Arizona Daily Star: State Plan Boosts Efforts to Fight Wildcat Dumping
Filed under: Earth 911 - February 12, 2008
Pima County and Tucson could get an additional tool to wield against wildcat dumpers.
A group of state lawmakers, including Tucson Republican Rep. Marian McClure, has introduced legislation that would increase fines for illegal dumping and require those accused of dumping to prove they properly disposed of the waste rather than simply dumping it.
The legislation calls for a minimum fine of $500 for misdemeanor dumping and $1,000 for felony dumping.
Felony dumping is dumping more than 300 pounds or 100 cubic feet of trash and any dumping for commercial purposes.
Those caught dumping illegally still will need to pay to clean up the trash, in addition to paying the fines. The bill also says those who dump illegally are responsible for their trash until it is cleaned up and must present a landfill receipt or other evidence that they disposed of the waste properly.
Democratic Rep. Barbara McGuire, a main sponsor, said the bill would make it easier for counties to get those suspected of dumping to remove the mess. She said counties can’t prosecute offenders unless they catch them in the act.
“This way, it holds them responsible for the disposal of their trash,” said McGuire, who represents Kearney, a town in rural Pinal County.
Local officials said they welcome any additional help, though they still face significant hurdles to stopping illegal dumping.
Pima County has just one person responding to an average of 53 illegal dumping complaints a month, as well as another 57 complaints about trash on people’s private property.
Beth Gorman, a spokeswoman for the county’s Department of Environmental Quality, said the department doesn’t pursue fines now, instead focusing on getting trash cleaned up. Also, the court often waives any fines if the person cleans up the property.
The new bill would not allow judges to waive the fines.
“We think that a fine would be a deterrent and are supportive of any measure that might help reduce illegal dumping in our community,” Gorman said.
The county is so concerned about illegal dumping that the Board of Supervisors ignored recommendations to increase landfill fees because it didn’t want to discourage people from taking their trash to the landfill, especially in remote rural areas where there is limited trash pickup.
The city already levies fines for illegal dumping—from $100 to $2,500 per occurrence per day—and Eliseo Garza, director of the Department of Neighborhood Resources, said those fines can accumulate quickly to tens of thousands of dollars, especially for repeat offenders.
The proposed legislation offers the city other benefits as well. Often, the city must place a lien on an offender’s property to collect fines. The bill would make those liens secondary only to taxes, making it more likely the city will collect.
However, Garza said, the city and county still will face the challenge of obtaining evidence that will hold up in court.
“The problem is finding out who did it,” Garza said. “A lot of these occur during the night and in remote areas. You have a lot of open areas and people will dump.”
Investigators sometimes find items like envelopes with the dumper’s name and address or other evidence linking the trash to a person or business. That’s enough evidence to pursue a civil violation, but it doesn’t always hold up in a criminal court.
“It’s hard to pursue charges because the courts have rules of evidence, and that’s considered circumstantial,” he said. “You would have to have a fairly strong case to make the court impose fines. You need pictures or witnesses. Even with this bill, that still is something we’ll have to deal with.”
On StarNet: Learn where to properly dispose of different types of waste at azstarnet.com/earth911.
One Response to “Arizona Daily Star: State Plan Boosts Efforts to Fight Wildcat Dumping”
Rep. Barbara McGuire does not justrepresent Kearny, but all of District 23 - one of the state’s fastest growing districts.
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/MembersPage.asp?Member_ID=36&Legislature=48