(A) The village hereby authorizes the Fire Chief of the Fire Protection District (hereinafter “Fire Chief”) or his or her authorized representative to respond to any release or threatened release of hazardous substances within the village or affecting the public water supply, wells or sewage treatment works of the village. This authority includes, but is not limited to, remedial action and removal.
(B) The Fire Chief shall have primary authority to respond to any release or threatened release of hazardous substances as described in this subchapter. The Fire Chief shall report any release or threatened release of hazardous substances to all appropriate federal, state and local public health, safety and emergency agencies within 24 hours of any substantial release of hazardous substances. The Fire Chief shall relinquish his or her response authority at such time, if any, as the federal, state or local public health, safety or emergency agency having primary jurisdiction over the release or threatened release has assumed responsibility for response to the release or threatened release.
(C) The Fire Chief, during such time as response authority is vested in him or her, shall be authorized to utilize all village personnel and equipment and he or she may, in his or her sole discretion, take such remedial or removal action as he or she may deem necessary or appropriate to respond to the release or threatened release of hazardous substances.
(D) The Fire Chief shall immediately report any release or threatened release of hazardous substances to the Village President. In the event that the Village President determines that a disaster has occurred within its definition in § 90.15, the Village President shall then be vested with the response authority provided in this section. In that event, the Village President may authorize the Fire Chief or other person to exercise all or part of the Village President’s response authority under this section until further notice.
(E) All village personnel shall cooperate with and operate under the direction of the Village President, Fire Chief or other person then exercising response authority under this section until such time as the person exercising the response authority has determined that the response is complete or responsibility for response is assumed by the federal, state or local public health, safety or emergency agency having primary jurisdiction over the release or threatened release.
(F) The person exercising response authority under this section shall coordinate and/or cooperate with other federal, state or local public health, safety or emergency agencies involved in response to the release or threatened release of hazardous substances.
(G) The person exercising response authority may, with the approval of the Village President, obtain vital supplies, equipment, services and other properties found lacking and needed for the protection of human health, property and environment and obligate the village for the fair value thereof.
(Ord. 638, passed 1-2-2001)