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(a) General regulations.
(1) A person commits an offense if he disposes of dry or wet solid waste or other waste materials inside the city, other than at a location and in a manner approved by the director of sanitation as complying with federal, state, and local law regulating solid waste processing and disposal. The owner, occupant, or person in control of premises to which illegally-deposited solid waste is traced is presumed to have illegally disposed of or caused the illegal disposal of the solid waste. If a vehicle is used to illegally dispose of solid waste, the owner of the vehicle is presumed to have illegally disposed of or authorized the illegal disposal of the solid waste. Proof of ownership of a vehicle may be made by a computer- generated record of the registration of the vehicle with the Texas Department of Public Safety showing the name of the person to whom state license plates were issued. This proof is prima facie evidence of the ownership of the vehicle by the person to whom the certificate of registration was issued.
(2) The director of sanitation shall be responsible for determining disposal procedures, authorized users, and methods of operation at municipal transfer stations and landfill sites inside the city.
(3) The director of sanitation shall have authority to approve the establishment and make inspections of non-municipal landfill sites inside the city to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local law regulating the establishment and operation of landfill sites.
(4) The director of sanitation shall have authority to regulate traffic at the city’s transfer stations and landfill sites. Designated employees of the department of sanitation services shall direct traffic by voice, hand, or signal at the transfer stations and landfill sites. A person commits an offense if he fails or refuses to comply with a traffic directive of a designated employee of the department of sanitation services. A designated employee of the department of sanitation services may cause the removal from a transfer station or landfill site of any person or vehicle in violation of this paragraph.
(b) Processing and disposal of solid waste materials by private persons, firms, or corporations will be permitted only after application has been made to, and approved by, the director of sanitation as complying with all applicable city, county, state, and federal regulations pertaining to solid waste processing and disposal operations, and all fees required by this article have been paid.
(1) The director of sanitation shall have authority to curtail, temporarily suspend, or permanently halt any solid waste processing or disposal operation being conducted by any private person, firm, or corporation that does not conform to the requirements of city, county, state, or federal regulations pertaining to solid waste processing and disposal operations or that in any manner jeopardizes the public health, safety, and welfare. The director of sanitation shall have authority to maintain curtailment or suspension restrictions until, in the director’s judgment, adequate measures have been taken to assure that removal of the restrictions will not jeopardize the public health, safety, or welfare.
(2) The director of sanitation shall have authority to cause to be rejected for processing or disposal any material that, in the director’s judgment, would create a nuisance by reason of emission or disagreeable odors or would operate to make the processing or disposal facilities unwholesome or adversely affect the public health, safety, and welfare.
(c) Processing and disposal of solid waste materials by the city.
(1) A person commits an offense if he takes, removes, or carries away from any processing or disposal facility operated by the city any garbage, trash, or other solid waste material, article, thing, or object situated on the facility, whether or not the thing has monetary value, without prior written permission and approval of the director of sanitation. In prosecutions for this offense, it is not necessary to describe the thing taken, removed, or carried away other than as generally described in this subsection or as “article,” “thing,” or “item,” and it is not necessary to allege that the thing had “value.”
(2) The director of sanitation shall have authority to designate those processing or disposal sites operated by the city that will be open to public access and those that will not be open to public access. (Ord. Nos. 16367; 20599; 24743)
(a) The following disposal service charges are established for disposing of municipal solid waste at the Northwest (Bachman) Transfer Station:
(1) Earth, rocks, and inert material will not be accepted at the station.
(2) Passenger cars, station wagons, pickups, and trailers less than 15 feet long that are used by Dallas city residents to haul their own waste from their residences to the station - no charge. (A current, valid Texas driver's license showing a Dallas address or a current Dallas water utilities bill is required as proof of residency.)
(3) Trucks or trailers with a cargo bed length of 25 feet or greater or truck-tractors with semi-trailers are prohibited from using the Northwest (Bachman) transfer station, unless specifically permitted in writing by the director of sanitation.
(4) Roll-off containers, whether open top or compactor, and compactor trucks or other trucks carrying compacted or baled refuse are prohibited from using the Northwest (Bachman) transfer station, unless specifically permitted in writing by the director of sanitation.
(5) The charge for all materials accepted at the transfer station is $63.43 per ton based on the transfer station weighing system, with a minimum charge of $63.43 for any load that is less than one ton. Each ton shall be assessed an additional $2.00 per ton customer processing fee for each individual load paid and processed by a cashier upon entering the transfer station.
(6) Whenever the transfer station weighing system is inoperable during a delivery of solid waste the tonnage will be estimated by the city on the basis of the full capacity of the vehicle delivering the solid waste.
(7) Effective January 1, 2023, an environmental fee will be applied to all commercial disposal customers at $2.00 per ton with a minimum charge of $2.00 for any load that is less than one ton.
(b) The following disposal service charges are established for disposing of municipal solid waste at city landfill sites:
(1) Passenger cars, station wagons, pickups, and trailers less than 15 feet long that are used by Dallas city residents to haul their own waste from their residences to a city landfill site - no charge. (A current, valid Texas driver's license showing a Dallas address or a current Dallas water utilities bill is required as proof of residency.)
(2) Except as provided in Subsection (b)(3), the charge for all materials accepted at a city landfill site is $38.80 per ton based on the landfill weighing system, with a minimum charge of $38.80 for any load that is less than one ton. Each ton shall be assessed an additional $2.00 per ton customer processing fee for each individual load paid and processed by a cashier upon entering the landfill.
(3) Soils accepted at the city landfill that can be reused for landfill cover or other beneficial reuse projects will be charged $3.00 per ton based on the landfill weighing system, with a minimum charge of $3.00 for any load that is less than one ton. Each ton of soil shall be assessed an additional $2.00 per ton customer processing fee for each individual load paid and processed by a cashier upon entering the landfill. Prior to arrival at the landfill, soil must be pre-approved through the special waste application process.
(4) Whenever the landfill weighing system is inoperable during a delivery of solid waste or soil the tonnage will be estimated by the city on the basis of the full capacity of the vehicle delivering the solid waste or soil.
(5) A fee of $54.00 per load will be charged for the use of city equipment, when available, to off-load bundled waste by pulling it with cables, chains, or other devices. City equipment will be used at the customer's own risk, with the city assuming no liability for any resulting damage. Non-city vehicles are prohibited from pulling loads off of other vehicles at a city landfill site.
(6) The fee for use of the city's mechanical tipper to off-load tractor trailer loads is $100.00 per use.
(7) Collection vehicles not constructed with an enclosed transport body must use nets, tarpaulins, or other devices to prevent accidental spillage. A cover fee of $40 will be charged for any collection vehicle (other than a pickup truck) that enters the landfill without being so equipped.
(8) Tires exceeding 25 inches in diameter will not be accepted at a city landfill site.
(9) Effective January 1, 2023, an environmental fee will be applied to all commercial disposal customers at $2.00 per ton with a minimum charge of $2.00 for any load that is less than one ton.
(c) The director of sanitation may enter into a disposal service contract with a solid waste collection service (as defined in Section 18-29 of this chapter) to provide for volume delivery of solid waste to the landfill on an annual basis for a discounted disposal service charge, subject to the following rules and conditions:
(1) The disposal service contract must be in writing, on a form approved by the director of sanitation and the city attorney's office. The term of the contract may not be longer than five years. The contract must be authorized by administrative action and must be signed by the city manager and approved as to form by the city attorney.
(2) The disposal service contract must provide for a guaranteed annual tonnage of solid waste of not less than 5,000 tons to be disposed of at the landfill. If the landfill weighing system is inoperable during a delivery of solid waste under the contract, the tonnage will be estimated by the city on the basis of the full capacity of the vehicle delivering the solid waste in accordance with Subsection (b)(4).
(3) The director of sanitation is not required to enter into a disposal service contract under this subsection if the director determines that:
(A) the useful life of the landfill would be adversely affected; or
(B) it is not practical to enter into a proposed disposal service contract for engineering, operational, or financial reasons.
(4) Payment of the disposal service charge under a disposal service contract will be calculated in accordance with the terms of the contract and this subsection. The initial disposal service charge for each solid waste disposal contract entered into pursuant to this subsection will be the disposal service charge in effect under Subsection (b)(2) on the date the contract is executed. On October 1 of each calendar year, the disposal service charge may be increased by the percent change, if any, between the June consumer price index for the current calendar year and the June consumer price index for the prior calendar year, except that the annual increase in the disposal service charge may not exceed six percent during any calendar year. The percent change will be determined by the director using The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South Region for All Items, 1982- 84=100, published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. This Consumer Price Index adjustment to the disposal service charge will only be applied if there is an equal or greater percentage increase in the disposal service charge in effect under Subsection (b)(2) for the next fiscal year. The contractor must pay the disposal service charge on a monthly basis. At the end of each contract year, the director of sanitation shall perform a reconciliation to determine the actual tonnage of solid waste disposed of at the landfill under the contract in that contract year and to make any adjustments to the amounts finally owed by the contractor.
(5) In consideration of the agreement of a solid waste collection service to guarantee the disposal of an annual tonnage of solid waste at the landfill pursuant to a disposal service contract, consistent with market rates, the director of sanitation may provide a discount from the disposal service charge required under Subsection (c)(4) of this section.
(6) If the contractor fails to dispose of the annual tonnage of solid waste at the landfill as guaranteed under the contract, the contractor must still pay the discounted disposal service charge for the entire annual tonnage guaranteed.
(7) If the director of sanitation determines that the contractor has disposed of an amount of solid waste at the landfill that exceeds the annual tonnage guaranteed under the contract, the director shall charge a disposal service charge for that excess tonnage of solid waste using the same percentage of discount applied to the guaranteed annual tonnage under the contract.
(8) Whenever the contractor delivers a load of solid waste to the landfill that is less than one ton, the contractor will be charged the discounted disposal service charge for one ton of solid waste.
(d) Disposal service charges are payable by any of the following methods:
(1) cash at the disposal site;
(2) credit or debit cards, under conditions established by the city; or
(3) monthly billing for commercial haulers upon approval of the director of sanitation and under such conditions as may be established by the director of sanitation and approved by the city attorney.
(e) A person engaged in a special residential cleanup effort may apply to the director of sanitation for a waiver of the disposal service charge. The director of sanitation may approve the application and waive the disposal service charge if the director finds that the cleanup effort is being conducted within a residential area of the city and not for profit.
(f) A person who refuses to pay a disposal service charge required by this section or who breaches a term or condition of a disposal service contract entered into under Subsection (c) may not deposit any waste at a city transfer station or landfill site. (Ord. Nos. 16367; 16697; 17133; 18876; 19300; 20448; 20838; 21058; 21431; 21819; 22206; 22565; 24743; 25754; 26960; 27092; 27203; 27353; 27934; 28019; 29039; 29477; 30215; 30993
; 31332; 31396, 31657; 32003; 32310; 32556)
(a) In this section:
(1) DIRECTOR means the director of the department designated by the city manager to enforce and administer this section or the director’s authorized representative.
(2) PREMISES means the lot, plot, or parcel of land, plus the front or side parkway between the property line or sidewalk and the curb or traveled way, and the rear or side parkway between the property line and the center line of an adjacent alley.
(b) An owner, occupant, or person in control of private premises commits an offense if he places, deposits, or throws; permits to accumulate; or permits or causes to be placed, deposited, or thrown, solid waste material on those premises in a manner or location that is in violation of this article.
(c) City authorized to collect and remove solid waste materials. Upon the failure of the owner, occupant, or person in control of private premises to comply with Subsection (b) of this section, or upon the written request and authorization of the owner after notification under Subsection (d) of this section, or upon a determination by the city health officer that the conditions constitute an immediate health hazard, the director shall have the solid waste materials collected and removed from the premises.
(d) Notice to remove.
(1) Before removing illegally-deposited solid waste material from private premises, the director must notify the owner of the premises to remove the solid waste material within seven days. This notice must be in writing and may be served by handing it to the owner in person or by sending it United States regular mail, addressed to the owner at the owner’s address as recorded in the appraisal district records of the appraisal district in which the premises are located.
(2) If personal service to the owner cannot be obtained, then the owner may be notified by:
(A) publication at least once in the official newspaper adopted by the city council;
(B) posting the notice on or near the front door of each building on the premises to which the violation relates; or
(C) posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into the ground on the premises to which the violation relates.
(3) If the director mails a notice to a property owner in accordance with Subsection (d)(1) and the United States Postal Service returns the notice as “refused” or “unclaimed,” the validity of the notice is not affected, and the notice is considered as delivered.
(4) In a notice provided under this section, the director may, by regular mail and by a posting on the property, inform the owner of the property on which the violation exists that, if the owner commits another violation of the same kind or nature that poses a danger to the public health and safety on or before the first anniversary of the date of the notice, the city may, without further notice, correct the violation at the owner’s expense and then assess the expense against the property. If a violation covered by a notice under this subsection occurs within the one-year period, and the city has not been informed in writing by the owner of a change in ownership of the property, then the city may, without notice, take any action permitted by Subsection (c) of this section and assess its expenses as provided in Subsection (e) of this section.
(3) Notice under this subsection is not necessary when the solid waste material is determined by the director to be an immediate health hazard.
(e) Charge to be levied and collected by the city for solid waste material collection and removal. If the city collects and removes solid waste materials from private premises at the request of the owner or upon failure of the owner to comply with the notice required under Subsection (d) of this section, charges in the amount of the total actual costs incurred by the city in performing the work will be collected from the owner or levied, assessed, and collected against the premises on which the work is performed. The charges will be collected by the city controller. The city controller shall file a statement by the director with the county clerk of the county in which the property is located setting out the total actual costs incurred by the city, the name of the property owner if known, and a legal description of the property, as required by state law. At the time the statement is filed, the city shall have a privileged lien on the premises involved, second only to tax liens and liens for street improvements, in the amount of the actual costs incurred, plus 10 percent interest on that amount from the date the costs were incurred. The city may file a suit in an appropriate court of law to foreclose upon its lien and recover its actual costs incurred plus interest. The suit must be filed in the name of the city. The statement filed under this subsection, or a certified copy of the statement, is prima facie proof of the amount of actual costs incurred by the city.
(f) The director may issue citations and prosecute persons for violating Subsection (b) regardless of whether a notice is issued under this section. (Ord. Nos. 16367; 17226; 19963; 20599; 21025; 22026; 22334; 22494; 25371; 27697)
(a) A person who violates a provision of this article, or who fails to perform a duty required of him by this article, commits an offense. A person is guilty of a separate offense for each day or part of a day during which the violation is committed, continued, or permitted.
(b) Except as provided in Subsection (c), an offense under this article is punishable by a fine of not more than $2,000 or less than:
(2) $150 for a first conviction of a violation of Section 18-4(e)(1);
(4) $200 for a first conviction of a violation of Section 18-10.
(c) An offense under section 18-4(c)(1) is punishable by a fine of not more than $500 or less than $50. An offense under Section 18-4(e)(2) is punishable by a fine of not more than $500 or less than $150. An offense under Section 18-5.1(a)(1) is punishable by a fine of not more than $500 or less than $150. Each day's violation shall constitute a separate offense and will be subject to the fines established in this section.
(d) The minimum fines established in Subsections (b) and (c) shall be doubled for the second conviction of the same offense within any 24-month period and trebled for the third and subsequent convictions of the same offense within any 24-month period. At no time shall the minimum fine exceed the maximum fine established in Subsection (b) or (c), whichever applies.
(e) Except where otherwise specified in this code, a culpable mental state is not required for the commission of an offense under this article.
(f) As an alternative to imposing the criminal penalty prescribed in Subsection (b) or (c), the city may impose administrative penalties, fees, and court costs in accordance with Article IV-b of Chapter 27 of this code, as authorized by Section 54.044 of the Texas Local Government Code, for an offense under this article. The alternative administrative penalty range for an offense is the same as is prescribed for a criminal offense in Subsection (b) or (c), whichever applies. (Ord. Nos. 20599; 22334; 25927; 26274; 30879, eff. 1-1-19)