(A) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
LITTER. All waste material, including but not limited to any garbage, refuse, trash, disposable package, container, can, bottle, paper, ashes, cigarette or cigar butt, carcass of any dead animal or any part thereof, or any other offensive or unsightly matter, but not including the wastes of primary processes of mining, logging, sawmilling, farming, or manufacturing.
PUBLIC AREA. Any and all public roads and highway rights-of-way, parks and recreation areas owned or controlled by the state or any county thereof or this city, or area held open for unrestricted access by the general public.
(B) Public roads and land areas.
(1) Prohibition.
(a) Any person who places, deposits, dumps, or throws or causes to be placed, deposited, dumped or thrown any litter as defined above, in or upon any public or private highway, road, street, or alley or upon any private property without the consent of the owner, or in or upon any public park or other public property other than in such place as may be set aside for the purpose by the governing body having charge thereof, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon his or her first conviction, shall be fined not less than $50 nor more than $500, provided that a person shall not be held responsible for the actions of animals under his or her direct control. At the request of the defendant or in the discretion of the court, the court may sentence the defendant to pickup and remove from any public highway, road, street, alley, or any other public park or public property as designated by the court, any and all litter, garbage, refuse, trash, cans, bottles, papers, ashes, carcass of any dead animal or any part thereof, offal, or any other offensive or unsightly matter placed, deposited, dumped, or thrown contrary to the provisions of this division (B) by anyone prior to the date of such conviction. For the first offense, the alternative sentence of litter pickup shall be not less than eight hours nor more than 16 hours in lieu of other such fine. For subsequent prosecutions, such proceedings shall be prosecuted in magistrate court.
(b) The alternative sentence of litter pickup herein set forth shall be verified by the conservation officers from the Division of Natural Resources, or environmental inspectors from the Division of Environmental Protection, or a regional engineering technician from the Division of Environmental Protection Pollution Prevention and Open Dumps Program (PPOD) of the county in which the offense occurred. Any defendant receiving the herein specified alternative sentence of litter pickup shall provide within a time to be set by the court written acknowledgment from the conservation officers or environmental officers that the sentence has been completed.
(c) Any person who has been found by the court to have willfully failed to comply with the terms of an alternative sentence imposed by the court pursuant to this division (B) is subject at the discretion of the court to up to twice the original penalty provisions available to the court at the time of conviction.
(2) Motor vehicle operators. If any litter is thrown or cast from a motor vehicle, such action is prima facie evidence that the driver of the motor vehicle intended to violate the provisions of this division (B). If any litter is dumped or discharged from a motor vehicle, such action is prima facie evidence that the owner and driver of the motor vehicle intended to violate the provisions of this division (B).
(3) Indication of ownership. Any litter found on any public or private property with any indication of ownership on it will be evidence creating a rebuttable inference that it was deposited improperly by the person whose identity is indicated, and any person who improperly disposes of litter is subject to either a civil fine of up to $500 for such litter or required to pay the costs of removal of such litter if the removal of such litter is required to be done by the division, at the discretion of the director. All such fines and costs shall be deposited to the litter control fund, provided that no inference shall be drawn solely from the presence of any logo, trademark, trade name, or other similar mass reproduced identifying character appearing on litter found.
(4) Additional penalties; costs.
(a) Every person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to disposing of litter under this division (A) shall pay the sum of not less than $50 nor more than $500 as costs for cleanup, investigation, and prosecution in such case, in addition to any other court costs that the court is otherwise required by law to impose upon such convicted person.
(b) The clerk of court wherein the additional costs are imposed shall, on or before the last day of each month, transmit all such costs received under this division (B)(4) to the state treasurer for deposit in the state treasury to the credit of a special revenue fund to be known as the litter control fund, which is hereby continued. Expenditures for purposes set forth in this division (B) are not authorized from collections but are to be made only in accordance with appropriation and in accordance with the provisions of W. V. Code §§ 12-3-1 et seq., and upon fulfillment of the provisions set forth in W. V. Code §§ 5A-2-1 et seq.
(5) Private property. No portion of this division (B) shall be construed to restrict a private owner in the use of the owner's own private property in any manner otherwise authorized by law.
(6) Enforcement. Any law enforcement officer who shall observe a person violating the provisions of this division (B) has a mandatory duty to arrest or otherwise prosecute the violator to the limits provided herein.
(Ord. 903, passed 6-22-89; Am. Ord. 1146, passed 10-17-96)
(C) Streams and bodies of water.
(1) Prohibition. It is unlawful to place, deposit, dump, or throw, or cause to be placed, deposited, dumped, or thrown, any litter, as defined in division (A) of this section, and also any garbage, refuse, trash, can, bottle, paper, ashes, carcass of any dead animal or part thereof, offal, or any other offensive or unsightly matter into any river, stream, creek, branch, brook, lake, or pond, or upon the surface of any land within 100 yards thereof, or in such location that high water or normal drainage conditions will cause any such materials or substances to be washed into any river, stream, creek, branch, brook, lake, or pond.
(2) Private property. No portion of this division (C) restricts an owner, renter, or lessee in the use of his or her own private property or rented or leased property, or to prohibit the disposal of any industrial and other wastes into the waters of this state in a manner consistent with the provisions of W. V. Code §§ 22-11-1 et seq., but if any owner, renter, or lessee, private or otherwise, knowingly permits any such materials or substances to be placed, deposited, dumped, or thrown in such location that high water or normal drainage conditions will cause any such materials or substances to wash into any river, stream, creek, branch, brook, lake, or pond, it is prima facie evidence that the owner, renter, or lessee intended to violate the provisions of this division (C), provided that if a landowner, renter, or lessee, private or otherwise, reports any such placing, depositing, dumping, or throwing of any such substances or materials upon his or her property to the City Attorney, Mayor, or City Council, then the landowner, renter, or lessee will be presumed not to have knowingly permitted the placing, depositing, dumping, or throwing of the materials or substances.
(3) Penalty.
(a) Any person violating any provision of this division (C) is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon his or her first conviction shall be fined not less than $50 nor more than $500. At the request of the defendant or in the discretion of the court, the court may sentence the defendant to pickup and remove from any area of a bank of any river, stream, creek, branch, brook, lake, or pond, or other property without prior permission of the owner, the area to be specified by the court, any and all litter, garbage, refuse, trash, cans, bottles, papers, ashes, carcass of any dead animal or any part thereof, offal, or any other offensive or unsightly matter placed, deposited, dumped, or thrown contrary to the provisions of this division (C) by anyone prior to the date of such conviction. For the first offense, the alternative sentence of litter pickup shall be not less than eight hours nor more than 16 hours in lieu of other such fine.
(b) The alternative sentence of litter pickup herein set forth shall be verified by the Division of Natural Resources conservation officers, or by environmental inspectors from the Division of Environmental Protection, or a regional engineering technician from the Pollution Prevention and Open Dumps Program (PPOD) of the Division of Environmental Protection of the county in which the offense occurred. Any defendant receiving the herein specified alternative sentence of litter pickup shall provide within a time to be set by the court written acknowledgment from the conservation officers or environmental officers that the sentence has been completed.
(c) Any person who has been found by the court to have willfully failed to comply with the terms of an alternative sentence imposed by the court pursuant to this division (C) is subject at the discretion of the court to up to twice the original penalty provisions available to the court at the time of conviction.
(Ord. 1144, passed 10-17-96)
Statutory reference:
For similar provisions, see W. V. Code §§ 20-7-24 et seq.