(A) Definitions.
ASHES. Includes cinders, fly ash or other solid material resulting from combustion and may include other solid material resulting from combustion and may include unburned combustibles.
ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION. Discharging from stacks, chimneys, exhausts, vents, ducts, openings, premises, structures, vehicles, processes or other source, or any smoke, soot, fly ash, dust, cinders, dirt, noxious or obnoxious acids, fumes, oxides, gases, vapors, odors, toxic substances, waste, particulate, solid, liquid or gaseous matter or any other materials in such place, manner or concentration as to cause injury, detriment, nuisance or annoyance to the public or to endanger the health, comfort, repose, safety or welfare of the public, or in such manner as to cause or have a natural tendency to cause injury or damage to business or property.
CINDERS. Particles not ordinarily considered as fly ash or dust because of their greater size, consisting essentially of fused ash and/or unburned matter.
DUST. Includes fly ash, cinders, dirt, grime and any other solid particles resulting from any industrial process or other source.
FLY ASH. Includes particulate matter capable of being gas-borne or airborne and consisting essentially of fused ash and/or burned or unburned material.
FUMES. Include gases, acids or vapors that are of such character as to create an unclean, destructive, offensive or unhealthful condition.
PARTICULATE MATTER. Includes material, other than water, which is suspended in or discharged into the atmosphere in a finely divided form as a liquid or solid.
RINGLEMANN CHART. Includes and mean that chart published and distributed by the United States Bureau of Mines Information Circular 6888 and on which are illustrated the graduated shades of gray or black for use in estimating the light obscuring capacity of smoke.
SMOKE. Small, gas-borne particles resulting from incomplete combustion consisting predominantly of carbon and other combustible material and present in sufficient quantity to be observable independently of the presence of other solids.
SMOKE UNITS. Means and represents the number obtained by multiplying the density of the smoke observed and determined in Ringlemann numbers under the Ringlemann Chart by the time of emission in minutes.
SOOT. Includes agglomerated particles consisting essentially of carbonaceous materials.
(B) It shall be unlawful within the City of Mt. Vernon for any person owning or operating, either as principal agent, or an employee, any burning combustion equipment or device, or process equipment device or portable boiler, or any other device, to cause, suffer or allow emission or discharge into the open air of dust, soot, fumes, smoke or other particulate matter, air contaminant or atmospheric pollution from any single such source, except in conformity with the limits set forth hereinafter:
(1) Not more than 15 smoke units under the Ringlemann Chart shall be permitted per hour.
(2) No smoke more intense than number two on the Ringlemann Chart shall be allowed, except that during one hour of a 24-hour day, 30 units of smoke may be emitted but with no more soot or intensity than number three on the Ringlemann Chart.
(3) No smoke, dust, soot, fumes or other particulate matter, air contaminant or atmospheric pollution shall be permitted in quantities sufficient to produce an opacity at any point greater than number three on the Ringlemann Chart, except a plume consisting entirely of condensed steam.
(4) The total quantity of emitted solids from any single source shall not exceed one pound per hour, per acre.
(C) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection (B) hereof, it shall be unlawful for any person to permit or cause the escape of such quantities of dust, soot, fumes, smoke or other particulate matter, air contaminant or atmospheric pollution in such places as to be detrimental to any person or the public or to endanger the health, safety or welfare of any person or the public and the escape of such is declared to be a public nuisance.
(D) It shall be unlawful for any person to cause or permit the handling, loading, unloading, storing, transferring, transporting, placing, depositing, or scattering of any ashes, fly ash, cinders or dust collected from any combustion process, any dust, dirt, chaff, wastepaper, trash, rubbish, waste or refuse matter of any kind, or any other substance or other material whatever, which is likely to be scattered by the wind, or is susceptible to being wind-borne, without taking reasonable precautions or measures so as to minimize atmospheric pollution and it shall be unlawful for any person to operate, maintain or cause to be operated or maintained, any building, structure or premises or other place which has or involves any matter, material or substance likely to be scattered by the wind or susceptible to being wind-borne so as to minimize atmospheric pollution.
(E) Observations of smoke or emissions described above under the Ringlemann Chart shall be made by comparing the observed density of the smoke with the Ringlemann Chart numbers and where the density of smoke observed falls between two consecutive Ringlemann Chart numbers, the lower Ringlemann Chart number shall be considered the density of the smoke or other condition observed.
(F) Any emission or escape of dust, soot, fumes, smoke or other particulate matter, air contaminant or atmospheric pollution, in the sense of the limits described above, or in such quantities and in such place as to be detrimental to any person or the public or which shall endanger the health, safety or welfare of any person or the public, is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and shall be abated in the manner described in § 90.12 of this Article. The City Manager is further empowered to institute legal proceedings on behalf of the City for abatement or prosecution of any such nuisance.
(G) In order to determine the quantity of dust, soot, fumes, smoke or other air contaminant or atmospheric pollution emitted or escaping into the open air from any source, it shall be the duty of any person owning any burning combustion equipment device, process equipment device, or portable boiler or other device at his own expense to make or cause to be made an annual examination and test thereof by a competent person or firm approved by the City Manager, to determine whether same complies with the provisions of this ordinance and shall submit the results of such test to the City Manager.
(Prior Code, Art. 13, § 13.13)