a. It shall be unlawful for any person, his or her agent, employee or any person under his or her control to suffer or permit any amount of dirt, sand, gravel, clay, loam, stone, rocks, rubble, building rubbish, sawdust, shavings or trade or household waste, refuse, ashes, manure, garbage, rubbish or debris of any sort or any other organic or inorganic material or thing or other offensive matter being transported in a dump truck or other vehicle to be dumped, deposited or otherwise disposed of in or upon any sidewalk, street, lot, park, public place, wharf, pier, dock, bulkhead, slip, navigable waterway or other area whether publicly or privately owned.
b. Any person who violates the provisions of this section while engaged in commercial activities shall be liable to arrest and upon conviction thereof shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of $4,000 for the first offense and $9,000 for any subsequent offense or by imprisonment not to exceed 90 days or by both such fine and imprisonment.
c. (1) Any person who violates the provisions of subdivision a of this section shall also be liable for a civil penalty of $4,000 for the first offense, $9,000 for the second offense within any eighteen-month period and $18,000 for each subsequent offense within any eighteen-month period. In addition, every owner of a dump truck or other vehicle shall be liable for a civil penalty of $4,000 for the first offense, $9,000 for the second offense within any eighteen-month period and $18,000 for each subsequent offense within any eighteen-month period of unlawful dumping described in subdivision a of this section by any person using or operating the dump truck or other vehicle, in the business of such owner or otherwise, with the permission, express or implied, of such owner. It shall not be a defense for any owner of a dump truck or other vehicle that the person using or operating the dump truck or other vehicle in violation of this section is a member of the owner's immediate family, including, but not limited to, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, child, grandchild, parent or grandparent.
(2) Any owner, owner-operator or operator who is found in violation of this section in a proceeding before the environmental control board and who shall fail to pay the civil penalty imposed by such environmental control board shall be subject to the suspension of his or her driver's license, privilege to operate or vehicle registration or renewal thereof imposed pursuant to section twelve hundred twenty-a of the vehicle and traffic law, in addition to any other civil and criminal fines and penalties set forth in this section.
(3) As used in this subdivision, the terms "owner", "owner-operator" and "operator" shall have the meaning set forth in subdivision one of section twelve hundred twenty-a of the vehicle and traffic law.
(4) The provisions of this section may also be enforced by the commissioner of small business services and the commissioner of environmental protection with respect to wharfs, piers, docks, bulkheads and slips located on waterfront property, and navigable waterways.
(5) If the department, the department of small business services or the department of environmental protection has established that material transported in a dump truck or other vehicle has been dumped, deposited or otherwise disposed of in violation of subdivision a of this section, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the person whose name, or other identifying information, appears on any such material has violated such subdivision if the department, the department of small business services or the department of environmental protection establishes that such person owns or has control of (i) such dump truck or other vehicle or (ii) any dump truck.
d. In the instance where the notice of violation, appearance ticket or summons is issued for a breach of the provisions of subdivision a of this section and sets forth thereon civil penalties only, such process shall be returnable to the environmental control board, which board shall have the power to impose the civil penalties hereinabove provided in subdivision c of this section, provided further, that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the environmental control board shall have such powers and duties as are set forth under section twelve hundred twenty-a of the vehicle and traffic law.
e. (1) Any dump truck or other vehicle that has been used or is being used to violate the provisions of this section shall be impounded by the department and shall not be released until either all removal charges and storage fees and the applicable fine have been paid or a bond has been posted in an amount satisfactory to the commissioner or as otherwise provided in paragraph (2) of this subdivision. The commissioner shall have the power to establish regulations concerning the impoundment and release of vehicles and the payment of removal charges and storage fees for such vehicles, including the amounts and rates thereof.
(2) In addition to any other penalties provided in this section, the interest of an owner as defined in subdivision c of this section in any vehicle impounded pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subdivision shall be subject to forfeiture upon notice and judicial determination thereof if such owner (i) has been convicted of or found liable for a violation of this section in a civil or criminal proceeding or in a proceeding before the environmental control board two or more times, both of which violations were committed within an eighteen month period or (ii) has been convicted of or found liable for a violation of this section in a civil or criminal proceeding or in a proceeding before the environmental control board if the material unlawfully dumped is a material identified as a hazardous waste or an acute hazardous waste in regulations promulgated pursuant to section 27-0903 of the environmental conservation law.
(3) Except as hereinafter provided, the city agency having custody of a vehicle, after judicial determination of forfeiture, shall no sooner than thirty days after such determination upon a notice of at least five days, sell such forfeited vehicle at public sale. Any person, other than an owner whose interest is forfeited pursuant to this section, who establishes a right of ownership in a vehicle, including a part ownership or security interest, shall be entitled to delivery of the vehicle if such person:
(i) redeems the ownership interest which was subject to forfeiture by payment to the city of the value thereof; and
(ii) pays the reasonable expenses of the safekeeping of the vehicle between the time of seizure and such redemption; and
(iii) asserts a claim within thirty days after judicial determination of forfeiture. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions establishment of a claim shall not entitle such person to delivery of the vehicle if the city establishes that the unlawful dumping for which the vehicle was seized was expressly or impliedly permitted by such person.
f. Rewards.
(1) Where a notice of violation, appearance ticket or summons is issued for a violation of subdivision a of this section based upon a sworn statement by one or more individuals and where the commissioner determines, in the exercise of his or her discretion, that such sworn statement, either alone or in conjunction with testimony at a civil or criminal proceeding or in a proceeding before the environmental control board, results in the conviction of or the imposition of a civil penalty upon any person for a violation of subdivision a of this section, the commissioner shall offer as a reward to such individual or individuals an amount that, in the aggregate, is equal to:
(i) fifty percent of any fine or civil penalty collected; or
(ii) five hundred dollars when a conviction is obtained, but no fine or civil penalty is imposed.
(2) Where a notice of violation, appearance ticket or summons is issued for a violation of subdivision a of this section based upon information furnished by an individual or individuals and where the commissioner determines, in the exercise of his or her discretion, that such information, in conjunction with enforcement activity conducted by the department or another governmental entity, results in the conviction of or the imposition of a civil penalty upon any person for a violation of subdivision a of this section, the commissioner shall offer as a reward to such individual or individuals an amount that, in the aggregate, is:
(i) up to fifty percent of any fine or civil penalty collected; or
(ii) up to five hundred dollars when a conviction is obtained, but no fine or civil penalty is imposed. In determining the amount of the reward, the commissioner shall consider factors that include, but are not limited to: (a) the quantity and type of the material dumped, deposited or otherwise disposed of; (b) the specificity of the information provided, including, but not limited to, the license plate number, make or model or other description of the dump truck or other vehicle alleged to have been used and the location, date or time of the alleged violation; (c) whether the information provided by the individual or individuals identified one or more violations of subdivision a of this section; and (d) whether the department has knowledge that violations of subdivision a of this section have previously occurred at that location.
(3) No peace officer, employee of the department or of the environmental control board, or employee of any governmental entity that, in conjunction with the department, conducts enforcement activity relating to a violation of subdivision a of this section shall be entitled to obtain the benefit of any such reward or obtain the benefit of such reward when acting in the discharge of his or her official duties.
g. In addition to the foregoing penalties the offender shall be required to clear and clean the area upon which the offender dumped unlawfully within ten days after conviction thereof. In the event the offender fails to clear and clean the area within such time such clearing and cleaning may be done by the department or under the direction of the department by a private contractor and the cost of same shall be billed to the offender. In the event that the department has cleaned or cleared the area, or has caused the area to be cleaned or cleared by a private contractor prior to the offender's conviction, the offender shall be responsible for the cost of such clearing and or cleaning. Payment by such offender when required by this subdivision shall be made within ten days of demand by the department.
h. The commissioner shall post a sign in any area where the commissioner deems appropriate because of instances of illegal dumping. Such sign shall state the penalties for illegal dumping and the reward provisions therein.
(Am. L.L. 2018/134, 7/29/2018, eff. 7/29/2018; Am. L.L. 2018/135, 7/29/2018, eff. 9/27/2018.