[Adopted 9-12-1977]
These regulations shall be known as the "Air
Pollution Regulations of the Department of Health."
This article shall be interpreted liberally
to preserve, protect and improve the air quality of the Town; to promote
the health, safety, comfort and welfare of the inhabitants; to prevent
injury or detriment to human property, vegetation, and animal life;
and to foster the comfort and convenience of the inhabitants.
When used in this article, or in communications,
notices or orders relative thereto, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings ascribed to them below:
A system of solid or liquid particles dispersed in a gas.
The presence in ambient air of gas or airborne particles
which include but are not limited to dust, fly ash, fumes, mist, odor,
smoke, vapor, pollen, microorganisms, radioactive material, ionizing
radiation, any combination thereof or any decay or radiation product
thereof but does not include carbon dioxide, uncarbonated water vapor
or water droplets or molecular oxygen or nitrogen; and on the basis
of current information, any gas or particulate matter which, in the
determination of the Air Pollution Control Officer, is deemed a nuisance
or is deemed injurious to human or animal life, vegetation or property.
Any source at, from or by reason of which any air contaminant
or pollutant is emitted directly or indirectly into the ambient air
space.
The presence of, or causing the presence of, air contaminants
or air pollutants.
The unconfined space occupied by the atmosphere above the
geographical area of Stratford.
A discharge or release to the ambient air space of any air
contaminant
Any furnace, boiler, apparatus, stack and all appurtenances
thereto used in the process of burning fuel for the primary purpose
of producing heat and/or power.
Solid, airborne particulate matter emitted from any source
other than a stack; including but not limited to sand, wood particles,
paint dust and paint chips generated by abrasive blasting, sandblasting,
media blasting, power grinding, power sanding, water blasting, or
similar paint removal operations.
[Amended 6-13-2005 by Ord. No. 05-18]
Solid particles generated by condensation from a gaseous
state, generally after volatilization from molten metals, and often
accompanied by a chemical reaction, such as oxidation.
Normally formless fluids which occupy the space of enclosure
and which can be changed to the liquid or solid state only by the
combined effect of increased pressure and decreased temperature.
Any furnace in which fresh fuel is manually thrown or placed
directly on the hot fuel bed but does not mean stoves, or other equipment
used for the cooking of food, or fireplaces.
Any article, machine, equipment, contrivance, structure or
part of a structure used primarily to dispose of combustible wastes
by burning.
Any electromagnetic or particulate radiation capable of producing
ions, directly or indirectly, in its passage through matter.
A period of rapid fuel increase or decrease to a boiler or
steam generator necessary to satisfy a change in output requirements,
which change could not reasonably have been satisfied by a normal
increase or decrease of the fuel supply.
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, dust,
soot, fumes, odors or noxious gases.
Suspended liquid droplets generated by condensation from
the vapor to liquid state or by breaking up of a liquid into a dispersed
state, such as by splashing, foaming and atomizing.
A source designated or constructed to move from one location
to another or to be portable and includes but is not limited to automobiles,
buses, tractors, earthmoving equipment, hoists, cranes, mobile power
generators, aircraft, locomotives operating on rails, vessels for
transportation on water, lawnmowers and other small home appliances.
Any article, machine, equipment or contrivance, structure
or part of a structure used to dispose of refuse by burning, consisting
of three or more refractory-lined combustion furnaces in series, physically
separated by refractory walls, interconnected by gas passage ports
or ducts and employing adequate design necessary for maximum combustion
of material to be burned.
The discharge into the open air of any smoke, soot, dust,
fumes, odors or other emissions which cause injury, detriment or annoyance
or which endanger the comfort, repose, health or safety of the public
or which cause, or are likely to cause, injury or damage to business
or property.
That property of gaseous, liquid or solid material that stimulates
the human sense of smell.
The degree to which emissions reduce the transmission of
light and obscure the view of an object in the background.
Burning under such conditions that the products of combustion
are emitted directly into the ambient air space and are not conducted
thereto through a stack, chimney, duct or pipe. "Open burning" includes
underground and smoldering (underground) fires.
Includes the owner or owners of the freehold of the premises
or lessee estate therein, a lessee or joint lessees of the whole thereof,
an agent or any other person directly in control of the premises.
Any material, except water in uncombined form, that is or
has been airborne and exists as a liquid or a solid at standard conditions.
An individual, individuals, partnership, association, firm,
syndicate, company, trust, corporation, department, bureau, agency,
political subdivision or any other entity recognized by law as the
subject of rights and duties.
The fertilizing element of vegetation.
Any material (solid, liquid or gaseous) which spontaneously
emits ionizing radiation.
All solid waste other than garbage, such as paper, rags,
metal and cardboard containers, street sweepings and other solid commercial
and domestic wastes.
A smokestack, chimney, flue, duct or other conveyor for carrying
products of combustion or of incomplete combustion, smoke, dust, gases
and odors into the open air.
Equipment manufactured in quantity for the purpose intended
and completely specified as to size, type and rating in catalogs and
other printed literature readily available locally to officials of
the Town of Stratford.
A dry gas temperature of 68° F. and a gas pressure of
14.7 pounds per square inch absolute (20° C., 760 millimeters
mercury).
Any building, structure, facility or installation which emits
or may emit any air pollutant and which does not move from location
to location during normal operation.
The gaseous form of substances which are normally in the
solid or liquid state and which can be changed to these states either
by increasing the pressure or decreasing the temperature alone. Vapors
diffuse.
Those constituents of coal given off as a gas or vapor, as
determined by methods described by the American Society for Testing
and Materials.
No person owning, leasing or controlling the
operation of any air contamination source or sources shall willfully,
negligently or through failure to provide necessary equipment or facilities
or to take necessary precautions permit the emission from said air
contamination source or sources of such quantities of air contaminants
which will cause, by themselves or in conjunction with other air contaminants,
a condition of atmospheric pollution.
A.
Visible emissions.
(1)
No person shall cause or permit the emission of visible
air pollutants with greater than twenty-percent opacity, except as
permitted under the following sections.
(2)
A person may discharge air pollutants into the atmosphere
from any source of emission for a period or periods aggregating not
more than five minutes in any 60 minutes, provided that said air pollutants
are of no greater than forty-percent opacity.
B.
Visible emission restrictions for mobile sources.
(1)
No person shall cause or permit the emission of visible
air pollutants from a gasoline-powered mobile source for longer than
five consecutive seconds.
(2)
No person shall cause or permit the emission of clearly
visible air pollutants comparable to twenty-percent opacity from diesel-powered
motor vehicles for more than 10 consecutive seconds, during which
time maximum opacity shall be no greater than 40%.
C.
Exceptions for uncombined water.
(1)
Where the presence of uncombined water, such as water
vapor, is the only reason for the failure of an emission to meet the
requirements of this regulation, then the provisions of this regulation
shall not apply.
(3)
Emissions from stationary or idling mobile sources.
No mobile-source engine shall be allowed to operate for more than
three consecutive minutes when the mobile source is not in motion,
except as follows:
(a)
When a mobile source is forced to remain motionless
because of traffic conditions or mechanicial difficulties over which
the operator has no control.
(b)
When it is necessary to operate heating, cooling
or auxiliary equipment installed on the mobile source when such equipment
is necessary to accomplish the intended use of the mobile source.
(c)
To bring the mobile source to the manufacturer's
recommended operating temperature.
(d)
When the outdoor temperature is below 20°
F.
(e)
When the mobile source is being repaired.
D.
Fugitive dust.
(1)
No person shall cause or permit any materials to be
handled, transported or stored, nor permit a building, its appurtenances
or a road to be used, constructed, altered, repaired or demolished
without making reasonable precautions to prevent particulate matter
from becoming airborne. Such reasonable precautions shall be in accordance
with good industrial practice and shall include but not be limited
to the following.
(a)
Use, where possible, of water or chemicals for
control of dust in the demolition of existing buildings or structures,
construction operations, the grading of roads or the clearing of land.
(b)
Application of asphalt, water, suitable chemicals
or covering on materials stockpiles and other surfaces which can give
rise to airborne dusts.
(c)
Installation and use of hoods, fans and fabric
filters to enclose and vent the handling of dusty materials. Adequate
containment methods as determined by the Director of Health or his
or her authorized agent shall be employed during sandblasting or other
similar operations such as, but not limited to, abrasive blasting,
media blasting, power grinding, power sanding, water blasting, or
similar paint removal operations.
[Amended 6-13-2005 by Ord. No. 05-18]
(d)
Covering, at all times when in motion, of open-bodied
trucks and trains transporting materials likely to give rise to airborne
dusts.
(e)
The prompt removal of earth or other material
from paved streets onto which earth or other material has been deposited
by trucking or earthmoving equipment, erosion by water or other means.
(2)
Agricultural activities are exempt from the provisions of Subsection D(1). However, agricultural practices, such as tilling of land and application of fertilizers, shall be conducted in such manner as to minimize dust from becoming airborne.
(3)
No person shall cause or permit the discharge of visible
omissions beyond the lot line of the property on which the emissions
originate when:
(4)
No particulate matter shall be emitted into the open
air in such a manner as to cause a nuisance.
E.
Fuel-burning equipment.
(1)
No person shall cause or permit the emission from
fuel-burning equipment of particulate matter in excess of 0.20 pounds
per million Btu (0.36 gm/10° mg-cal) of heat input for new sources.
(2)
For purposes of this section, the heat input value
used shall be the equipment manufacturer's or designer's guaranteed
maximum input, whichever is greater.
Open burning is governed by the Department of
Environmental Protection, Section 19-508-17 of Department of Environmental
Protection regulations.
No person shall, after the effective date of
this article, construct a new incinerator within the Town, unless
it is a multichamber incinerator.
Man-made odors should not reach a prominence
of persistence causing occupants of at least five premises within
the Town to submit a written statement of interference with the enjoyment
of property to the Director of Health, when on investigation by the
Director of Health, either the prominence or persistence is verified.
No person shall construct, reconstruct, install
or alter any fuel-burning equipment or any other equipment capable
of emitting smoke, dust or odor into the open air until these plans
have been reviewed by the Health Department officer.
Any person taking exception to or aggrieved
by any decision, ruling or order of the Air Pollution Control Officer
may take an appeal to the hearing officer, who is the Public Health
Administrator in the Department of Health. Such an appeal shall be
taken within 15 days of such ruling, order or decision. All pertinent
information will be made available to the hearing officer by the Air
Pollution Control Officer. The person involved may appear in person
or have legal representation.
