September 2015

Keep Arizona Beautiful

Illegal Dumping Regulations Guide

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Table of Contents What is illegal dumping? ............................................................................................................................... 2

Within City/Town Limits ............................................................................................................................... 2

Coolidge .................................................................................................................................................... 5

Phoenix ..................................................................................................................................................... 6

Scottsdale ................................................................................................................................................ 21

Tucson ..................................................................................................................................................... 34

Counties ...................................................................................................................................................... 46

Apache .................................................................................................................................................... 48

Cochise .................................................................................................................................................... 49

Coconino ................................................................................................................................................. 50

Gila .......................................................................................................................................................... 50

Graham ................................................................................................................................................... 50

Greenlee .................................................................................................................................................. 51

La Paz ...................................................................................................................................................... 53

Maricopa ................................................................................................................................................. 53

Mohave ................................................................................................................................................... 54

Navajo ..................................................................................................................................................... 54

Pima ........................................................................................................................................................ 58

Pinal......................................................................................................................................................... 60

Santa Cruz ............................................................................................................................................... 60

Yavapai .................................................................................................................................................... 61

Yuma ....................................................................................................................................................... 61

Tribal Land or Reservation .......................................................................................................................... 61

Navajo Nation ......................................................................................................................................... 61

Colorado River Indian Tribe (CRIT) .......................................................................................................... 67

State of Arizona ........................................................................................................................................... 72

Federal Public Lands ................................................................................................................................... 76

Bureau of Land Management ................................................................................................................. 76

USDA National Forest Service ................................................................................................................. 77

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What is illegal dumping? Illegal dumping may go by many other names such as wildcat dumping, open dumping, fly by

dumping, or midnight dumping, but it simply means that waste has been disposed of in an

unregulated manner at an unregulated location. Illegal dumping differs from littering in types and

amounts of discarded materials. Waste found at illegal dump sites in Arizona typically include

household trash, tires, appliances, mattresses, and construction materials. There are federal,

state, and local laws to ensure the safe disposal of different types of waste. Unfortunately, there

are some people who choose to flaunt these laws and endanger the public by discarding their

trash haphazardly along the side of a road, in the open desert, or in some other unauthorized

location. Arizona Department of Environmental Quality permits and annually inspects landfills

and waste transfer stations, these sites are the only authorized waste disposal locations in the

State of Arizona.

Within City/Town Limits If the waste is found within city or town limits, then many cities have their own specific

ordinances to deal with illegal dumping. Each city or town has been authorized by the Arizona

Legislature to create its own rule regarding how it would like to deal with illegal dumping.1 The

same is true for the counties.2 The cities, towns, and counties are authorized to set up

ordinances that can force those who dumped the waste to have to pay to remove it or pay back

the property owner or local government if they were the ones to remove the waste.3 But, the

statute only authorizes local governments create this ordinance, and that does not mean that

every city or town has one. If your town or city is not listed here, and you come across an illegal

dump site, please contact your local solid waste office, environmental enforcement office, code

enforcement office or local law enforcement agency4. If you see someone dumping waste

illegally, please do NOT endanger your safety by approaching the violator yourself. Contact your

local law enforcement office instead with the following information:

Date, time and location of incident;

Description of vehicle and license plate number;

Description of person(s) dumping;

What items/materials were being dumped;

Your name and phone number (optional).

The cities/towns focused on in this guide are Coolidge (page 5), Phoenix (page 6), Scottsdale

(page 21), and Tucson (page 35).

Important State law below to see what the requirements are for local governments to have

ordinances to fight illegal dumping:

1 A.R.S. 9-499. 2 A.R.S. 11-268. 3 A.R.S. 9-499(D), 11-268(D). 4 Waste Programs Division: Illegal Dumping: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), Arizona Department of Economic Quality, http://www.azdeq.gov/environ/waste/dumping/faqs.html

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A.R.S. 9-499. Removal of rubbish, trash, weeds, filth, debris and dilapidated buildings;

removal by city; costs assessed; collection; priority of assessment; definitions

A. The governing body of a city or town, by ordinance, shall compel the owner, lessee or

occupant of property to remove from the property and its contiguous sidewalks, streets and

alleys any rubbish, trash, weeds or other accumulation of filth, debris or dilapidated buildings

that constitute a hazard to public health and safety. An ordinance shall require:

1. Written notice to the owner, the owner's authorized agent or the owner's statutory agent

and to the occupant or lessee. The notice shall be served either by personal service or

by certified mail. If notice is served by certified mail, the notice shall be mailed to the last

known address of the owner, the owner's authorized agent or the owner's statutory

agent and to the address to which the tax bill for the property was last mailed. The notice

shall be given not less than thirty days before the day set for compliance and shall

include the legal description of the property and the cost of such removal to the city or

town if the owner, occupant or lessee does not comply. The owner shall be given not

less than thirty days to comply. The city or town may record the notice in the county

recorder's office in the county in which the property is located. If the notice is recorded

and compliance with the notice is subsequently satisfied, the city or town shall record a

release of the notice.

2. Provisions for appeal on both the notice and the assessments, unless the removal or

abatement is ordered by a court.

3. That any person that recklessly places or causes to be placed any rubbish, trash, filth or

debris on any property n