HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd #003-3rd Ser/Amending code regarding clandestine drug labs • }
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' ORDINANCE NUMBER_,�, THIRD SERIES
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ORONO, MINNESOTA CODE
BY ADDING ARTICLE III TO CHAPTER 50
REGARDING CLANDESTINE DRUG LABS
The City Council of the City of Orono ordains:
SECTION 1. Chapter 50, Health and Sanitation, is hereby amended by adding the
- following language as Article III—Clandestine Drug Labs:
ARTICLE III. CLANDESTINE DRUG LABS
DNISION 1. GENERALLY.
Sec. 50-91. Purpose and intent
The purpose of this section is to reduce public exposure to health risks associated with
hazardous chemicals or residue from a clandestine drug lab site. Professional testing and
investigations show that chemicals used in the production of illicit drugs can condense,
penetrate, and contaminate surfaces, furnishings, and equipment of surrounding structures. The
city council finds that such sites, and the personal property within such sites, may contain
suspected chemicals and residues that place people, particularly children or adults of child
bearing age, at risk when exposed through inhabiting or visiting the site or being exposed to
contaminated personal property.
Sec. 50-92. Interpretation and application.
The provisions of this section must be construed to protect the public health, safety and
welfare. When the conditions imposed by this section conflict with comparable provisions
imposed by another law, ordinance, statute, or regulation, the regulations that are more restrictive
or that impose higher standards will prevail.
Sec. 50-93. Definitions.
Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the words and phrases below are defined for the
purpose of this section as follows:
Chemical dump site means a place or area where chemicals or other waste materials�used
in a clandestine drug lab operation have been located.
City health authority, for the purposes of this ordinance, means the City Administrator or
designee. The City Administrator or designee is required to consult with, and authorized to
retain the services of,public health services or private hazardous material specialists as are
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recognized by county or state authorities as being competent in HazMAT cleanup with
clandestine drug lab experience.
Clandestine drug lab operation means the unlawful manufacture or attempt to
manufacture a controlled substance.
Clandestine drug lab site or site means a place or area�rhere law enforcement personnel
have determined that conditions associated with an unlawful clandestine drug lab operation exist.
A clandestine drug lab site may include d«-ellings, accessory buildings, structures or units, a
chemical dump site, a vehicle,boat, trailer,or other appliance.
Controlled substance means a drug, substance or immediate precursor specified in Minn.
Stat. §52.02, Schedules I through V, as ma�-be amended. The term does not include distilled
spirits,wine,malt beverages, intoxicating liquors or tobacco.
Manufacture, in places other than a phannacy, includes the production, cultivation,
quality control, or standardization,by mechanical, physical, chemical or pharmaceutical means,
and the packing, re-packing, tableting, encapsulating, labeling,re-labeling, or filling of drugs.
Owner means a person, firm, corporation or other entin��vho or which owns, in whole or
in part, the land, building, structure, vehicle,boat, trailer or other location associated with a
clandestine drug lab site. Unless information is provided to pro�-e otherwise, the owner of real
property is deemed to be the property taxpayer of record in the Hennepin county files, and the
owner of a vehicle,boat or trailer is deemed to be the person listed as the owner on the most
recent title to the vehicle, boat or trailer.
Sec. 50-94. Declaration of public health nuisance.
All dwellings, accessory structures,buildings, vehicles,boats, trailers,personal property,
adjacent property or other locations, associated with a clandestine drug lab site aze potentially
unsafe due to health hazards and are declared to be a public health nuisance, subject to final
confirmation by the city health authority.
Secs. 50-95-50-200. Reserved.
DNISION 2. ENFORCEME\�I'.
Sec. 50-201. Law enforcement action.
(a) Law enforcement authorities who identify conditions associated with a
clandestine drug lab site that may place the public or occupants at risk for exposure to hannful
contaminants and other associated conditions may:
(1) promptly notify the city health authority, county child protection division, the
United States drug enforcement administration, and the site owner about the site
and the conditions found;
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(2) treat, store, transport or dispose of all waste generated from the clandestine drug
lab operation and found at the site in a manner consistent with the Minnesota
department of health and Minnesota pollution control regulations;
(3) issue a temporary declaration of public health nuisance for the affected site and
post a copy of the declaration on all doorway entrances to the site or, in the case
of bare land, in several conspicuous places on the property. This temporary
declaration will expire after the city health authority inspects the site and
determines the appropriateness of issuing a permanent declaration of public health
nuisance;
(4) notify all people occupying the site that a temporary declaration of public health
nuisance has been issued;
(5) require all people occupying the site to immediately vacate the site, remove all
pets from the site, and not return without written authorization from the city
health authority;
(6) notify the occupants vacating the site that the personal property at the site may be
contaminated with dangerous chemical residue; and
(7) may board up and put locks on each doorway entrance to the site to prohibit
people from entering the site without authorization. Private contractors may be
retained to provide this service. Law enforcement on the scene may determine the
extent to which the structure needs to be secured.
(b) The notification of the people and organizations mentioned above may be delayed
to accomplish appropriate law enforcement objectives.
(c) Law enforcement may commence any of these steps as is reasonably necessary at
any time in the process of cleaning and securing the site.
� Sec. 50-202. Seizure of property.
When a clandestine drug lab site is inside a vehicle,baat, trailer or other form of
moveable personal property, law enforcement authorities must immediately seize it and not
allow it to be transported except to a more secure location. All other requirements of this section
must be followed as closely as possible given the specific type of property in which the site is
discovered.
Sec. 50-203. Action by city health authority. .
(a) Inspection and declaration of nuisance. Within 48 hours of notification that law
enforcement authorities have determined the existence of a clandestine drug lab site, the city
health authority must inspect the site. The city health authority may then promptly issue a
permanent declaration of public health nuisance and a Do Not Enter--Unsafe to Occupy Order
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for the affected site to replace the temporary declaration. A copy of the permanent declaration
and order must be posted on all doorway entrances to the site or, in the case of bare land, in
several conspicuous places on the property.
(b) Abatement order. After issuing the permanent declaration, the city health
authority must send written notice to the site owner ordering abatement of the public health
nuisance. The abatement order must include the following:
(1) a copy of the declaration of public health nuisance and Do Not Enter—Unsafe to
Occupy Order;
(2) information about the potentially hazardous condition of the site;
(3) a summary of the site owner's and occupant's responsibilities under this section;
and
(4) information that may help the owner locate appropriate services necessary to
abate the public health nuisance.
(c) Notice to other parties. The health authority must also mail a copy of the
permanent declaration of public health nuisance and a copy of this section to the following
parties at their last known addresses:
(1) occupants or residents of the site if known;
(2) neighbors in proximity to the site«-ho may be reasonably affected by the
conditions found;
(3) the Orono police department;
(4) the appropriate enforcement division of the United States drug enforcement
administration; and
(4) other city, state and local authorities, such as the city public works department,
the state pollution control agency, the state department of health, and the
department of natural resources, that are known to have public and protection
responsibilities applicable to the situation.
(d) Modification or removal of declaration. The city health authority may modify or
remove the declaration of public health nuisance after the health authority receives
documentation from a city-approved environmental hazard testing and cleaning firm stating that
the suspected health and safety risks, including those to neighbors and potential occupants, either
do not exist or have been sufficiently abated or corrected to justify amendment or removal of the
declaration.
Secs. 50-204-50-300. Reserved.
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DNISION 3. SITE OWNER'S RESPONSIBILITY
Sec. 50-301. Site owner's responsibility to act.
(a) Within ten business days after the abatement order is mailed to the site owner, the
owner must accomplish the following:
(1) provide the city health authority, in writing, with:
a. confirmation that all persons and their pets have vacated the site;
b. the names of all children who the owner believes were residing at the site
during the time period the clandestine drug lab is suspected to have been
at the site; and
c. confirmation that the site will remain vacated and secured until the public
health nuisance is completely abated as required by this section.
(2) contract with one or more city-approved environmental hazaxd testing and
cleaning firms to conduct the following work in accordance with the most current
state guidelines:
a. a detailed on-site assessment of contamination at the site, including the
personal property in the site;
b. soil testing of the site and testing of all property and soil in proximity to
the site which the environmental hazard testing and cleaning firm
determines may have been affected by the conditions found at the site;
c. a complete clean-up of the site(including the clean-up or removal of
plumbing, ventilation systems, fixtures and contaminated soil)or a
demolition of the structures on the site and a complete clean-up of the
demolished site; �
d. a complete clean-up, or disposal at an approved dump site, of all personal
property in the site that is found to have been affected by the conditions at
the site;
e. a complete clean-up of all property and soil in proximity to the site that is
found to have been affected by the conditions at the site; and
f. remediation testing and follow-up testing, including testing of the
ventilation system and plumbing, to determine that all health risks are
sufficiently reduced to allow safe human occupancy and use of the site,
the personal property in it, and all property and soil in proximity to the
site.
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(3) provide the city health authority with the identity of the testing and cleaning firm
with which the owner has contracted for abatement of the public health nuisance
as required above; and
(4) sign an agreement with the city health authority establishing a clean-up schedule.
The schedule must establish reasonable deadlines for completing all actions
required by this section for abatement of the public health nuisance. The city
health authority must consider practical limitations and the availability of
contractors in approving the clean-up schedule.
(b) The owner must meet all deadlines established in the clean-up schedule. The
owner must provide the city health authority written documentation of the clean-up, including a
signed statement from a city-approved environmental hazard testing and cleaning firm that the
site, all personal property in it, and all property and soil in proximity to the site is safe for human
occupancy and use and that the clean-up was conducted in accordance with the most current state
guidelines.
Secs. 50-302-50-400. Reserved.
DNISION 4. COSTS.
Sec. 50-401. Site owner's responsibility for costs.
The site owner is responsible for all costs of dealing with and abating the public health nuisance,
including contractor's fees and the city's costs for services performed in connection with the
clandestine drug lab site clean-up. The city's costs may include:
(a) posting of the site;
(b) notification of affected parties;
(c) securing the site, providing limited access to the site, and prosecution of
unauthorized persons found at the site;
(d) expenses related to the recovery of costs, including the special assessment
process;
(e) laboratory fees;
(fl clean-up services;
(g) administrative fees; .
(h) legal fees; and
(i) other associated costs.
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Sec.50-402. City action and recoven of costs.
(a) If the site owner fails to comply with any of the requirements of this section, the
city health authority is authorized to take all reasonable actions necessary to abate the public
health nuisance including contracting R-ith a city-approved environmental hazard testing and
cleaning fum to conduct the work outlined in section 50-301(a) (2). The health authority is also
authorized to provide a copy of the declaration of public health nuisance to the holders of
mortgage or lien interests in the affected site.
(b) If the costs to clean the site or to clean the personal property at the site are
prohibiti�-ely high in relation to the value of the site or the personal property, the city is
authorized to remove or demolish the site, structure or building and dispose of the personal
property in it. These actions must be taken in accordance with the provisions of Minn. Stat.
Chap. 463.
(c) If the city abates the public health nuisance, the city is entitled to recover all of its
actual costs plus an additiona125 percent of such costs for administrative and legal expense, in
addition to any other legal remedy. The city may recover costs by civil action against the site
owner or by assessing the costs against the site as a special assessment under city code section
70-5.
Sec. 50-403. Recovery of costs from persons causing damage.
I�othing in this section limits the rights of the site owner, occupants, neighbors, or the
city to recover costs from the persons contributing to the public health nuisance, such as the
operators of the clandestine drug lab, or from other lawful sources.
Secs. 50–�04-50-500. Reserved.
DIVISIO�5. SITE RESTRICTIONS.
Sec. 50-501. Unauthorized removal of postings.
It is unlawful for a person, except authorized city personnel, to remove a temporary or
permanent declaration of public health nuisance or po Not Enter--Unsafe to Occupy Order from
a clandestine drug lab site.
Sec. 50-502. Entry into or onto site.
`�1ule a declaration of public health nuisance for a site is in effect and has been posted at
the site, no person, other than a law enforcement officer, the city health authority, or a person
authorized by the city health authority, is permitted to be inside or on a site.
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Sec. 50-503. Removal of personal property from the site.
While a declaration of public health nuisance for a site is in effect and has been posted at
the site,no personal property may be removed from the site without prior written consent from
the city health authority. Consent to remove personal property may be granted at the reasonable
discretion of the health authority, and only in cases of hardship after:
(a) a city-approved environmental hazard testing and cleaning firm has advised the
city, in writing, that the item(s) of personal property can be sufficiently cleaned to remove all
harmful contamination; and
(b) the owner of the personal property agrees in writing that the owner:
(1) is aware of the danger of using the contaminated property;
(2) will thoroughly clean the property to remove all contamination before the
property is used; and
(3) releases and agrees to indemnify the city from all liability to the owner
and third parties for injuries or damages alleged to have been caused by
the contaminated property.
SECTION 2. A violation of this ordinance is subject to the penalties and provisions of Chapter
1 of the city code.
SECTION 3. This Ordinance shall be published in THE PIONEER and THE LAKER
newspapers and shall be effective upon approval and publication.
Adopted by the City Council of the City of Orono on this l Oth day of November,
2003 by a vote of 5 ayes and 0 nays.
ATTEST:
� v� � l/.�-�
Linda S. Vee, City Clerk Barbara A. Peterson, Mayor
Published in the Laker/Pioneer newspapers the week of November 22, 2003.
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