Needles Municipal Code Art. 16 VII Landfill Operations

16-48 (Reserved) 16-49 (Reserved) 16-50 County Hazardous Waste Management Plan Adopted 16-51 Requirement To Comply With A Waste Management Plan For Certain Construction, Demolition, And Renovation Projects Within The City Of Needles

16-48 (Reserved)

(Ord. No. 293-AC, § 1, Exh. A; Ord. No. 323-AC (part); Ord. No. 338-AC, § 1; Ord. No. 372-AC.)

16-49 (Reserved)

(Ord. No. 293-AC, § 2, Exh. B; Ord. No. 309-AC; Ord. No. 316-AC; Ord. No. 323-AC (part); Ord. No. 333-AC; Ord. No. 346-AC; Ord. No. 393-AC.)

16-50 County Hazardous Waste Management Plan Adopted

The city adopts, by reference, and enacts into law the San Bernardino County Hazardous Waste Management Plan dated February 1990 and approved by the State Department of Health Services on February 26, 1990. (Ord. 339-AC, § 1)

16-51 Requirement To Comply With A Waste Management Plan For Certain Construction, Demolition, And Renovation Projects Within The City Of Needles

1. Findings. 1. The City finds that the State of California through its California Waste Management Act of 1989, Assembly Bill 939 (AB 939), required that each local jurisdiction in the state divert 50% of discarded materials (base year 1990, state methodology) from landfill by December 31, 2000, and thereafter maintain or exceed that diversion rate.
   2. The City finds that every city and county in California, including the City of Needles, could face fines up to $10,000 a day for not meeting the above mandated goal.
   3. The City finds that Construction and Demolition (C&D) debris constitute a large portion of the waste stream in the City. These materials have significant potential for waste reduction and recycling.
   4. The City finds that reusing and recycling C&D debris is essential to further the City’s efforts to reduce waste and comply with AB 939. 5. The City finds that C&D debris waste reduction and recycling have been proven to reduce the amount of such material that is landfilled, increase site and worker safety, and be cost effective.
   5. The City finds that, except in unusual circumstances, it is feasible to divert an average of at least fifty (50) percent of all C&D debris from construction, demolition, and renovation projects.
2. Definitions. For the purposes of this Section, the following definitions shall apply:

1. “Applicant” means any individual, firm, limited liability company, association, partnership, political subdivision, government agency, municipality, industry, public or private corporation, or any other entity whatsoever who applies to the City for the applicable permits to undertake any construction, demolition, or renovation project within the City. 2. “Construction” means the building of any facility or structure or any portion thereof including any tenant improvements to an existing facility or structure. 3. “Construction and Demolition Debris” means used or discarded materials removed from premises during construction or renovation of a structure resulting from construction, remodeling, repair, or demolition operations on any pavement, house, commercial building, or other structure. 4. “Covered Project” shall have the meaning set forth in Section (c)(1) of this Article. 5. “Demolition” means the decimating, razing, ruining, tearing down or wrecking of any facility, structure, pavement or building, whether in whole or in part, whether interior or exterior. 6. “Divert” means to use material for any purpose other than disposal in a landfill or transformation facility. 7. “Diversion Requirement” means the diversion of at least fifty (50) percent of the total Construction and Demolition Debris generated by a Project via reuse or recycling, unless the Applicant has been granted an Impossibility Exemption pursuant to this Ordinance, in which case the Diversion Requirement shall be the maximum feasible diversion rate established by the WMP Compliance Official for the Project. 8. “Non-covered Project” shall have the meaning set forth in Section (c)(2) of this section. 9. “Project” means any activity involving construction, demolition, or renovation, and which requires issuance of a permit from the City.
   10. “Recycling” means the process of collecting, sorting, cleansing, treating, and reconstituting materials that would otherwise become solid waste, and returning them to the economic mainstream in the form of raw material for new, reused, or reconstituted products which meet the quality standards necessary to be used in the marketplace. 11. “Renovation” means any change, addition, or modification in an existing structure.
   11. “Reuse” means further or repeated use of Construction or Demolition Debris.
   12. “Salvage” means the controlled removal of Construction or Demolition Debris from a permitted building or demolition site for the purpose of recycling, reuse, or storage for later recycling or reuse.
   13. “Waste Management Plan” is the use of one or more of the methods of removal, recycling, reuse or disposal of construction or demolition debris as defined by this ordinance at Section (d)(1) approved by the City for the purpose of compliance with this Article.
   14. “WMP Compliance Official” means the designated staff person(s) authorized and responsible for implementing this Article.
2. Threshold for Covered Projects. 1. Covered Projects. All construction and renovation projects within the City the total costs of which are, or are projected to be, greater than or equal to $50,000, and all demolition projects within the City the total costs of which are, or are projected to be, greater than $20,000 (“Covered Projects”) shall comply with this Article. Failure to comply with any of the terms of this Article shall subject the Project Applicant to the enforcement mechanisms set forth in subsection (j) below. 2. Noncovered Projects. Applicants for construction, demolition, and renovation projects within the City that are not Covered Projects (“Noncovered Projects”) shall be encouraged to divert at least fifty (50) percent of all project-related construction and demolition debris. 3. City-Sponsored Projects. All City-sponsored construction, demolition, and renovation Projects, whose total costs are equal to or greater than $30,000 for construction or renovation, or $15,000 for demolition activities, shall be considered “Covered Projects” for the purposes of this Section and shall comply with the Waste Management Plan and shall be subject to all applicable provisions of Section. 4. Compliance as a Condition of Approval. Compliance with the provisions of this Article shall be listed as a condition of approval on any building or demolition permit issued for a Covered Project.
3. Construction and Demolition Debris Diversion. 1. Compliance Options (Waste Management Plan hereafter “WMP”). Applicants for Covered Projects shall select one of the following options to comply with this Section: 1. Contract for hauling services with City’s franchise hauler, with all Project debris delivered to a local (within fifty (50) miles) private recycler via a self-haul landfill diversion program; 2. Self-haul all Project debris to a local private recycler via a self-haul landfill diversion program; 3. Separate Project debris and self-haul to diversion facilities. 2. Waste Disposal Agreement. The City’s Waste Disposal Agreement presently addresses disposal, and not diversion. Therefore participation in self-haul landfill diversion is not subject to the Waste Disposal Agreement rate limitations.
4. Agreement to Comply with Waste Management Plan.

WMP Forms. Applicants for building or demolition permits involving any Covered Project under this section shall agree to comply with one or more of the methods of disposal as outlined under Section (d)(1) above, on a form attached to the application form for the building or demolition permit as part of the application packet. The completed application shall indicate which option the applicant desires to use, and the vendor or facility that the Applicant proposed to use to collect or receive the material. Applicant shall also agree, to the maximum extent feasible, applicant shall make the construction, deconstruction or demolition materials generated thereby available for salvage prior to land-filling. 6. Review of WMP. 1. Approval. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, no building or demolition permit shall be issued for any Covered Project unless and until the WMP Compliance Official has received the filled out and signed WMP form. 2. Non-Approval. If the WMP Compliance Official determines that the WMP is incomplete or fails to indicate an appropriate receiver or that at least fifty (50) percent of all C&D debris generated by the Project will be reused or recycled, he or she shall either: 1. Return the WMP to the Applicant marked “Denied”, including a statement of reasons, and so notify the Building Department, which shall then immediately stop processing the building or demolition permit application, or 2. Return the WMP to the Applicant marked Further Explanation Required. 7. Compliance with WMP.

1. Documentation. Within 30 days after the completion of any Covered Project, the Applicant shall submit to the WMP Compliance Official documentation that it has met the Diversion Requirement for the Project. The Diversion Requirement shall be that the Applicant has diverted at least fifty (50) percent of the total C&D debris generated by the Project via reuse and recycling, unless the Applicant has been granted an Impossibility Exemption pursuant to Section (h) of this Ordinance, in which case the Diversion Requirement shall be the maximum feasible diversion rate established by the WMP Compliance Official for the Project. This documentation shall include all of the following: 1. Receipts from the vendor or facility that collected or received each material showing the actual weight or volume of the material received for recycling; 2. Receipts from the landfill showing the volume or weight of material land-filled; 3. Any additional information the Applicant believes is relevant to determining its efforts to comply in good faith with this Section. 2. Determination of Compliance. The WMP Compliance Official shall review the information submitted under subsection (g)(2)(A) of this Section and determine whether the Applicant has complied with the Diversion Requirement, as follows: 1. Full Compliance. If the WMP Compliance Official determines that the Applicant has fully complied with the Diversion Requirement applicable to the Project, he or she shall notify the Building Department of that finding. 2. Good Faith Effort to Comply. If the WMP Compliance Official determines that the Diversion Requirement has not been achieved, he or she shall determine on a case-by-case basis whether the Applicant has made a good faith effort to comply with this Article XX. In making this determination, the WMP Compliance Official shall consider the availability of markets for the C&D debris land-filled, the size of the Project, and the documented efforts of the Applicant to divert C&D debris. If the WMP Compliance Official determines that the Applicant has made a good faith effort to comply with this Section, he or she shall notify the Building Department of that finding. 3. Noncompliance. If the WMP Compliance Official determines that the Applicant has not made a good faith effort to comply with this Section, or if the Applicant fails to submit the documentation required by this Section within the required time period, he or she shall notify the Building Department of that finding. The Building Official shall withhold issuance of a certificate of occupancy on any building permit still pending which is found to be out of compliance with this Article.
2. Infeasible Exemption. 1. Application. If an Applicant for a Covered Project experiences unique circumstances that the Applicant believes make it infeasible to comply with the Diversion Requirement, the Applicant may apply for an exemption at the time that he or she submit the WMP required under this Section. The Applicant shall indicate on the WMP the maximum rate of diversion he or she believes is feasible and the specific circumstances that he or she believes make it infeasible to comply with the Diversion Requirement. 2. Granting of Exemption. If the WMP Compliance Official determines that it is infeasible for the Applicant to meet the Diversion Requirement due to unique circumstances, he or she shall determine the maximum feasible diversion rate for each material and shall indicate this rate on the WMP submitted by the Applicant. The WMP Compliance Official shall return a copy of the WMP to the Applicant marked “Approved for Infeasible Exemption” and shall notify the Building Department that the WMP has been approved. 3. Denial of Exemption. If the WMP Compliance Official determines that it is possible for the Applicant to meet the Diversion Requirement, he or she shall so inform the Applicant in writing. The Applicant shall have 30 days to resubmit a WMP form in full compliance with this Section. If the Applicant fails to resubmit the WMP, or if the resubmitted WMP does not comply with this Section, the WMP Compliance Official shall deny the WMP.
3. Appeal. Appeals of any determinations made under this Section may be appealed to the City Council if application is filed within ten days from the date the decision is made, and the appeal fees are paid to the City Clerk. Determinations subject to appeal would include, but not necessarily be limited to: (1) the granting or denial of an exemption; (2) whether the applicant has acted in good faith; and (3) whether a certificate of occupancy shall be issued.
4. Enforcement. 1. Violation of any provision of this Section or any of its subsections may be enforced by civil action including an action for injunctive relief. In any civil enforcement action, administrative or judicial, the City shall be entitled to recover its attorneys’ fees and costs from a person who is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to have violated this Section. Payment may be secured by the placement of a lien upon the real property which was the subject of the construction or demolition. 2. Violation of any provision of this Section shall constitute an infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed $100 for the first violation, a fine not to exceed $200 for the second violation within one year, and a fine not to exceed $500 for each additional violation within one year. There shall be a separate infraction for each day on which a violation occurs. Where th 2. Violation of any provision of this Section shall constitute an infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed $100 for the first violation, a fine not to exceed $200 for the second violation within one year, and a fine not to exceed $500 for each additional violation within one year. There shall be a separate infraction for each day on which a violation occurs. Where the violation is the failure to achieve the Diversion Requirement applicable to the Project and the C & D materials from the Project have already been land-filled, the violation shall be deemed to have ceased after a period of ten days. The City shall recover costs and attorneys’ fees incurred in connection with enforcement of this Article. 3. Enforcement pursuant to this section shall be undertaken by the City through its Code Enforcement Department and the City Attorney.
5. Severability. If any subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Section, or any part thereof is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid or ineffective by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity or effectiveness of the remaining portions of this Section or any part thereof. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Section irrespective of the fact that one or more subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared unconstitutional or invalid or effective. To this end the provisions of this section are declared to be severable.
6. Effective Date. This Ordinance and section shall take effect thirty (30) days after its passage, but will not be enforced until such time as a local (Tri-State area within fifty (50) miles) private C & D recycler is fully operational.