(A) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to define dumping, control the dumping of solid waste materials, and provide for the clean-up of an penalties for prohibited dumping.
(B) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
CLEAN-UP COSTS. Include all costs incurred by Howard County in cleaning up solid waste dumped in violation of this Ordinance, including landfill fees and time expended by Howard County officials in effecting such clean up.
DUMPING or DUMP. The depositing or disposal, or the attempted depositing or disposal, of solid waste upon land.
PERSON. Any person, corporation, trust, organization, partnership, association or other legal entity.
SOLID WASTE. Garbage, used household goods, appliances, motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts, tires, trash, garbage, bags of trash or garbage, construction or demolition materials, and all other items commonly disposed of in sanitary landfills, including all items and materials defined in I.C. 13-7-1-22 as “solid waste.” The term shall not include manures or crop residues returned to the soil at the point of generation as fertilizers or soil conditioners as a part of a total farm operation.
(C) Prohibitions. No person shall dump, cause or allow dumping at any location in the county unless such location shall be a licensed sanitary landfill site.
(D) Clean-up and removal.
(1) Anyone having knowledge of an dumping at any location in the county shall provide such information to any county law enforcement officer, the County Highway Department or the County Board of Health, who shall then investigate, with the assistance of such other county officials which are deemed necessary, to determine if a violation of division (C) has occurred.
(2) Upon determining the identity of any person violating division (C), the Board of County Commissioners, the County Highway Department, the County Board of Health or the County Solid Waste District, by any of its designated officers or employees, shall issue an order directed to the violator so identified to remove and clean-up such solid waste within a period of ten days after receipt of such order. Failing compliance with such order, the Board of County Commissioners, the County Highway Department, the County Board of Health, or the County Solid Waste District may in their sole discretion clean up the solid waste, utilizing such resources as are required, and all clean-up costs shall be chargeable to the violator; provided, however, in the event that the dumping presents a clear and immediate hazard to public health or safety, the Board of County Commissioners, the County Highway Department, the County Board of Health, or the County Solid Waste District may proceed to clean up the solid waste without notice to the violator and thereafter charge the clean up expenses to the violator.
(3) In the event that a person violating division (C) does not pay clean-up costs after reasonable notice, the Board of County Commissioners, for and on behalf of the county, shall be entitled to recover such clean-up costs by action in the Howard Circuit or Superior Courts; provided, however, the total of such costs shall not exceed the sum of $2,500 per violation. In addition, the Board of County Commissioners shall also be entitled to seek injunctive or other similar relief through the Howard Circuit or Superior Courts to obtain orders requiring persons violating division (C) to clean up a dumping area and prohibiting further or future dumping.
(4) In the event that more than one person is involved in an incident of dumping, it shall be the joint and several responsibility of each such person for the clean-up of the site and the clean-up costs.
(E) Penalties. In addition to the responsibility for clean-up costs as provided in division (D) any person who violates division (C) of this section shall be subject to the penalty provided in § 50.99.
(F) Enforcement. This section shall be enforced under and in accordance with the provisions of I.C. 34-4-32-1 et seq.
(BCC Ord. 1993-24, passed 6-28-93) Penalty, see § 50.99