(A) Notification. It shall be the duty of the Director to serve or cause to be served upon the owner or occupant of any premises on which there is kept or maintained any nuisance in violation of the provisions of this chapter and to demand the abatement of the nuisance within five days.
(B) Non-compliance. If the person so served does not abate the nuisance within five days, the county may proceed to abate such nuisance, keeping account of the expense of the abatement, and such abatement shall be charged and paid by such owner or occupant. Whenever a bill for such charges remains unpaid for 30 days after that has been rendered, the county may file a statement of lien claim against the property. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to require the county to take action to abate any existing nuisance, nor shall this section be construed to be in lieu of criminal penalties provided in § 50.99 of this chapter.
(C) Cost recovery. When the county must clean up and remove an open dump to ensure protection of the public health and safety and when the responsible party can be identified, the Director shall require these persons to reimburse the county for the actual costs incurred. Recoverable costs include but are not limited to costs for site assessment and evaluation, labor, equipment, disposal and legal fees. Should other means of collection prove ineffective, the county may seek such reimbursement of funds 90 days following the completion or the cleanup. Such cost recovery should not apply to property owners who are the victims of illegal dumping of solid waste without their knowledge or beyond their reasonable control.
(Ord. 1991-830.1, passed 5-21-1991; Ord. 95-830.1, passed 1-8-1996) Penalty, see § 50.99