§ 14-73. Clearing of litter from open private property, public property or highways by city; hazardous materials spills.

(a)

Notice to remove. The director of public works is hereby authorized and empowered to notify the owner of any open or vacant private property within the city or the agent of such owner to properly dispose of litter located on such owner's property which is dangerous to public health, safety or welfare. Such notice shall be by registered mail, addressed to such owner at his last known address.

(b)

Action upon noncompliance. Upon the failure, neglect or refusal of any owner or agent so notified to properly dispose of litter dangerous to the public health, safety or welfare within seven days after receipt of written notice provided for in subsection (a) of this section, or within five days after the date of such notice in the event the same is returned to the city post office department because of its inability to make delivery thereof, provided the same was properly addressed to the last known address of such owner or agent, the director of public works is hereby authorized and empowered to pay for the disposing of such litter or to order its disposal by the city.

(c)

Charge included in tax bill. When the city has effected the removal of such dangerous litter or has paid for its removal, the actual cost thereof, plus accrued interest at the rate of six percent per annum from the date of the completion of the work, if not paid by such owner prior thereto, shall be charged to the owner of such property on the next regular tax bill forwarded to such owner by the city and such charge shall be due and payable by the owner at the time of payment of such bill.

(d)

Recorded statement constitutes lien. Where the full amount due the city is not paid by such owner within 30 days after the disposal of such litter, as provided for in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, then in that case, the city administrator shall cause to be recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds for Wayne County a sworn statement showing the cost and expense incurred for the work, the date the work was done and the location of the property on which such work was done. The recordation of such sworn statement shall constitute a lien and privilege on the property and shall remain in full force and effect for the amount due in principal and interest, plus costs of court, if any, for collection, until final payment has been made. Such costs and expenses shall be collected in the manner fixed by law for the collection of taxes and further shall be subject to a delinquent penalty of four percent in the event same is not paid in full on or before the date the tax bill upon which such charge appears becomes delinquent. Sworn statements recorded in accordance with the provisions hereof shall be prima facie evidence that all legal formalities have been complied with and that the work has been done properly and satisfactorily and shall be full notice to every person concerned that the amount of the statement, plus interest, constitutes a charge against the property designated or described in the statement and that the same is due and collectible as provided by law.

(e)

Cleanup of hazardous material spills.

(1)

Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this subsection, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this subsection, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Costs or city costs means actual financial expenses incurred by the fire, police and street departments and/or any other departments of the city which shall include, but not limited to, all actual out-of-pocket expenses attributable to the response, control, or abatement of any hazardous materials incident including costs of equipment operations and personnel, costs of materials utilized, meals for all personnel involved in the incident, costs of specialists, medical expenses for exposures, injuries or illnesses resulting from an incident, experts or other contract labor not in the fulltime employment of the city, costs incurred by area fire departments requested through mutual aid agreements with the city, and any other incidental costs incurred by the city as a result of said incident. The above departments may publish fee schedules from time to time that may serve as guidelines for calculating expenses.

Extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) means any and all areas outside of the boundaries of the city wherein the city, by virtue of contracts with other townships, fire departments, other federal, state, or local agencies, allows any department of the city to enter into said territories for any areas required by said contract.

Facility means any area, place, or property where a hazardous material has been released, deposited, stored, disposed of, or otherwise comes to be located.

Hazardous materials means any substances or materials in a quantity or form which, in the determination of the fire chief or his authorized representative, poses an unreasonable and imminent risk to the life, health or safety of persons, property or the ecological balance of the environment, and shall include, but not be limited to, such substances as explosives, radioactive materials, petroleum or petroleum products or gases, poisons, etiologic (biologic) agents, flammables and corrosives.

Public services means the City of Gibraltar Department of Public Works.

Responsible party means the following persons who, by their actions, cause a release or threatened release of hazardous materials from a facility that causes the incurrence of city costs:

a.

The owner or operator of a facility;

b.

The owner or operator of the facility since the time of disposal of hazardous materials;

c.

The owner or operator of the facility since the time of disposal of a hazardous material not included in subsections (1)a. and b. of this section;

d.

A person that by contract, agreement, or otherwise arranged for disposal or treatment, or arranged with a transporter for transport for disposal or treatment of hazardous material owned or possessed by the person, by any other person, at the facility owned or operated by another person and containing the hazardous material;

e.

A person that accepts or accepted any hazardous material for transport to the facility selected by that person.

(2)

Responsible parties; options for handling spill. Any person who accidentally, negligently, or intentionally causes or is responsible for a release or spill of hazardous materials affecting property within the city or its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) is a responsible party under this chapter and shall be responsible for the abatement, control, capture and proper disposal of such hazardous material and for all associated costs. The remedy provided by this section shall be in addition to any other remedies provided by law. Such responsible party will have the option to secure and hire a firm qualified to abate, control, capture and dispose of these substances or request city forces to handle the spill. City departments may proceed beyond containment provided it is specifically requested by the responsible party and that city personnel are available from normal duties. City costs will be computed as outlined in subsections (e)(1) and (e)(3) of this section.

(3)

Costs. Costs to be recovered under this subsection (e)(5) of this section shall be those costs as defined in subsection (e)(1) of this section, but shall not include actual fire suppression, rescue, medical services, and other costs which are normally or usually provided by the fire, police and other city departments and which would be otherwise unrelated to a particular hazardous materials incident.

(4)

Conflicting provisions. If any ordinance or section thereof conflicts with subsection (e)(5) of this section, subsection (e)(5) of this section shall supersede the conflicting provisions.

(5)

Costs as addition to penalty. Costs are in addition to any penalty.

(Code 1977, § 15-67.2; Ord. No. 193, 4-12-1993; Ord. No. 213, 2-27-1995)