1. ENGAGING A REGION TO COMBAT LITTER ISSUES

2. Black Diamond RC&D Council

6. 4 Summit Goals
#1 – Local governments establish a regional Task Force to “seek solutions”
for litter issues by October 1, 2004.
#2 – Local governments implement the Assign-A-Highway Program throughout “far” Southwest Virginia by July 1, 2005.
#3 – Assist local governments in developing a “timetable” to clean up “their”
illegal dumpsites through inclusion in their Solid Waste Management
Plans by January 1, 2006.
#4 – All illegal dumpsites should be mapped in Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee,
Russell, Scott, Smyth, Washington, Wise & Tazewell counties using
GIS technology by January 1, 2006.

7. SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA LITTER TASK FORCE (2004-2005)

8. Assign-A-Highway Program

19. 3 LEGS of the LITTER CONTROL “STOOL”
EDUCATION
CLEAN-UP EVENTS
ENFORCEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

21. CIVIL DAMAGES ORDINANCE
Some benefits of going the civil court route are:
Burden of proof is much easier to meet successfully for the prosecution in civil court versus criminal court.
Fines are much higher in civil court, up to $5, Wise County has already successfully prosecuted DOZENS of litter cases exacting average fines or judgments of $2,000 each.
Word gets out to litterers that the local government now means business in enforcing their litter laws: “Don’t litter or you will pay a hefty fine!”
Litter control officers’ morale improves because now they know they can successfully convict those caught littering, which should lead to an increased number of litter cases in court. We are all human; if you spend many hours building your case for a criminal court hearing and then have it quickly dismissed for not tipping the scales of justice with enough indisputable evidence, then it takes a “very special” person to recover from this and do it over again. We have known personnel for local governments who gave up trying to enforce the litter laws because of this lack of success in criminal court.

22. ENVIRONMENTAL COURT

23. VIRGINIA LITTER CONTROL ASSOCIATION – Next Step!!!

24. Contact Information
Blaine Delaney
RC&D Coordinator – USDA Liaison
Black Diamond RC&D
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service is an equal opportunity provider and employer.