(1) The Cass County Emergency Response Team is established.
(2) The functions of the Cass County Emergency Response Team shall be under the direction of the Cass County Emergency Management Agency, which, as an Agency of Cass County, is responsible to the Cass County Board of Commissioners.
(3) The Cass County Emergency Response Team shall adopt by-laws and standard operating procedures, which will be subject to final approval before implementation by the Cass County Emergency Management Agency Advisory Council and the Cass County Commissioners.
(4) The Cass County Emergency Response Team shall coordinate all emergency response procedures with the Director of the Cass County Emergency Management Agency, or, when appropriate by state or county statute, the Cass County Board of Commissioners, and shall act as a liaison for emergency response activities with the public, local businesses, and public and private agencies.
(5) Nothing in this resolution shall be construed to relieve the Cass County Board of Commissioners from its statutory role as the Executive body of Cass County, Indiana, specifically including its authority to provide and control emergency services to the citizens of Cass County.
(1993 Code, § 2-78A) (Res. 96-06, passed 6-3-1996)
(B) Reimbursement for operations of Cass County Emergency Response Team.
PERSON. Individual, partnership, co-operative, limited liability company, firm, company, corporation, association, trust, estate, government entity or any other legal entity or their representatives, agents or assigns.
RESPONSE. Any and all instances when one or more members of the Cass County Emergency Response Team are called out to the scene of an incident involving the presence or suspected presence of dangerous, hazardous, or toxic substances.
RESPONSIBLE PARTY. The person liable for reimbursement for costs and expenses associated with the operation of the Cass County Emergency Response Team.
SUBSTANCES. Considered as dangerous, hazardous or toxic are those which are:
1. Listed in the latest edition of the U.S. Department of Transportation “Guidebook for Hazardous Materials Incidents;”
2. Listed in the latest edition “Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials” by H. Irving Sax and contain the terms-- dangerous, hazardous or toxic in the THR (Summary Toxicity Statement), the Disaster Hazard Statement, the Explosion Hazard Statement, or the Acute Toxicity Statement; or
3. Listed in the latest edition of the “Condensed Chemical Dictionary” by Gessner G. Hauley and the words, hazardous, or toxic are used in the “Hazard” explanation used to categorize the substance.
(2) (a) Any person that uses, stores, handles, transports or disposes of any dangerous, hazardous or toxic substances or materials or any substances or materials reasonably believed to be dangerous, hazardous or toxic in such a fashion or manner so as to necessitate a response for paying the costs and expenses identified in this section no later than 30 days following any reimbursement response of the Cass County Emergency Response Team.
(b) The Director of the Cass County Emergency Management Agency shall prepare a billing pursuant to this section and shall submit the billing to the party responsible for paying the costs and expenses identified in this section no later than 30 days following any reimbursement response of the Cass County Emergency Response Team.
(c) The person responsible for reimbursing the County of Cass under the provisions of this section shall tender payment in satisfaction of the aforementioned billing no later than 30 days following receipt of the billing prepared and issued by the Director of Cass County Emergency Management Agency.
(d) Any person who fails to reimburse the County of Cass within the aforementioned 30 days, shall be deemed to have violated this section and shall be subject to a penalty equivalent to 5% of the total billed amount for every day that the responsible party fails to tender reimbursement to the County of Cass.
(e) If a person objects to the aforementioned billing by the Director of the Cass County Emergency Agency, the responsible party must file with the Cass County Emergency Management a written objection to the billed amount. Upon receipt of such written objection, the Cass County Emergency Management Agency Advisory Council shall place the matter on the agenda of its next regularly scheduled meeting and shall allow the responsible party an opportunity to object to the billing. The Cass County Emergency Management Agency Advisory Council shall then deliberate and issue a written opinion concerning the appropriateness of the billed amount. If the responsible party objects to the decision of the Cass County Emergency Management Advisory Council, a petition requesting judicial review of the decision of the Cass County Emergency Management Agency Advisory Council shall be filed with the Cass County Circuit Court no later than 30 days from the date of the decision of the Cass County Emergency Management Advisory Council. The Cass County Circuit Court Judge shall conduct a hearing on the petition as expeditiously as is consistent with the Court’s calendar. The decision of the Cass County Circuit Court Judge shall be final unless the responsible party or the Cass County Emergency Management Agency Advisory Council appeals that decision through the appellate procedure for appeal of any civil matter.
(3) (a) Any time the Cass County Emergency Response Team is called to the scene of an accident, the responsible party shall reimburse the County of Cass (at replacement cost) for any Emergency Response Team equipment or supplies which are damaged, lost, spent, destroyed, rendered irreparable or “used up” in responding to or managing the incident; provided that any reimbursement under this paragraph shall be limited to equipment and supplies which are listed on the “Equipment and Supply Inventory List” of the Cass County Emergency Response Team which shall be kept on file at the office of the Director of the Cass County Emergency Management Agency and made available for public inspection during normal business hours of the Cass County Emergency Management Agency.
(b) 1. In addition to the reimbursement obligations contained division (B)(3)(a), the responsible party shall be billed by the Director of the Cass County Emergency Management Agency at the rate of $75 per hour for each member of the Cass County Emergency Response Team who is active at the site, and in addition, for initial response with a hazardous material response unit or a rescue ambulance unit dispatched on a hazardous material incident:
a. $350 per response vehicle except a command/control vehicle.
b. $150 per command/control vehicle.
2. For each hour or fraction thereof as on-scene assistance:
a. $200 per response unit except a command/control vehicle.
b. $100 per command/control vehicle.
3. In addition to all the foregoing amounts, the responsible party shall pay the costs of collection, including attorney fees, if suit is necessary to collect such amounts.
(4) In the event that the Cass County Emergency Response Team responds to an incident outside of the boundaries of Cass County, the responsible party shall be billed the sum of $2,000 per incident response in addition to the amounts set forth in division (B)(3) above. The Cass County Emergency Response Team shall not be held liable for anything that goes wrong in providing such aid. (Including liability, workman’s compensation, property damage, loss, bodily injuries and/or death.) The party requesting aid shall take full responsibility for the Cass County Emergency Response Team.
(5) By signing the Mutual Aid agreement, the requesting party accepts these terms. The provisions of division (B)(2) of this section shall also be applicable to this out-of-county assessment.
(6) In the event that any portion of this section is declared invalid, unconstitutional or otherwise null and void, the Cass County Council specifically intends that the remaining portions hereof shall continue to have full force, effect and validity until or unless declared otherwise.
(1993 Code, § 2-78B) (Ord. 98-3, passed 2-20-1998)
