Title 21. Crimes and Punishments.

Superseded Effective November 01,1998

Chapter 69
§1761.1. Dumping Trash on Public or Private Property without Consent-Penalties-Bail

A. Any person who deliberately places, throws, drops, dumps, deposits, or discards any garbage, trash, waste, rubbish, refuse, debris, or other deleterious substance on any public property or on any private property of another without consent of the property owner shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.

B. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of subsection A of this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than thirty (30) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

C. In addition to the penalty prescribed by subsection B of this section, the court may direct the person to make restitution to the property owner affected; to remove and properly dispose of the garbage, trash, waste, refuse, or debris from the property; to pick up, remove, and properly dispose of garbage, trash, waste, rubbish, refuse, debris, and other nonhazardous deleterious substances from public property; or perform community service or any combination of the foregoing which the court, in its discretion, deems appropriate. The dates, times, and locations of such activities shall be scheduled by the sheriff pursuant to the order of the court in such a manner as not to interfere with the employment or family responsibilities of the person.

D. In addition to the penalty prescribed in subsection B of this section and the restitution prescribed in subsection C of this section, the court may order the defendant to pay into the reward fund as prescribed in Section 1334 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes an amount not to exceed Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00).

E. The discovery of three or more items which have been dropped, dumped, deposited, discarded, placed, or thrown at one location and which bear a common address in a form which tends to identify the latest owner of the items shall create a rebuttable presumption that any competent person residing at such address committed the unlawful act. The discovery or use of such evidence shall not be sufficient to qualify for the reward provided in Section 1334 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

F. Any person may report a violation of this section, if committed in their presence, to an officer of the State Highway Patrol, a county sheriff or deputy, a municipal law enforcement officer or any other peace officer in this state. The peace officer shall then conduct an investigation into the allegations, if warranted. If a violation of this section has in fact been committed, and the peace officer has reasonable cause to believe a particular person or persons have committed the violation, a report shall be filed with the District Attorney for prosecution.

G. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection F of this section, any peace officer of this state or of any political subdivision of this state may issue a state traffic citation to any person committing a violation of subsection A of this section. Such state traffic citation shall be in an amount not exceeding Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) and the penalties collected from the payment of such citations shall, after deduction of court costs, be paid into the reward fund created pursuant to Section 1334 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

H. The amount of bail for littering offenses specified in Section 1753.3 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes and for trash dumping offenses specified in this section shall be the amount of fine specified in each statute and costs including any penalty assessment, as well as costs incurred in Section 1313.3 of Title 20 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

Added by Laws 1988, c. 115, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1988. Amended by Laws 1990, c. 128, § 1, emerg. eff. April 25, 1990; Laws 1994, c. 338, § 2, emerg. eff. June 8, 1994; Laws 1996, c. 299, § 2, emerg. eff. June 10, 1996tempmarker