.

[Ord. of 10-1-1990; Ord. of 7-25-1988; Ord. of 6-15-1992]

Any person, firm, corporation, or other entity who violates this article shall be subject to penalties and provisions of § 1-8.

§ 22-15 Conflict and severability.

[Ord. of 10-1-1990]

The provisions of this article shall supercede all other local laws, ordinances, resolutions, rules or regulations contrary thereto, or in conflict therewith.