This article shall be known, and may be cited,
as the "Air Pollution Control Code of the Borough of East Rutherford."
It is hereby declared that pollution of the
atmosphere by smoke, cinders, soot, fly ash, gases, fumes, vapors,
odors, dust and other contaminants is a menace to the health, welfare
and comfort of the residents of East Rutherford, and a cause of substantial
damage to property. For the purpose of controlling and reducing atmospheric
pollution, it is hereby declared to be the intention of the Borough
of East Rutherford to minimize air pollution as herein defined and
prohibit excessive emission of the same, to establish standards governing
the installation, maintenance, and operation of equipment and appurtenances
relating to combustion, which are a source or potential source of
air pollution, and in furtherance of this purpose to cooperate and
coordinate these efforts with the State Department of Environmental
Protection Air Pollution Control Program.
The following terms, wherever used herein or
referred to in this code, shall have the respective meanings assigned
to them unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:
The presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more air
contaminants in such quantities and duration as are, or tend to be,
injurious to human health or welfare, to animal or plant life, or
to property, or would unreasonably interfere with the employment of
life or property throughout the Borough as shall be affected thereby,
and excludes all aspects of employer-employee relationship as to health
and safety hazards.
Those chemicals used as insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides,
herbicides, nematocides, or defoliants.
Any furnace, boiler, water heater, device, or mechanism,
stoker, burner, stack, oven, stove, kiln, still or other apparatus,
or a group or collection of such units in the process of fuel-burning
for the generation of heat or power. Refuse-burning equipment shall
be considered "incinerators" as herein defined and not as fuel-burning
equipment under this definition. Ovens, stoves or ranges used exclusively
for domestic cooking purposes are not included herein.
Any device, apparatus, equipment, or structure used for destroying,
reducing, or salvaging by fire any material or substance, including
but not limited to refuse, rubbish, garbage, debris, or scrap, or
facilities for cremating human or animal remains.
A property of a substance which affects the sense of smell.
Any fire wherein the products of combustion are emitted into
the open air and are not directed thereto through a stack or a chimney.
Any person who has care, custody, or control of a building
or premises, or a portion thereof, whether with or without knowledge
of the owner thereof.
Any person who, alone or jointly or severally with others,
shall have legal or equitable title to any premises, with or without
accompanying actual possession thereof; or who shall have charge,
care or control of any premises or part thereof, including but not
limited to a dwelling or dwelling unit, as owner or agent of the owner,
or as a fiduciary, including but not limited to: executor, administrator,
trustee, receiver, guardian, or as a mortgagee in possession, regardless
of how such possession was obtained. Any person who is a lessee or
sublessee of all or any part of any premises, including but not limited
to a dwelling or dwelling unit, shall be deemed to be a co-owner with
the lessor and shall have joint responsibility with the owner over
the premises or portion thereof so leased or subleased.
Includes corporations, companies, associations, societies,
firms, partnerships, and joint-stock companies, as well as individuals.
All putrescible and nonputrescible wastes (except body wastes)
and shall include but not be limited to garbage, rubbish, yard trimmings,
leaves, ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, abandoned automobiles,
and solid market and industrial wastes.
Ringelmann's Scale for Grading the Density of Smoke, published
by the United States Bureau of Mines, or any chart, recorder, indicators,
or device for the measurement of smoke density which is approved by
the State Department of Environmental Protection, of the State of
New Jersey, as the equivalent of said Ringelmann's Scale.
Solids not considered to be highly flammable or explosive,
and shall include but not be limited to rags, old clothes, leather,
rubber, carpets, wood, excelsior, paper, ashes, tree branches, yard
trimmings, furniture, tin cans, glass, crockery, masonry, and other
similar materials.
Any business or trade, or industry engaged in whole or in
part in salvaging or reclaiming any product or material, including
but not limited to metals, chemicals, shipping containers, and drums.
Small gas-borne and airborne particles arising from a process
of combustion, in sufficient number to be observable.
All solid or liquid material or rubbish resulting from construction,
building operations, or the prosecution of any business, trade, or
industry and shall include but not be limited to plastic products,
carton, paint, grease, oil and other petroleum products, chemicals,
cinders, and other forms of solid or liquid waste materials.
A.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit open
burning of refuse or plant life nor conduct a salvage operation by
open burning, except as provided in Section 3:2.
B.
The open burning of trade waste is not prohibited
where no other known method of disposal can be used without hazard
to health or property and the required affidavit has been filed with
and approved by the Commissioner of the New Jersey State Department
of Environmental Protection in accordance with Chapter II, Section
1.4, of the New Jersey Air Pollution Control Code.
A.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow, or permit, smoke
from any fuel-burning equipment, the shade or appearance of which
is darker than No. 1 of the Ringelmann Smoke Chart, to be emitted
into the open air.
B.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to
smoke emitted during the cleaning of a fire box or the building of
a new fire, the shade or appearance of which is not darker than No.
2 of the Ringelmann Smoke Chart, for a period or periods aggregating
no more than three minutes in any fifteen consecutive minutes.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow, or permit
smoke from any incinerator, the shade or appearance of which is darker
than No. 1 of the Ringelmann Smoke Chart, to be emitted into the open
air; or emissions of such opacity within a stack or chimney or, exclusive
of water vapor, of such opacity leaving a stack or chimney to a degree
greater than the emission designated as No. 1 of the Ringelmann Smoke
Chart.
The provisions of Section 5.1 shall not apply
to smoke emitted during the building of a new fire, the shade or appearance
of which is not darker than No. 2 of the Ringelmann Smoke Chart for
a period of no longer than three consecutive minutes; or to emissions
of such opacity within a stack or chimney or, exclusive of water vapor,
of such opacity leaving a stack or chimney to a degree which is not
greater than the emissions designated as No. 2 of the Ringelmann Smoke
Chart, for a period of no longer than three consecutive minutes.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit
the emission of particles of unburned waste or ash from any incinerator
which are individually large enough to be visible while suspended
in the atmosphere.
No person shall construct, install, use or cause
to be used any incinerator which will result in odors being detectable
by sense of smell in any area of human use or occupancy.
No person shall operate, and no owner or operator
of any building in the Borough of East Rutherford shall permit the
operation of, an incinerator prior to 7:00 a.m. or after 5:00 p.m.
of any day, and all operation shall be completely terminated by 5:00
p.m., including complete extinction of the fire and removal of material
in a safe manner from the firebox to a noncombustible container; provided,
however, that by special permit, the Board of Health officer may,
because of exceptional circumstances, permit different hours of operation
under such conditions as he shall deem necessary for the health, safety,
and welfare of the public or persons in the vicinity.
No person or owner of property, and no person
having possession or control of property, shall cause, suffer, allow
or permit to be emitted into the open air substances in such quantities
as shall result in air pollution. The provisions of this section shall
not apply to the use of economic poisons.
A.
All buildings and premises subject to this code are
subject to this inspection from time to time by the Health, Building,
or Plumbing Inspector or their duly authorized representatives. All
rooms and areas in the building shall be available and accessible
for such inspection, which shall be made during usual business hours
if the premises are used for nonresidential purposes; provided, however,
that inspections may be made at other times if:
(1)
The premises are not available during the foregoing
hours for inspection: or
(2)
There is reason to believe that violations are occurring
on the premises which can only be apprehended and proved by inspection
during other than the prescribed hours: or
(3)
There is reason to believe a violation exists of a
character which is an immediate threat to health or safety requiring
inspection and abatement without delay.
B.
Emergency inspections may be authorized without warrant
if an enforcement officer has reason to believe that a condition exists
which poses an immediate threat to life, health, or safety. Procedures
shall take place only where the time required to apply for and secure
the issuance of a warrant would render ineffective the immediate action
necessary to abate the condition. Emergency inspections may also be
authorized by the Governor in times of air pollution emergencies in
accordance with N.J.S.A. 26:2C-32. Where the enforcement officers
or their duly authorized representatives are refused entry or access
or are otherwise impeded or prevented by the owner, occupant, or operator
from conducting an inspection of the premises, such person shall be
in violation of this code and subject to the penalties hereunder.
A.
Any enforcement officer may, upon affidavit, apply
to the Judge of the Municipal Court of the Borough of East Rutherford
for a search warrant setting forth factually the actual conditions
and circumstances that provide a reasonable basis for believing that
a nuisance or violation of the code may exist on the premises, including
one or more of the following:
(1)
That the premises require inspection according to
the cycle established by the Board of Health of the Borough of East
Rutherford for periodic inspections or premises of the type involved;
(2)
That observation of external conditions (for example,
smoke, ash, soot, odors) of the premises and its public areas has
resulted in the belief that violations of this code exist;
(3)
Circumstances such as age and design of fuel-burning
equipment and/or systems, types of incinerators, particular use of
premises or other factors render systematic inspections of such buildings
necessary in the interest of public health and safety.
B.
If the Judge of the Municipal Court of the Borough
of East Rutherford is satisfied as to the matters set forth in said
affidavit, he shall authorize the issuance of a search warrant permitting
access to and inspections of that part of the premises on which the
nuisance or violation may exist.
A.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions
of this code, or who shall fail to comply therewith or with any of
the requirements thereof, shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed
$500, or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed
90 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment, and each violation
of any of the provisions of this article and each day that such violation
shall continue shall be deemed to be a separate and distinct offense.
B.
The violation of any section or subsection of this
code shall constitute a separate and distinct offense independent
of the violation of any other section or subsection, or of any order
issued pursuant to this code. Each day of violation shall constitute
an additional, separate and distinct offense.
