Drafter
Clerk 10/03/2008
Title
AN ORDINANCE relating to facilitating the cleanup of illegal dumping on private property.
Body
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. Illegal dumping has significant negative impacts on King County and its residents. It is unsightly, can decrease land values, attracts more dumping and can be the source of fires. Illegal dumping can contaminate land, streams, lakes and rivers, as well as nearby drinking water wells. Illegally dumped materials are a health hazard, attracting rodents, mosquitoes and other vermin. Dumped materials can also be a physical hazard to children playing in or around them.
2. King County has developed a variety of programs and regulations to help prevent illegal dumping and to facilitate its cleanup. These include the Adopt-A-Roadway program administered by the King County roads division of the department of transportation and numerous educational programs implemented by the solid waste division of the department of natural resources and parks. In addition, the county recently proposed legislation that would broaden enforcement authority for illegal dumping and require illegal dumpers to pay restitution to property owners in addition to paying applicable civil penalties.
3. Responding to illegal dumping is expensive, costing county government alone more than two million dollars every year to respond to complaints, clean up dump sites on county lands and roads, abate dump sites on private lands and conduct enforcement actions.
4. Illegal dumping in King County communities can pose serious health risks. Not only do these illegal dump sites cause a heightened risk of physical injury from contact with broken glass and sharp metal, but the sites also can promote the spread of disease.
5. The accumulation of trash on vacant lots, yards, sidewalks and planting strips increases the health risks. Sites that are not cleaned up can also invite more illegal dumping.
6. It is in the public interest to facilitate...
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