CITY OF HOMER

HOMER, ALASKA

City Manager

ORDINANCE 02-20(S)

 

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF HOMER AMENDING HOMER CITY CODE CHAPTER 10.08, PROTECTION OF PORT AND HARBOR, TO CHANGE THE TITLE TO PROTECTION OF THE HARBOR AND WATERWAYS, TO PROHIBIT THE DUMPING OF OIL AND OTHER SUBSTANCES, TO ESTABLISH HARBOR SPEED LIMITS, AND TO SET PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS

 

            THE CITY OF HOMER HEREBY ORDAINS:

 

            Section 1.       Chapter 10.08 of the Homer City Code is hereby renamed "Protection of Harbor and Waterways."  Sections 10.08.010 through 10.08.020 are hereby established as Article 1 of Chapter 10.08.  Sections 10.08.030 through 10.08.070 are hereby established as Article 2 of Chapter 10.08, and are renumbered and amended as provided in Section 4 of this ordinance.

 

            Section 2.       Section 10.08.020 of the Homer City Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

 

10.08.020  Definitions.  In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

 

"dump" means to discharge, deposit, dump, spill, leak, inject, or place any battery matter into or on any land or water so that such battery  matter or any constituent part thereof enters the Homer Harbor or any waterway.

 

"hazardous substance" means (a) an element or compound which, when it enters into the atmosphere or in or upon the water or surface or subsurface land, presents an imminent and substantial danger to the public health or welfare, including but not limited to fish, animals, vegetation, or any part of the natural habitat in which they are found, (b) oil, or (c) a substance defined as a hazardous substance under 42 U.S.C. 9601(14).

 

            "Homer Harbor" means all salt water and tide water within the boundaries of the city, including but not limited to the small boat harbor and the port.

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            "oil" means a means a derivative of a liquid hydrocarbon and includes without limitation crude oil, lubricating oil, sludge, oil refuse, diesel fuel, gasoline or another petroleum-related product or by-product.

 

            "pollutant" means any substance or material defined as a pollutant under 33 U.S.C. § 1362(6).

 

            "waterway" means any water, waterway, lake, river, tributary, or lagoon within the boundaries of the city.

 

            Section 3.       Article 1 of Chapter 10.08 of the Homer City Code is hereby amended by the enactment of a new section 10.08.030 to read as follows:

 

10.08.030  Relationship to Other Laws. 

 

(a)  In addition to the requirements set forth in this Chapter 10.08, certain federal, state, local, and international laws and regulations, including but not limited to environmental, health, safety, and sanitation laws and regulations, are applicable to the Homer Harbor and waterways in the City.  All persons are hereby warned and placed on notice that they are responsible for determining their obligations under such laws and that they may be subject to applicable penalties, fines, imprisonment, and other forms of liability for violation of such laws and regulations.

 

(b)  The dumping of any substance or material prohibited by this Chapter 10.08 shall not result in liability or penalties under this Chapter if such dumping is authorized by and conducted in full compliance with applicable federal and state permits.  The burden shall be on the alleged violator to establish, as an affirmative defense, that such conduct is  authorized by and in full compliance with applicable federal and state permits.

 

 

            Section 4.       The existing Homer City Code Sections 10.08.030 through 10.08.070, established as Article 2 of Chapter 10.08 by Section 1 of this ordinance, and are renumbered and amended to read as follows:

 

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City of Homer

Article 2.

 

10.08.03010.08.100  Dumping Batteries Into Homer Harbor and Waterways  Prohibited.  It is unlawful for any person to knowingly dump a battery into the Homer Harbor or any waterway.:

 

            (a)  a battery; or

 

            (b)  oil; or

 

            (c)  hazardous substance(s), including but not limited to, solvents,  antifreeze, paint (including paint chips, flakes, and debris), and detergents or cleaners containing hazardous substance(s); or

 

            (d) water, including but not limited to bilge water, contaminated with oil, hazardous substance(s) or pollutant(s); or

 

            (e)  refuse or garbage; or

 

            (f)  other pollutant(s).

 

 

10.08.04010.08.110  Penalty.  (a) Any person convicted of a violation of section 10.08.030subsections 10.08.100(a)-(d) shall be punished by a fine of $1,000.  Each battery dumped shall constitute a separate offense.

 

            (b)  Any person convicted of a violation of subsections 10.08.100(e)-(f) shall be punished by fine as follows:   

 

1st offense                                          $100.00

2nd offense                                         $200.00

3rd offense                                        $300.00

4th and subsequent offenses           $1,000.00

 

            (c)  Each act of dumping prohibited by section 10.08.100 is a separate offense, and each day upon which prohibited dumping continues is a separate offense.  In the case of dumping batteries, each battery dumped is a separate offense.

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10.08.05010.08.120  Recovery of Costs and Civil Remedies.  In addition to any other authorized penalty, any person who knowingly dumps one or more batteries in the Homer Harbor or any waterway any matter prohibited by section 10.08.100 shall be strictly liable for the cost of removing the battery or batteries the prohibited matter and the cost of repairing or remediating any damage caused by the battery or batteriesprohibited dumping.  The city may also exercise any civil remedy available under section 1.16.020, AS 46.03.822,  or any other provision of law.

 

10.08.06010.08.130  Reward.  The city will pay a reward to any person or persons who provide information leading to the apprehension and conviction of a person found guilty of violating sectionsubsections 10.08.03010.08.100(a)-(d).  The total reward will equal one-half of the penalty imposed on such guilty person under section 10.08.04010.08.110, not to exceed $1,000.   No law enforcement officer, municipal officer, official, or employee of the city is eligible for a reward. The city manager will determine whether a reward has been earned and whether a particular reward will be divided among two or more persons based on the information provided by multiple informants. The city manager may establish procedures to implement this section.

 

10.08.07010.08.140  Nuisance.  It his hereby declared that the presence of batteries in the waterways or the Homer Harbor of any matter prohibited by section 10.08.100 is a public nuisance.  Such nuisance may be abated by the city as appropriate under law at the expense of the person or persons creating, causing, committing, or maintaining it.

 

            Section 5.       Chapter 10.08 of the Homer City Code is hereby amended by the addition of a new Article 3, which is enacted to read as follows:

 

Article 3.

 

10.08.200      Dumping Fish Carcasses Prohibited.  It is unlawful to dump fish carcasses, including heads, bones, and viscera, or any part thereof into the Homer Harbor, except at authorized locations.  Disposal of fish carcasses from sport fishing, commercial fishing, fish packing, and fish processing activities into the Homer Harbor is

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City of Homer

 

authorized only at locations designated by signs posted by the City or pursuant to written authorization from the City. 

 

10.08.210      Vessel Speed Limits.  (a) It is unlawful to operate a vessel at a speed greater than two miles per hour (no wake speed) while entering, leaving, and inside the Small Boat Harbor.  The seaward boundary of the no wake speed zone will be marked by signs.

 

            (b) While within one quarter mile of (i) the boundary of the no wake speed zone at the Small Boat Harbor entrance, (ii) the City's Deep Water Dock, or (iii) the City's Pioneer Dock, it is unlawful to operate a vessel at a speed that will cause a wake, wash, or wave action that will damage, endanger or cause undue distress to any other vessel or occupant thereof, regardless of established speed limits or the lack thereof.

 

10.08.220      Penalty.  Any person convicted of a violation of sections 10.08.200 —10.08.210, shall be punished by fine as follows:

 

1st offense                                          $100.00

2nd offense                                         $200.00

3rd offense                                        $300.00

4th and subsequent offenses           $1,000.00

 

 

            Section 6.       This ordinance is of a permanent and general character and shall be included in the City code. 

 

            ENACTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HOMER, ALASKA, this __________ day of ______________________, 2002.

 

CITY OF HOMER



_______________________________
JACK CUSHING, MAYOR

 

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City of Homer

 

 

ATTEST:

 

___________________________

MARY L. CALHOUN, CMC,CITY CLERK

 

AYES:

NOES:

ABSTAIN:

ABSENT:

 

First Reading:

Public Hearing:

Second Reading:

Effective Date:

 

Reviewed and approved as to form:

 

_____________________________                   ___________________________

Ron Drathman, City Manager                                   Gordon J Tans, City Attorney

date:                                                                            date: