This television used for target practice and these sacks of beer cans and pop bottles were left behind in a Cook County gravel pit last week. If caught, the culprits could face criminal or civil charges and fines up to $2,000.
Although summer brings warm weather and the chance to enjoy outdoor activities, it also unfortunately brings an increase in illegal dumping and littering. Recent law enforcement reports include illegal dumping of brush in the Seagull Lake area and dumping of household garbage at the Iron Lake campground dumpsters. A gravel pit on County Road 6 in Grand Marais has been littered with items left behind after target practice. A battered couch sits by the side of a county road on the east end of the county.
What can be done to stop incidents like these? The Cook
County News-Herald
reminds residents and visitors that littering and dumping of trash or debris is illegal and can result in criminal penalties. In Minnesota, a person found guilty of littering could be found guilty of a misdemeanor. If the littering is on a roadway, the offense is forwarded to the Department of Public Safety to be included on the offender’s driving record. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) can bill an individual for the cost of retrieving and disposing of illegally dumped items like tires, appliances, furniture and hazardous waste.
Fines for littering or illegal dumping range from $400 to $700 and a judge may order the offender to pick up litter along any public highway or road for four to eight hours. A jail sentence could be imposed.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Conservation Officer Mary Manning said fines are similar for dumping garbage on public lands. The DNR criminal fines (misdemeanors) are $150 or $190. However, Manning added that civil fines can be much higher. They are based on the accumulated garbage and the offender is charged per item—for example $100 for an appliance, $25 per tire or $25 for a battery. Or, the trash can be measured and the offender fined $20 per cubic foot or $1 per pound. “It isn’t a criminal matter, but civil fines can be very costly monetarily.
“It’s really sad that people live here or come up here because of the beauty of the area—and then leave their trash behind,” said Manning. “I would like people to think of why they come here and try to keep our area as beautiful as they found it.”
The cost of trash disposal through a local waste disposal company may seem high, but obviously the potential fines far exceed the cost of legal trash pickup. If you need trash removed from your property, contact one of the two local companies that handle solid waste disposal. Theyare:
Pederson’s Disposal
Grand Marais 218-387-1668
Nelson Machine Products
Tofte 218-663-7940
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