§ 14.5-26. Cost recovery.  


Latest version.
  • (a)

    Generally. Any responsible party that causes or allows a discharge or threatened discharge of any hazardous substances which requires response actions by the hazardous materials response team in order to protect the public health, safety, or welfare, shall be required to reimburse Orange County for the full amount of the cost of any and all response actions. The hazardous materials response team shall keep a record of the costs of all response actions. The cost of all response actions shall be calculated in accordance with the following schedule:

    (1)

    For all incidents of less than one (1) hour duration, the responsible party shall reimburse the county for the costs of all expendable supplies used during response, including, but not limited to: firefighting foam, chemical extinguishing agents, recovery drums, absorbent materials, protective clothing, gloves and testing equipment.

    (2)

    For all incidents of one (1) hour or greater in duration, the responsible party shall reimburse the county for the cost of all expendable supplies, labor and the cost of operating apparatus required to mitigate the incident. The cost of apparatus, expendable supplies and personnel shall be calculated in accordance with the current Orange County Fire Rescue Department Fee Schedule, as approved by the board, and as periodically amended.

    (3)

    For the purpose of this article, "duration" shall be considered as the time period beginning with the arrival on scene of the first Orange County Rescue Department member and ending with the release of the last fire rescue department member from the scene and their return to their station.

    (b)

    Authority to recover costs. The county, through its fire rescue department, is hereby authorized to invoice and collect the emergency response costs from the responsible party. The fire rescue department shall serve as the county's agent for collecting invoices and billing the responsible party for costs. Agencies of Orange County or organizations responding to a hazardous material incident at the request of the fire rescue department will be eligible for reimbursement of all valid costs incurred in that response and remediation.

    In the event that the responsible party does not reimburse the county for the recoverable costs, Orange County is authorized to seek reimbursement from the federal government in accordance with 40 CFR 310. Further, this article shall not restrict or replace cost recovery from funding sources available under state and federal regulations such as the revolving fund established under section 311(K) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 USC 1321 k); the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund established under Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation, and Liability Act (42 USC 9611); and the Florida Coastal Protection Trust Fund established under F.S. Ch. 376.

    (c)

    Authority to waive cost recovery. The county, through its fire rescue department, is hereby authorized to waive collection of emergency response costs, as implemented in an administrative procedure convenient to the fire rescue department, under the following conditions:

    (1)

    The cost to be waived is less than one hundred dollars ($100.00); or

    (2)

    The responsible party is not a business entity and the cost to be waived is less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00).

    (d)

    Invoice. Invoices for costs eligible for reimbursement under this article shall be submitted to the fire chief or his designee within ten (10) working days after the costs were incurred or identified. Invoices should include sufficient documentation to permit validation of cost reimbursement (i.e., copies of time sheets for specific personnel, copies of bills for materials, equipment, and supplies procured or used, etc.). The county shall have no liability to pay costs incurred by outside agencies until payment has been received by the county from the responsible party or parties.

    (1)

    The fire chief or his designee shall submit one (1) or a series of consolidated invoices to the responsible party or parties, identifying agencies or agents and their specific sots for reimbursement.

    (2)

    The responsible party shall issue a certified check to the county within sixty (60) days of receipt of any invoice.

    (3)

    All funds received under the authority of this article shall be dispersed according to the claims submitted.

    (4)

    Where the reimbursement is less than the required amount, each agency shall receive a pro rata share of such reimbursement as the agencies reimbursable costs bear to the total reimbursable costs.

    (e)

    Use of recovery funds. All monies recovered from the responsible party or from the federal government as reimbursement for fire rescue response actions shall be used for the following purposes exclusively:

    (1)

    To provide for the continual re-stocking of expendable supplies utilized by the hazardous materials response team.

    (2)

    To provide for the replacement of damaged and/or destroyed non-expendable equipment to the fire rescue department.

    (3)

    To provide for the enhancement of hazardous materials response services.

    (4)

    To reimburse personnel costs.

(Ord. No. 2000-03, § 6, 2-15-00)