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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 5475 ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE REGULATING THE OPERATION OF RENDERING ESTABLISHMENTS WITHIN THE CITY OF FORT WORTH BY AMEND- ING CHAPTER 19 (HEALTH AND SANITATION) OF THE FORT WORTH CITY CODE (1964) BY ADDING THERETO ARTICLE XIX CONTAINING SECTIONS 19-441 THROUGH 19-450; DEFINING TERMS; REQUIRING A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE FOR THE OPERATION OF ANY RENDERING ESTABLISHMENT; SETTING MINIMUM STANDARDS AND PROMULGATING REGULATIONS FOR THE OPERATION OF RENDERING ESTABLISHMENTS; PROVIDING FOR THE REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATES OF COMPLIANCE; PROVID- ING FOR APPEALS FROM DECISIONS OF THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH; AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH TO INSPECT RENDERING ESTABLISHMENTS; DECLAR- ING THE OPERATION OF A RENDERING ESTABLISHMENT IN VIOLATION HEREOF TO BE A NUISANCE; AUTHORIZING IN- JUNCTIVE RELIEF IN ADDITION TO THE PENAL PROVISIONS OF THIS ORDINANCE; PROVIDING PENALTIES; MAKING THIS ORDINANCE CUMULATIVE OF PRIOR ORDINANCES REGULATING RENDERING ESTABLISHMENTS; REPEALING CONFLICTING ORDI- NANCES; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; MAKING THE ENFORCEMENT HEREOF GOVERNMENTAL; DIRECTING THE CITY SECRETARY TO PUBLISH THIS ORDINANCE IN PAMPHLET FORM; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE LATE. WHEREAS, it is essential to the health and welfare of the citizens of the City of Fort Worth that the air be kept free from pollution and from noxious or offensive effluvia, gasses, stenches or vapors; and, WHEREAS, the public health, safety and welfare require that the City Council of the City of Fort Worth provide for the protection of the citizens of the City of Fort Worth from the dangers of air pollution and promulgate regulations; and, WHEREAS, it has been brought to the attention of the City Council of the City of Fort Worth that the uncontrolled and un- regulated operation of rendering establishments within the City of Fort Worth has resulted in the introduction into the atmos- phere of noxious and offensive effluvia, gasses, stenches and vapors which are detrimental to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Fort Worth and produce material physical discomfort and annoyance to persons of ordinary sensi- bility; and, WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Fort Worth finds that it is a matter of paramount public necessity and urgency that the safe and pure air and atmosphere in the City of Fort Worth be protected from such pollution; and, WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Fort Worth, in the exercise of its sound discretion and legislative authority, expressly finds that if noxious or offensive effluvia, gasses, stenches or vapors are allowed to be introduced into the atmosphere of the City of Fort Worth by the unregulated and uncontrolled operation of rendering establishments within the city limits of the City of Fort Worth, such offensive and noxious effluvia, gasses, stenches or vapors will be injurious to the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Fort Worth; and further, if theuncontrolled and unregulated operation of rendering establishments within the City of Fort Worth is permitted to continue to occur or exist, the atmosphere and the air, which is one of the principal sources of life and health to the citizens of the City of Fort Worth, will be polluted, with a resulting injury to the eco- nomic life of the community and the health and property of the -2- citizens of Fort Worth; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: SECTION 1 That Chapter 19 (Health and Sanitation) of the Fort Worth City Code (1964) is hereby amended by adding thereto Article XIX, Rendering Establishments, which said Article XIX shall contain Sections 19-441 through 19-450, and said Article XIX shall hereafter read as follows; Article XIX. Rendering Establishments. Sec. 19-441. Definitions. Rendering Establishments. By the term "rendering establishment" as used in this ordinance is meant an establishment engaged in the crushing, boiling, grind- ing, burning or drying of raw or green bones; the burning, boiling, rendering or drying of raw or green fats; gut-cleaning; blood-drying; the making of glue; the manufacture of fertilizing material of any kind or description or the boiling of offal, swill, raw or green fat or grease of any description from any dead animal or part thereof or either of them or part there- of in the production of non-edible material for com- mercial usage. Person. By the term "person" as used in this ordinance is meant any individual, association of individuals, partnership, firm, company or cor- poration; and the term "person" shall be construed to include both masculine and feminine. Process or Processing. By the term "process"or 11processing" as used in this ordinance is meant any operation or combination of operations where any raw or green dead animal or part thereof is prepared, treated or handled. Raw or Green. By the term "raw" or "green" is meant any dead animal or part thereof that has not been cooked or processed. -3- Sec. 19-442. Certificate of Compliance Required. From and after the effective date of this ordi- nance, it shall be unlawful for any person to operate a rendering establishment within the city limits of the City of Fort Worth unless such per- son shall have been issued and displays on the premises of such establishment a valid, current and unrevoked "Certificate of Compliance" pertaining to each such rendering establishment issued to such person by the Director of Public Health of the City of Fort Worth; provided, however, that the operation of any rendering establishment as an integral part of a federally inspected meat packing plant under the supervision of the Meat Inspection Division of the United States Department of Agriculture shall be Prima facie evidence of compliance with all pro- visions of this ordinance except Item 1. of Sec. 19-445. Sec. 19-443. Application. It shall be the duty of any person desiring to be issued a Certificate of Compliance under this ordinance to make application therefor to the Director of Public Health in writing and in such form as may be prescribed by the Director of Public Health. Such application shall contain at least the following information the name and address of the applicant; if such applicant be a partnership, the name and address of each general partner; if such applicant be a corporation, the name and address of each officer of the corporation; and the name and address of the rendering establishment. Upon the receipt of such application, it shall be the duty of the Director of Public Health or his desig- nated representative to make an inspection of the rendering establishment to determine whether or not it is being operated in compliance with stand- ards and the regulations prescribe,3 herein and such other regulations as may from time to time be es- tablished and promulgated by the Director of Public Health. It shall be the further duty of the Director of Public Health of the City of Fort Worth, within a reasonable time after such application is re- cqiV.ed, to notify the applicant in writing whether the operation of his rendering establishment com- -4- plies with this ordinance and whether his application is granted or denied. If the rendering establish- ment is found to be in compliance herewith, the Director of Public Health shall issue a Certificate of Compliance upon such form as he may prescribe. If the rendering establishment is not being operated in compliance herewith, the Director of Public Health or his designated representative shall deny such application and specify the deficiencies in writing and deliver same to the applicant. Sec. 19-444. Standards. Any violation of this section or any part there- of shall constitute sufficient grounds to deny an application or revoke a Certificate of Compliance. 1. No rendering establishment shall be operated within the corporate limits of the City of Fort Worth which emits or shall allow to be emitted into the community's atmosphere noxious or offensive effluvia, gasses, stenches or vapors which produce physical and/ or material discomfort to persons of ordinary sensi- bility. 2. No rendering establishment shall be operated within the corporate limits of the city of Fort Worth which shall emit or allow to be emitted into the atmosphere any odor detectable when a sample of 30 cubic feet of said atmosphere is bubbled through a solution of 75 milliliters of distilled water and then the water is brought to 100 degrees centigrade before the organoleptic odor test is conducted. 3 . No rendering establishment shall be operated within the corporate limits of the City of Fort Worth which emits or allows to be emitted into the atmos- phere any visible vapors or steam from any rendering process. Sec. 19-445. Regulations governing rendering opera- tions. Every rendering establishment shall comply with the minimum requirements set forth by these regulations . -5- Item 1. Operating Procedures. A. Operating procedures of rendering establishments shall be such as to assure finished products which are free from disease-producing organisms, and they shall be executed in such manner as to prevent spread of infec- tious or noxious material. B. The following requirements shall be met, and the meeting of such requirements shall be deemed to be compliance with this section- 1. Kll raw materials received on the premises of the render- ing establishment shall be placedin the cooking process immediately upon their receipt, except that dry or other non- odorous raw material may be stored for a period of forty- eight hours, if so stored as to prevent a nuisance and/or development of a malodorous condition. 2. Adequate and suitable provision for treatment of cooking vapors shall be provided and operated in a manner that will control odors, such as; a. The utilization of vapor collection devices where odors accumulate; b. The utilization of suit- able vapor condensing mechanisms for cooking gasses; c. The use of ample cool water in the operation of condensers; -6- d. The use of methods for secondary treatment of non-condensable gasses in activated carbon or other catalytic-type ab- sorption systems or by combustion in a burning chamber; e. The frequent and adequate disposal of solid and liquid wastes; f. The utilization of appro- priate odor counteractants or masking compounds; and g. The use of air pollution control equipment for dis- posing of all vapors leav- ing the cooking equipment. 3. Collection vehicles shall be held to a minimum of stops while en route to the rendering establishment with raw materials. 4. Collection vehicles shall be washed and sanitized at the end of each day's operations. 5. Any truck which has been used for the transport of any raw rendering material shall be thoroughly washed and sanitized before use in the transport of any finished product. 6. The raw material shall be heated under a minimum of 20 pounds steam jacket pressure for at least one hour at a temperature of not less than 250 degrees Fahrenheit, with agitator rotating at not less than 16 revolutions per minute,,. -7- 7. Permanent records shall be kept either manually or through the use of automatic recording equip- ment to record water, gas or other techniques used in control of cooking vapors and odors, and said records must be maintained for a period of three months. Item 2. Construction and'General Layout of Rendering Establishments. A. Rendering establishments shall provide adequate space for the processing opera- tions conducted therein, shall be con- structed in accordance with the subse- quent provisions of these regulations, shall be maintained in good repair, and shall provide for the separation of those processes which may cause con- tamination of the finished product by raw materials used in processing. B. The following requirements shall be met, and the meeting of such requirements shall be deemed to be compliance with this item: 1. Rendering establishments shall provide sufficient space for the conduct in a sanitary man- ner of rendering operations car- ried on therein, for the instal- lation of necessary utility equip- ment, and for the installation of processing equipment in such a manner that such equipment will be easily accessible for cleaning. 2. Rendering establishments shall be constructed in accordance with the subsequent applicable pro- visions of these regulations so as to be easily maintained in a sanitary condition and to prevent harborage areas for rodents, in- sects and other vermin. -8- 3. Rendering establishments shall be kept in good repair. 4. Storage facilities for finished products shall be so located and constructed as to prevent con- tamination of finished products by raw materials entering into and processed through the rendering establishment. Storage facilities for finished products shall be separate from receiving and pro- cessing areas. Any opening be- tween cooking and pressing areas and storage areas shall be equipped with self-closing doors. There shall be no direct openings between areas where raw materials are re- ceived and prepared for cooking and the storage areas for finished products. 5. A paved area, adequate in size and provided with adequate drains leading to a sanitary sewer system, shall be provided for the washing of trucks. This area shall be pro- vided with live steam or other suit- able sanitization method for trucks. 6. Hide storage shall be closed and separate from raw material and fin- ished product areas, and each open- ing into the hide storage area shall be provided with self-closing doors. 7. Any vehicle, truck or trailer haul- ing raw materials for rendering not otherwise contained in leak-proof containers shall be of tightly covered construction. It shall be constructed of impervious material and shall be leak-proof. The truck bed shall be sloped in such manner as to drain to a catch basin. The catch basin shall be of leak-proof construction ample in size to pre- vent any overflow from the truck bed, and a drain plug accessible for clean- ing shall be provided at its lowest point. -9- 8. Employee toilet and dressing rooms in rendering establish- ments shall be separated from the rest of such -establishment. 9. The construction, reconstruction and remodeling or renovation of any rendering establishment within the City must be performed in strict compliance with all applicable statutes, ordinances and regula- tions of the State of Texas and the City of Fort Worth and shall be subject to prior approval by the Director of Public Health. Item 3. Floors. A. All floors of rendering establishments shall be kept clean and in good repair. Floors in processing and storage areas shall be constructed off_concrete or other equally impervious and easily cleanable material and shall be smooth, graded to drain and be provided with adequate drains. B. The following requirements shall be met, and the meeting of such requirements shall be deemed to be compliance with this item: 1. Floors in rendering establish- ments shall be smooth and in good repair and shall be kept clean. 2. Floors in all rooms or areas where processing is done, storage pro- vided or where utensils are washed shall be constructed of good quality concrete or equally im- pervious and easily cleanable material. All surfaces of such floors shall be graded to drain to trapped drains or to other waste-disposal facilities approved by the Director of Public Health. Gutters, if used to conduct such drainage, shall be so constructed and located as to be easily clean- able. -10- 3. During operations, the floors in processing rooms and areas shall be kept free from processing wastes, including blood, manure, scraps, grease, water, dirt and litter. When pro- cessing is conducted at short, irregu- lar intervals, such processing wastes shall be removed from floors and pro- perly disposed of immediately fol- lowing each individual- period of pro- cessing. Such flaors shall be thorough- ly cleaned at the end of each day's operation. Item 4. Walls, Ceilinngp,Partitions and Posts. A. In rendering establishments, all walls, par- titions, posts, ceilings and exposed over- head structures shall be kept clean and in good repair, and those in all rooms or areas where materials are processed or stored shall be finished with smooth, washable surfaces. All outer walls and rooms shall be effectively protected against the en- trance and harborage of rodents and insects; and interior walls, partitions, posts, ceilings and overhead structures shall be free from such harborage. B. The following requirements shall be met, and the meeting of such requirements shall be deemed to be compliance with this item: 1. Walls, partitions, posts, ceilings and exposed overhead structures of all rooms and areas in render- ing establishments shall be kept clean and in good repair. 2. Those sections of walls, parti- tions, posts, ceilings and ex- posed overhead structures in processing rooms which become soiled during processing shall be thoroughly cleaned after each day's operations. -11- 3. Walls, partitions, and posts in all rooms and areas where finished products are stored and where utensils are washed, in refuse rooms and in all other rooms and areas shall be finished with smooth, washable surfaces of concrete, cement-plaster or other equally impervious and easily-cleanable material. 4. Interior walls separating render- ing establishment rooms from each other shall extend from the floor to the ceiling. Such walls shall be free from openings except for necessary doorways equipped with doors and necessary openings, such as for conveyors or reach-through operations. 5. Ceilings, or the underside of the roof if used as a ceiling, and ex- posed overhead structures in all rooms or areas where processing or storage takes place or where utensils are washed in refuse rooms and in all other rooms or areas shall have washable surfaces. Such surfaces shall be at least as smooth and impervious as steel-troweled ce- ment-plaster finish; provided that if the construction of the under- side of the roof and of the structur- al members is such that they cannot easily be kept clean, a ceiling beneath the structural members shall be required. 6. All outer walls, roofs and openings therein shall be protected against the entrance and harborage of rodents and insects, and interior walls, partitions, posts, ceilings and other overhead structures shall contain no crevices or openings which may provide harborage for rodents or insects. -12- Item 5. Doors, Windows and Openings. A. In rendering establishments all outside openings, including doors, windows and conveyor openings, shall be protected against the entrance of insects, rodents and other vermin. Outside doors, toilet- room doors and all doors of rooms or areas where processing or storage takes place shall be self-closing and close- fitting. All interior doors shall be of solid type. Doors and windows shall be kept clean and in good repair. B. The following requirements shall be met, and the meeting of such requirements shall be deemed to be compliance with this item: 1. All outside doors, windows and open skylights shall be ef- fectively screened with wire of 16-mesh or finer. Outside conveyor openings, air-vent openings and other special type outside openings shall be ef- fectively protected at all times against the entrance of insects, rodents and other vermin by the use of doors, flaps, screens or other means as recommended by the Director of Public Health. 2. All outside doors shall be con- structed of metal, or the bottom edge shall be flashed and edged with sheet metal to a height of six inches, 3. All screens shall be tight-fitting and kept clean and in good repair. 4. Toilet-room doors, outside doors and all doors leading into rooms or areas where products are pro- cessed shall be self-closing and tight-fitting. -13- Item 6. Ventilation. All rooms and areas in rendering establish- ments shall be well ventilated. Item 7. Water Supply. The water supply of each rendering establish- ment shall be easily accessible, adequate, and of a safe, sanitary quality. There shall be no physical connection be- tween the plant's water supply and any un- safe or questionable supply. Permission may be granted by the Director of Public Health for use of other water supplies for limited purposes, such as fire control or ammonia condensers. In all cases, water supply lines shall be clearly identified. Item 8, Disposal of Wastes. A. The following requirements shall be met, and the meeting of such requirements shall be deemed to be compliance with this item: 1. All wastes shall be handled and disposed of in a manner which will prevent possible contamination of the water supply, processing equipment, packaging materials and con- tainers and finished products. 2. All liquid wastes shall receive such treatment and be disposed of in such manner as may be pre- scribed by the Director of Public Health. 3. Containers used for the collection and holding of solid wastes shall be kept covered or otherwise pro- tected at all times so that such wastes shall not be accessible to insects, rodents and other vermin, or otherwise create a nuisance. -14- 4. No solid wastes shall be disposed - of by burying on the premises. Item 9. Existing Establishments. The regulations contained in this ordinance which pertain to the structure of buildings (not rendering apparatus or equipment) shall not apply to rendering establishments which are in existence and operation at the effective date hereof unless and until such building structures are substantially altered or reconstructed. Sec. 19-446. Revocation of Certificate of Compliance. Each Certificate of Compliance issued hereunder shall contain the date of its issuance but shall not be issued for any prescribed period of time. Each such Certificate of Compliance shall be revocable by the Director of Public Health. It shall be the duty of the Director of Public Health to make or cause to be made frequent and regular inspections of each rendering establishment operating within the city limits of the City of Fort Worth in order to determine that such rendering establishment is being operated in compliance herewith. If any rendering establishment is determined to be in violation hereof, it shall be the duty of the Director of Public Health to give written notice to the owner or person in charge of such rendering establishment specifying the violation and a reasonable period of time within which such violation must be corrected. If the violation is not corrected within the period of time specified, it shall be the duty of the Director of Public Health to revoke the Certificate of Compliance for such rendering establishment. Sec. 19-447. Right of Appeal. Any applicant who has been denied a Certificate of Compliance or any person whose Certificate of Compliance has been revoked by the Director of Pub- lic Health shall have the right to appeal such de- cision to the City Council. Notice of Appeal shall be made in writing, delivered to the City Manager of the City of Fort Worth within ten (10) days after the denial of the application or the revocation of the Certificate of Compliance. Such appeal shall be heard in open public meeting no later than fifteen (15) days after the date that the written notice of appeal is delivered to the City Manager. -15- Sec. 19-448. Right of Inspection. The Director of Public Health of the City of Fort Worth and/or his duly authorized representa- tive are hereby authorized to make inspections of the premises of all rendering establishments operating within the city limits of the City of Fort Worth at any and all reasonable times. The refusal by the owner or person in charge of the rendering establishment to admit the Director of Public Health or his duly authorized representa- tive into or upon the premises of such rendering establishment shall be grounds for the revocation of the Certificate of Compliance for such rendering establishment. In like manner, to oppose, hinder, or in any way interfere with the inspection made or sought to be made by the Director of Public Health or any of his duly authorized representa- tives of any rendering establishment by the owner, or person in charge thereof shall be grounds for the revocation of such Certificate of Compliance. Sec. 19-449. Authority of the Director of Public Health to Establish and Promulgate Additional Rules and Regulations Concerning Rendering Establishments. Authority is hereby delegated to the Director of Public Health to establish and promulgate such additional regulations as in his judgment may be necessary to carry out the intent of this ordinance and to insure the operation of rendering establish- ments within the city limits of the City of Fort Worth in accordance with the standards and regula- tions set herein. Sec. 19-450. Declaration of Nuisance and Injunctive Relief. The operation of any rendering plant within the city limits of the City of Fort Worth without a Certificate of Compliance as required by this ordinance is hereby declared to be a nuisance. Notwithstanding any penal provision of this ordi- nance, the City Attorney is authorized to file suit on behalf of the City of Fort Worth or the Director of Public Health, or both, for such injunctive relief as may be necessary to prevent the unlawful operation of a rendering establishment within the City of Fort Worth. -16- SECTION 2. Any person who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects or refuses to comply with, or who resists the enforcement of any of the provisions of this ordinance, shall be fined not less than Five Dollars ($5.00) nor more than One Hundred Dol- lars ($100.00) for each offense. Each day that a violation exists or is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense. SECTION 3 . This ordinance shall be and is hereby declared to be cumulative of all other ordinances of the City of Fort Worth providing for the regulation of rendering establishments with- in the city limits of said City, and this ordinance shall not operate to repeal or affect any of such other ordinances ex- cept insofar as the provisions thereof might be inconsistent or in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance, in which event such conflicting provisions, if any, in such other ordinance or ordinances are hereby repealed. SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance, and all of the remainder of this ordinance not so held to be unconstitutional shall continue to be in full force and effect. -17- SECTION 5. All of the provisions, standards and regulations pro- vided in this ordinance are hereby declared to be governmental and for the health, safety and welfare of the general public. Any member of the City Council, any City official or employee charged with the enforcement of this ordinance, acting for the City of Fort Worth in the discharge of his duties, shall not thereby render himself personally liable, and he is hereby relieved from all personal liability for any damage that might accrue to persons or property as a result of any act required or permitted in the discharge of his said duties. SECTION 6. The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth is hereby directed to publish this ordinance in pamphlet form for general distribution among the public, and this ordinance as so published shall be admissible in evidence in all courts without further proof than the production of said pamphlet as provided in Section 3, Chapter XXVI of the Charter of the City of Fort Worth. SECTION 7. This ordinance shall take effect and be in full force and effect from and after the lst day of February , A. D. 1966. A PPRED AS TO AND LEGALITY City Attorney -18-