Note: ARTICLE IV. PAWTUXET RIVER PROTECTION of the Warwick Code of Ordinances has been revised below for the protection of Buckeye Brook and passed at Warwick City Council on 12/13/04.

ARTICLE --. BUCKEYE BROOK PROTECTION

Sec. 22-111. Findings and policy.

The city council does hereby find that disposal of waste, garbage, trash and abandoned manmade objects along the banks of the Buckeye Brook constitutes a hazard to the public health, safety and general welfare of the people of the city. In recognition of the ever-increasing environmental problems resulting from the demands made upon the land and the renewable resources of the city, and in recognition of the need to preserve and protect one of the city's most valuable natural resources, Buckeye Brook, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the city to provide for the preservation of Buckeye Brook, the development of the water resources and the improvement of its water quality in order to prevent the impairment of the brook by sediment or any waste material, and to protect wildlife and the herring run and preserve the natural beauty of the brook and its banks for the health, safety and general welfare of the people of the city. Nothing herein shall be inconsistent with laws or rules and regulations adopted by or for the state department of environmental management and the coastal resources management council.

(Code 1971, 8-60)

Sec. 22-112. Purpose.

It is the purpose of this article to:

(1) Protect the environment, especially Buckeye Brook and its environs, from the effects of improper or illegal disposal of waste;

(2) Establish a program of regulation and enforcement to control and eliminate the improper or illegal disposal of wastes; and

(3) Protect and promote public health and safety.

(Code 1971, 8-61)

Sec. 22-113. Definitions.

As used in this article:

Dispose means the discharge, deposit, dumping, spilling, leaking, abandoning or placing of waste upon land protected by this article.

Occupier of land includes any person, firm, authority, corporation, municipality, quasi-public state corporation, or state agency who shall hold title to, or shall be in possession of, any lands lying within 200 feet of Buckeye Brook or within Buckeye Brook, whether as owner, renter, lessee, tenant, municipality or otherwise.

Buckeye Brook includes the physical boundaries of Buckeye Brook, Old Mill Creek and Mill Cove as well as the ponds, brooks, streams and tributaries that empty into Buckeye Brook or Old Mill Creek or Mill Cove, including Warwick Pond, Lockwood Brook, Warner Brook, and Knowles Brook, as the same are located in the city.

Waste includes the following:

(1) Construction waste. Any building materials and refuse resulting from construction, remodeling and repair operations on any type of building, structure, roadway, stormwater basin, underground stormwater galley, stormwater drainage system or utility. It shall also include any pavement or concrete disposed of as a result of construction or otherwise.

(2) Demolition waste. Any material generated from the destruction or razing of any building or structure.

(3) Bulky waste. Any large items, including, but not limited to, appliances, furniture, automobile parts, shopping carts, tree stumps, tires and abandoned automobiles.

(4) Solid waste. Garbage, refuse and other discarded materials generated by any sources whatsoever, other than materials that result from sewage by a person, entity, authority, corporation or quasi-public state corporation holding a valid Rhode Island Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (RIPDES) permit from the department of environmental management.

(5) Stormwater discharges for industrial sources. Stormwater discharges generated by industrial sources as defined by the department of environmental management other than that resulting by a person, entity, authority, corporation or quasi-public state corporation holding a valid Rhode Island Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (RIPDES) permit from the department of environmental management.

(Code 1971, 8-62)

Cross reference(s)--Definitions generally, 1-2.

Sec. 22-114. Disposal of waste by occupier of land.

It shall be unlawful for any occupier of land to dispose of or deposit or allow to be disposed or deposited any waste on any property located in the city which is within 200 feet of or within Buckeye Brook. Any person, firm, authority, corporation, municipality, quasi-public state corporation, or state agency found in violation of this section, or who shall counsel, aid or abet any person, firm, authority, corporation, municipality, quasi-public state corporation or state agency in the violation of this section, shall be punishable as provided in section 1-4. Each day of noncompliance shall be a separate violation of this section.

(Code 1971, 8-63)

Sec. 22-115. Disposal of waste on land of another.

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, authority, corporation, municipality, quasi-public state corporation or state agency not an occupier of land to dispose or deposit any waste upon the property of another located in the city which is within 200 feet of Buckeye Brook. Any person, firm, authority, corporation, municipality, quasi-public state corporation or state agency found in violation of this section or who shall counsel, aid or abet any person, firm, authority, corporation, municipality, quasi-public state corporation or state agency in the violation of this section shall be punishable as provided in section 1-4. Each day of noncompliance shall be a separate violation of this section.

(Code 1971, 8-64)

Sec. 22-116. Presumption of responsibility for violation.

In any prosecution or proceeding hereunder, the land evidence records of the city shall constitute prima facie evidence that the owner of the property was the person, firm, authority, corporation, municipality, quasi-public state corporation or state agency who disposed or deposited waste material upon the property where such violation occurred.

(Code 1971, 8-65)

Sec. 22-117. Notice of violation.

(a) Once a complaint has been brought to or by the police under section 22-114, a notice of violation shall be sent to the person, firm, authority, corporation, municipality, quasi-public state corporation or state agency involved. Said notice may be hand delivered by a police officer or mailed certified mail, return receipt requested. Refusal to accept the certified mailing shall be deemed to constitute prima facie evidence of its receipt.

(b) Upon receipt of said notice, the person, firm, authority, corporation, municipality, quasi-public state corporation or state agency involved shall cease the disposal of waste and remove the violating waste from the property within 30 days of receipt of the notice.

(c) Failure to comply with the notice of violation within 30 days will result in prosecution for violation of this article.

(d) Nothing contained herein shall prohibit the immediate arrest and prosecution of any person, firm, authority, corporation, municipality, quasi-public state corporation or state agency found in violation of section 22-114, whether or not a notice of violation was issued.

(e) The notice of violation, once served upon the person, firm, authority, corporation, municipality, quasi-public state corporation or state agency involved, shall be recorded in the land evidence records of the city in the same manner as a notice of violation for minimum housing standards. If the person, firm, authority, corporation, municipality, quasi-public state corporation or state agency notified is not the property owner, the property owner shall be served with a copy of the notice of violation, which shall be plainly identified as a copy.

(Code 1971, 8-66)

Sec. 22-118. Severability.

If any provision, paragraph, sentence, word or section of the ordinance from which this article is derived shall be invalidated by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining paragraphs, sentences, words or sections shall not be affected, and shall remain in full force and effect.

(Code 1971, 8-67)