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Litter violator fined $625
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Posted on Jul 31 2019
Two persons recently caught violating the anti-littering law were cited and fined, amounting to $75 and $625, respectively.
During routine surveillance on June 13 at the former staging area in As Gonno for green waste after Super Typhoon Yutu, inspectors of the Bureau of Environmental & Coastal Quality’s Division of Environmental Quality discovered an illegal dump that included household trash, broken electronic waste, old paints, used oil, and old lumber.
Two potential violators were found. As a result of its investigation, DEQ issued a citation separately with fines to the individuals amounting to $75 and $625, respectively.
The site where the waste was found was near a drinking water well. Had any of the hazardous chemicals spilled on the ground, the groundwater that feeds that drinking water well could have been contaminated. To avoid any potential contamination to the nearby well, DEQ removed the oil and paints for proper disposal.
One of the violations was found to be an intentional violation with greater than 3 lbs of solid waste illegally disposed; it was the violators’ first violation. Based on the penalty matrix—the first intentional violation with greater than three pounds of solid waste—the penalty is $250. However, because the illegal act was committed near a drinking water well—a “sensitive area”—a multiplier of 2.5 is applied to the base penalty, making the final penalty $625.
The other citation was determined to be a first simple violation with greater than 3 lbs of solid waste.
In 2018, BECQ’s DEQ, along with the Department of Public Safety, and the Office of the Attorney General, trained and certified about 85 litter control apprehending officers with 53 from Saipan, 16 each from Tinian and Rota. Pursuant to the Litter Control Act; These government agencies are designated to enforce the litter control laws and regulations: BECQ, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Public Health, Department of Public Works, Office of the Mayor, Commonwealth Zoning Office, the Department of Public Lands, and the Department of Public Safety.
