Bill to Combat Illegal Dumping to be Heard by Nevada Senate
Today, Friday, April 24th, the Senate Government Affairs committee will hear AB 353, a bill that stiffens penalties and provides localities with new tools to combat illegal dumping. The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman David Bobzien, D-Reno, creates a new civil penalty of $500 to $5,000 for those guilty of illegal dumping and allows for the creation of a program in each county across the state to combat dumping. The programs and the money raised through the penalties will provide much needed assistance for the clean up of illegal dumps.
“I heard concerns about illegal dumping from a number of residents while walking door-to-door last year,” Bobzien said. “It’s time we send a message that this sort of behavior won’t be tolerated while at the same time making sure we have methods to clean up the dumps.” Bobzien represents northwest and northeast Reno, parts of Stead and the North Valleys.
Bobzien wrote the bill with the Illegal Dumping Task Force. The task force consists of Washoe County, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Department and Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful. “Illegal dumps can be very dangerous,” Sonya Hem, the task force’s president, said. “It’s a fire hazard, you can find dangerous materials out there; meth labs, chemicals, things that can harm you if you stumble across them.”
Bobzien’s bill is supported by a wide array of public interest groups, including the Nevada Conservation League, a non-profit group representing the state’s conservation community. ”This bill will help to keep Nevada’s open space clean,” Kyle Davis, the Policy Director for the League, said.
Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Reno, a co-sponsor of the bill, said simply, “Illegal dumping is just that, illegal, and we need to make it clear.”
The Senate Government Affairs committee will be meeting in Room 2144 of the Legislative Building Friday afternoon upon adjournment of Senate Floor Session, April 24, 2009.