The Department of Public Health shall have the following powers and duties:
(1) The Department shall prepare the air resources management plan, as indicated in Section 3-302, for submission to the Air Pollution Control Board.
(2) The Department shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of this Title and all regulations adopted hereunder.
(3) The Department shall have the power to effect compliance with this Title, any regulations hereunder, or the provisions of any license or permit required under this Title, by:
(a) Order pursuant to Section 3-305 commanding all necessary actions or forbearances, and specifying a maximum period of time for the installation of any equipment or any other measures necessary to achieve compliance; or
(b) Initiation, through the Law Department, of appropriate legal proceedings in any appropriate Court for the imposition of a penalty under Section 3-103 of this Title; or
(c) Initiation, through the Law Department, of any appropriate legal proceedings in any Court of Law or Equity in order to prevent, restrain or abate emission of air contaminants in excess of the allowable limits set by this Title or any of the regulations adopted hereunder; or
(d) Initiation, through the Law Department, of any legal action necessary in any Court of Competent Jurisdiction in order to prevent, restrain or abate any violation of this Title, the regulation adopted hereunder or violations of the provisions of any license or permit issued under this Title or the violation of the provisions of any order made under Section 3-305.
The imposition of any penalty under Section 3-103 shall not prevent the Department from instituting any appropriate administrative action or proceeding or any action at law or equity to require compliance with the provisions of this Title, regulations adopted hereunder, the provisions of any permits or licenses issued hereunder, or administrative orders and determinations made hereunder. 16
(4) The Department shall investigate complaints about air pollution, make observations and maintain surveillance of the discharge or escape of emissions to the atmosphere. The names and addresses of complainants shall be kept confidential by the Department.
(5) The Department shall establish a city-wide network of monitoring stations to determine the conditions and trends of air quality and such information shall be available to all persons.
(6) The Department may inspect from time to time any installation, premises, equipment, devices, and appurtenances thereto that may, can or do cause air pollution. In the case of motor vehicles, these may be stopped for inspection or ordered to an inspection station.
(7) The Department may take samples and make analyses of:
(a) emissions which may escape or be discharged to the atmosphere; and
(b) fuels and process materials used and waste products incinerated.
The owner shall provide at his expense, convenient access, including where necessary platforms, ports, and electric power connections, to a representative sampling location where ordered by the Department. Where directed, the owner shall provide assistance in obtaining normal operating conditions during periods of sampling.
(8) The Department shall prescribe and publish for distribution standard methods for the sampling and the analysis, of air, air pollutants, fuels, and other materials, including the number of samples and the technical sampling and analytical procedures, as may be required or necessary to evaluate performance and compliance with this Title and regulations adopted hereunder.
(9) The Department shall review all applications for permits and licenses required by this Title and the regulations adopted hereunder and recommend approval, modification or disapproval. Factors to be considered shall include compliance of the proposed installation with the regulations of the Air Pollution Control Board, operating and maintenance problems experienced at similar installations, anticipated effect on air quality in the neighborhood, area, and region, results of experimental tests and pilot plants, and other factors related to performance, maintenance, and dependability. Such approval may be revoked on order of the Department of Public Health for violation of the provisions of the permit approval, this Title, or the regulations.
(10) The Department may require from an applicant for, or holder of, any permit or license, and from the owner of any source of air contaminants such information, plans, specifications, analyses, performance data and tests or examinations as will disclose the nature, effects, extent, quantity, or degree of air contaminants which are or may be discharged from such source.
(11) The Department may order the owner, lessee or his agent, of equipment, storage and processing facilities or fuel, to conduct at his expense such tests as are necessary in the opinion of the Department to determine whether the equipment, facilities or fuel, or the operation and use thereof, are in compliance with this Title and the regulations adopted hereunder or whether any material used in any manufacturing process is contributing to any violation of this Title, and to submit the test results to the Department within 10 days after the tests are completed. Such tests shall be conducted by professionally competent personnel and in a manner approved by the Department and subject to witness by the Department.
(12) The Department may require the submission of information on the sources of the discharge or escape of air contaminants to the atmosphere, including the nature, characteristics and concentration of contaminants, the volume and weight of discharges, the period of time of discharges, the toxicity, the effects, and the location and height of points of discharge.
(13) The Department may classify sources of emission and operations and identify those which tend to create air pollution problems. At such designated sources, it may order the installation and operation of sampling and testing equipment or other measures to detect the emission of air contaminants, on a continuous or periodic basis, to determine the quantity and concentration of emissions, and to record this information on time charts, subject to inspection by the Department. It may require that the installations be equipped to activate alarms, control equipment, and process regulators.
(14) The Department may require the designation of a person, or persons, to be responsible for air pollution control operations and the submission of reports and information.
(15) The Department may declare an air pollution warning, alert or emergency, where:
(a) existing weather conditions and concentrations of air contaminants; or
(b) weather forecasts and projected concentrations of air contaminants provide a threat to the health, welfare or safety of all or any part of the population, and order such actions as the protection of the public requires, including the restriction or cessation of activities which result in air contamination, and the installation and operation of control measures for such periods.
(16) In disasters, the threat of disasters, and other serious emergencies involving air contamination, the Department shall have the authority to enter premises, make inspections, take and analyze samples, and in cooperation with other government agencies, take necessary actions to protect life and property.
(17) The Department may approve improvement plans and schedules for compliance where the renovation of existing equipment, the installation of new systems of air pollution control, or a change in basic processes which in the judgment of the Department will take a period of time, not to exceed six months, to effect. A longer period of time shall not be approved unless the matter has been submitted to and a recommendation received from the Air Pollution Control Board. The Department may establish special operational requirements necessary to minimize air contaminant discharges during this period as a condition of approval. Violations of these conditions shall be considered a violation of this Title. The existence of such an approved improvement plan will have no bearing on any violations due to conditions not covered by the plan. Nothing in this Title shall be construed as limiting the rights of any person to redress in a court of law for any injury to persons or damage to property caused by air pollution.
(18) The Department shall conduct or contract for research on the nature and causes of air pollution, its effects, and efficient and economical methods of control.
(19) The Department shall conduct or contract for training programs for personnel who operate processes and equipment that may cause air pollution. It shall maintain on file as much of the current literature on air pollution and its control as is practicable and shall make this material available to interested parties at its offices during regular working hours.
(20) The Department shall conduct or contract for the in-service training of its personnel in the observation and detection of air contaminants, including odors.
(21) The Department shall inform the public concerning the quality of air, the effects and trends in air pollution, program accomplishments and needs. It shall advise the public concerning measures to control air pollution.
(22) The Health Commissioner, or his designee, shall administratively hear objections to orders of the Department where error is alleged. Consideration of such objections shall be limited to adequacy of notice, matters of fact, existence of violation, and reasonableness of the time specified for compliance. The Health Commissioner may sustain, modify, or revoke any order where error is found to exist.
(23) The Commissioner, or his designee, may appoint such technical advisory committees as he deems necessary.
(24) The Department shall obtain a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for each toxic air contaminant subject to the notice requirement. Such MSDS shall be provided to the Department by the person responsible for the affected source of emission as part of the notice requirements in subsection 3-201(3)(c). The Department shall include these MSDS in the file of notices regarding the emission of toxic air contaminants and shall make this file available to the public for inspection and reproduction during normal business hours. The MSDS shall conform to the format and contain the type of information required by the U.S. Department of Labor from OSHA 20, Material Safety Data Sheet (latest edition).
(25) The Department shall have the authority to require persons subject to subsection 3-201(3)(a) to take all necessary measures to bring their emission of toxic air contaminants into compliance with the Code and regulations promulgated thereunder.
Notes
| 15 | Amended and new subsections added, 1981 Ordinances, p. 88. |
| 16 | Amended, 1972 Ordinances, p. 813. |