Senate Bill No. 424–Senator Titus
CHAPTER..........
AN ACT relating to sanitation; providing that a solid waste management authority may authorize a nonprofit organization to engage in certain activities pertaining to the cleaning up of dump sites and the education of persons regarding unlawful dumping; authorizing the solid waste management authorities of certain larger counties to establish a program for the control of unlawful dumping; authorizing such a solid waste management authority to delegate certain matters of enforcement to an independent hearing officer or hearing board; authorizing a district health officer to exercise subpoena powers with respect to the unlawful disposal of sewage and solid waste; providing certain civil and other penalties; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Chapter 444 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto
the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 8, inclusive, of this act.
Sec. 2. As used in this section, NRS 444.630 to 444.645, inclusive,
and sections 3 to 8, inclusive, of this act, unless the context otherwise
requires, the words and terms defined in sections 3, 4 and 5 of this act
have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections.
Sec. 3. “Dump site” means a location at which solid waste is
disposed of unlawfully.
Sec. 4. “Solid waste” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 444.490.
Sec. 5. “Solid waste management authority” has the meaning
ascribed to it in NRS 444.495.
Sec. 6. 1. The solid waste management authority in each county
whose population is 400,000 or more may establish a program for the
control of unlawful dumping and administer the program within its
jurisdiction unless superseded.
2. The program established pursuant to subsection 1 must:
(a) Include standards and procedures for the control of unlawful
dumping which are equivalent to or stricter than those established by
statute or state regulation; and
(b) Provide for adequate administration and enforcement.
3. In a county whose population is 400,000 or more, the solid waste
management authority may delegate to an independent hearing officer
or hearing board the authority to determine violations and levy
administrative penalties for violations of the provisions of NRS 444.440
to 444.620, inclusive, and 444.630 to 444.645, inclusive, and sections 2
to 8, inclusive, of this act, or any regulation adopted pursuant to those
sections.
Sec. 7. A solid waste management authority may authorize a
nonprofit organization to:
1. Organize the cleaning up of dump sites;
2. Provide educational materials and programs regarding unlawful
dumping; and
3. Operate and pay the costs of programs of community service
relating to the cleaning up of dump sites.
Sec. 8. 1. In carrying out the provisions of NRS 444.630 to
444.645, inclusive, and sections 2 to 8, inclusive, of this act, a district
health officer may by subpoena require the attendance and testimony of
witnesses and the production of reports, papers, documents and other
evidence which they deem necessary.
2. If any person to whom a subpoena has been directed pursuant to
subsection 1 refuses to attend, testify or produce any evidence specified
in the subpoena, the person who issued the subpoena may present a
petition, to a court of competent jurisdiction where the person to whom
the subpoena was directed is subject to service of process, setting forth
that:
(a) Notice has been given of the time and place at which the person
was required to attend, testify or produce evidence;
(b) A subpoena has been mailed to or personally served on the witness
or custodian of the evidence in sufficient time to enable him to comply
with its provisions; and
(c) The person has failed or refused to attend, answer questions or
produce evidence specified in the subpoena,
and asking that the court issue an order compelling the person to attend
and to testify or produce the evidence specified in the subpoena.
3. When a court receives a petition pursuant to subsection 2, it shall
order the person to whom the subpoena was directed to appear at a time
and place fixed by the court in its order, which must be not more than 10
days after the date of the order, and show cause why he should not be
held in contempt. A certified copy of the order must be mailed to or
personally served on the person to whom the subpoena was directed.
4. If it appears to the court that the subpoena was properly issued
and that the person’s failure or refusal to appear, answer questions or
produce evidence was without sufficient reason, the court shall order the
person to appear at a time and place fixed by the court and to testify or
produce the specified evidence. If the person fails to comply with the
order of the court, he may be punished as for a contempt of court.
Sec. 9. NRS 444.610 is hereby amended to read as follows:
444.610 1. Any person who violates any regulation adopted by the
state environmental commission or any ordinance or resolution adopted by
the governing body of a municipality or district board of health is guilty of
a misdemeanor.
2. Each day or part of a day during which such violation is continued
or repeated constitutes a separate offense.
3. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 445C.010 to 445C.120,
inclusive:
(a) A person convicted of violating subsection 1 is, in addition to any
criminal penalty imposed, liable for a civil penalty upon each such
conviction; and
(b) A court, before whom a defendant is convicted of a violation of
subsection 1, shall for each violation order the defendant to pay a civil
penalty which is at least $500 but not more than $5,000.
Sec. 10. NRS 444.630 is hereby amended to read as follows:
444.630 1. [As used in this section, “garbage” includes swill, refuse,
cans, bottles, paper, vegetable matter, carcass of any dead animal, offal
from any slaughter pen or butcher shop, trash or rubbish.
2. Every] A person who [willfully] places, deposits or dumps, or who
causes to be placed, deposited or dumped, or who causes or allows to
overflow, any sewage, sludge, cesspool or septic tank effluent, or
accumulation of human excreta, or any [garbage,] solid waste, in or upon
any street, alley, public highway or road in common use, or upon any
public park or other public property other than property designated or set
aside for such a purpose by the governing body having charge thereof, or
upon any private property , [into or upon which the public is admitted by
easement, license or otherwise,] is guilty of :
(a) For a first offense within the immediately preceding 2 years, a
misdemeanor. [and, if the convicted person agrees, he shall be sentenced
to]
(b) For a second offense within the immediately preceding 2 years, a
gross misdemeanor and shall be punished by imprisonment in the
county jail for not fewer than 14 days but not more than 1 year.
(c) For a third or subsequent offense within the immediately
preceding 2 years, a gross misdemeanor and shall be punished by
imprisonment in the county jail for 1 year.
2. In addition to any criminal penalty imposed pursuant to
subsection 1, any civil penalty imposed pursuant to NRS 444.635 and
any administrative penalty imposed pursuant to section 6 of this act, a
court shall sentence a person convicted of violating subsection 1:
(a) If the person is a natural person, to clean up the dump site and
perform 10 hours of work for the benefit of the community under the
conditions prescribed in NRS 176.087.
(b) If the person is a business entity:
(1) For a first or second offense within the immediately preceding 2
years, to:
(I) Clean up the dump site; and
(II) Perform 40 hours of community service cleaning up other
dump sites identified by the solid waste management authority.
(2) For a third or subsequent offense within the immediately
preceding 2 years, to:
(I) Clean up the dump site; and
(II) Perform 200 hours of community service cleaning up other
dump sites identified by the solid waste management authority.
3. If a person is sentenced to clean up a dump site pursuant to
subsection 2, the person shall:
(a) Within 3 calendar days after sentencing, commence cleaning up
the dump site; and
(b) Within 5 business days after cleaning up the dump site, provide to
the solid waste management authority proof of the lawful disposal of the
sewage, solid waste or other matter that the person was convicted of
disposing of unlawfully.
The solid waste management authority shall prescribe the forms of proof
which may be provided to satisfy the provisions of paragraph (b).
4. In addition to any other penalty prescribed by law, if a business
entity is convicted of violating subsection 1:
(a) Such violation constitutes reasonable grounds for the revocation
of any license to engage in business that has been issued to the business
entity by any governmental entity of this state; and
(b) The solid waste management authority may seek the revocation of
such a license by way of any applicable procedures established by the
governmental entity that issued the license.
5. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 444.585, ownership of
[garbage] solid waste does not transfer from the person who originally
possessed it until it is received for transport by a person authorized to
dispose of solid waste pursuant to this chapter or until it is disposed of at a
municipal disposal site. Identification of the owner of any [garbage] solid
waste which is disposed of in violation of subsection [2] 1 creates a
reasonable inference that the owner is the person who disposed of the
[garbage.] solid waste. The fact that the disposal of the [garbage] solid
waste was not witnessed does not, in and of itself, preclude the
identification of its owner.
[4.] 6. All:
(a) Health officers and their deputies;
(b) Game wardens;
(c) Police officers of cities and towns;
(d) Sheriffs and their deputies;
(e) Other peace officers of the State of Nevada; and
(f) Other persons who are specifically designated by the local
government to do so,
shall, within their respective jurisdictions, enforce the provisions of this
section.
[5.] 7. A district health officer or his deputy or other person
specifically designated by the local government to do so may issue a
citation for any violation of this section which occurs within his
jurisdiction.
[6.] 8. To effectuate the purposes of this section, the persons charged
with enforcing this section may request information from any:
(a) Agency of the state or its political subdivisions.
(b) Employer, public or private.
(c) Employee organization or trust of any kind.
(d) Financial institution or other entity which is in the business of
providing credit reports.
(e) Public utility.
Each of these persons and entities, their officers and employees, shall
cooperate by providing any information in their possession which may aid
in the location and identification of a person believed to be in violation of
subsection [2.] 1. A disclosure made in good faith pursuant to this
subsection does not give rise to any action for damages for the disclosure.
Sec. 11. NRS 444.635 is hereby amended to read as follows:
444.635 1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 445C.010 to
445C.120, inclusive, a person convicted of violating NRS 444.555 and, in
addition to the penalty imposed [in] pursuant to NRS 444.583 or 444.630,
any person convicted of violating NRS 444.583 or 444.630 is liable for a
civil penalty[,] upon each such conviction.
2. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 445C.010 to 445C.120,
inclusive, a court before whom a defendant is convicted of a violation of
the provisions of NRS 444.555, 444.583 or 444.630, shall order the
defendant [to pay a civil penalty which is at least $250 but not more than
$2,000.]:
(a) For a first offense, to pay a civil penalty which is at least $500 but
not more than $5,000.
(b) For a second offense, to pay a civil penalty which is at least $1,000
but not more than $5,500.
(c) For a third offense, to pay a civil penalty which is at least $1,500
but not more than $6,000.
(d) For any subsequent offense, to pay a civil penalty which is at least
$500 more than the most recent previous civil penalty that the defendant
was ordered to pay pursuant to this paragraph.
3. If so provided by the court, [the] a penalty imposed pursuant to this
section may be paid in installments.
[3. The health authority or division of environmental protection of the
state department of conservation and natural resources]
4. The solid waste management authority may attempt to collect all
such penalties and installments which are in default in any manner
provided by law for the enforcement of a judgment.
[4.] 5. Each court which receives money [under] pursuant to the
provisions of this section shall forthwith remit the money to the division of
environmental protection of the state department of conservation and
natural resources or, if the health authority initiated the action, the district
health department which shall deposit the money with the state treasurer
for credit in a separate account in the state general fund or with the county
treasurer for deposit in an account for the district health department, as the
case may be. Money so deposited must be [used] :
(a) Used only to pay [rewards] :
(1) Rewards pursuant to NRS 444.640 [or for] ;
(2) For education regarding the unlawful disposal of solid waste;
(3) For the cleaning up of dump sites; and
(4) For the management of solid waste ; and [paid]
(b) Paid as other claims against the state or local governments are paid.
Sec. 12. NRS 444.640 is hereby amended to read as follows:
444.640 1. The [division of environmental protection of the state
department of conservation and natural resources or the district health
department] solid waste management authority shall offer a reward[, in
an amount equal to 50 percent of the civil penalty imposed pursuant to
NRS 444.635,] of $100 for information leading to the arrest and
conviction of any person violating NRS 444.555 or 444.630. The reward
must be paid upon his conviction and the payment in full of the penalty.
The reward must be distributed equally among the persons who supplied
the information which led to the arrest and conviction.
2. The state environmental commission or district board of health may
adopt regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
Sec. 13. The amendatory provisions of this act do not apply to
offenses committed before October 1, 2001.
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