Follow Us 
Related News
Current Poll
| Dumping Could Get Risky |
 |
 |
 |
| News | |||
| Written by Robin Hixson | |||
| Wednesday, 29 April 2009 08:00 | |||
|
Illegal trash dumpers in Miami County soon could be at higher risk of getting caught. County commissioners and several department leaders responded with enthusiasm a week ago when Bob Medina of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Bureau of Waste Management showed them prototype brochures, created as part of the Illegal Dump Cleanup Project, that would make it easy for people to report illegal dumps and dumpers in the county. Medina said brochures can be printed specifically for Miami County, with local contact information. “It gives information on where they can take all of their waste and recycling. It lists phone numbers and contact people and also where they can report an illegal dump,” he said. “We can tailor it to your needs. People can call a number here in your county, and there’s also a form on the back that they can take out, write everything down and mail it to you. Basically, they can remain anonymous.” Medina said the county also could obtain “No Dumping” signs to remind people that illegal dumpers can be fined as much as $5,000 if caught. The brochures are just one part of a program implemented by KDHE to eliminate small- to medium-size illegal dumps of non-hazardous solid waste. A state statute enacted in July 2000 authorizes KDHE to pay for 75 percent of the costs to clean up illegal dump sites — up to $10,000 per site — in participating counties or cities. The remaining 25 percent is paid by the local government. KDHE allows city or county governments to meet their matches through in-kind services that can include labor, equipment, supplies or landfill space. Part of the criteria to qualify for the program is that the party responsible for a specific illegal dump must be unknown or, if known, must be proven unable or determined by KDHE to be unwilling to perform the needed cleanup, Medina said. He said he receives a budget of $150,000 a year for the program and, last year, the cleanup projects averaged about $4,500 per site. He also said landowners don’t have to worry about being blamed for illegal dumps others have made on their properties, so they shouldn’t hesitate to report them. “If people are dumping, then by all means, let us know, and we’ll come take a look at it,” Medina said.
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email This
Hits: 416 Trackback(0)
Comments (0)
 Write comment
You must be logged in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.
|
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
