City Mulls Crackdown on Illegal Dumping

The city wants to start nailing trash scofflaws who have turned a corner of the city’s Central Park into an illegal dump site.

The City Council on Monday unanimously approved $80,000 for soil removal, hazardous waste testing, new fences and signs. Mayor Ralph H. Bauer asked anyone who sees dumping--which most often happens at night and on weekends--to immediately call police.

“It’s terrible in my mind that people would go and dump hazardous materials in Central Park, the crown jewel of our park system,” said Councilman Tom Harman.

The waste problems center at the former Huntington Landfill, at Golden West Street and Talbert Avenue. Officials suspect unidentified builders are dumping materials, including asphalt and concrete, instead of absorbing the cost of hauling the trash to a landfill, Community Services Director Ron Hagan said.

If the city doesn’t clean up the mess and secure the area with fences and signs warning against dumping, the state Regional Water Quality Control Board can fine Huntington Beach $1,000 a day.

Hagan asked the council to raise the maximum dumping fine from $500, because it can cost the builders up to $1,000 to properly dispose of petroleum-contaminated soil.

“It’s cheaper to pay the fine, even if it is the maximum fine, than it is to take it to the dump,” he said.

Councilman Dave Sullivan said he’d like to see a fine of $10,000 or more.

“I’d like it to really cost these jerks,” he said.

But Deputy City Atty. Sarah Lazarus said the fine can’t be higher than $1,000 because dumping is only a misdemeanor offense. Instead, she suggested the city could fine a violator once for every cubic yard of trash, or could order restitution as a condition of probation. That would leave the dumper’s obligation for cleanup open-ended, rather than stopping at $1,000 per offense, she said.

Fines could change once police start catching offenders, Lazarus said.