Hazardous Material and Spill Cost Recovery Ordinance

Ordinance No. 961118: Ordinance for Hazardous Material Spill Cost Recovery

An Ordinance to establish charges for Township emergency services responding to an incident involving hazardous materials under Public Act 102 of 1990 (MCLA 41.806a) and to provide methods for the collection of such charges.

Genoa Township ordains:

Section 1: Purpose

In order to protect the Township from incurring extraordinary expenses resulting from the utilization of Township resources to respond to an incident involving the spill release or discharge of hazardous materials, or the improper handling or storage of hazardous materials, the Township board shall recover from the responsible parties the reasonable and actual costs incurred by the Township in responding to calls for assistance in connection with hazardous materials release.

Section 2: Definitions

• A. "Costs" and "Township Costs" mean any and all expenses incurred by the Fire, Police and Public Works Departments and /or any other department hired by the Township to supply services to the Township to supply services to the Township, whether direct or indirect, and shall include, but not be limited to, expenses attributable to the responses, control or abatement of any hazardous materials release, including costs of equipment, operations and personnel, costs of materials utilized, fringe benefit costs, overhead costs, costs of meals for all personnel involved in the incident, cost of specialist, medical expenses for exposures, injures or illnesses resulting from the incident, costs of experts or other contract labor or services not in full-time employment of the Township costs incurred by area fire departments requested through costs incurred by the Township as a result of said incident.
• B. "Facility" means any area, place or property where a hazardous material has been released, deposited, stored or disposed of or otherwise comes to be located.
• C. "Fire Department" means any fire department rendering service to Genoa Township.
• D. "Hazardous Materials" means any of the following:
  
  1. Substances or materials in quantity or form which, in the determination of the Fire Chief of the fire department responding to the release of hazardous materials or his or her authorized representative, pose an unacceptable risk or danger to the public health, safety, or welfare, the environment, or property, and shall include, but not be limited to, such substances as chemicals, explosives, radioactive materials, petroleum or petroleum products, gases, poisons, etiologic (biologic) agents, flammables and corrosives.
  2. Hazardous substances as defined in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, Public Law 96-510, 94 State, 2767, as amended.
  3. Hazardous substances as defined in Part 201 of Act No. 451 of the Public Acts of 1994 of The State of Michigan, as amended.
  4. Hazardous waste as defined in Part 111 of Act. No. 451 of Public Acts of 1994 of the State of Michigan, as amended.
  5. Petroleum as described in Part 213 of Act. No. 451 of the Public Acts of 1994 of the State of Michigan, as amended.
• E. "Person" means an individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, trust, firm, joint venture, trust, firm, joint stock company, corporation, limited liability company or any other legal entity.
• F. "Release" means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing of a hazardous substance into the environment, or the improper handling or storage thereof, or the abandonment or discharging of barrels, containers, or other receptacles containing a hazardous substance.
• G. "Threatened Release" means any circumstance that may reasonable be anticipated to cause a release.

Section 3: Responsibility for Abatement, Control and Costs; Use of Outside Contractors or City Forces

Any Person who accidentally, negligently or intentionally causes or is responsible for any release, spill, or the improperly handling or storage of any hazardous materials in the Township shall be responsible and liable for the abatement, control, capture, removal and proper storage or disposal of such hazardous materials and for all cost associated therewith. Such responsible party shall have the option to secure and hire a firm qualified to abate, control, capture, properly store, and dispose of these materials, or to request the Township to do so. Provided, however, that if in the opinion of the Fire Chief of the fire department responding to the release of hazardous materials immediate action is necessary to reduce the risk of danger of harm to persons, property, or the environment, the Fire Chief may direct the appropriate response activities be immediately undertaken. All the costs incurred by the Township for such activities shall be invoiced to and paid by the responsible party. The remedy provided by law.

Section 4: Recovery of Costs

Costs to be recovered under this chapter shall be those costs as defined in Section 2(A). If the responsible party fails to pay the Township for cost incurred within thirty (30) days of the date of the invoice sent by the Township to the responsible party, the Township may institute legal action to collect the costs due, including expenses, costs and reasonable attorney fees incurred to collect those costs.

Section 5: Other Remedies

The Township may pursue any other remedy, or may institute any appropriate action or proceeding under this ordinance. The recovery of charges imposed under this ordinance does not limit liability of responsible parties under local ordinance or state or federal law, rule or regulation.

Section 6: Severability

Should any provision or part of the within ordinance be declared by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, the same shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remainder of this ordinance.

Section 7: Effective Date

This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon publication. All ordinance or parts of ordinances in conflict are hereby repealed.

This Ordinance was adopted on the 18^th day of November 1996, by the Genoa Township Board at a meeting duly scheduled for the conduct of Township business.

Record of Voters

• Yeas: Seven
• Nays: None
• Absent: None

Certification

I, Paulette A. Skolarus, hereby certify that, the foregoing Ordinance Number 961118 was adopted by the Genoa Township Board at a regular meeting held on November 18th, 1996, and a copy of the Ordinance was published in the LCP & BA on November 27^th, 1996.

Paulette A. Skolarus
Genoa Township Clerk
Dated: November 18th, 1996