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Suwannee County adopts ordinance banning dumping of human waste; creates civil-citation enforcement
Summary
The Suwannee County Commission adopted an ordinance making it unlawful to dump human waste within county boundaries, authorized civil citations, and deputized county employees for enforcement under state law; the vote was 5-0.
County Attorney Morrison told the board the draft ordinance was written to address a growing problem of human waste being found in county waterways and on private and public lands.
"What this ordinance does ... is it outlaws the dumping of human waste anywhere within the territorial boundaries of Suwannee County, including all private or public land, including all waterways within Suwannee County," Morrison said.
Morrison told commissioners the ordinance will deputize county employees to enforce the law under Florida statute, and establish a civil-citation track with due-process safeguards and a mechanism for contesting citations in county court. He said the county had coordinated with Judge Griffin to confirm the court could handle contested civil infractions.
The attorney noted one amendment to narrow the language so routine acts (for example, permitted disposals) are not unintentionally criminalized. He recommended adding a preamble clause to avoid overbroad application.
Public commenters raised concerns about practical effects. Moses Clipper asked whether the measure could be applied to someone relieving themselves on their own porch; Morrison and other commissioners said enforcement would be a matter of officer discretion and that the intent was to address persistent and commercial dumping and unsafe disposal practices.
Eric K. Weaver Jr., who said he had previously investigated commercial dumping, said the ordinance was aimed at deliberate large-scale dumping by commercial operators.
After public comment and brief discussion, the commission voted 5-0 to adopt the ordinance and its enforcement framework.
The ordinance creates dual enforcement tracks: continued use of the county's special magistrate process for certain code violations and a civil-citation track limited to this ordinance and specified solid-waste and public-health ordinances. The county attorney said the civil-citation process would include statutory due-process protections and a path for contesting citations in county court.
Commissioners and staff asked the public to report suspected dumping; the county attorney said the ordinance gives enforcement officers immediate citation authority for observed violations.
