WOODVILLE&045;The Wilkinson County Board of Supervisors is being pressured by the state Department of Environmental Quality to begin fining people who illegally dump garbage on county roadsides.

&uot;There are enough laws on the books. &uot; It’s a matter of how you are going to enforce the laws,&uot; board attorney Ron Senko told supervisors at their regular meeting on Monday.

Under state law, those convicted of illegally dumping trash on roadsides shall be fined from $50 to $250.

First offenders may also be required to remove the trash and restore damaged property, in addition to performing community service related to garbage cleanup.

The property restoration and community service requirements become mandatory for second or subsequent offenders. Violators may also be required to pay costs incurred by investigators and prosecutors.

Senko advised the board that a &uot;garbage detective&uot; may be needed to patrol the roads and sift through the trash to identify the lawbreakers.

The board discussed several ways to enforce the law, including using deputies or constables to investigate the dumpings, as well as appointing a full-time investigator to build cases against violators.

DEQ officials gave supervisors 30 days to clean up the illegal dumps.

By DON McCRAINE

The Natchez Democrat

WOODVILLE&045;The Wilkinson County Board of Supervisors is being pressured by the state Department of Environmental Quality to begin fining people who illegally dump garbage on county roadsides.

&uot;There are enough laws on the books.

It’s a matter of how you are going to enforce the laws,&uot; Board Attorney Ron Senko told supervisors at their regular meeting on Monday.

According to Section 97-15-29 of the Mississippi Code, those convicted of illegally dumping trash on roadsides shall be fined a minimum of $50 or a maximum of $250.

First offenders may also be required to remove the trash and

restore any damaged property, in addition to performing community service related to garbage cleanup.

The property restoration and community service requirements become mandatory for second or subsequent offenders.

Violators may also be required to pay costs incurred by investigators and prosecutors.

Senko advised the board that a &uot;garbage detective&uot; may be needed to patrol the roads and sift through the trash to identify the lawbreakers.

&uot;It’s hard to catch somebody in the act of throwing trash out.

You usually get there after the fact,&uot; said Senko.

The board discussed several ways to enforce the law, including using sheriff’s deputies or constables to investigate the dumpings, as well as appointing a full-time investigator to build cases against violators.

&uot;It wouldn’t take too many prosecutions for people to get the message,&uot; said Senko, adding that illegal dumping is a state-wide problem.

&uot;They (DEQ) could find the same problem in all 82 counties,&uot; he said.

DEQ officials gave supervisors a 30-day deadline to clean up the illegal dumps.

Supervisors were concerned that removing the trash from the illegal dump sites might take longer than 30 days, but they agreed to make a good-faith effort by beginning the cleanup process.