Source: https://www.ecode360.com/29340070
Timestamp: 2018-08-14 16:07:02
Document Index: 544552371

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 245', '§ 245', '§ 245', '§ 245', '§ 245', '§ 245', '§ 245', '§ 245', '§ 245', '§ 245', '§ 5', '§ 14', '§ 1', '§ 1102', '§ 2052', '§ 5101', '§ 9601', '§ 6', '§ 6', '§ 135', '§ 135', '§ 136', '§ 245', '§ 14', '§ 2', '§ 15']

Charles County, MD Hazardous Materials
§ 245-1 Short title.
§ 245-2 Statement of purpose and policy.
§ 245-3 Applicability.
§ 245-4 Definitions.
§ 245-5 Determination of reportable quantities.
§ 245-6 Prohibited acts.
§ 245-7 Recovery of response costs.
§ 245-8 Emergency notification requirements.
§ 245-9 Right of entry.
§ 245-11 Miscellaneous provisions.
Chapter 245: Hazardous Materials
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of County Commissioners of Charles County 4-13-2013 by Bill No.2013-08.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
Landfills — See Ch. 254.
Editor's Note: This chapter was originally adopted as Ch. 176 but was renumbered to fit the alphabetical organization of the Code.
Chapter 245 : Hazardous Materials
This chapter may be cited as the "Charles County Hazardous Materials Ordinance."
To establish a program to control, prevent and abate the release of hazardous materials into the environment.
To protect citizens and the environment of Charles County from those health hazards and other risks attendant to the use, storage, distribution, possession or transportation of hazardous materials.
This chapter is adopted pursuant to the provisions of the Annotated Code of Maryland, Article 25a, §§ 5(A), (B), (J), and (T);[1] § 14-109 of the Public Safety Article; and The Environmental Article.
Editor's Note: The Annotated Code of Maryland, Article 25A, was repealed by Acts 2013, c. 119, § 1, effective Oct. 1, 2013.
The chapter shall apply to all persons who manufacture, distribute, receive, stockpile, sell, use, store, or transport hazardous materials as defined herein within the entire area of Charles County, including all incorporated and uincorporated areas contained therein.
The Superfund amendments and reauthorization act of 1986 (SARA), 42 U.S.C. § 1102 et seq., all amendments thereto and all federal regulations promulgated pursuant to the Act.
A natural disaster or other natural phenomenon, the effects of which could not have been prevented or avoided by the exercise of due care.
The Charles County Board of County Commissioners, or their duly appointed designee.
A release of hazardous materials in accordance with a valid permit granted by a local, state, or federal agency exercising jurisdiction over such releases.
A meaning stated in 15 U.S.C. § 2052.
All expenses incurred by the AHJ or other local emergency organizations in responding to any actual or threatened hazardous materials spills, leaks or other releases into the environment, and for any remedial or removal actions taken to protect and safeguard the public health, safety, and property or the environment. The term includes, but is not limited to, cost incurred for personnel, equipment, materials, supplies, services, damage or loss of equipment, and related expenses resulting from a response.
Any person who works, with or without compensation, in a workplace.
Any person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, government agency, or other entity engaged in a business or providing services which has employees.
The navigable waters of the State of Maryland contiguous to Charles County and any other surface water, groundwater, drinking water supply, soil surface, subsurface strata, storm sewer, sanitary sewer or treatment plant within Charles County, Maryland. The term shall also include the ambient atmosphere for purposes of reporting releases pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
Any structure, real property, installation, equipment, pipe or pipeline, well, pit, pond, lagoon, impoundment, ditch, landfill, container, tank, other stationary item, or any other site or area where a hazardous material has been deposited, stored, disposed of, abandoned, placed or otherwise situated.
Any substance, material, compound, or constituent component thereof that is toxic, flammable, explosive, corrosive, radioactive, an oxidizer, an etiological agent, carcinogenic, or highly reactive when mixed with other substances, including, but not limited to, any substance or material which is designated as hazardous material, pursuant to the following:
Hazardous Materials Act (49 U.S.C. § 5101 et seq.) or as listed by Appendix A, 40 CFR 302.
List of hazardous materials and reportable quantities, as amended, by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Section 9601(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. § 9601(14), as amended, and regulations enacted pursuant thereto.
Maryland Annotated Code, Natural Resources Article, § 6-102, as it defines gas, as amended.[1]
Maryland Annotated Code, Natural Resources Article, § 6-102, as it defines oil, as amended.[2]
Maryland Annotated Code, Article 56, § 135, as it defines motor vehicle fuel, as amended.[3]
Maryland Annotated Code, Article 56, § 135, as it defines petroleum products, as amended.[4]
40 CFR 302, Table 302.4, Appendix B, as it defines any radiological or nuclear material, mixture or solution of radionuclide or low-level nuclear waste.
NORMAL APPLICATION OF PESTICIDES
An application pursuant to the label directions for application of a pesticide products registered under Section 30 or Section 24 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act as amended (7 U.S.C. § 136 et seq.), or pursuant to the terms and conditions of an experimental use permit issued under Section 5 of FIRA, or pursuant to an exemption granted under Section 18 of FIRA.
Oil of any kind or in any form, including but not limited to petroleum, fuel oil, heating oil, sludge, oil refuse, and oil mixed with wastes other than dredged spoil.
Any individual, business, firm, partnership, corporation, commercial entity, utility, estate, institution, group, agency, consortium, association, trust, joint-stock company, cooperative, joint venture, local, state or federal government agency, or any other commercial or legal entity and their successor, assigns, representatives or agents.
Any act in violation of this chapter.
The intentional or accidental spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, escaping, emptying, discharging, injecting, leaching, dumping, or disposing of a hazardous material into or onto any facility as defined herein so that the hazardous materials or any component thereof enter the environment. The term shall not apply to emissions from the engine exhaust of a motor vehicle, rolling stock, aircraft, vessel, or a pipeline station pumping engine, or the normal and lawful application of fertilizer and pesticide.
Any mitigation and response action undertaken to prevent, minimize, control or stop the anticipated or actual release of hazardous materials and their associated adverse impact so that they do not become a hazard to human health, property or the environment. The term includes, but is not limited to, containment, confinement, perimeter control, diking, trenching, covering, neutralization, cleanup, recycling or reuse, diversion, destruction, segregation, collection, incineration, and the associated initial and ongoing environment monitoring deemed necessary to assure that such remedial actions adequately protect public health and safety and the environment.
The cleanup or remediation of released hazardous materials from a facility and/or the environment, and such actions as may be necessary or appropriate to monitor, assess, and evaluate the release or threatened release of hazardous materials, the disposal of removed material, or the taking of such actions as may be necessary to prevent, minimize, or mitigate damage to public health or the environment.
That quantity set forth in § 245-5 of this chapter.
Actions, including, but not limited to, response by local public safety and emergency service agencies, as well as private environmental engineering and remediation contractors taken to insure the preservation and protection of the public health, safety, and the environment.
Materials and supplies acquired and expended by the AHJ specifically for the purpose of controlling or mitigating the hazardous materials release;
Replacement costs for AHJ's equipment that is contaminated beyond decontamination, reuse or repair;
The cost of decontamination of AHJ's equipment contaminated during the response;
Total compensation arising from the response, including but not limited to salary and benefits (FICA, insurance) to include regular and overtime pay, at the rate set by the AHJ, for regular full-time and part-time personnel, as well as all response costs associated with any contractor, subcontractor or agent deemed necessary by the AHJ;
Special technical services specifically required for the response; for example, costs associated with the time, equipment and efforts of technical or subject matter experts or specialists engaged by the AHJ;
Any tests to be determined by the AHJ to be necessary to identify the physical, chemical or biological properties of the released material, as well as initial and ongoing monitoring of the site, other affected areas, and the ambient atmosphere;
Other special services required for the response, as determined by the AHJ;
Costs associated with the AHJ's services, including housing and cost of care, supplies and equipment used to conduct an evacuation during the response; and
Administrative costs, including but not limited to attorneys' fees and court costs incurred by the AHJ in enforcing the provisions of this chapter.
Is the owner or operator of a facility or vehicle in or upon which a hazardous material is used or stored;
Is the operator or owner of any facility or vehicle upon which or from which a hazardous material has been released;
Is the owner or operator of a facility or vehicle, who by contract, agreement or otherwise arranged for disposal, treatment or transport of a hazardous material that is subsequently released into the environment by any party; and
Accepts or accepted any hazardous materials for transport to a disposal or treatment facility or other site.
To introduce or maintain a hazardous material into Charles County for a period of 10 or more days.
To maintain, treat, process, handle, generate, or dispose of, a hazardous material at or in any facility or vehicle within Charles County.
Any automobile, truck, railroad car, airplane, watercraft or other mode of transportation which contains or is used to ship, carry or transport a hazardous material.
Editor's Note: Sections 6-101 through 6-104.1 of the Natural Resources Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland were transferred to the Environmental Article, §§ 14-101 to 14-105 by Acts 1995, c. 488, § 2, effective July 1, 1995.
Editor's Note: The Annotated Code of Maryland, Article 56, was repealed by Acts 1996, c. 10, § 15, effective April 9, 1996.
Listed hazardous materials: the quantity appearing in column "RQ" and reportable quantities in 40 CFR 302, as amended, published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shall be the reportable quantity for that material.
Unlisted hazardous material: unlisted hazardous wastes designated as hazardous materials have the reportable quantity of 100 pounds, except for those unlisted hazardous wastes exhibiting the characteristics of EP toxicity identified in 40 CFR 261.24. unlisted hazardous wastes which exhibit EP toxicity have the reportable quantities listed in Appendix A to 40 CFR 302, as amended, for the contaminant on which the characteristic of EP toxicity is based. If an unlisted hazardous waste exhibits EP toxicity on the basis of more than one contaminant, the reportable quantity for that waste shall be the lowest of the reportable quantities listed by Appendix A to 40 CFR 302, as amended, for those contaminants. If an unlisted hazardous waste exhibits the characteristics of EP toxicity and one or more of the other characteristics, the reportable quantity shall be the lowest of the applicable reportable quantities.
The reportable quantity for releases of oil to the waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines is any quantity which violates applicable water quantity standards or causes a film or sheen upon or discoloration of the surface of the water or adjoining shorelines or causes a sludge or emulsion to be deposited beneath the surface of the water or upon adjoining shorelines.
The reportable quantity for releases of oil to the environment other than releases to waters of the United States and adjoining shoreline is 56 gallons.
Not withstanding any other provisions of this section, a release of oil from a properly functioning vessel engine shall not be deemed to be in reportable quantity; however, this provision shall not be applicable to oil accumulated in a vessel's bilges.
Releases to sanitary sewer system: notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any release of a hazardous material to a sanitary sewer system which is prohibited under applicable pretreatment or other regulations of any sanitation district operating within Charles County governing discharges to the sanitary sewer system shall be deemed to be discharged in reportable quantities.
Component hazardous materials release: a release of a mixture or solution of which a hazardous material is a component shall be considered to be a release in a reportable quantity only where the component hazardous material of the mixture or solution is released in a quantity equal to or greater than its reportable quantity.
No person shall permit, cause, or threaten the release of a hazardous material into the environment within the territorial boundaries of Charles County, Maryland, unless such release is authorized in accordance with an appropriate permit granted by the Maryland Department of the Environment or other competent authority exercising jurisdiction, and that such release is in such place and manner as will not create a hazard to health, property or the environment.
A release includes but is not limited to an occurrence:
Arising from a lack of maintenance on any storage container or vehicle in which the hazardous material is stored or contained.
That is a result of the lack of proper training and procedures associated with the storage, containment, use, or transport of a hazardous material.
Due to the hazardous substance not being stored, contained, transported, or deposited in compliance with applicable local, state or federal laws or regulation.
That is a result of a failure to initiate action recommended by any local, state or federal agency with regard to storage, containment, transport, or deposit of any hazardous material.
Notwithstanding any other provision or rule of law, a responsible person, as defined herein, shall pay to the AHJ all response action costs incurred in responding to and mitigation of an accidental or intentional release of hazardous materials.
The AHJ may include operational, administrative, personnel, payroll and legal costs incurred from its initial response action up to the time that it recovers its costs. The amount attributable to administrative and legal costs shall be 15% of the amount paid for the response action or the actual costs, whichever is greater.
The AHJ shall promulgate rules and regulations which set forth the rates to be charged for response costs under this section.
There shall be no liability under this chapter for a person who can establish that the release of a hazardous material was caused solely by:
The owner or operator of a facility that manufactures produces, uses, imports, exports, stores, supplies or distributes any hazardous material, and the owner or operator of a vehicle that contains transports or carries any hazardous material within, through or across Charles County shall immediately report the release or a hazardous material. Such notification shall be made by dialing 911.
The notification shall include the following to the extent known at the time of the notice and so long as its collection does not delay the notification:
The name and telephone number of the person making the notification;
The time, location and duration of the release;
The chemical name or identity of the hazardous material involved in the release;
Estimated quantity of the hazardous material released into the environment;
The medium into which the release occurred;
Any known or anticipated acute or chronic health risks associated with the hazardous material released; and
The AHJ may enter onto any property wherein a release of a hazardous material has occurred, as well as adjacent property onto which the released hazardous material has migrated, in order to:
Respond to the release;
Contain, control and monitor the release;
Mitigate or otherwise remediate the release site; and
Perform any other activities deemed necessary to preserve public safety and to control or mitigate the impact of the release.
The AHJ may, during normal business hours, schedule and conduct regular and periodic surveys of any facility or vehicle and request information from the responsible person for the purpose of pre-planning appropriate emergency response activities for those hazardous materials manufactured, produced, used, stored, supplied, imported, exported or distributed at, to or from the facility or vehicle.
Should at any time the AHJ be unable to determine the chemical name, identity, amount or any other requested information for any substance, liquid, mixture, compound, material or product present at or within a facility or vehicle due to nonexistent or improper labeling, placarding, or recordkeeping, the AHJ in its sole discretion may elect to collect a sample of the substance, liquid, mixture, compound, material or product for laboratory identification. In the event the sample is determined to be a hazardous material subject to the regulatory authorities cited in this chapter, the owner or operator of the facility or vehicle shall be responsible to pay all collection and laboratory costs incurred by the AHJ.
A person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $1,000 per day, per violation, and imprisonment not to exceed six months per violation, or both, if the person:
Knowingly makes any false statement, representation or certification in any application, record, report, plan or other document filed or required to be maintained under this chapter;
Falsifies, tampers with or knowingly renders inaccurate any records, monitoring device, or procedures required to be maintained under this chapter; and
Knowingly violates any provision or fails to perform any duty imposed by this chapter.
Severability. If any provision, paragraph, word, section or subsection of this chapter is invalidated by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions, paragraphs, words, sections and subsections shall not be affected and shall continue in full force and effect.
Conflict. All other ordinances or parts of other ordinances or local laws of the AHJ that conflict or are inconsistent with any part of this chapter are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict or inconsistency.