Chapter 5.16

A. The City is authorized to clean up or abate the effects of any hazardous material deposited upon or into property or facilities within the City; and any person or persons who intentionally or negligently caused such deposit, and/or the owner(s) of the property on which such deposit is discovered, are liable for the payment of all costs incurred by the City as a result of such response to and cleanup or abatement activity. Costs include any legal fees. The remedy provided by this section is in addition to any other remedies provided by law.

B. For purposes of this section, "hazardous materials" means any substances or materials in a quantity or form which, in the determination of the Fire Chief or authorized representative, poses an unreasonable and imminent risk to the life, health or safety of persons or property or to the ecological balance of the environment, and includes, but is not limited to, such substances as explosives, radioactive materials, petroleum or petroleum products or gases, poisons, etiologic (biologic) agents, flammables and corrosives.

C. For the purposes of this section, costs incurred by the City include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: actual labor costs of City personnel, including fringe benefits; administrative overhead; cost of equipment operation; cost of materials obtained directly by the City; and cost of any contract labor and materials.

D. The authority to recover costs under this section does not include actual fire suppression services which are normally or usually provided by the City's Fire Department.

E. Costs will be recovered according to a schedule adopted by the City Council. (Ord. 558 § 3, 2019)