(A) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
PERSON. Individual, partnership, cooper- ative, firm, company, corporation, association, trust, estate, government entity, or any other legal entity or their legal representative, agent, or assigns.
RESPONSE. Any and all instances when one or more members of the county Hazardous Material Response Team are called out to the scene of an incident involving the presence or suspected presence of dangerous, hazardous, or toxic substances.
RESPONSIBLE PARTY. The person liable for reimbursement for costs and expenses associated with operation of the county Hazardous Material Response Team.
(B) Hazardous, dangerous, or toxic substances. Substances considered as dangerous, hazardous, or toxic are those which are:
(1) Listed in the latest edition of the U.S. Department of Transportation “Guidebook for Hazardous Material Incidents;”
(2) Listed in the latest edition of “Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials,” by N. Irving Sax, and which contain the terms “dangerous,” “hazardous,” or “toxic” in the THR (Summary Toxicity Statement), the Disaster Hazard Statement, the Fire Hazard Statement, the Explosion Hazard Statement, or the Acute Toxicity Statement; or
(3) Listed in the latest edition of the “Condensed Chemical Dictionary,” by Gessner G. Hauley, and the words “dangerous,” “hazardous,” or “toxic” are used in the hazard explanation used to categorize the substance.
(`88 Code, § 6-105)
(C) Reimbursement of costs and expenses to the county.
(1) Any person that uses, stores, handles, transports, or disposes of any dangerous, hazardous, or toxic substances or materials or any substance or material reasonably believed to be dangerous, hazardous, or toxic in a fashion or manner which necessitates a response by the county Hazardous Material Response Team shall be liable to the county for reimbursement of the costs and expenses made necessary by that response of the Hazardous Material Team pursuant to the provisions of this section.
(2) The county Emergency Planning Committee Coordinator shall prepare a billing pursuant to this section and shall submit the billing to the party responsible for paying the costs and expenses identified in this code no later than 30 days following any reimbursable responses of the county Hazardous Material Response Team.
(3) The person responsible for reimbursing the county under the provisions of this section shall tender payment in satisfaction of the aforementioned billing no later than 30 days following receipt of the billing prepared and issued by the Coordinator of the county Emergency Planning Committee.
(4) Any person who fails to reimburse the county within the aforementioned 30 days shall be deemed to have violated this code and shall be subjected to a penalty equivalent to 5% of the total billed amount for every day that the responsible party fails to tender reimbursement to the county.
(5) If a person objects to the afore- mentioned billing by the county Emergency Planning Committee’s Coordinator, the responsible party must file with the County Board of Commissioners a written objection to the billed amount. Upon receipt of a written objection, the County Board of Commissioners shall place the matter on the agenda of its next regular scheduled meeting and shall allow the responsible party an opportunity to object to the billing. The County Board of Commissioners shall then deliberate and issue a written opinion concerning the appropriateness of the billed amount. If the responsible party objects to the decision of the County Board of Commissioners, a petition requesting judicial review of the decision of the County Board of Commissioners shall be filed with the County Circuit Court no later than 30 days from the date of the decision of the County Board of Commissioners. The Circuit Court Judge shall conduct a hearing on the petition as expeditiously as is consistent with the Court’s calendar. The decision of the County Circuit Court Judge shall be final unless the responsible party appeals the decision pursuant to the appeal procedure for any civil matter.
(`88 Code, § 6-106)
(D) Charges.
(1) Any time that the Hazardous Material Response Team is called to the scene of an incident, the responsible party of the incident shall reimburse the county, at replacement costs, for any hazardous material response equipment or supplies which are damaged, lost, spent, destroyed, rendered irreparable, or used up in responding to or managing the incident.
(2) In addition to the reimbursement obligations contained above, the responsible party shall be billed by the county Emergency Planning Coordinator:
(a) For an initial response of Hazardous Material Unit #1000 of one hour or less, the sum of $250;
(b) For each additional hour (or fraction thereof) of on-site assistance, there shall be billed $150 per Unit #1000;
(c) For expendable materials such as absorption material, emulsifiers, personal protection clothing, and the like, the actual replacement costs for these items will be charged; and
(d) For collection of debris, chemicals, fuels, or contaminated materials resulting from a spill, the actual cost of removal and disposal at an authorized location will be charged.
(3) In the event the county Hazardous Material Response Team responds to an incident outside of the boundaries of the county and in a county with which the county does not have a reciprocal response agreement, the requesting authority shall be billed the sum of $2,000 per incident response. This charge shall be in addition to any and all charges for which the responsible party may be held responsible under this section.
(4) If the county Hazardous Material Response Team utilizes outside contractors or equipment and materials other than that which is part of the hazardous materials team inventory, the responsible party shall be billed the actual costs incurred in connection with the outside contractors, including clean-up contractors, or the actual costs of the additional equipment or supplies.
(5) On those occasions when a hazardous material incident only necessitates a response by the county Emergency Planning Coordinator or his or her designee, the responsible party shall be billed by the county Emergency Planning Coordinator at the rate of $50 per man/hour (or fraction thereof) for the time committed to the incident by the county Emergency Planning Department personnel.
(`88 Code, § 6-107) (Ord. 90-2, passed 1-22-90; Am. Ord. 98-1, passed 1-27-98; Am. Ord. 2001-01, passed 1-23-01)