Hazardous Materials Ordinance (Prior to 1988)

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, MSD was at the center of several serious hazardous material incidents that gained regional and national media attention. The community recognized the need for an Ordinance that established a uniform, county-wide program to protect the environment from releases of hazardous materials. In 1985, the City of Louisville and Jefferson County adopted an Ordinance requiring the submittal of a Hazardous Material Spill Prevention and Control (HMPC) Plan by any business that manufactures, uses or stores hazardous materials in excess of reportable quantities. Guidance as to what constitutes a hazardous material has been provided by a master list which has been defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Ordinance appointed the Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) as lead agency for Ordinance administration. As the lead agency, MSD holds primary responsibility for enforcement of the Ordinance. An Appeals and Overseers Board, composed of representatives of industry, regulatory agencies and the general public, was appointed by the Mayor and County Judge to insure an avenue for appeal for all Ordinance users.

For businesses having certain minimum quantities of hazardous materials on their business site, an HMPC Plan must be submitted to MSD. Examples of these businesses include gas stations, manufacturing facilities, hospitals and medical laboratories, cleaning establishments, pest exterminators and state and local government offices that handle hazardous materials.

Businesses that fall into designated SIC groups which do not have hazardous materials on site may request an Exemption from the HMPC Plan submission. The Ordinance exempts residents who have hazardous materials on site for personal use, consumer product and food stuff manufacturers who are covered under the Food and Drug Act, and agricultural operations which handle chemicals only for purposes of their application on a farm. In addition, an exemption is granted to facilities with hazardous materials in amounts that do not exceed reportable quantities and the administrating agency sees no danger to public health.

A major emphasis of the Ordinance is that spills that occur by businesses be promptly reported to the "911" emergency number. In the event of a failure to provide such notification, a fine of up to $5,000 may be levied. The Ordinance also provides for penalties of up to $1,000 which may be levied in the event of a spill occurring due to negligence or because of previous spill occurrences by the same business. The purpose of these fines is to emphasize again the importance of protecting the environment and surrounding residents from potential harm from hazardous material spills. The Ordinance is an important tool that allows MSD to insure as well as possible that those facilities sited in the combined sewer system employ adequate measures to protect the system in the event of releases of hazardous materials and to protect receiving waters during wet weather.

Related Links

1988 to 1997 Hazardous Material Program Efforts
1998 to 2002 Hazardous Materials Program Efforts
2002 to July 2003 Holistic Watershed Approach

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