Township, county seek ways to combat illegal dumping

All manner of debris, from children's toys to tires, are illegally cast into dumpsites like this one, located just outside Nevada.

By Ben Holman

Nevada Herald

The indiscriminate, illegal dumping of trash is polluting the county, and the problem is getting bigger. Washington Township board member Robert Bryan addressed Vernon County Commissioners Wednesday about the problem, which is pervasive in his township and throughout the county. The dumping is heavily polluting roadsides, ravines and rivers.

"The problem is that (people believe) it costs too much in Lamar, it's too far to drive and it's free to dump in the Marmaton River," said Bryan. He said that the problem is just going to continue to get worse unless something is done about it.

"If you need furniture, TVs or appliances, you can give us a call," joked Bryan. He said that people will drive to secluded areas and dump all manner of refuse along the road. He said that he wanted to address the issue in his township but that the problem is far more extensive than just one small area.

"I don't know what the solution is, but we've got to start somewhere," he said. Still, Bryan has a few ideas that he thinks might make a difference. He believes that if the authorities were able to catch some of the offenders and make an example of them through prosecution, it might deter others from dumping. He says, however, that the county does not have the manpower to actually catch these dumpers. .

Recently, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has employed hidden cameras at known dumpsites in the state to catch illegal dumpers in the act. Bryan said that he would like to enlist the aid of the DNR in the same fashion.

According to Valerie Garrett, environmental specialist with the DNR, the agency wants to use cameras in as many places as possible in order to curb this problem. However, they do not want to waste resources on sites that are infrequently used.

"We want to start finding the sites that are being used the most and catch those people," she said.

Craig Abbott, who is involved in the surveillance program, said that regional offices report to the state office if they believe they have an active dumpsite that could benefit from cameras. Then DNR officials set up the cameras.

Recently, dumpers in Saline County were filmed within minutes of the placement of the camera.

Another thing Bryan believes would cut down on the problem is a dump or transfer station closer to Nevada. "People don't want to drive 20 miles down to Lamar and 20 miles back just to pay $10 to dump a load of trash," he said.

Richard Allen and Jack Oehring, Washington Township maintenance crew, said road crews encounter litter and illegally dumped waste on a daily basis.

"When we're mowing and the back tire runs over a beer bottle it sounds just like a shotgun going off," said Oehring. "I still jump every time it happens.

They said that they probably pick up between 50 and 100 tires in any given year. "We don't have the manpower to maintain the roads," said Allen, "let alone pick up all the trash."

According to Garrett, illegal dumping carries stiff penalties. Depending on the case, the state can pursue either civil or criminal prosecution of offenders.

In civil matters, the penalty can be up to $1,000 dollars per incident per day that the waste is left at the illegal dumpsite.

If the evidence is strong enough to constitute a criminal case, penalties vary based on the individual situation. First offenses are considered misdemeanors, a class A misdemeanor can carry fines of up to $20,000 per day. Second offenses are considered felonies and can include jail time.

Most of the cases prosecuted under the surveillance program, however, have been prosecuted as littering cases. These cases carry the same fines and criminal implications, but the money can be used by the county to clean up the dumpsite. When prosecuted as a illegal dumping case, the money is earmarked to the school system.

Another concern of Bryan's is the amount of littering he sees in Vernon County. "I offered the commissioners a deal," he said, "I'd pick a road and we drive along it picking up only drink containers. For every mile that we picked up less than 100 drink containers I'd give them $100. For every mile we picked up 100 or more drink containers they'd give me $10." He said that none of the commissioners took him up on his offer because they knew as well as he did that, at the end of the day, he'd have all the money.

Bryan believes that imposing a deposit fee on drink containers, as many other states do, would discourage littering.

Under the deposit system, a beverage that is sold in a can or bottle would have a 5 or 10 cent deposit that the purchaser would pay and could receive back when turned in to a collection center.

"It's not just a problem in Washington Township, it's all over the county," said Bryan, who plans to continue pursuing the issue.